Spider-Man: Life Story

Spider-Man: Life Story collects issues 1–6 and the annual of the eponymous limited series written by Chip Zdarsky, illustrated by Mark Bagley, inked by John Dell and Andrew Hennessy, colored by Frank D’Armata and Matt Milla, and lettered by Travis Lanham. The story works on an unusual premise in mainstream comic books: Spider-Man ages in real-time following his debut in 1962, with each issue representing a specific decade, rather than the selective continuity, sliding timeline, and soft reboots that help keep Spider-Man perpetually in the “now” in his regular titles. The stories parallel some of the biggest events in those respective decades, but are slightly altered by the fact that time passes between each issue. Zdarsky and show more Bagley’s talented storytelling skills ably handle the decade-spanning narrative, revealing the deeper tragedy behind Spider-Man’s existence. While his regular titles reference his origin and show how much he struggles, the poignant pain that drives Peter Parker’s actions as Spider-Man and in his personal life make this particularly compelling. A must-read for Spider-Man fans! show less

An extended What If? story that imagines Spider-Man aging in real time while still facing many of the same big events of the last six decades, including Green Goblin and Professor Warren, the death of Gwen Stacy, Secret Wars, the alien costume saga, Kraven's Last Hunt, the clone saga, The Other, Civil War, and Superior Spider-Man. While it was interesting it suffered from being too short. It requires a lot of knowledge of the Spider-Man canon to fully understand, as there just isn't enough room to explain what is going on in any given chapter. It also skimps on explanations for what has happened between ten year jumps and does little to justify the changes it makes from regular Marvel continuity. There are nice moments, but it just show more doesn't come together as a coherent take on all it tries to cover.

Frankly, Don Rosa did much the same thing a hell of a lot better in The Life and Time of Scrooge McDuck. show less

One of the best Spider-man mini series in recent history. Essentially, Spider-man: Life Story plays out like a "What If" comic except the question is what if Peter Parker never died, never was introduced in new/different timelines, and grew to be an old man. What unfolds is tragic, heart-warming, and action-packed.

In 1962, in AMAZING FANTASY #15, 15-year-old Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and became the Amazing Spider-Man! Fifty-seven years have passed in the real world since that event - so what would have happened if the same amount of time passed for Peter as well?
A special high-end limited series that's a part of the celebration of Marvel's 80th anniversary, SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY combines the talents of Chip show more Zdarsky (SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, MARVEL 2-IN-ONE) and Mark Bagley (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN) to tell the entire history of Spider-Man from beginning to end, set against the key events of the decades through which he lived!

This is one of the most thematically rich Spidey stories, not to mention Marvel stories, in years and I believe will be a modern classic alongside of Spider-Verse. Please read this comic. I loved it so much that I plan on purchasing a copy which is rare for me. This demands a re-read. show less

It focuses much on Peter’s trauma without the familiar offset of humor, but this off-beat, standalone, Spidey story still has lots of heart.

Clever! Longtime fans of the web-slinger will probably enjoy this, as it’s another of those projects that tries to treat a lengthy continuity as if it all really happened to one guy. He ages Spidey in semi-real time, so he’s a teenager during the Stan Lee days, in his 30s when he gets black suit, clone storyline in his 50s etc, weaving in and remixing classic storylines.
If you haven’t read many Spider-man comics this isn’t the place to start. For all the attempts at smoothing out continuity it’s still a very convoluted storyline and references to goofy stuff like Doctor Octopus being in love with aunt May will leave newbies stumped.