written by Saladin Ahmed
drawn by Garry Brown
colored by Lee Loughridge
I'm happy that in the last few years, Marvel Comics has revived the tradition of "Annuals" or extended one-shots that showcase talents that don't work on the regular books. I've bought two of them this week, and I'll review the one I liked better first.
Back in the 1980s, during the "Secret Wars" storyline that was actually created to promote a line of toys by Mattel, Spider-Man, along with several other heroes, fought on a distant planet called Battleworld, and picked up a little souvenir in the form of an alien symbiote, which went on to become his costume, until he finally learned what it was and rejected it. That story, which was told quite exhaustively and effectively back in the 80s, remains a pretty significant point in Spidey's career.
Interestingly, however, writer Saladin Ahmed managed to find a story that happens between the lines of that seminal symbiote saga that Tom DeFalco, Rick Leonardi and Ron Frenz told back in the day. There's a brief portion of that saga, barely even half a page, that shows Spidey leaping through the concrete canyons of New York, with the storytellers revealing that, throughout all this, Peter is sound asleep and that it's the symbiote that's actually doing all the bounding. Ahmed's story is premised on the simple question: what if, aside from just jumping around while Peter was asleep inside, the symbiote fought crime too? He's able to pull this off by telling the story from the symbiote's point of view. It really is an entertaining yarn, which not only features classic characters like the Black Cat (a staple of that era) and Hammerhead, but even includes a logical, plausible reason why the characters involved have never before discussed the events that unfolded in this "untold story."
Ahmed's writing is, for the most part, rock solid here, and while I'd previously had no interest in checking out his work on Black Bolt (not an Inhumans fan), I have enjoyed this story enough to consider checking out his upcoming run on the Miles Morales relaunch title in a few months' time. Even though the story is told mainly from the point of view of the alien symbiote, something that hadn't been done in its pre-Venom days, Ahmed shows he's got a good handle on what makes Peter Parker tick. I also liked how substantial he managed to make this story feel. This is a huge improvement over the last two Spider-Man Annuals I've read, neither of which I actually reviewed here, precisely because of how inconsequential they felt from a writing perspective.
As much as I'd love to wax lyrical about how perfect this standalone story is, there are two things that keep me from doing so, one pretty minor, but the other one somewhat major.
The minor thing that bothered me was how, at the ending of the book, when Peter actually goes to see Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four about the symbiote, something he did in the original story as well, his mask is off and his face exposed to Reed. This is glaringly out-of-character for a pre-Civil War Spider-Man. In fact, one of the most memorable images from that story was Spider-Man swinging around in a spare Fantastic Four costume with a paper bag over his head in order to protect his secret identity. Sure, Reed clearly doesn't know who Spider-Man is here, as he refers to him by his hero name, but it would have just sealed the deal if this story, which up until that point had been pretty airtight from a continuity perspective, had also given a nod of respect to that crucial aspect of Peter's character.
Now, the major thing that bothered me about this book was how downright ugly the art was. When Marvel's marketing for this issue consisted solely of the cover by ACO and Marcelo Maiolo I kind of worried a little bit that they weren't showing us interiors and now, having read the issue, I see that I was a bit right to be concerned. Garry Brown isn't the worst artist I've ever come across, but he is a distinct step down from Ryan Ottley, whose work adorns the monthly title. I get that Brown has a specific style, but it's a terrible fit for this kind of story. Loughridge's murky coloring doesn't do the book any favors either. Was neither Ron Frenz nor Rick Leonardi available for this? Either one of them would have knocked it out of the park, and would probably have been able to remind editorial that back then, Spider-Man wouldn't have shown his face to anyone, not even a fellow superhero.
It's a shame this book stumbled in something as important as the art, because that little goof involving Peter's secret identity notwithstanding, I still think this was an outstanding story that cements Ahmed's credentials as a Spidey writer, which is a very good thing considering his upcoming gig, even if it is a different Spidey he'll be writing.
Anyway, for anyone who enjoyed the symbiote saga back in the 80s, I still recommend this comic book.
7.9/10
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