"Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt" Graphic Novel/Prose Novel Comparison

 

            The following is a comparison piece based on the graphic novel “The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt” by Fred Schiller, Ken McDonald, James C. Owsley, Peter David, David Michelinie, Jim Shooter, and J.M. DeMatteis and the prose novel “Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt” by Neil Kleid.

            Well, if you’re here, I hope you stay with me here for the rest of this piece, but if not, that’s up to you, I can’t stop you, but if you decide to stay, you are THE BEST!

            If you’re a regular, you might notice that this is a comparison piece, something I have never done before, but will definitely do again. This is to compare a graphic novel to a prose novel. The graphic novel was published from 1986-1987, the prose novel was published in 2014. It should be noted that the graphic novel I am using for this piece is a Marvel Epic Collection. “Kraven’s Last Hunt” was a six-part crossover storyline, but this version actually contained fifteen issues, so several of them were storylines around “Kraven’s Last Hunt.”

            Regular readers may also have noticed I made separate reviews of this story as a graphic novel and a prose novel, so if you’ve read those reviews, I hope you’ll enjoy this, if not, I hope you’ll enjoy this and read those reviews. Again, if you do, you are THE BEST!

            Note that this is a follow-up piece and not a review of the graphic and prose novels, so I won’t discuss all the details, just some consistencies between the two and major differences between the two.

            I will say that the “Kraven’s Last Hunt” graphic novel storyline was very much faithfully adapted in the prose novel. All the key points were there, but unfortunately there were just not quite as many as I would hope when reading both a graphic or prose novel. The filling between these key points were addressed rather differently in the prose novel when compared to the graphic novel. The graphic novel, being a comic book, both with words and art, filled the between points with artwork, while the prose novel logically filled the between points with written narrative. These between points felt too drawn out and dull to me, I felt the story just wasn’t strong enough. Giving a review just wasn’t as substantial as some of my other reviews in both graphic and prose narration.

            We’ll start with a consistency I fully appreciated. The story of Ned Leeds’s death, revelation of being the Hobgoblin, and funeral were contained in the graphic novel and copied faithfully in the prose novel. This detail might not have come up otherwise, but I mention this because this was not actually portrayed in the “Kraven’s Last Hunt” storyline in the graphic novel, rather contained in a storyline before the titular storyline. Its inclusion in the prose novel was of particular importance as the specter of Ned Leeds/Hobgoblin appeared at several key points in the narrative and progressed the story as Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s motivation.

            The prose novel also depicted Kraven’s family history as Russian aristocracy and nobility and the downfall of the Kravinoff legacy, which was not explored in as much detail in the graphic novel.

            Now, there was a huge, huge-huge-huge difference in a major characterization between the graphic and prose adaptations: Peter Parker’s relationship with Mary Jane Watson. In the graphic novel, Peter and MJ had just gotten married. In the prose novelization, however, Peter and MJ were in a slightly rocky dating relationship where Peter had only just told MJ he is Spider-Man. Now I’m going to make a speculation to Neil Kleid’s intentions. I felt Kleid thought a dating relationship with a recent unmasking was built on just how much MJ really loved Peter. MJ was a party animal, masking her pain of her estranged relationship with her sister and her abusive father. She also didn’t stay in romantic relationships for any true length of time. The dating relationship actually worked in the prose novelization to give MJ major conflict and added drama to the character, testing if she wanted to stay in a relationship in New York City where her boyfriend could be dead, or reinventing herself in a new place and go back to her deflecting life. The writers were all able to work their love story in an effective way that helped progress the story. I felt Kleid didn’t mutilate the story in his prose adaptation and worked it in without damaging the narrative between Peter Parker, Kraven the Hunter and Vermin.

            Another difference that I fully understand and support by Kleid’s adaptation was Spider-Man’s costume. In the graphic novel at the time in 1986-1987 was in the period where Peter Parker wore the black costume. However, Kleid’s adaptation described Spider-Man’s costume as red and blue, like Peter’s original and most oft worn costume. I feel this difference was Kleid’s way of keeping those who didn’t read the graphic novel able to properly imagine Spider-Man’s “true” costume. For me, this was difficult as I read the graphic novel before the prose novel and imagining the red and blue costume in this narrative while actually having a visualization of the black costume was a little bit of a struggle and made me miss a few lines in the book while I told my brain “red and blue.” I feel Kleid actually made the right call in this instance.

