You remember "The Odd Couple?" Remember how one of them dressed up as a giant bear and the other one as a rhino? No? Well, you will after reading Tangled Web #19, which is The Odd Couple with a super-villain twist. It's a little predictable, but the underlying premise is pretty funny and the characterization of both Grizzly and Rhino as lovable losers is solid. In addition, it features Jim Mahfood, which is always a good thing, and his humorous and distinctive style is perfect for the story.
One of the primary driving forces of Tangled Web has been an exploration of Spider-Man's villains and what they do when they're not chasing Spidey. While there have been the occasional stories that show them as effective ("Severance Package" leaps immediately to mind), most of them show that these villains are somewhat pathetic. It's hard to argue that someone who would dress up as some kind of ugly bird or animal has some problems, and while there's an unfortunate implication that Spidey is little more than a goof if his villains are so incompetent, I can't deny that I find these portrayals of the characters to ring true.
Case in point this issue is the Rhino, who has already had the harsh glare shined on him in "Flowers for Rhino," but who is the supporting cast member this issue. Since his characterization as a lovable lummox has been established before, Morrison can spend a lot more time with the main character, the Grizzly. Morrison makes use of a veiled reference to "Flowers for Rhino" to emphasize the notion of being yourself, but mostly he just establishes Rhino as slightly more adjusted to society, which just makes Grizzly seem all that much sadder. The optimism that Grizzly shows, and the way bad luck keeps conspiring to take it away from him, is both hilarious and a little sad.
When you cast these unusual characters against a mundane setting, without removing them from their goofy costumes, you're halfway to good funny material already. We've all seen stories of someone locking themselves out of their apartment, arriving just in time to find someone else has already taken their job, their food, their place in line... it's the quintessential bad day story. But when all of this happens and you're in a grizzly bear costume, and the guy who keeps getting ahead of you is in a Rhino costume? That's comedy. The story is built on the spine of a familiar premise, which makes the finale predictable, but the rapport established between the two characters is genuine and believable, a nice touch in what is essentially an extended parody, and this is a lightweight but fun story.
The real selling point of the book for me is Jim Mahfood's artwork, which is just ideal for the type of story that Morrison is telling. Mahfood's depiction of Grizzly and Rhino, with their unusual body proportions, immediately shows how ridiculous they look, and Mahfood has a gift for exaggerated expressions which is great for Grizzly's growing anger and frustration. He's also very skilled with the background gags, whether it's little signs at the coffehouse that read "Spoken Word on Friday. It sucks" or the shot of various Spidey rogues' gallery members laughing at the hapless duo outside the super-villain bar.
