Surprising
I hate Spider-Man villains. You don't even want to get me started on how much I hate the idiots dressed up like animals motivated purely by robbing banks and getting revenge on Spider-Man for making fun of them and stopping them from robbing banks.
So why did I buy this comic? Well because I saw scans of a Spider-Man story (probably WoSM 3) where Rhino of all people showed actual personality and badassery. So I figured its free comic book day, I'm already trying out a bunch of new stuff why not give Web of Spider-Man (because I like Spidey and I like bad guys) a chance?
Now the titled character doesn't even show up in the book. I don't mind that as long as the story centers on someone else that's interesting. Instead we're treated to THREE seperate stories, the first of which centers around the Vulture. Now the Vulture, unintentionally funny as his silver age appearances are, I've always found to be pretty pathetic. He's named after an animal that only eats dead things, his only powers are flight and minor super strength and his general strategy seems to be grabbing Spider-Man's web and throwing him into things while hoping Pete doesn't get wise and just punch him in the leg. He's pretty hard to take seriously. He's pretty hard not to underestimate.
Now, the cool thing about this story is that it turns that into an advantage for the Vulture. Like two of my favorite villains, Two-Face and Captain Cold, lots of people think they can beat Vulture but they really can't. Just because he's an old dude in a bird costume doesn't mean he's not smarter than you and it doesn't mean he's not meaner than you and if you mess with him he will kill you and make you feel stupid when it happens. 4/5
Then we're treated to a Spider-Girl story. I like Spider-Girl. Her first series started out very strong and very reminiscent of Spider-Man's beginings only not quite so moody. Like that book, the bad guys weren't particularly original and the plotlines themselves weren't spectacular but the main character's sheer likability more than made up for it. Then it ran out of steam. Spider-Girl is still not the best book on the shelf but its still a worthy read and its still fun to watch May try to live up to the legacy of Marvel's most popular hero. 3/5
Then we get a Ben Reilly story. I don't know when Ben came back from the dead. I don't care. I like having him around. Anyhow, Ben Reilly contemplates his navel for awhile, saves some people and takes off on his motorcycle. He doesn't want to be a hero. He doesn't feel he is a hero. Yet, he's still a hero and he'll still answer the call no matter how much he hates his ring tone. Very original series Johnny Blaze. 3/5
So basically, in a world where you usually have to buy six issues to get a full story, this book gives you two and a half (with Spider-Girl ironically not containing the full story). None of them are amazing but they're all entertaining and you sure won't feel like you wasted money on them. For four bucks? This thing's a steal.
3.5/5