By: David Lapham (Writer), Tony Harris (Pencils), Jim Clark (Inks), J.D. Mettler (Colors)
Make no mistake, I’m a huge fan of David Lapham’s body of work - especially his earlier Valiant work. The Batman story he did a couple of years ago? It was pretty good. His Terror Inc. mini-series is fun. And being that Spidey’s my favorite character, I was really anticipating this storyline.
Alas, Spider-Man: With Great Power reminds me of something John Byrne did about a decade ago with Spider-Man: Chapter One. Honestly, who’s idea was this? How many times must we read a different take on Spider-Man’s origin. The fact that this story takes place now (with pop culture references to Jay Leno and Dave Letterman), makes this story more dismissible. Yes, it’s the classic story of Peter Parker and Lapham doesn’t miss a beat on who he is and what happens to him - but it’s all just a retread. Sure, Lapham adds some new story bits with Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, and Peter’s wrestling career, but because this story isn’t true Spider-Man canon, it’s completely useless.
There is one thing that shines in this book, however: the art. I’m not sure if I’ve seen Tony Harris’ art before, but good lord, this guy can draw. No, really, this guy can really draw! J.D. Mettler also adds a lot of depth with his colors; this is one beautiful book!
I suppose if you’re new to Spider-Man or new to reading comics, this could be a nice introduction to the character, but it just feels like another origin story forced down our throat. I mean, didn’t we just get Mythos: Spider-Man last June (yet another re-telling of Amazing Spider-Man #15)?
The biggest insult is that this book is $3.99! Who decides this stuff?! I’m sorry, despite the gorgeous art, I can’t recommend this book. We’ve read this story too many times. It’s time for something new. (Grade: C-)
- J.Montes
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews, Spider-Man | Tagged: Spider-Man, Marvel Comics, David Lapham, Tony Harris, Jim Clark, J.D. Mettler, Dues Ex Machina, Stray Bullets, Terror Inc., Steve Ditko, Stan Lee
Rick Bradbury from Ex Machina was Peter Parker’s bully in high school! Amazing
I like Harris artwork, but he needs to use different models for his characters. The story was okay, but I don’t like remakes. And agree that $3.99 is too expensive for what we got.