Welcome to Longbox Junk comic reviews, where I buy 'em cheap and stack 'em deep!
If you've been reading this blog for a while, then you probably know that I'm not a huge fan of the more mainstream superhero comics. If you're new to the blog, then welcome! And by the way, I'm not a huge fan of the more mainstream superhero comics. Take a look at the archives and you'll see what I mean.
That's not to say that I don't LIKE the capes and tights heroes, it's just that my personal tastes swerve a bit more to the horror, war, western, science fiction, and classic "mystery men" heroes. Characters like Green Hornet, Tarzan, Sgt. Rock, The Spirit, Zorro, Luke Skywalker, Jonah Hex, The Question and The Lone Ranger are pretty good examples of where my REAL comic love is at.
That said, I don't mind a good superhero story. I've got plenty of superhero comics in my collection. Which brings us to the comic at hand, featuring one of THE most popular superheroes in comic book history, none other than your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
Every now and then I just feel like throwing out a mainstream comic superhero review, and this is one of those times. Join me as I take a closer look at one of the most ridiculously overprinted and collected comic books of the 90s, Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man #1!
Ready to get into this with me? LET'S GO!
SPIDER-MAN #1
Marvel (1990)
COVER: Todd McFarlane
THE COVER:
That's right, son. I've got one of those limited edition SILVER FOIL covers! You jealous, boy? You should be! Because this beauty is worth *checks online* about TEN DOLLARS! Awwww. . .YEAH!
Seriously, though. This cover is beyond iconic. You can build a decent little collection just around the MANY homages to this cover. And it's iconic for a reason. It's great! It's just a great comic book cover. One of the best. McFarlane wasn't messing around here.
I put the silver foil variant up there in the spotlight so I could joke a bit, but truth be told, I actually prefer the regular "A" cover. The colors and details just pop SO much better. So let's go ahead and double up on the cover shots this time!
Now THAT'S a sweet cover!
So, even for someone that's not a huge Spider-Fan, this is a cover that cannot be denied a deserved double thumbs up. But how about the story? What's under that iconic cover? Let's get in there!
THE STORY:
Torment: Part One
SCRIPT: Todd McFarlane
PENCILS: Todd McFarlane
INKS: Todd McFarlane
We begin our tale in the city, with a pretty depressing description of the scurrying population hemmed in by overwhelming walls of concrete and steel. . .which leads to an EPIC double page introduction of our hero, Spider-Man, swinging through the city above it all.
Soon, it's night. In the dark alleyways below, Spider-Man confronts a mugger hassling a lady. The mugger tries to put up a fight, but he's no match for the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, who easily takes him down and webs him up for the authorities to bring in.
But unknown to Spider-Man, across town something is stirring in the sewers under the city. A vicious beast rising to the strange sound of a steady drumbeat coming from an unknown source!
Meanwhile, Spider-Man has returned to Soho and taken off his mask for a night of relaxation as Peter Parker, with his wife, Mary Jane. Peter brags about fighting supervillains like Doctor Doom, Venom, and even Thanos. What he doesn't understand is why street thugs like the one from earlier think they stand a chance against him.
Mary Jane tells Peter that he MIGHT be getting a big head over himself. But he just blows it off as a joke.
Across town, the beast moves through the night, hunting to feed its hunger. No longer satisfied with rats, it spots some thugs breaking into a building and moves in for the kill. . .
Driven by the persistent pounding of the drum in its head, the creature catches up to its fleeing prey and brutally slaughters them in a dark alleyway.
In the morning, Peter leaves early for the University, where he wants to get some work done before classes start. He doesn't pay much attention to the paper, or its headline about the brutal deaths of three people overnight.
As he swings over the city in the bright morning light, he can't help but think about what a lucky guy he is. A great job, a beautiful wife, awesome super powers, idolized by the citizens of the city, what more could a guy ask for? His life is GREAT!
But later on, night falls and the creature is once again on the move! Hungry and hunting, driven by the relentless pounding of the drums in its head, it once again brutally slaughters another unfortunate citizen unlucky enough to cross the creature's path.
