Customer Reviews

Spider-Man Visionaries, Vol. 1: Todd McFarlane

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This review covers all 3 volumes of SPIDER-MAN VISIONARIES: TODD MCFARLANE, in order to let potential purchasers know what they're in for. These books collect issues 298 - 323, 325, 328, and Annual #10 of The Amazing Spider-Man. First off, in the past, I have voiced my disdain for Marvel's issuing "Visionaries" based solely on an artist rather than writer or writer/artist, and this is one of the prime examples. I think Marvel did writer David Michelinie a real disservice by listing McFarlane as the visionary. Sure, Todd was the hot artist at the time, but Michelinie crafted some fun scripts that really exploited Todd's artistic style and served as a almost 30-issue primer of most of Spidey's classic villains. No matter how good the art is, you need a worthwhile writer to back it up. In these issues, the writing is very involving, for the most part, and quite funny at times. It would be more appropriate to list both of these guys as the visionaries, as they both made the series a success.

On to the stories: after a two-issue warm up, we jump right into the first Venom storyline. Following issues are primarily one-shots, which have some unifying background plots, but serve primarily to make good use of Spidey's villains, as well as his supporting cast - while Peter Parker may be getting older, they are an essential part of his character (you just can't have Spider-Man without Aunt May, Flash Thompson, JJJ, and the rest of the gang). Some new characters help to keep things fresh. A few small complaints I have about Michelinie's writing are, he tries too hard at times to be funny - some of his jokes are real groaners, and quite dated when read today (I think that these comics would hold up a bit better without references to Pee-Wee Herman and Jane Fonda). Also, while I understand that Peter and MJ are married and do things that couples do, I could do without the sexual innuendo in their dialogue. Fortunately, this smooths out in the later volumes.

McFarlane's art in these stories is not as good as the work he did for The Hulk. Over the course of these 3 Spider-Man volumes, you unfortunately see his art metamorphose from fairly restrained into the exaggerated style he would exhibit in his own Spider-Man series, where he got a free ride as both "writer" and artist. His human figures start off looking fairly normal and eventually become the doughy potato heads we love to hate. MJ's hair and "chest" get bigger and bigger, her outfits get skimpier, and cheesecake shots abound. Venom's smile eventually consumes his head, and capes go from simple affairs to complex, physically impossible geometric figures. The reproduction of these issues is okay, but the recoloring stinks, as with most Marvel reprints. Colors frequently bleed outside the lines, and I can't figure out the doorman at Bedford Towers: so is he black or white? Depends on the month, apparently.

Some final cautions on these 3 volumes:
1) be aware that, at the time, there were 3 Spider-Man books on the shelves (Amazing, Peter Parker, and Web of SM), and their plots frequently wove together. There are numerous references to events in the other titles that hurt the smooth progression of the stories in Amazing Spider-Man, so every so often, you'll be hit from left field with a situation or character that was introduced months before in another title. While this made for interesting reading when these comics were originally released, now it only serves to confuse.
2) At the end of volume 3, you get slapped with an unwelcome 6-part(!) storyline that really drags compared to the more concise material in earlier books. What's really awful about this particular storyline is that part 5 is not included. Why? Because it was drawn by Erik Larsen!!! That's right: because these books focus on Todd McFarlane, you are denied a complete storyline! Unbelievable! They show the cover for the issue, with a short blurb in the corner that summarizes the issue, then on to part 6 like nothing happened. Marvel, I think it's time to end the focus on artists if it results in sloppy garbage like this.

McFarlane's work on Amazing Spiderman was well-received by fans when these comic came out. He updated the visual tricks you could use in a Spiderman story, with funky webbing and a more dynamic page structure. Now, ten years later, these techniques still stand up well, though the work looks a little dated. But these are fun stories, and well worth the money.

This is a compilation of Todd McFarlane's early works for Spiderman. Although his distinctive style is already pretty evident here, there's still something innocent and naive with the way he portrays he characters, unlike the tormented figures you see in Spawn and McFarlane Toys. As a collection, it's a hodge-podge, there's no clear story arc and time hasn't been kind to David Michelinie's writing style (unlike Frank Miller -- his early Daredevil work still packs a punch and is still fresh even if it was done 20 years ago). It's a basically a collection of stand-alone stories from the first appearance of Venom to guestings by second stringers like Silver Sable, Power Man and Iron Fist and the Prowler. I would like to make a special mention of that minor Marvel character. I don't know if the Prowler is McFarlane's idea but the way he drew him back then, it seems he was already doing the prototype for Spawn. From the cape to the design of the mask to the African American alter-ego, the similarities to his creation is very evident. The book is worth checking out just for that. All in all, the book is entertaining and brings back memories of my childhood/teen years.

The art in these issues is quite good, but i remeber this period as the beginning of the wallcrawler's slide from the charmed period of the seventies and early/mid 80s. It's not macFarlane's fault--he is a visionary artist (although I was much more impressed by his work on the Hulk), but Michelinie's stories are pretty weak, compared to the glory days of Stan Lee, Gerry Conway (especially!), Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Roger Stern &Tom DeFalco. I mean, what the hell happened in these issues anyway? Mary Jane gets kidnapped a few times, I think--I hate that!--and the old Parker luck kicks in and the couple gets kicked out of their apartment on X-Mas Eve, but there's nothing in here to match the power of the Gwen Stacy/Green Goblin death stories, the (original) clone stories in ASM #144-151, the Black Cat stories, the Hobgoblin saga, and, especially, the mid-80s reconciliation between Peter and MJ (their walks in Central Park, discussing the past, are great!). Besides, I guess my favorite spidey artist is still Ross "The Boss" Andru, and MacFarlane's funky experiments left me kind of cold. the webbing is neat though...

It's the year of 1988. The Golden Age of Hip Hop had started to kick in, and Tim Burton's Beetlejuice had became a hit at the box office. But most importantly, Todd Mcfarlane began his two year run as artist on Amazing Spider-Man. Mcfarlane had already gained attention with his run on both Batman's Year Two storyline, and especially his run as artist on Incredible Hulk. But it was with Amazing Spider-Man that Mcfarlane's popularity began to start. To this day, it remains one of the most important runs, not just in Spider-Man history, but in comic history period.

This first volume of Mcfarlane's run on Spider-Man includes #298-305. In this volume, you'll see Spidey's first fight with Venom, Spidey teaming up with Silver Sable and the Sandman, and the beginning of Johnathan Ceaser's obsession with Mary Jane.

If you're new to Spidey and want to start your Spider-Man library, I recommend picking up this collection. you won't be disappointed.

this was the first spidy book i ever bought.i thought i'd check it out because of the movie and because i am a mcfarlane fan.at least he didn't let me down,the art was fantastic!i loved the way he drew marry jane,a gorgious comic babe.the rest of the book was like the movie,to much talk and not enough action.at least the movie had a great villian,something this book missed.
i dont even know how to give a discription of the story because it was jumping around all the time and had no real plot.i realy am not a marvel fan.i think they have good heros,just bad storys.
i'd stay away from this one,unless you want to get it used and check out the art,which is far better than the story.that is why i give it 2 stars instead of one.