            Okay, now we’re going to do something new. Like I said, I’ve never done something like this before, so here’s how we’ll end a comparison: which one did I like better? Now, this is going to be a little bit tricky in this instance because of the graphic format I reviewed and compare being an Epic Collection. We’ll look at the graphic novel in two ways now: the graphic novel as a whole Epic Collection and then at the titular graphic storyline compared to the prose novelization. AS A WHOLE, I enjoyed the graphic novel more than the prose novel, mostly due to the surrounding stories of Spider-Man meeting the Iron Man of (ironically) 2015 (which, as we now know is inaccurate, but in 1986, 2015 was a far enough away future that the writer imagined would be different than we know it as it is), Spider-Man teaming up with Wolverine, the unmasking of the Hobgoblin, and Peter and MJ’s wedding. BUT! As “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” I rather preferred the prose novelization. The essential near-perfect parallel of the story as Kleid adapted in his prose novel having all the same key points was the biggest reason I preferred the prose novel to the graphic novel. Yes, there were times Kleid did give too much description at the connecting details, but I felt it was better than the silence the writers of the graphic novel who instead relied on the artwork. Also, Kleid’s adaptation was a lot more psychological than in the graphic novel, travelling into Kraven’s mind and understanding his motivations that drove him through the story. So again, as an Epic Collection, I preferred the graphic novel, but Kleid’s prose adaptation pleased me more. Now, readers of my reviews (which you could be, too), you’ll have read my thoughts on both and exactly what I liked and disliked, and I know there may be some inconsistencies in this, but note there was a period of time between finishing the graphic novel and the prose novel and writing the reviews, so if I seemingly contradict myself in my three pieces pertaining “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” I ask for your forgiveness.

            Well, if you’re still here, you’re TOTALLY AWESOME! I’ve written plenty of other content on this blog, so feel free to read anything else. I also write short stories, poetry, editorials, and complaints, and I post rather frequently so expect plenty more posts of all kinds of things, and until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt" by Neil Kleid

            The following is a review of the prose novelization of “Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt” by Neil Kleid and not the graphic novel of the same name.

            To start, we’ll talk about the five main characters to establish some history to those who are unfamiliar with Spider-Man or this story. This is important as the whole story hinged on these five characters. Some of the history of these characters were not actually contained in this novel itself and is therefore inferred from my knowledge of the Marvel Comics.

            Peter Parker/Spider-Man: Peter Parker was a high school science nerd and not very popular with the other students at his school, even bullied by students such as Midtown High School football hero “Flash” Thompson. His parents died when he was a little boy and he was raised by his elderly Aunt May and Uncle Ben. One day, he went to a demonstration of radioactivity. A spider got in the way of the radiation and was irradiated. Dying, it bit Peter. Peter soon discovered he could walk on walls and had the proportionate speed, strength, and agility of a spider, and a precognitive sense of personal danger he calls “spider-sense.” He also created web shooters. He started off in show biz. One day, he let a burglar run by him after a heist. He came home and found his Uncle Ben had been murdered. He chased down the murderer and caught him and saw his Uncle Ben’s killer was the same thief he let run by him. He remembered his Uncle Ben saying that “with great power there must also come great responsibility” and decided to use his powers to help people, fight crime, and stop the threats of super villains who were too powerful for any non-powered people to take down.

            Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter: Sergei Kravinoff came from an aristocratic Russian family of great nobility. His father was eventually disgraced and his mother became insane. Sergei made a name for himself as a game hunter, and took on the name “Kraven the Hunter.” He kept himself youthful with mixtures of special herbs and potions. He prided himself on being able to defeat any animal and came to the United States to hunt down the deadliest animal of all: man. But not just any man. Spider-Man. Kraven had many encounters with Spider-Man over the year, occasionally teaming up with other super villains in The Sinister Six, but ultimately was defeated each time.

            Mary Jane Watson: Mary Jane Watson was your regular party girl, never staying with any one man for any length of time, until her Aunt Anna introduced her to Peter Parker. The two fell in love and dated for a while. Peter has just told Mary Jane that he is Spider-Man, which totally changed her opinion of Peter, now toying with leaving her home in New York City.

