Volume 10: The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

Author: J. M. DeMatteis  |  Illustrator: Mike Zeck

"Don't fear me. Love me. For I intend to bless you. With pain. And blood. And Sorrow. Tonight."

I didn't expect it to be very good because Kraven hasn't held much of an allure for me in the past, but Kraven's Last Hunt turned out to be one of the finest Spider-Man stories I've ever read. Hell, it's one of the finest comics I've ever read. J. M. DeMatteis crafted a dark tale of personal suffering, full of symbolism and primal longings that puts many of the other writers on the Marvel roster to shame.

One of the reasons it works so well is because there's very little dialogue. Often writers use dialogue to bridge the gaps between small parts or to lengthen action scenes. There's no such trickery herein. Instead, there are inner monologues to tell the story; they really get inside the head of each of the three main players: Spider-Man (obviously) and two very different antagonists.

It struck me that reading KLH feels like reading a Noir text, but not any Noir that I've ever encountered before. Neither Spade nor Marlowe could climb walls for a start.

Quite often whole pages go by with no text at all because it's not needed. The imagery from Illustrator Mike Zeck is able to deliver everything we need to follow the drama. His work oozes dynamic movement and pace. The colouring paints everything with a shadowy, other-worldly brush. The colours act like a kind of curtain or a veil that gets pushed aside just enough to let the person behind it act out their role. It's a truly collaborative effort between writer, inker and colourists, and no one part would be as powerful on its own.

With a little help from William Blake and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, DeMatteis presented us with an enduring tale of men fighting for their sanity in a world that seems destined to take it away from them piece by piece. It deserves a place on every comic fan's shelf.

The book collects together Web of Spider-Man #31-32, The Amazing Spider-Man #293-294,
and Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132.

Verdict: