Some Comics Make for Better First Experiences than Others

I've spoken before about how my earliest Spider-Man comics were a two-part Secret Wars II tie-in in Amazing and Spectacular where the Puma tries to enlist his help in killing the Beyonder. Which is kind of a strange introduction. Cat-man trying to get Spidey to help him kill a jheri curl wearing sentient universe. Peter and MJ, in "just friends" mode, repainting his apartment because some punks torched it for Parker calling the cops on them.

But it's still fairly recognizable as a standard Spider-Man story. Animal-themed opponent (since Spidey ends up between Puma and the Beyonder). Spidey being completely outclassed on both sides, but still trying to get in the middle of it and keep anyone from dying. Undercut somewhat by the point where the Beyonder tells him to let the Puma kill him and Spidey calls them both nuts and just leaves.

The funnier thing, though, is the next Spider-Man comic I remember getting, Web of Spider-Man #32. Part 4 of Kraven's Last Hunt. For a long time, over a decade at least, the only part of that story I'd actually read. That's a weird experience for a kid.

Page 1 opens with Peter floating naked in an endless white void. Page 3 has Ned Leeds (recently dead) pulling a Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not that I'd seen that movie yet (I might have seen Last Crusade in the theaters by this point, not sure).

By page 6, Peter is crawling naked from the corpse of a spider (love the bit of spider entrails hanging out there, Mike Zeck killed it on this comic) towards a bunch of shadowy monsters with sharp nails and teeth. I don't know about other elementary school kids, but I had no idea what was going on there. I was probably trying to interpret this thing literally, and that wasn't helping it make any more sense. "Metaphor" and "symbolism" were definitely not in my vocabulary yet. 

Page 9 he's climbing from his own grave (which is infested with little black spiders). Then he finds out he's been "dead" for two weeks, tears up a bunch of stuffed tigers and shit. I had no idea that the two black guys he briefly yells at before leaving worked for Kraven. Minus that context, I thought he was attacking two innocent funeral home directors because he was confused. I mean, he just dug himself out a grave, he probably doesn't know where he even is.

It's not until after that we might have hit something that made sense, when he goes home to Mary Jane. Then he's awake and determined to go find Kraven, even though he really doesn't want to. But then you get to the last page, Kraven's standing there wearing a copy of Spidey's costume (minus the mask). I have to think this was my intro to Kraven, so I don't think I had any clue what was going on there. Although I know I liked the three panels at the top of the page, where Kraven's smile fades as Spider-Man gradually lowers himself into the background.

I can't say it was an effective cliffhanger, since it was years before I got around to finding a tpb of the entire story to learn what happened next. I think it was maybe just such a strange read at that point in my life, I didn't know what to make of it. He doesn't really fight anyone, there's no banter or wisecracking. The last three pages are almost entirely silent. Until the last page, Kraven only shows up in these occasional panels where he's slowly pulling off the mask and repeating that "he's coming." There's one page of Vermin (not that I had any idea that's who it was) running into an electric fence and retreating into the dark. 

It's definitely a comic that assumes you did not decide to start reading with part 4 of 6. In my defense, this was included in one of those packs of comics you could buy from the Penney's Christmas catalogue, so it's not like I grabbed it off the old spinner rack.