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PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #35
(Best of the Week!)
"Heroes Don't Cry"
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Pencils: Mark Buckingham
Inks: Wayne Faucher
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
This is one of those
stories everyone should read. It's the story of a young boy in difficult
circumstances, and how the concept of Spider-Man helped him. It's not a
super-hero story by any stretch of the imagination, but rather a story about the
inspiration that super-heroes can offer even those of us in the real world. It
speaks to why I still read super-hero comics, and why I started, and I'd be
surprised if it doesn't resonate with a few other readers as well. This is a
classic Spider-Man tale that deserves to be put up there with Stern's "The Kid
Who Collected Spider-Man" and it's one of the most moving comics on the stands
this week.
The story focuses in on Lafronce, a young
boy whose mother is not exactly stellar parent material, but who has a
surprising amount of optimism in his life due to the relationship he has with
his aunt, her boyfriend and... Spider-Man. Well, sort of. It's a book about
dreams and how the barrier between fantasy life and real life can be a little
thin for kids, and it's a story of sadness and hope as well as growing up.
Buckingham, Faucher and Jenkins do a
terrific job of portraying Lafronce's difficult circumstances without
overstating them. Rather than simply going with the overdone notion of child
abuse, they look at the question of neglect, and the rules that sometimes keep
the right thing from being done, the rules that let children slip through the
cracks unless their circumstances are truly dire. I also quite enjoyed seeing
Lafronce's worldview informing the world that the readers see. Spider-Man talks
about his "Spidery Sense getting all jangly" which is obviously Lafronce
interpreting what he knows through his own vocabulary. And his fantasy vision of
Spider-Man is built as much on the model of his "uncle" Ray as it is on the
super-hero he loves.
It's this interpretation of Spider-Man that
makes this story so special. While Jenkins has shown in the past that he truly
gets Peter Parker, this issue really doesn't have much to do with Peter Parker.
Instead, it's more about Spider-Man, and not the character, but the concept, and
what he can mean to those who need him. He may not have rescued Lafronce from a
burning building, but his very existence helped to keep Lafronce from turning
into a gang-banger or a bitter and withdrawn kid.
The last page is a beauty, and it nicely
wraps up everything the story is about. It goes to show that some heroes, such
as Superman and Spider-Man, have become larger than simply entertainment, and
have become important icons, maybe even role models, for kids. It also shows why
heroes like that are important, all the while telling a story that is enjoyable
for adults to read as well.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
