Broken Frontier

Mark Millar and company draw their landmark run on Marvel Knights Spider-Man to a close with more or less positive results.

Doubtful many will argue that there are a few characters in the Marvel Universe who dominate the spotlight. Pretty much everyone can agree that Wolverine and Spider-Man see about as much page time as the next five most popular Marvel characters combined. The thing about overexposure is that it is very much like artwork in that the definition is subjective. For instance, even though Spidey is in more books today than he was during the pitiful late 90s (not to mention the Hollywood successes), I don’t see that he is nearly as overexposed. Why might that be? Well, thanks to the likes of Straczynski, Bendis, Jenkins (sometimes) and now Millar, most of the stories being told are of a much higher caliber than they were just six to ten years ago.

There were a lot of questions raised when it was announced that another Spider-Man title--Marvel Knights no less--was going to be cramming into the market. The only one that turned out to matter was "Who?". When the answer turned out to be "Mark Millar," a lot of naysayers, myself included, decided to quiet down and give it a shot. Immediately, Millar showed us why we needn’t worry about the characters or stories while in his able hands. I will never think of Millar as a strong dialogue writer, but only because his manner of writing it is more traditional than say, a Vaughan or Bendis. However, Millar is one of the strongest plotters in the business. His strong point is in taking things over-the-top, which suits superhero books to a T. Marvel Knights Spider-Man has been just that, what with just about every major villain in Spidey’s rogues gallery making an appearance somewhere. It’s been fun to turn the page and see Scorpion or (a new) Venom or the Vulture. And best of all, each of these villains were at their most wicked, creating an obscene challenge for our poor hero and those he loves.

The one thing that bothered me, and continues to bother me with his every appearance, is the Green Goblin being the mastermind for every terrible, horrible, no good, very bad thing that happens to Peter Parker. Each time Norman Osborn’s evil is featured in a Spider-Man story, I wish the Punisher would make a cameo to stuff a grenade down Normie’s throat and end the foolishness once and for all. Actually, I was more than half expecting Millar to do something to remedy Spidey of this problem once and for all…but I can’t blame Millar for the more ambiguous ending that we received. He is, after all, paid by and answers to Marvel. Maybe next time.

I really wouldn’t typically consider Terry Dodson, with his cheesecake penciling, the best choice for launching a grittier Spider-Man book. The fact remains, though, that Dodson (along with his wife, Rachel) turned out some of the more menacing redesigns for several Spidey rogues. From start to finish, the art team (also joined by Avalon Studio’s Ian Fannin using flashy colors) did a fantastic job of keeping this book as visually appealing as it was for the story.

All personal issues with the histrionics and historical uses of certain characters aside, Millar has managed to do the most important thing: he’s made Marvel Knights Spider-Man the most consistently exciting and enjoyable Spidey comic in the regular Marvel continuity. Here’s to hoping Hudlin (Black Panther) can do half as well in the coming months.

-Kert McAfee