Synopsis: Spider-Man: Life Story is a six-issue miniseries by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley set in an alternate universe where we see Peter Parker grow and age in real-time starting from his adolescent years during the 60s when he first gained his superpowers to 2019.
My Thoughts: While I definitely would not consider myself a scholar in the Spider-Man lore (or Marvel in general), I am familiar enough with the character through movie/TV adaptations and a handful of random comics here and there to have a sufficiently good idea of the universe. As a result, I was easily able to get into this comic along with the fact that it was a stand-alone series and a bloody bodacious one at that.
The plot here differs from most alternative universe tales such The Dark Knight Returns and What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow which generally star an older, usually more cynical version of the hero austerely deconstructing common tropes within their respective universes. Instead, Life Story offers a larger, more complete outline of Parker's life as he grows older throughout the decades and faces several challenges and obstacles along with humane imperfection, cementing his character in an intricate web of profound plausibility and realism without being too dejecting about it. It is true some of the heroes in this comic are morally gray and corrupt; however, the turpitude doesn't permeate every personality so readers are able to root for our favorite arachnid-costumed protagonist.
Another strength is Mark Bagley's art which is smooth and polished without being too bright. It also captured the cultural zeitgeist of each decade well, especially the 70s. It truly felt like I too was living during this period. My only nitpick was that I had some trouble at times distinguishing between Peter Parker and his clone Ben Reilly.
Final Thoughts: Life Story was a great addition to the Marvel alternate universe worth picking up whether you're a regular or sporadic Marvel reader or a fan of the cinematic universe who finds the large library of other Spider-Man series too daunting to catch up with.
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