            Ned Leeds/Hobgoblin: Reporter Ned Leeds was the rival of Peter for the love of Betty Brant, the secretary at the Daily Bugle newspaper. Peter eventually let Ned have Betty, and Ned and Peter had a sort of friendship, and Ned eventually married Betty. Ned secretly became the super villain the Hobgoblin, one of Spider-Man’s deadliest enemies. The Hobgoblin has just been taken out permanently, but his specter still haunts Peter.

            Edward Whelan/Vermin: Edward Whelan was a brilliant scientist in the employ of Oscorp. CEO of Oscorp was the late Norman Osborn, who was the Green Goblin, Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis. Norman experimented on Edward against his will and mutated him into a hideous creature. Edward now has a split personality as the childish coward Edward and the monstrous Vermin. Vermin can communicate and manipulate rodents, particularly rats. He has been getting food from single women who walk by his hiding place. Vermin was so dangerous a villain to Spider-Man that Spidey had to team up with Captain America to defeat Vermin. Vermin now has sworn revenge on Spider-Man and Captain America.

            Okay, we’ve now established the background of these characters, now I’ll explain the story. Kraven has decided he will have a final showdown with Spider-Man. To this effect, he has hunted down and “killed” Spider-Man and burying him alive. Now he has decided to truly make his defeat of Spider-Man have the greatest meaning, he has now become Spider-Man. But his replacing Spider-Man has not been to deliver justice in Peter’s style. Kraven has now kidnapped Vermin, proving himself the superior Spider-Man for defeating the foe that the original Spider-Man could not. For two weeks, Kraven impersonated Spider-Man, until the real Spider-Man awakens and returns for his final showdown with Kraven and stop the threat of Vermin.

            Now, for those of you who don’t know how my reviews work, I do three main follow-ups to my synopsis of the book. The first is my own personal opinions of the story. The second is the accessibility. Finally, I give the book a numeric rating based on my feelings towards the content of the book as a whole.

            Okay, we’ll start with my personal opinion. I actually did not thoroughly enjoy this book. That said, there were elements I did like. But the story seemed just so weak to me. There were several main points to the story, yes, but I found the time in-between to be rather dull and drawn out. But I felt the actual main points were well done, just I wish there had been more of them. Also, the chapter length was actually a pain to me. This book was a very easy read. The chapters were very short, I think the longest being nine pages, even chapters that were just one page. This was due to the constant shift of the narrative between four of the primary characters. If Kleid had actually stayed with a character for more than a few pages at a time, I feel the jumbled narrative would have been more stable and interesting. There were also repeated phrases that got at best dull, at worst annoying. I often enjoy easy reads, but this was just too easy. That is not to say this is a children’s book. The content was very adult, including mild profanity and some of the narrative required knowledge of mental illness as there were psychological moments.

            Alright, we’ll now move on to accessibility. What I mean by accessibility to those who have never read a review of mine before is how easy this book is for people who are casual fans of the characters and events or people who have never read anything about the characters or events. In other words, if you know nothing about Spider-Man, would you still be able to pick up and understand the story? This book was very self-contained. If you just want to read a Spider-Man book for the sake of reading a Spider-Man book, yes you’ll be able to understand it. Of course, if you want to. I’ve been pretty harsh to the book, so you might want to avoid it. But if you’re a Spider-Man fan, there is a chance you might like it. Not I give everything on my personal opinion. I won’t say if a book is good or bad, I’ll say if I think a book is good or bad. I’m not you, after all, I can’t tell you what to think. But if you’re reading this review and are considering reading the book just based on this review, totally pick this book up, you’ll probably enjoy it. I won’t say if you will or won’t, I’m not you, but I would absolutely recommend it to you.

            Okay, now the important part; my score. I’ve established everything already, so I won’t approach this for all too long, I’ll just give you a number. My scoring is on a scale of one to ten, by the way. One is I thought the book was so awful I wish I hadn’t read this, ten is that this book was so good I’m going to read it again in a few months. Obviously you’re not expecting a super high score, but here it is: Five. If this surprises you based on what I previously stated and were expecting a lower score, read this review again more thoroughly and you’ll see why I say this, I honestly can’t explain my score any better than that.

            And that’ll do it for this review. If you’re here, that means you read the whole review at least once, and I totally appreciate that. I thank you for the support. I know I can go on for quite a while, so honestly, you are THE BEST! Keep an eye out for more work from me, I do plenty more than simple book reviews, and I have a lot more ideas to pitch your way, so if you liked this review, follow me on Twitter, keep coming back, I hope you like all the other content I post. So now, there are just three more words I have for you: Tim Cubbin… out! 

