I’m not trying to be hyperbolic when I say, Spider-Man: Life Story is the future of the comic book industry. Now I don’t mean to imply the comics industry as a whole is going to follow Chip Zdarsky’s elegant lead with every comic. I’m just saying I think they should. In Spider-Man: Life Story, Zdarsky (accompanied by my all-time favorite Spidey artist Mark Bagley (yay!)) explores what Peter Parker’s life could have been like had he aged naturally, with each issue of this six issue miniseries touching on one decade in Peter’s life. For example issue #1 is set in 1966, four years after Peter was bitten by the radioactive spider (as Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Spidey in 1962 (see how that works?)). Issue #2 looks at the ‘70s and so on as Peter ages in real time. He isn’t perpetually stuck in his late 20’s or early 30’s. Four issues in, I’ll confidently say this will stand as one of the greatest Spider-Man stories ever told. It’s the most interested I’ve been in Peter Parker’s adventures as Spider-Man in almost twenty years too. In allowing Peter to age, Zdarsky has illustrated the hidden potential of the comic book genre. Continue reading
My Comic Relief 