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rants_n_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lunarmagi42's review
3.5
I know just enough Spider-Man lore that this was engaging and interesting, but man, was it sort of depressing. This isn't the fun-loving quippy Spider-Man we usually see, this is Peter Parker, struggling with how his civilian live so strongly conflicts with his hero identity and how what's best for the hero isn't always what's best for the man. It carefully weaves together the entire narrative of Peter's life but, I'll say it again, it was not a happy go lucky time. Worth the read for sure, especially if you are just mildly interested in Spider-Man, but I think if you have read a large chunk of Spidey comics, you might not find anything completely new here.
hairbear4298's review
3.0
I really do appreciate this concept of aging up superheroes in real time and wish that all of the famous superheroes had a similar treatment because of how interesting it would be to see them develop as people. Zdarsky does a very interesting thing here by not just aging up Spider-Man but by also introducing various seminal events in the character’s history into the story in real time from when they were written into the comics. For example, Secret Wars was an event that occurred in Marvel Comics in the 80’s and so in this story when they get to the 80’s that is a major event in Peter’s life. Unfortunately I think giving Peter too much to do in his old age actually hinders the story for me a bit.
The first half of this book was nearly perfect and had such a great flow to each of the stories being told along with some really interesting tie-in to real events and potential alternate histories (the Vietnam War and a real war with the USSR). In the second half of this book, things certainly lose a bit of steam for me. While Peter was in his youth it made sense to pair him with nonstop introductions of various events in the character’s mythos, but as he reached his 50’s it felt far too fast paced to be throwing all of these things at him in just a few pages. It started to feel like a quick SparkNotes version of those events rather than the real thing, which could have been the intent but it just didn’t work for me. I appreciated the ending of the book though and did think that the scene towards the end with Aunt May was very sweet.
Side note: I actually really do love that Iron Man was a total warmongering asshole in this story and that they sort of imply that he is this universe’s Donald Rumsfeld as he is the Secretary of Defense post-9/11. Also, I would read an entire series of Captain America defying orders and attempting to straighten up the situation in Vietnam, awesome stuff there.
The first half of this book was nearly perfect and had such a great flow to each of the stories being told along with some really interesting tie-in to real events and potential alternate histories (the Vietnam War and a real war with the USSR). In the second half of this book, things certainly lose a bit of steam for me. While Peter was in his youth it made sense to pair him with nonstop introductions of various events in the character’s mythos, but as he reached his 50’s it felt far too fast paced to be throwing all of these things at him in just a few pages. It started to feel like a quick SparkNotes version of those events rather than the real thing, which could have been the intent but it just didn’t work for me. I appreciated the ending of the book though and did think that the scene towards the end with Aunt May was very sweet.
Side note: I actually really do love that Iron Man was a total warmongering asshole in this story and that they sort of imply that he is this universe’s Donald Rumsfeld as he is the Secretary of Defense post-9/11. Also, I would read an entire series of Captain America defying orders and attempting to straighten up the situation in Vietnam, awesome stuff there.
edcorcoran's review
3.0
This is a fairly interesting Elseworlds-esque take on Spider-Man that does manage some emotional resonance at the end. I just wish it had a more interesting artist than Bagley. Not Zdarsky’s best work, but still pretty good.
billiamslibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Top tier Spidey! An amazing reimagining of classic stories that packs a punch.
chrissie_whitley's review
4.0
Collects Spider-Man: Life Story #1-6
4.5 stars
In the iconic Amazing Fantasy #15 from 1962, 15-year-old Peter Parker's life changed forever when he was bitten by a radioactive spider, transforming him into the Amazing Spider-Man. To celebrate Marvel's 80th anniversary in 2019, Chip Zdarsky and Spider-Man legend Mark Bagley present a unique story that breaks from tradition. Instead of resetting the series, we embark on a carefully crafted journey through the decades, imagining how Peter's life would unfold in real time. This visually stunning and skillfully written tale allows us to witness an aging hero, explore the passage of time, and experience the impact of major events in Spider-Man's world. It's a captivating and imaginative story that beautifully portrays the growth of Peter Parker and the world he inhabits.
4.5 stars
In the iconic Amazing Fantasy #15 from 1962, 15-year-old Peter Parker's life changed forever when he was bitten by a radioactive spider, transforming him into the Amazing Spider-Man. To celebrate Marvel's 80th anniversary in 2019, Chip Zdarsky and Spider-Man legend Mark Bagley present a unique story that breaks from tradition. Instead of resetting the series, we embark on a carefully crafted journey through the decades, imagining how Peter's life would unfold in real time. This visually stunning and skillfully written tale allows us to witness an aging hero, explore the passage of time, and experience the impact of major events in Spider-Man's world. It's a captivating and imaginative story that beautifully portrays the growth of Peter Parker and the world he inhabits.
hinterlands's review
3.0
A realization of a fun thought experiment (how could you work the long and convoluted Spiderman canon into an actual life story where Peter ages like a normal person) and really nothing more. Genuinely just a long string of going "oh i get what this is adapting".
In a way its kind of like the opposite of All-Star Superman, one of my favorite comics of all time. That comic embraces and centers all the strangest and silliest aspects of the superman mythos while being one of the most human and beautiful superhero comics you'll ever read. This tries to fit all of the most serious and important spiderman stories into the scale of a human lifetime and comes up with a bland and pasty mouthful of comic book mulch.
Plus, if you're going to invoke Watchmen in your super-hero alt-history like that you've gotta come out swinging a bit harder. You can't just invite that comparison for fun, you're undermining yourself.
In a way its kind of like the opposite of All-Star Superman, one of my favorite comics of all time. That comic embraces and centers all the strangest and silliest aspects of the superman mythos while being one of the most human and beautiful superhero comics you'll ever read. This tries to fit all of the most serious and important spiderman stories into the scale of a human lifetime and comes up with a bland and pasty mouthful of comic book mulch.
Plus, if you're going to invoke Watchmen in your super-hero alt-history like that you've gotta come out swinging a bit harder. You can't just invite that comparison for fun, you're undermining yourself.
galaxyboy's review
4.0
Damn this is a good book but also holy shit I cant imagine dealing with all this clone stuff in real-time issue release for YEARS
webheadedcalvi's review against another edition
4.0
Se nota que Chip adora a Spidey y lo entiende muy bien. La primera vez que leí esto me dejó pidiendo más pero ahora que lo volví a leer pude ver el valor que tiene como un manifiesto y carta de amor al conflicto eterno de Peter y su sentido de responsabilidad personal. Hay parte del arte que no me gusta para nada pero no le quita tanto a la historia.