Spectacular Spider-Man (UK Magazine) #109

Background

Ever wondered what happened to the Spider-Man of the 90's TV cartoon series? Well, he's alive and kicking in Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine, currently being released every three weeks in the United Kingdom. Each issue features a swag of puzzles, posters, letters, and general all-out Spidey fun - all aimed at the young at heart. Plus, there's an 11-page original story featuring more of Spider-Man's Adventures.

Story 'The Hunt is On!'

The issue before last, in Spectacular Spider-Man (UK Magazine) #107, Silver Sable hacked the Kingpin's computer system to give away millions of dollars to charity. As well as reducing the Kingpin's funds, his rivals such as Hammerhead think that Fisk has gone soft. Naturally the Kingpin is taking steps, such as hiring the Shocker as an enforcer (as seen last issue). The other big step is to take revenge on Spider-Man.

Spidey, meanwhile is out catching muggers. The Grizzly turns up, but gets taken out by the web-slinger. The hairy one does however reveal that Fisk has put a fifty-million dollar bounty on Spidey's head. Spidey swings over to Fisk's place and raps on the window. Fisk denies everything... while smirking about the whole thing. Spidey gets no satisfaction. He gets even less when the Black Cat swings past and tries to take Spidey in. The Black Cat? Hey, I thought they were friends?! Well, I guess fifty-mill will buy a lot of new friends. Meanwhile, the Punisher is reading about it all in the Bugle... he ain't happy about open warfare, a lot of innocents could get caught in the middle!

Peter takes some time off with MJ (does she know he's Spidey? I don't know if she does or not in this universe). Anyhow, come Monday it's Hydro-Man, Tuesday is Boomerang, and Wednesday is the Kangaroo. Could it get worse? Yep, Thursday it's Frog-Man. Friday is Jack O'Lantern, who finally manages to get the drop on the wall-crawler. Oh no! Next thing we see is Jack O'Lantern zooming in to the Kingpin's place with an unconscious Spidey draped over his flying platform.

But hold on a minute... it's the Punisher! Cat back a little, and we learn that the Punisher saw Spidey get splatted by Jack, and raced in to the rescue. Now Fisk has Spider-Man and the Punisher on his front lawn, armed for bear, and the Grizzly ain't there to distract them!

The Shocker pitches in, but he's outclassed by the Punisher, as are the Kingpin's regular hoods. Spidey meanwhile battles the Kingpin, who manages to get an advantage over the webbed-one, enough to make a bee-line for his getaway helicopter. The Punisher foils that, but shooting out the rotor hub, as Spider-Man swings back in for the knockout blow.

The police arrive and arrest Kingpin for... well, I don't know what for actually, but for something. Sure, his lawyers will have him out in no time, but for now the bounty hunt is over. Or is it? Why would it be?

General Comments

A fun story while it lasts, though the ending has a couple of problems. I don't know what Fisk is supposed to have done, other than be attached by a couple of vigilantes. Looks to me like Fisk is the victim in all this. And as for why the bounty hunt is over... that just makes no sense to me. Surely Fisk will just double the price!

One other complaint. The coloring seems to use a lot of orange tones, making every scene look like it's happening at twilight. It's an odd look for a kids magazine, I think I prefer to more simple colors. Also, a lot of the backgrounds use a graduated color, which is rather distracting. Nice art though, great pencils and inks.

Overall Rating

Mixed bag. Good story, but a bit of a flop at the end. Nice art, but the coloring is very distracting. Let's go down the middle and call it an average three webs.