That being said, this week wasn't all bad. Marvel's cash cow, Spider-Man, is delivering in every aspect, with compelling stories in both mainstream 616, and in the Ultimates universe. In an attempt to cash in on that, Marvel have decided to launch a retelling of one of the most controversial storylines of the 1990s. That's right folks, Ben Reilly is back and the Clone Saga is back in swing... Well, kinda.
For those of you fortunate bastards that weren't reading Spider-Man in the 1990s, there was a story line based on an even earlier story line from the 70s in which Spider-Man was cloned. In the 70s story line he beats down the clone and dumps his body into an incinerator (gruesome for 70s comics, eh?).
Well, the clone returns in the 90s for the highly controversial storyline which climaxed when Peter Parker found out that he was in fact the clone. Of course in the end it turned out that the tests were wrong, that Peter had been Peter all along, and that was that. Infact, pretty much the whole story was retconned in one way or the other, Aunt May's death, Mary Jane's pregnancy, none of it stood. But the fact of the matter is that it did create some sparks.
Here's the kicker, due to some creative changes, the story line lasted nearly two years. That's 24 months of bitchy fan letter. Marvel was quite literally in a financial crisis, and Editor-in-Chief and one of the main writers on Clone Saga, Tom DeFalco was fired.
With the recent success of the retelling of an X-Men story "X-Men Forever", Marvel decided to do it all over again, and with DeFalco as the writer.
Now that I've cleared some things up for those of you hiding under a rock, I'll come back in to modern times so that we can review:
Spider-Man: The Clone Saga #1
The issue kicks off like many Spider-Man issues do, with Spidey webbing through the city thinking aloud in panel boxes. DeFalco's dialogue is a staple of everything that was wrong with comic books in the 90s. The dialogue is forced and spoon fed to the readers. Never at any point does any thing the character says seem genuine.
Anyways, Spidey quickly runs down the situation, Aunt May is dying, his life is in shambles, and he's heading to the hospital to visit her. When he gets there, he meets a very retro looking Mary Jane and the two have a quick corny discussion before Peter leaves. The art here doesn't do a great job of capturing the 90s, but it's just as choppy as the 90s art.
Mary Jane begins get sick, which inevitably leads to her pregnancy, and Peter is back out webbing around.
Meanwhile, in another place we are introduced to the character of Ben Reilly, Spider-Man's clone. The issue culminates in a meeting and battle of the two which turns in to a team-up by the end of the issue.
Is there anything good about this comic book? Not really. All it does is compact the shittiness. This comic book is six issues of wasted opportunity crammed in to one. And in a sense, I suppose that makes it better than the original. It's like getting your ass kicked. A short ass kicking isn't much better than a drawn out one when you get down to the black eyes and broken noses, but at least it doesn't take up as much time.
Final Grade: D+
There are worst ways to waste your time.
One of the better parts of the week:
Runaways Vol 3. #14
Runaways is not the same book Brian K. Vaughan started in early 2003. After several creative change-ups, the characters have become silly caricatures of themselves, and the storylines have become seemingly arbitrary. That all changed when Kathryn Immonen took over a few issues back.
Immonen, who's husband is a former artist on Ultimate Spider-Man, has a real grasp on these characters and where they seem to be going. The woman honestly makes the series feel like it's had a hidden agenda all along. Vaughan has truly found a worthy successor.
Unfortunately, the issue ends with a cliffhanger and the life of one of the Runaways is in limbo until the next issue, which has a currently unknown release date.
My only complaint is the amount of downtime spent moping, but at the same time, it keeps the plot from feeling rushed and cartoony, two things that have been dragging this book down as of late. It's starting to feel like the old Runaways again, and for fans, that is a good thing.
Final Grade: A-
Pick it up. You won't regret it.
Looking things over, Marvel is starting to feel like an aging rocker. All of it's success seems to be from reunion tours and throwback concerts. New material is not a strength, and pushing the bar is riskier and riskier.
Stay tuned, next week we have Ultimate Spider-Man and some other good stuff. For now, go forth and wreak havoc on your local comic shop.
Cover Credit: Marvel Comics
-Chris
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