By d. emerson eddy — Last week, I took a look at what I consider to be one of the best Spider-Man stories, Kraven's Last Hunt. Its legacy transcends just being a great comic in its own right, serving as inspiration for many more stories in the 30-plus years since its telling. One of those included the debut arc for the new fourth monthly Spider-Man title, “Torment”, by then rising star artist, Todd McFarlane, stretching his wings writing for himself, working colorists Bob Sharen and Gregory Wright, and letterer Rick Parker.

Spider-Man: Torment picks up as a more vicious and deadly version of the Lizard is cutting a swath across New York City, leaving corpses in his wake. This new murderous behavior from one of his old foes troubles Peter Parker, who quickly descends into a state of confusion, panic, and despair as other forces work to enact revenge for Spider-Man “killing” Kraven. 

It's an interesting way to play with similar themes and plot structures with Vermin as well as the initial assault in Kraven's Last Hunt, as well as to bring back an old character in connection to him — his old lover and partner, Calypso. The idea of making Spider-Man pay is wonderfully portrayed in this story through a maddening drum beat, both to spur on the Lizard and to increase the mind-altering effects of the magics that are causing Peter's literal torment.

I know that there are some who will criticize Todd McFarlane's prose, in this story and more often in Spawn. Yes, it can be overwrought at times and somewhat corny, but it works quite well for keeping the Lizard feeling menacing and putting Peter on the back foot. There's a sequence in the beginning introducing Spider-Man and New York City that reminds me of some of the cheesiness of Stan Lee's style of narration, and I honestly can't say that's a negative. Rick Parker's lettering keeps everything flowing nicely, never seeming cramped, and using some propulsive DOOMs to keep the rhythm of the drums.

What I don't think anyone can quibble about is that visually this is a masterpiece. McFarlane is a consummate visual storyteller and all of the style and substance, mixing conventional comics structures like repeating vertical five-panel opening pages with dynamic splashes and unique layouts, are on display here. There's never a moment here where the framing, character designs, and panel transitions aren't driving you forward, propelling you like Calypso's drum beat, further and further in the story.

Bob Sharen and Gregory Wright provide colors for the first three and fifth chapters respectively. There's a lot of shadow and solid black ink in McFarlane's work, with both colorists playing off of that with some bright, primary colors for Spider-Man to stand out against the darkness of the story. For a little while any way. The fourth chapter is colored by McFarlane himself, featuring a confrontation with Kraven that is incredibly surreal and disturbing, before Spider-Man comes face to face with Calypso. The choice of colors in this chapter are quite interesting, adding to that feeling of uneasiness, and it takes Calypso, who has taken to wearing one of Kraven's pelts and only the pelt, from a place that could have been considered fan titillation to unhinged creepiness.

Spider-Man: Torment was an incredible way to kick off a new Spider-Man title, paying homage to one of the best stories in superhero comics. McFarlane — along with Sharen, Wright, and Parker — played with themes from the original, adding to it a glorious tale of revenge.

Spider-Man - Torment by Todd McFarlane

Spider-Man: Torment
Writer/Artist: Todd McFarlane
Colorists: Bob Sharen, Todd McFarlane, and Gregory Wright
Letterers: Rick Parker
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Webs, fangs and voodoo drums! A vengeance-seeking villain binds another Spider-Man foe to her will, but can they really resurrect a third to triple-team the wall-crawler?
Release Date: November 16 2011 | June 19 1990 – October 16 1990 (Original Story-Arc)
Price: $8.99 | Also available in Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane: The Complete Collection ($19.99)
Buy It Digitally: Spider-Man - Torment via comiXology
Order It Physically: Spider-Man -Torment via Amazon

Read past Classic Comics of the Week!

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.