|
THE BEST OF SPIDER-MAN VOL. 1 HC
Recommended (8/10)
|
Marvel Comics
Writers: J. Michael Straczynski, Greg Rucka, Peter Milligan, Paul Jenkins & Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Eduardo Risso, Duncan Fegredo, Staz Johnson, Wayne Faucher & Bill Sienkiewicz
Colors: Dan Kemp, Avalon Studios, Steve Buccelato & Transparency Digital
Letters: Comicraft
Editors: Axel Alonso & Ralph Macchio
Price: $34.95 US/$55.95 CAN |
In my opinion, Marvel's first hardcover, Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1, was a complete home run, the gold standard by which I will judge future comic-book hardcovers. Judged against that standard, Best of Spider-Man is a solid triple, with a lot to
offer but just a few minor flaws that stop it from being quite as spectacular.
Make no mistake, though... this is a terrific package, with stories that are
absolutely worthy of the production values being lavished upon them.
Calling something the "Best Of" is just daring someone to find fault, but if you look at this as the original title, "Best of Spider-Man 2001," than it's hard to argue the point. Included in these pages are J. Michael Straczynski's incredible first story arc (and the controversial World Trade Center issue) on Amazing Spider-Man, a couple of strong single-issue tales from Greg Rucka and Paul Jenkins, the humorous two-parter "Flowers for Rhino" and the single best storyline from Ultimate Marvel Team Up, which featured one of the best takes on the Punisher I've ever seen. The artwork is likewise impressive, featuring John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna at the top of their game, Eduardo Risso showing off the shadowy skills that make 100 Bullets a favorite, Duncan
Fegredo serving up a delightfully whimsical version of the Rhino and Bill
Sienkiewicz doing some of his best work on a gritty and dark Punisher tale.
I do have my quibbles with the stories in this issue. I felt that Amazing Spider-Man #36 was flawed in minor but important ways, not the least of which was an emotional closeness to the events that made Straczynski's narration a bit preachy at times. More importantly, though the indicia lists Peter Parker: Spider-Man #35 (my favorite single issue story of last year) as the Peter Parker offering, it is in fact #36, an amusing but inferior story of a private detective tracking down Spider-Man's secret identity. I also continue to feel that Buccellato's coloring was a bit too bright for the Tangled Web stories, particularly the
shadowy artwork of Eduardo Risso.
However, for the most part
this hardcover really shows off the artwork the way it was meant to be. If you
thought Romita Jr.'s work was impressive at standard comic size, you should see
the jaw-dropping effect it has at this larger size. The same holds true for some
of the splash pages in Sienkiewicz's work, or with Eduardo Risso's detailed and
beautiful look at a mobster's last night. There is not a single piece of artwork
in this issue that doesn't look better at this increased size.
The production values on the trade are also outstanding. The white "Marvel" brand on the side is glaring, as much as it is on Marvel's trades, but the rest of the cover is impressive. It re-uses artwork, of course, but it's good cover art and the graphic design makes the book really pop. I especially appreciated the pull-quote on the back, with a stunning shot of Spidey swinging over Manhattan, and the mini-bios of the creators that were listed on the inside front cover. After seeing the Ultimate Spider-Man trade, the lack of any kind of
sketches, script excerpts or other extras was somewhat glaring, but the price
tag on this one and the quality contained within makes it a bargain for any
Spider-Man fan.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
