In 1938, Columbia Pictures terminated its association with the Weiss Brothers, independent producers who had been making adventure serials for Columbia release, and decided to make its own cliffhangers. Warren Hull was signed for Columbia's first (and perhaps best) serial production, "The Spider's Web" (1938), based on a popular magazine character. Hull played three parts: criminologist Richard Wentworth, his masked-and-caped alter ego The Spider, and, in a second masquerade, lowlife mobster Blinky McQuade. The personable Hull brought a breezy sense of humor to his serial roles; he is probably the only serial hero who ever "laughs" on screen. Hull kept audiences following the Spider's thrilling exploits, making "The Spider's Web" the most popular and profitable serial of the year, outstripping such worthy cliffhangers as "Buck Rogers" and "Dick Tracy Returns" by a wide margin, according to a tally published in the "Motion Picture Herald".