Near Mint Memories: Last Hunt = Modern Classic

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I mentioned in a recent Near Mint Memories column that Spider-Man’s black costumed era, launched in Amazing Spider-Man #252, and was by far my favorite period of Spidey stories. There were some exceptional stories during this time, but none was better than J.M. DeMatteis’ opus “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” This story was a defining moment in adult level storytelling for the comic reading public. While it did kill off a reasonably big Spider-Man rogue, something I’m not all that fond of, this is simply one of the greatest comic stories ever told.


Kraven something great…

So this is the deal. Kraven is not exactly a top tier Spidey villain. In fact, when Spider-Man first realizes that it’s Kraven he’s up against, he is decidedly cocky that a victory is assured. Suddenly Spider-Man realizes there’s a very different look in Kraven’s eyes, a murderous gleam from a less than stellar rogue. This wasn’t the Kraven he had dealt with before, and for all intents and purposes, this was the type of villain very few comic characters had dealt with up until that point. Sporting a rifle along with that murderous look, it is obvious that there is no longer any time to play games. Instead of bringing Spidey to his lair, and gloating at the most inappropriate time, Kraven simply blows Spidey away. Spider-Man is dead, kaput, goodnight sweet prince. Kraven buries our costumed hero, and assumes his identity. The thing is this was only the first issue of the six-part epic. From this point on, things get really interesting.

As much as you would think, this is not a mano a mano type of comic story. Instead of making this just Spider-Man vs. Kraven, DeMatteis, in a stroke of brilliance, added the deranged rat like Vermin into the storyline. While it still would have been a great story, the addition of Vermin brings that extra little boost necessary to make this an all-time great story. Kraven is certainly off his rocker, but the biggest threat is not the somewhat controlled insanity of Kraven, but instead the uncontrolled fury that is Vermin.

So with Spider-Man dead, you may ask, just where does this storyline go? Who is that masked web slinger then? Does this lead to the wonderful clone saga? No, dear reader, of course it doesn’t. Spider-Man is in fact, not dead! Gasp! I know you are stunned by the news; but he’s still very much alive. While Kraven takes on the image of Spider-Man for two weeks, the real Spider-Man is in a carefully induced coma. He literally rises from his grave after two weeks, makes a brief conjugal visit with Mary Jane, then tracks Kraven down for the ultimate fight.

The astounding artwork is the other factor that turns this wonderful story into the “classic” that it has become. Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod capture the utter insanity of the villains, not to mention the overwhelming intensity of each panel. While the situations are largely unrealistic, it’s a superhero comic kiddies, the book has an air of realism that literally plays havoc with your senses. Simply, you will not find art this flawless too often.


J.M. and the gang step into the Ozz-Man’s shoes for a minute!

After Spider-Man reclaims his life, Kraven, takes his own life while Spidey tracks down Vermin. Kraven, in his own warped mind, has completed all that he could ever hope to accomplish in life. He has “killed” Spider-Man, and then become him. He takes a shotgun, and proceeds to blow his brains out. DeMatteis shows the mental illness that Kraven was suffering from, in a way that comics had never seen before. Today, no one bats an eye at occurrences like this in comics. The thing is, this was 1987, and comics were still largely for the younger set. This was not your typical corner store comic.

In 1987 there was an actual furor over the release of “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” Many embittered individuals thought that it glorified suicide. To me, it’s simply a deranged man killing himself, following a horrific series of events. It seems obvious. It is probably the same individuals that denounced Ozzy Osbourne for his song “Suicide Solution” or Oliver Stone for his film Natural Born Killers. Most could not look beneath the surface, and many did not bother to view the material in question. Instead making rash judgments based on others proclamations. In the end, Marvel had to do a bit of backtracking on the whole situation, offering up apologies and the like.

Apologies aside, this book helped usher in more adult styled storylines. Thus far, you should see a clear “common denominator” in the columns I have written. They are all about events in the mid-to-late 1980’s that changed the comic industry completely and totally.


When dead is actually dead!

Amazingly, Sergei Kravinov has never returned to the Marvel Universe, and joins that small pantheon of comic characters—Bucky, Barry Allen, Ben Parker, etcetera—that have not returned from the great unknown. While Kraven’s brother has appeared, mainly in stories written by DeMatteis, a couple of times since, the real Kraven has remained dead. That doesn’t take into account his one-punch-and-out cousin from the Ultimate line of books. In the Marvel U, the powers that be, for some reason, have actually respected this story and left dead, dead.

With such a successful story, there had to be a sequel, at least of sorts. Marvel used Amazing Spider-Man: Soul of the Hunter to further clarify the point that “Kraven’s Last Hunt” did not glorify suicide. It was a way to clarify the story, for those that couldn’t comprehend the “true” message. While I have never read the story, I have heard varying comments about it. Most do not praise it highly, and feel that it doesn’t live up to the grandeur of the original storyline. Good enough reasons to continue my attempt to steer clear. Unless, I get some mail that tells me that the book is worth a look.


One final moment of groundbreaking…

This was also one of the first storylines to be played out over the space of three different comic books. Crossovers and extended storylines of this nature where already a part of the industry, but a story moving between three books with two parts in each was something different for the time.

At the time, Marvel received an inordinate amount of complaints, especially from subscribers, since many did not buy the other two Spidey books. For all the complaints, Herdling mentions in the Afterword, “Spectacular and Web were selling as well as Amazing for the first time.” So obviously, complaints aside, this story was a monumental success, and the format would be repeated, not only by Marvel, but every major publisher from that day forward.


I’ll take stupid comments for 2,000, Alex!

This is in no way a bash at the late, and great, Mark Gruenwald. But there was a particular comment within the trade paperback collection of “Kraven’s Last Hunt” that really irked me. It seems Gruenwald espoused in the 80’s that, “Marvel doesn’t need to revamp their characters. We got them right the first time.” This quote was actually relayed, by Glenn Herdling and Jim Salicrup, during a very informative “Afterword” in the trade paperback collection.

This trade was originally printed in 1990, not long after the story itself, and it’s pretty damn funny since maybe five minutes later Marvel began drastic revamps of all their characters. Some characters were either replaced by totally new people, or if nothing else, nearly unrecognizable versions.

It really is not fair to anyone involved, especially the late Mr. Gruenwald, but it is just a comment that read fourteen years later, nearly knocked the socks off of me. You can see right here, the utter belief that as a company they could do no wrong. That Marvel was so clearly better than all other publishers, and would never resort to such tactics. Is it 20/20 hindsight on my part? Sure. Yet, it’s true, and a very clear danger sign for an industry that was about to see some big changes.


What do you think?

This is the best Spider-Man story every published! Hands down, except no substitutes. Obviously there are probably a great many opinions on this subject. Let me know what you think. Write in with your comments and suggestions. Finally, let me know what you think is the greatest Spider-Man story, whether it be a single issue or a multi-part epic, and why. I’ll relay the results in a column down the line.

Until next time, read lots of comics because they’re good, not just because.


The Reading Rack:

The Amazing Spider-Man – Fearful Symmetry: Kraven’s Last Hunt – This is the one and only, magnificent trade edition. It collects: Amazing #293, #294, Web #32, #33, and Spectacular #131, 132. Also included is a nice introduction by Stan Lee, and the previously mentioned Afterword by Glenn Herdling & Jim Salicrup.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Soul of the Hunter – The 48 page square-bound sequel, which is also available in trade paperback.