"The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt" by Fred Schiller, Ken McDonald, James C. Owsley, Peter David, David Michelinie, Jim Shooter, and J.M. DeMatteis

 

            This following review is for the graphic novel “The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt,” written by Fred Schiller, Ken McDonald, James C Owsley, Peter David, David Michelinie, Jim Shooter, and J.M. DeMatteis. This was featured in the Marvel Epic Collection presentation, so it featured the six-part crossover event, as well as several issues surrounding the event, which is why there were so many writers. This review will contain a few spoilers, so I hope I don’t detract from your interest in the book. This review will focus on each storyline individually and as a whole, so my usual scoring method will be slightly different for this book.

            The first story in this book was “Man of the Year.” This story was written in 1986, but featured elements from the future. Ironically, the future was 2015, and I am writing this in 2021, so for us, this is essentially an alternate past for us. Anyway, in 2015, Arno Stark had been chosen as “Man of the Year” for Time Magazine. Arno’s connection to Tony Stark was not explained in full detail, only that he had bought the company Stark Enterprises after Tony’s death, which also was not fully established, in case you wanted to know, which, unfortunately I cannot help you with. Arno has now taken up the mantle of Iron Man now. Arno had developed the “Planet Buster bomb,” which, obviously would cause a lot of damage if detonated, considering that it’s called the “Planet Buster.” It would kill a lot in detonation and cause more loss from the radioactive fallout. A terrorist named Robert Saunders broke into Arno’s lab and primed the “Planet Buster” and keyed the abort to his DNA, but Saunders was killed in an escape attempt. Arno had also been working on a time machine, so he decided to go to the past to take Saunders in to abort the explosion. Now, you’re obviously waiting on me to talk about how Spider-Man fits into all of this, which, honestly, I had been waiting on too as I read this. So, for those of you unfamiliar with Spider-Man, his real name is Peter Parker, he was bitten by a radioactive spider and now has adhesive fingertips and toes, enhanced strength and agility, a precognitive awareness of danger he calls “spider-sense” and he created web shooters which he can use to swing around and tie up bad guys. Anyway, Peter is hurting for money, and sells freelance photos of himself as Spidey to the newspaper, the Daily Bugle. His rent is overdue and the cashier of the Bugle is unavailable. Peter realizes he is being tailed by a little boy named Bobby Saunders, the son of a Bugle shareholder. So, yeah, you can probably guess who he’ll turn out to be, and Arno traveled back to 1986 for him. Spidey of course not knowing who Bobby will not grow up to be battles Arno as Iron Man to protect Bobby. The rest I shall not tell you and I hope I haven’t given away too much.

            The next story was “High Tide.” This featured a team-up/brawl between Spider-Man and the mutant X-Man known as Wolverine, who has a healing factor, a skeleton reinforced by the unbreakable metal adamantium, and three retractable claws in each hand. Wolverine’s friend from way back, Charlemagne, has been crossing off ex-KGB (this was written during the Cold War). “Charlie” is tracked to Berlin, and publisher of NOW Magazine, J. Jonah Jameson has sent Peter and reporter Ned Leeds to cover the story. Peter does not bring his costume with him as he is (once again) considering giving up being Spider-Man, but is drawn into the conflict when he finds Ned dead in his hotel room. That’s really all I can say without spoiling too much.

            The next story we shall call “Hobgoblin Revealed.” Peter had been dealing with a super villain called The Hobgoblin for a while now. Wilson Fisk (the Kingpin of Crime in New York City) calls Spidey in after a hit is carried out on the Hobgoblin and Fisk gives Spidey a file on the true identity of the Hobgoblin, but a thug formerly called Jack ‘O Lantern has now taken up the mantle of Hobgoblin.

            Next was what we shall dub “The Big Question.” Peter finally gathers up the courage to propose to Mary Jane Watson, his kind of ex-girlfriend, who, surprisingly says “no.” MJ then leaves for Philadelphia to see her sister, who, unbeknownst to MJ, is now in jail for stealing a priceless manuscript. It is now up to MJ to clear her name. Peter battles Alastair Smythe in New York, then follows MJ, but Smythe follows Spidey. After Smythe’s defeat, MJ realizes that she really loves Peter and accepts his proposal. I know, major spoiler.

            The next story is “The Wedding.” In this story, Peter and MJ are both having doubts about if they really want to go through with the wedding. I’m not going to spoil the will they/won’t they.

            Now, finally, “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” Longtime Spidey villain Kraven the Hunter resurfaces. Kraven severely drugs Spidey and then Kraven buries Spidey. Spidey is now half alive/half dead. Kraven then copies Spidey’s costume and assumes Spidey’s identity and of course besmirches Spidey’s integrity as a superhero. Peter now must attempt to defeat death. Meanwhile, the kind of super villain Vermin goes on a spree as the “cannibal killer.” Kraven now sets his sights on Vermin, preparing him for Spidey’s potential return. I’m stopping there and WILL NOT spoil the title.

            Okay, that’s all the stories in this graphic novel, so let’s do my scoring. Again, this is slightly different from most of my scorings as I’ve never reviewed this extensive a graphic novel. For those of you who DON’T know how I do a scoring, I first give my thoughts, then the accessibility of the book (how easy it is for non- or casual fans to pick up the book and understand the story), and finally, my numeric score. BUT! Considering there are multiple stories, I’m going to start with accessibility first for a change. If you have never had any experience with Spider-Man, this book is still easy enough to pick up and not get confused. This whole book is essentially self-contained and is a fair jump-on book. BUT! I do have a warning for casual fans. At this time, Spidey is wearing his black costume, it is not a symbiote, and it is not Venom like almost all of the other depictions. So if you know Spidey and you know the black costume, and you have never read a Spidey comic from 1984-1988, try to dissociate these two facts as they are NOT the same.

            Okay, now for my thoughts. For this instance, I’ll focus on everything one at a time and give a numeric score to each story, then I’ll review the book as a whole. For those of you who don’t know my scoring system, it’s on a one-to-ten scale, one being the worst, ten being the best.

            “Man of the Year”: Okay, this story did not satisfy me. I found it stale, and I think the timing of 1986/2015 having already passed had a major factor in this. So I give it a four.

            “High Tide”: This one totally interested me. I loved how Peter went to Berlin and had to buy a Spider-Man costume from a costume shop because he didn’t bring the black costume, and Ned’s death was just so shocking to me. I score it at an eight.

            “Hobgoblin Revealed”: Okay, I’ve got to say, I know there have been several Hobgoblins over the years, yet still this unmasking was still a sort of surprise to me. Numerically, I give it a seven.

            “The Big Question”: This totally moved me. MJ trying to clear her sister’s good name and standing up to her father and her realizing just how much she truly loved Peter showed her strength is an amazing way. I give it an eight.

            “The Wedding”: I’ll just give you my score: six.

            “Kraven’s Last Hunt”: I was totally surprised at the ending, but I felt the story was just too weak. Not much actually happened, and there was a lot of what I call wasted space. The dialogue was very limited, but the artwork was of good quality for comic book art at the time, and they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a lot of these proverbial words were the same to me. While it is actually considered an outstanding story by fans, it just didn’t stand out to me. I’m sorry, but I give it a four.

            Now, for the book as a whole. I actually enjoyed the surrounding stories more than I liked the titular story. The last issue of “Kraven’s Last Hunt” in particular very much disappointed me, it was just too weak. To give it a final score as a whole, I unfortunately have to give it a five. Okay, I also have to say if I recommend it. I do not. My regulars know I am a very harsh scorer. If you are a true Spidey fan or a Kraven the Hunter fan, I can’t honestly predict how you would feel about the titular story. You may love it, you may like it, you may hate it. I won’t say I hated it, but the impact it had on me just wasn’t as strong as I had hoped. So, honestly, I can’t personally recommend it, but that’s just my opinion. If you want to read it, read it, see how you like it, but I just did not like it.

            Okay, that’ll do it for now. Keep an eye out for more content. I already have another book in my list I’m going to review coming up, and I think you might find another upcoming post to be rather interesting. I also have more of my B’ings complaint pieces and editorials planned, so if you like this post and you like my style, you should totally check out my other posts. So you can follow me on Twitter as well, tell your Marvel fans about me, leave comments (which has yet to be done in any of my posts), tell me about what you want to see on this blog and I’ll try to accommodate your suggestions as soon as I can, and till next time, Tim Cubbin… out!