SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY
Six decades of Spidey
Spidey ages in his latest comic!
released OUT NOW! Publisher Marvel
Writer Chip Zdarsky Artist Mark Bagley
Every comics fan knows that superheroes aren’t allowed to age in real time, especially when they’re a character like Spider-Man, who was first introduced as a teenager back in 1962. However, the new Marvel miniseries Life Story throws this rule out of the window and asks: what would happen if Peter Parker did age just like everybody else?
Told across six oversized issues that each cover a different decade, this ambitious story treats the Spidey saga as one chronological epic, and also tackles an angle previously seen in DC classic The New Frontier, with our protagonist having to deal with serious real-life contemporary issues.
This means that in the opening 1966-set instalment we get a debate over whether Peter should use his powers to help the United States in the Vietnam War. As the decades go by, there are further historical references – some small (with Peter and Gwen Stacy visiting legendary nightclub Studio 54), and others seismic (as the events of crossover Secret Wars also spark off a brief US/ Soviet nuclear conflict).
The result is just as much an alternate history as it is an exploration of the various different eras of Spidey comics. Writer Chip Zdarsky hits some strong notes with his skilful storytelling, especially concerning Peter’s increasing age and his inability to balance his two contrasting identities.
While the first three issues are impressively ambitious, they’re also rather inconsistent at times, often feeling more like a “Greatest Hits” compilation of historic Spider-Man moments than a compelling story in their own right. Added to this, there’s the unavoidable fact that certain well-known Spidey plot twists play as ludicrously melodramatic when crammed together like this. The series also ends up lacking a little when it comes to its visuals.
Mark Bagley is one of the best known Spider-Man artists (mainly thanks to his unbroken 111-issue run on Ultimate Spider-Man), but while he’s great at carrying off energetic fights and emotive scenes, his style is also rather sturdy and workmanlike for an ambitious series that was crying out for a more stylistically adventurous approach.
Life Story is still regularly entertaining and occasionally flirts with brilliance, but can’t quite escape the sense of unfulfilled potential. With three issues to go, Zdarsky and Bagley still have some intriguing material to explore (especially given that this is a Spider-Man who’ll eventually reach his seventies). But so far this is feeling like an enjoyable but flawed experiment rather than the knockout classic that it could have been. Saxon Bullock
Writer Chip Zdarsky re-read all 800+ issues of The Amazing Spider-Man to prepare for writing Life Story.
A flawed experiment rather than a knockout classic