Some people hate the Clone Saga and claim it ruined Spider-Man. Others enjoyed parts of the story and miss some of the characters it introduced.
-- Tom DeFalco
That is just a part of the opening statement that attempts to explain why we’re travelling down memory lane in the first place. Big boss man Tom DeFalco (one of my all time favorite superheroes) and Howard Mackie (my former arch nemesis) have come back together to take another crack at the story that would become their legacy.
DeFalco in his reader address touches on the fact that Peter was having an off year when the Clone Saga got its start. The fact was the book had grown increasingly dark and was starting to show signs of a much needed overhaul. In all fairness looking back, DeFalco and Mackie were put in a no win situation. The Clone Saga wasn’t the overhaul that the fans were looking for, because it never lifted Spidey out of the funk he was in, it just mired him in it instead.
So, it’s 2009, several years removed from the original Clone Saga and Tom DeFalco is back with a new offering. The question is, why should we bother? I think the answer is simple, because I like you am dying to see what they really wanted to do with the story. Because like some of you I loved Ben Reilly I miss him in the books terribly. A lot of bad things came out of The Clone Saga, but there were some good things thrown in there as well.
I’m older now, and can’t find the energy to hate Howard Mackie for something that happened over a decade ago in a comic. It’s time to let it go and I can’t think of a better way of letting go than letting Howard step up to the plate one more time.
The first issue is a bit jarring because all of a sudden it’s 1994 again and I’m still in high school. I had forgotten how much has changed over the last year or so, and how much certain things had remained the same.
My first reaction is that the story has a very simple beginning, the dialogue is a little strange, almost a biot too ‘comic booky’ in areas. But what is amazing is how well Mackie captures the heaviness of the time in Peter’s life. He also puts a lot of things into play at once, MJ is pregnant, Aunt May is dying, and Here’s Ben Reilly all in one issue.
What’s a bit troubling is I’m not sure this is my Ben Reilly. The Ben I know built a new life for himself and became more than a clone of Peter Parker. I have a suspicion that they won’t have enough time to flesh Ben out that well this time around which is very sad.
The best way to describe the sensation of reading Clone Saga is that it’s very surreal. I mean that in a good way, in the sense that Mackie and DeFalco set the tone perfectly for the rest of the series going forward.
Todd Nuack delivers the pencils for this story and it works because his style will remind you of comics in the 90’s. Despite the heavy subject matter, the book looks light and fun like it should. Thanks to the efforts of the creators I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Let’s be honest. The Clone Saga was a sore spot for a lot of Spider-Man fans. If you stuck around through those bad times then you might feel the way I do about giving Mackie a second chance to tell the story he wanted to tell.
It amazes me that the story still matters to those guys, and I find it strangely validating as a fan that they want to revisit the issue after so many years.
After reading the first issue with the proper amount of skepticism I have to report that there is already enough going on to warrant your full attention. Get the first issue, it shouldn’t be hard to find, and see for yourself that this new take on the Clone Saga may just be a gem.
