Re: ... wow, Devin.
Maybe I empathize too much with Dick, here, then. Because it's obvious that the way you describe the scene is exactly how Tarantula perceived it; in her mind, she was comforting Dick.
To me, Tarantula's smiles look poisonous, and the last page shows Dick drowning in the city, retreating his conscience far away from what is happening - and never being able to drown out Tarantula enough.