Editor's Note: Spider-Man: Fear Itself arrives in stores tomorrow, January 7.

Spider-Man encounters a rampaging Man-Thing during a visit to Florida and soon begins to experience some strange after effects to which there seems to be no cure. To try to solve his current predicament, Peter seeks the help of Dr. Curt Connors, but it already may be too late.

When I finished this one shot of my favorite web-head I was left with one feeling: Was this really needed?

If your monthly Spider-Man diet isn't satiated with Ultimate Spider-Man, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, three issues of Amazing Spider-Man, and the numerous other books Spidey pops up in (namely the Avengers), then you may want to give this a go.

While the comic itself is a decent read for the most part, there are parts that took me out of the story, including the moments when Peter reveals plot points as part of his dialogue, as if I was reading an early Amazing Spider-Man story from the 1960s. There was a lot of telling and not much showing, like Peter telling Man-Thing why he traveled from his swamp in Florida to seek out Peter in New York.

The story seems to use several plot conveniences that make the story feel a little rushed. An example of this occurs when Man-Thing uncharacteristically attacks several locals in Florida for no reason, which results in this tale being told. Dr. Connors' role seems rushed as well as he just happens to be ready with something that will buy Peter some time to deal with his predicament and then two pages later he has a potential solution ready.

The book seems like it would have been better served as a mini-series so Moore could flesh out his story and not have to cram it all into a 48-page comic book.

Unless you are a die-hard Spider-Man (or Man-Thing) fan, this book may not be for you.

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