By d. emerson eddy — One of my favorite Spider-Man runs in the past decade was the Chip Zdarsky-penned Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man with Adam Kubert, Michael Walsh, Juan Frigeri, Joe Quinones, and Chris Bachalo, among others. It was a wonderful exploration of the character and Spider-Man mythos, with what's probably one of the best single issues ever in Spider-Man's sit down interview with J. Jonah Jameson in Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man #6. As a coda to that incredible run, Zdarsky returned with Mark Bagley, John Dell, Andrew Hennessy, Frank D'Armata, and Travis Lanham for the very unique six-issue series, Spider-Man: Life Story.

The story is essentially a play on the old What If...? formula, delivering a tale that follows a Peter Parker aging in real time from his debut in the '60s, and checking in with every decade. It's an interesting way to subvert the usual sliding 10 year time frame that we see in superhero universes and allows for a new perspective on major events with an older Spider-Man. We see major events in history, both real and fictional, like the Vietnam War, Secret War, Civil War, Kraven's Last Hunt, and the Cold War, through a different lens, resulting in some very different outcomes.

In many of the outcomes, the stories do take a darker tone. We have an Iron Man who never gave up being a warmonger, being a prime antagonist of keeping the Vietnam War going in the face of a Captain America who has “turned traitor”, informing a new spin on everything. Zdarsky excels at mining the interpersonal drama and conflict, measured against Peter's sense of responsibility, to deliver a compelling take on how and why events take a different turn.

I also thought it was great that Mark Bagley was chosen to bring this to life. Between his work on Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man, it's his Spider-Man that usually comes to mind first for me when I think of the character. I think that he's great at capturing the core dynamic action and flow of a Spider-Man story and a natural choice to deliver a story across generations. With John Dell, Andrew Hennessy, and Frank D'Armata we get some very solid storytelling that fits the idea of larger than life superheroics. Topped off with some wonderful lettering from Travis Lanham.

Overall, Spider-Man: Life Story from Zdarsky, Bagley, Dell, Hennessy, D'Armata, and Lanham serves as both a retrospective of Spider-Man's history and a twist on it showing how it might have been different had the world and characters aged in real time rather than a shifting timeline. It's wonderfully brought to life by one of the quintessential Spider-Man artists with some rich characterization.

Spider-Man: Life Story

Spider-Man: Life Story
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Penciller: Mark Bagley
Inkers: John Dell & Andrew Hennessy
Colorist: Frank D'Armata
Letterers: VC's Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Spider-Man makes history! In 1962's AMAZING FANTASY #15, 15-year-old Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and became the Amazing Spider-Man! Fifty-seven years have passed in the real world since that event - so what would have happened if the same amount of time passed for Peter? To celebrate Marvel's 80th anniversary, Chip Zdarsky and Spider-Man legend Mark Bagley unite to spin a unique Spidey tale - telling an entire history of Spider-Man from beginning to end, set against the key events of the decades through which he lived! From the Vietnam War to Secret Wars and Civil War, all the way through to what just might be a 72-year-old Spider-Man's final mission, prepare to watch Peter Parker age through 57 years of groundbreaking history - and find out what happens to him and those he loves the most!
Release Date: October 23, 2019
Price: $10.99
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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.