Reader's Diary #2105- Chip Zdarsky (writer), Mark Bagley (art): Spider-Man Life Story

Chip Zdarsky's often better known for his humorous output and Spider-Man certainly makes enough wisecracks that Zardsky doesn't seem like a poor fit for the superhero at all. But if one was to come into Spider-Man Life Story thinking it would be a laugh-a-minute lighthearted comic, they'd be mistaken. Highly unlikely they'd be disappointed though.

Storywise, it's kind of genius. He takes Spider-Man back to the 60s when the character was first created and tells of how he got to the present day. Somehow though he manages to infuse the spirit and details of the decades with all the important Spider-Man storylines of the time, tweaked enough so that it's not a jumbled, confusing mess but a brilliant character arc and homage.

The art is unfortunate however. A story like this deserves something with the gravitas of someone like Alex Ross (Marvels, Kingdom Come). Mark Bagley's art and Frank D'Armata's art reminded me of Howard Chaykin's. I'm really not a fan, but even if I was I still think it'd be mismatched with this particular story.