SPIDER-MAN'S TANGLED WEB #8 (Best of the Week!)
"Gentleman's Agreement, Part Two"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Bruce Jones
Pencils: Lee Weeks
Inks: Josef Rubenstein
Colors: Steve Buccellato
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $2.99 US/$4.50 CAN |
In only a month, Bruce Jones has quickly become a writer whose name I will seek out on future projects. His recent work on Incredible Hulk and this title treats super-hero characters and the worlds in which they live in realistic, mature ways. Pairing him with Lee Weeks for "Gentleman's Agreement" was a smart move too, as the penciller's style captures the vulnerable, human tone of the story nicely.
Charlie's time is growing short, and he continues to struggle with the decision to sacrifice the life of a hero in order to save his own. All the while, though, Charlie becomes a hero in his own right, calling on Spider-Man whenever he sees trouble as he rides around the city in his cab. Meanwhile, the three crooks looking for a big score continue to bumble around the city, and Charlie realizes that he might be able to use them to solve his problems.
Weeks's dark, sketchy style is just what was needed to bring this story to life. He captures the protagonist's downtrodden composure perfectly, and it helps us to imagine ourselves in Charlie's shoes. We can see in Charlie our own low points, and it makes it easier to cheer him on, even if he is considering a betrayal of someone's confidence, the revelation of the ultimate secret. Buccellato's colors aren't too bright, either, maintaining the atmosphere that Weeks has established.
Though the primary emphasis in this storyline has been character, Jones has crafted something of a mystery along the way as well. Given his selfless actions thus far, I doubt Charlie will betray Spider-Man's secret in the end. What's got me scratching my head is how Charlie plans to manipulate Seeds and his cronies. It makes for an unconventional crime story, and I can't wait to find out how it plays out in the third and final chapter.
Jones's script is all about how one conducts oneself upon hitting rock bottom. Charlie can't provide for his family as he'd want to. Nothing seems to go his way, and now, he's dying. How would you react? In other Spider-Man comics, we see the title character fighting against all the odds, but here, Jones has introduced us to a different kind of hero, exhibiting a different kind of bravery. In a story that seems to be about despair, there's a surprising element of hope at its heart.
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