I still remember Christmas, 1987.
One of the most exciting crossover storylines in comic book history had been making the rounds late that summer and early that fall. Across three of the biggest monthly Marvel Comics titles: Web of Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man was the six-part serialized story called Kraven’s Last Hunt.
Everyone at the comic book shop I frequented was talking about it. Everyone at the recess playground who read comics was enthralled by its premise. All the trades I regularly read were saying it was a tale for the ages. An important event storyline across six issues, within three titles, by big name creators at the top of their game, over a handful of months.
And I had missed it. Sold out at the local comic shop.
That’s why I put Web of Spider-Man #31-32, The Amazing Spider-Man #293-294 and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132 at the top of my Christmas list. And, wrapped carefully in a undescriptive dress short cardboard box, my Uncle, Aunt and Cousins didn’t disappoint.
First thing on Boxing Day, I devoured those six issues – the tale of the villainous big game hunter known as Sergei Kravinoff, out to destroy his greatest and most elusive prize: Spider-Man.
Like so many others, it was the greatest Spider-Man story I had ever read and it imprinted on my mind. Written and illustrated by industry legends J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, “Kraven’s Last Hunt” remains a high watermark atop the pantheon of greatest comic book stories ever published!
Today, writer DeMatteis returns to Spider-Man and extends his legacy of influence on the hero, this time turning towards a familiar villain in the Green Goblin and a story from Peter Parker’s early days!
Written by J.M. DeMatteis and illustrated by the up and coming Michael Sta. Maria, Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin is a four-issue miniseries that is steeped in mythos, delving deeply in the early days of Spider-Man’s superhero career.
Still reeling from the death of Uncle Ben and still learning about great power and great responsibility, Peter Parker finds himself entangled in the family drama of his best friend Harry Osborne. Longtime Spidey readers and fans will know that the Osborne patriarch, Norman Osborne, is the infamous Green Goblin, Spider-Man’s arch enemy. But this story casts a fascinating and troubling shroud of mystery. Norman wasn’t the first Green Goblin!
DeMatteis and Sta. Maria dig deep into Marvel Comics publishing history and begin to pull at loose threads, reintroducing a long-forgotten character. Here is the story of Nels van Adder and the shocking secrets of Osborne’s chemical experiments and the birth of the Proto-Goblin! In the middle of it all, of course, is a young and developing, Peter Parker!
Don’t miss out on these four monthly installments like I did, back in 1987!
Make the run to your local comic book shop today and pick up Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin #1 – sure to be a classic in the pantheon of all-time Spidey tales!
