Reviewed by: James Hatton
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Mike Wieringo
Inks: Karl Kesel
Colours: Paul Mounts
Letters: Virtual Calligraphy’s Cory Petit
Assistant Editors: Molly Lazer & Aubrey Sitterson
Associate Editor: Andy Schmidt
Editor: Tom Brevoort
What has the Other been about?
Roughly, so far, 230 pages… HA!
The truth is that the arcs seem to each have their own theme when broken down, and now that we are in the final stretch, we are left with the final questions that need answering. What is different about Pre/Post Other Peter? What is different about Pre/Post Other Spider-Man? How are the Avengers, Aunt May, Mary Jane, and the ghost of Uncle Ben all going to feel about this new Spidey?
Somewhere in the next 69 pages, we are going to find out… probably.
STORY!
So without trying to sum up the entire Other series in one paragraph, let’s just assume that you understand that Spidey came down with some mysterious disease, was about to die, then got killed by Morlun only to appear a day or three later.
Insert your own Aslan or Jesus riff here… Sacrilegious Editor K.
I guess I CAN sum up in a paragraph.
Well technically, if you actually manage it it’s not trying… Semantic Editor K.-
Now Peter is being tested to find out if he’s cool. He apparently FEELS great, and all of those silly injuries he had when he was little are all gone. His tonsils are back. Not to mention it doesn’t hurt when he pees. After all of this, there are a few people he hasn’t spent any time with, those people who kinda matter… his wife and his Aunt. So after May comes in and gives the boys of the Avengers a stern talking to, they let Peter go to have some time away from being poked and prodded.
So off Peter goes to grab MJ and fly around the city as Spider-Man, where they discuss their relationship and Peter’s death. The conversation alone is worth the price of the issue. MJ admits that she would have gotten along without Peter, which if you’ve ever lost someone, is a deep philosophical moment in your head that hurts almost as much as the initial loss. She also admits that the world wouldn’t have been the same without him though, and she is never going to be without him again.
It’s that fine line between the knowledge that tells us she doesn’t want to be without him and yet she knows she can stand on her own feet that makes the Peter David version of MJ my very favorite of the three writers.
Oh, so then some conglomerated spider body filled to the brim with creepy icky crawly sorts descends on the husk of the former Peter, form their own being, and go confront the current Peter. What does this mean? What does it portend? Pfft, no idea.
I don’t believe it. I think you have some sort of idea James. You may feel free to let it percolate however. Snide Editor K.-
ART!
Mike Wieringo and this story do not mesh. They don’t at all. Wierengo is a fine artist, he’s cartoony and cute and makes me want to snuggle up with his characters and give them little pinches on their cheeks and make stupid wooby woo noises while doing it. While Peter is dressed up like Spidey, it’s actually not as bad. The problem immediately occurs when we see what these characters look like on a standard day. Their normal faces do not match what ‘The Other’ has been about, which is inevitable darkness and pain.
Wieringo fit perfectly for the issue where Reed went to heaven in Fantastic Four because it was, for lack of a better term, fantastic and light. The Other has had so few happy moments that to see Wieringo’s style, there is no sense of connection between the action and the art.
Again to clarify, I like Wieringo, just not here.
OVERALL!
This brings us to the beginning of the last chapter of ‘The Other’. Introducing a new possible villain in the spider-creature (similar to that of the Spider-Queen in the early days of the JMS run), we got a reintroduction to Flash Thompson, and Peter and MJ got to have a heart to heart.
All in all not a bad issue, and the Peter David conversational tone saved it for me. It still does only a glancing amount of work to explain anything, but it at least makes me want to believe that they will explain more in the next issue. (No matter how much I know that they don’t)
See that there’s an idea about the next issue, you know the idea you said you didn’t have a few paragraphs back? That one. Sore Winner Editor K.-
