Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt
Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt
Writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Mike Zeck craft the ultimate tale of revenge in this groundbreaking and legendary collection! Kraven the Hunter has stalked and killed every animal known to man. But there is one beast that has eluded him. One quarry that has mocked him at every turn: the wall-crawling web-slinger known as Spider-Man. And to prove that he is the hero’s master, he will pull on his costume and become him… after he shoots and buries him six feet under! Collecting Web of Spider-Man #31-32, Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, and Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars The Ultimate tale of Revenge
Kraven’s Last Hunt is one of the greatest crossover tales ever told. From the first chapter to the last chaper, this story will leave you amazed. Afet suffering many defeats, Sergei Kravinov finally captures Spider-Man. And to prove his victory, Kraven assumes Spidey’s identity to prove his victory. I won’t spoil the ending though. You’ll just have to read it. Issues include Web of Spider-Man #31-32, ASM #293-294, and Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132
5 Stars R.I.P. Kraven
I’m not going to lie, at the first read I thought this was a average spider-man tale. But, after re-reading it, this simple is now my favorite graphic novel. I’m going to make this short and sweet. This book is simply awesome. This format makes the art just pop off the page. I really enjoyed the extra’s in the back, and the author’s intro in the front. If you haven’t got this book get this Marvel Preimere Classics copy. You won’t be dissapointed.
5 Stars Awesome Comic
My tastes run a bit eccentric in my comics. I tend to like comics that take super heroes that have been around for a while and giving them an existential twist. Spiderman goes along this route and knocks the ball right out of the park.
The story centers around the lesser known spidey villain: Kraven, a sport hunter who lives for the thrill of the chase. As the title suggests, Kraven feels his time is coming to an end and seeks to end his ways by besting the strongest of all, Spiderman! Spidey has his own problems with a cannibalistic man rat named Vermin terrorizing the city.
This book has a lot of themes, but the major crest is the duality between comfort and fear. Fear is a human trait that each of the characters experience and their unique experiences serve as ways to re-examine the issue. Mary Jane seeks out friends, Peter gives in to the comfort of nothingness, Kraven hunts and Vermin hides. Each character has something haunting them and their confrontations with themselves are the crux of the story. There is barely any dialogue at all.
This is one of the best graphic novels I have read in a long time. If you are a fan of this book, I would also recommend Incredible Hulk: The End written by Keith David and The Sentry graphic novel written by Paul Jenkins.
1 Stars Not for me
Judging from people I’ve talked to as well as the reviews I see here, mine will not be a popular review. Let me start off with my own “credentials,” I am a huge spider man fan, I’ve read the title for over 20 years now, and I own and have read this collected edition several times. I love Spider Man stories that showcase his humanity, and his constant struggle to do the right thing in a world that often beats him down, both via super villains as well as every-day problems. I love a lot of the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko stories, as well as the recent run by JM Straczynski, and Brian Michael Bendis’ work on re-imagining Spider Man for a newer audience.
I found Kraven’s Last Hunt to alternate between being dark and confused. It often felt like a bizarre acid trip, with convoluted storylines that led to dark places. Don’t get me wrong, I love stories that explore the dark side of humanity, but this story left me feeling very dissatisfied. I found it difficult to really like Kraven, and the storyline with Vermin was out of place and unnecessarily dark/violent in my mind. I realize that many consider this story to be an integral part of the Spider Man mythos, but I have to respectfully disagree.
This would not make my list of top spider man stories. I may be in the minority, but this story and its tone were just not for me.
5 Stars A Kraven tale of ultimate revenge and a classic Spider-Man tale
It has been two decades since I read the six comic books that made up “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” This is because once upon a time my brother and I divided up my comic book collection and he became responsible for procuring and storing all of the Spider-Man titles. But there was an end of the year inventory reduction sale at my local comic book store and when I saw this on the shelf I decided to pick it up. I almost did not recognize it, because the last time I saw this trade paperback it had a cover where Kraven is cradling a gun; it turns out that art is now on the back cover and the front, as you can see, has a blood red picture of Spider-Man emerging from his grave.
“Kraven’s Last Hunt” is written by J.M. DeMatteis and illustrated by Mike Zeck, whose pencils were inked by Bob McLeod. Looking back now I can still remember how unusual it was to have a six-part story told in a two month period by telling it in the three Spider-Man titles. That is why this collection brings together issues #31-32 of “Web of Spider-Man,” #293-294 from “Amazing Spider-Man,” and #131-32 of “Spectacular Spider-Man.” For this edition DeMatteis has written an introduction entitled, “Confession: I Didn’t Write ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt,’” which tells how his idea of a story wherein a superhero is buried alive and emerges from their grave was originally intended to be about Wonder Man and his brother, the Grim Reaper. That did not pan out and then DeMatteis tried to make it a Batman and Joker story, only to be thwarted because DC already had a pretty good Batman and Joker story in production, namely “Batman: The Killing Joke.” The story continues and DeMatteis lays out how in the fullness of time Spider-Man became the story’s hero, Kraven its villain, and Vermin became a necessary part of the tale.
I always thought that Kraven was a second rate villain, and that was on a good day. He certainly was not in the same class as Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin. Ironically, this is part of what makes “Kraven’s Last Hunt” so great, because it deals quite dramatically with the inherent ineptitude of Kraven as a villain. In fact, Kraven/Kravenov appears on more pages of these six issues than does Spider-Man/Peter Parker. This is not surprising when you consider that Spider-Man is buried alive for two entire issues. DeMatteis and Zeck had created Vermin as a villain for Captain America, while working on that title, which explains why they decided to throw him into the mix with Spidey and Kraven. This proves to be another masterstroke because nobody in the pantheon of Spider-man villains that was extant at that time was going to produce the visceral reaction of Vermin, which was critical to the line that the story draws between Spider-Man and Kraven. DeMatteis and Zeck also have the added advantage of this being the final Kraven story, which certainly heightens its dramatic impact as well.
Now, I do not know if they were part of the previous trade paperback edition, but included in the back are Zeck’s original pencils for all six covers (full page) and the first two parts of the story (done four to a page). I have always had fond memories of Zeck’s artwork for this series, but that is nothing compared to seeing his original pencils because they are even more impressive. If anything, I sort of wish they had never been inked. I have seen plenty of original pencils by comic book artists that have half as much detail and shading as what Zeck does on these pages. As I reread this story again, I was wondering if I would still think of it as being one of the Top 10 Spider-Man story arcs of all-time, and the answer is, yes, it is still that good.
Filed under: Top Spider-man Comics