As the story comes to a close, we find ourselves comparing the two figures we have been following. One, a confident and heroic youth at home above the scurrying population of the city. The other, a prowling, brutal beast driven by an unknown source to hunt and kill. What happens next?
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
This comic sold about 2.5 million copies.
It's one of the top-selling comics in, well. . .ever. There are a LOT of reviews of this issue. Blogs, comic sites, Youtube, you name it. If you want to read this comic, you won't have a problem finding it. It's been collected multiple times, you can find it online, you can find it in back issue bins.
So what can I say about Spider-Man #1 that hasn't been said before.
Truthfully, not much. But I'll throw my two cents worth in anyway. This was an enjoyable read. I like McFarlane's use of the inner monologue and the dual storylines that you just KNOW are going to converge soon.
McFarlane isn't the best comic writer, so it's pretty heavy-handed that he's setting up our cheery, bragging hero for a fall. But I've said it before and I'll say it again, not EVERY comic needs to be a masterpiece of literature to be enjoyable. And this comic is pretty enjoyable for what it is. . .basically just setup for a conflict to come in the next issues.
That said. . .
You don't come into a McFarlane comic expecting a great story. What you DO expect is great art, and Spider-Man #1 delivers. McFarlane is one of THE defining artists of the 90s (along with Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee) and that's on full display here. From the iconic cover to the last page, this issue is PACKED with some tasty 90s art!
To be fair, the scenes with Mary Jane and Peter just sort of hanging around their apartment are pretty weak. McFarlane was ALWAYS a bit weak outside of the action scenes, but the sequence is pretty short (just a couple of pages) and doesn't distract too much from the rest of that peak McFarlane 90s art.
When I read the first issue of ANY series I have TWO things I look for. First, does it introduce the characters and their situation in a new reader-friendly way? Second, does it make me want to read more?
You would be surprised how many first issues fail to deliver on one or both of those simple things. . .which I don't think are too much to ask for, if I'm going to be giving a company money for a comic book.
Spider-Man #1 doesn't do a GREAT job at introducing the characters and their situation. It's assumed that the person reading this is already familiar with Spider-Man and his foes. That's not to say it does a BAD job. There's a bit of introduction to be found, but not much. It's just okay on the first point.
Does it make me want to read more? I'd say yes to that one. I've had this comic in my collection for years (Actually, I have FOUR of them in my collection because I keep forgetting I have it already), but have never actually read it. Actually sitting down to finally READ this issue has made me interested in what comes next. It's not going to make me into a die-hard spider-fan, but I'm interested, and definitely want some more McFarlane Spidey art (He did the first 15 issues of the series before strutting off to help form Image).
CONCLUSION
I don't normally review comics that are as super-popular as this one was and still is. I prefer to dig a little deeper into the bargain bin. But every now and then, I don't mind going into the more mainstream end of the comic world, and this was a fun little departure from my normal Longbox Junk.
It's a little darker than I would expect from a Spider-Man story, and I see from a bit of research that McFarlane actually caught a bit of flak for his darker take on the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, but that bit of extra darkness is actually what I like most about the story.
Another thing I really liked about this comic was hidden in the back. A rather lengthy text piece by McFarlane (with interjections by Editor Jim Salicrup) where McFarlane fully confesses that he knows he's not a great writer, but by being given this title (one of FIVE ongoing Spidey titles at the time) to play with, he planned on improving his writing. . .but also confessed he would probably be leaning pretty heavily on the artwork. I found the honesty pretty interesting, and really a bit unexpected from a superstar talent like McFarlane.
Here's the whole thing. It's a pretty cool bit of behind the scenes stuff:
Overall, I can certainly recommend Spider-Man #1 for my Longbox Junk readers. It's a darker take on Spider-Man, backed up with some damn fine 90s artwork. Like I said above, if you feel like reading this (and haven't already), then you won't have much trouble at all tracking it down. It's collected, it's online, it's in the back issue bins, it's probably down at your local library.
So that's it for THIS little trip into the mainstream comic world. What's next up in Longbox Junk? I'm not sure, but I hope you'll be here to check it out. Until then, always remember that comics are worth more than money!
No comments:
Post a Comment