Writer/Artist: Kaare Andrews with Jose Villarrubia
To Spider-Man fans the Reign limited series has been out for a bit, but now that the hard bound collected edition of all four issues has hit the shelves its time that we here at Craveonline.com told you why you absolutely need this book in your collection.
The first thing to note is that the book is a tribute to Frank Miller’s classic ‘Return of the Dark Knight’ series featuring Batman. The book has a similar look and feel to that classic tale, but that is where the similarities end. Simply put, this is one of the best Spider-Man stories of all time. Kaare Andrews captured the essence of what the Spider-Man books have been about. The Spider-Man story is one of the ultimate triumphs over adversity; no character has to deal with continuing personal crisis quite like Spider-Man. The reason we read is to see a man rise above trials and tribulations that would have crushed a lesser man, and Andrews’ story perfectly encapsulates one of the possible outcomes to Peter Parkers amazing life.
Things look bad for our man Spidey
What has always made Spider-Man stand out is that his problems in costume more often than not affect his life as Peter Parker. What happens when the weight of being Spider-Man becomes too much to bear? When everything you live for is lost to you, and you find yourself alone in a world where there are more enemies than allies. Spider-Man is the kind of character that appears to win on the surface but loses in the ways that count the most, something that most people can relate to. How does the story end for a character that loses a little piece of himself every time he plays the hero? Kaare Andrews provided one heck of an answer.
The story catches up with Peter Parker roughly thirty years in the future. At best guess the story seems to indicate that events take place about thirty years from the mid nineties era Spidey books, to give you a frame of reference. The entire city is in a sort of police state and costumed adventurers have been outlawed and branded as terrorists. Peter has long since hung up the webs and leads the life of a quiet old man. A surprise visitor from Peter’s past shows up to end his self imposed exile, but has it been too many years since Peter last swung into action? Is he strong enough to face this new challenge? You’ll have to read the series to find out. If you’ve seen the books at your local shop and thought better of it, I’d advise you to think again, because this should not be missed. Kaare Andrews did great thing for me in this series, he reminded me why Spider-Man is my hero, why he’s the guy I can’t wait to cheer for.
