If you’ve been reading Spider-Man comics in the last two months, you’ve probably seen “To be Continued in Web of Spider-Man” a few times. It’s a new anthology featuring various creators who are writing or will soon write Spidey-centric stories. Serving as a preview for stories to come, can Web of Spider-Man offer enough delights, or is it all teasers and no substance?
For the most part, this issue is a smattering of teasers with a few highlights. Think of it as a grab-bag ala Free Comic Book Day-style comics, and you’ll know what you’re in for. All told, there are nine stories, each of which features a different hero. Characters include Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Spider-Woman, Spider-Gwen, Chasm, a story set in the Spectacular Spider-Men story, Kaine, and Spider-Society. On paper, it’s a robust collection, but some stories leave you wanting big time.
It all starts with a quick story by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr., which acts as a reminder of Tombstone’s beef with Spider-Man. If you read the story arc with Tombstone from nearly two years ago, this will read more like a reminder than anything else. It’s quite short.
Next up is Cody Ziglar and Eleonora Carlini’s Miles Morales: Spider-Man story featuring Hightail. This story feels like a nice tie in with that series as well as the upcoming event Blood Hunt. It ends with a tease that’ll get your blood up.
Steve Foxe and Ig Guara give us a quick primer on what Spider-Woman is up to lately. She’s in San Francisco and it’s basically a two-page teaser for what she’s in store for.
Zeb Wells returns for the next tale with Ed McGuinness, who gets to show off one of the monstrous Sinister Six riffs in a story featuring Gold Goblin. This one is only three pages, but the way McGuinness draws Grave Goblin…you’ll want more.
Stephanie Phillips and Eric Gapstur deliver possibly the best story in the entire collection focused on Spider-Gwen. This story reveals some major multiverse shenanigans, introduces two familiar characters from the Loki show, and effectively raises the stakes. It also looks great. If you’re not excited about the new Spider-Gwen series, this will make you a believer.
Steve Foxe and Greg Land get to show us what Chasm is up to in one of the more enlightening stories in the anthology. Fans of Chasm will delight in seeing some development with him, as Marvel has done nothing with him since Dark Web. Love or hate this new form Spider-Man’s clone has taken it’s nice to see something is being done with him. It’s also one of the longer stories in the anthology.
Chasm is back, baby!
Credit: Marvel
If you read Spectacular Spider-Men #1, you’ll find Greg Weisman and Joey Vazquez’s story familiar as it features Peter and Miles at the same coffee joint as in the first issue. Similar to other stories in this anthology this doesn’t do much more than act as a teaser for what you’re in store for in Weisman’s series.
Steve Foxe returns for a story centered on Kaine, who was drawn by Greg Land. Kaine is a hugely important character from the Clone Saga, so it’s nice to see him back. It’s unclear where it’s going, but I’m intrigued.
Closing out the anthology is a story featuring Spider-Man 2099 by Alex Segura and Salvador Larroca. The Spider-Society must be formed, but as Miguel learns, a new spin on Green Goblin has big plans to take them out. I can’t say it’s the most original tale–bad guys want to destroy the great web–but Segura makes us believe the stakes are as high as ever. It’s also interesting to see Spider-Man 2099 at the center of the heroics for the Spider-verse, and there’s enough here to get you to pick up the next chapter in Edge of Spider-Verse #4.
If you think of Web of Spider-Man as an extended preview or teaser for future tales, this is a solid anthology. If you’re expecting satisfying done-in-one stories or more than two stories that satisfy in their own right, you’ll be gravely disappointed. For $7.99, it’s hard to justify an anthology that’s slim on satisfying stories in their own right, but it’s a neat way to preview what’s to come in the Spider-Man office in 2024.
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