A compilation of stories from the Spider-Man comic of the same title, these three stories seem to be outside the main storyline, but are of uniformly high writing quality. I can't say the same for the art; it's mostly just adequate. But these stories carry a common thread in the way they illuminate a previously hidden aspect of the main character - Spider-Man, Kingpin and the Rhino in these stories. The Kingpin story is probably the most compelling, providing a glimpse into the business ethics of a man who is nonetheless an unforgiving cold killer. The other two stories are nearly as fine. ( )