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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey   Writer- J.M. DeMatteis Penciller- Mike Zeck Inker- Bob McLeod Letter- Rick Parker Colourist- Steve Buccellatto Design- Joe Kaufman Assistant Editor- Eric Fein Editor- Danny Fingeroth Editor in Chief- Tom Defalco synopsisPeter returns to the Kravinof mansion, to face the trial of zombie Kraven, as the unnamed, deathly ghoul looks on. In confronting The Hunter's rotting corpse, Peter also confronts his own demons, choosing life over death, and ultimately sets both his, and Sergei's soul free. Dave So, we are picking it up from page 29, as Spidey goes off to face his demons. Or the demons. I’m still unsure, at this point, how much of this is really happening, and how much of it is just a hallucination. Kev Yeh, DeMatteis leaves it somewhat ambiguous as to just how real any of this is for Peter. “Real? Imagined? Does it really matter?” That's an excellent establishing shot of Kraven’s mansion in the snow.  I wonder what the annual upkeep on a gaff like this would be? Dave Yeah, the weather still continues to batter down with snow, like it did with the rain in ‘Last Hunt.’ And of course, we get to see the gravestone lying on the ground as well.  Ah, toppling headstones. The timeless pastime of many a teenager getting drunk on cheap cider in a graveyard. Kev Yeh, the fallen gravestone. Just like the fallen Kraven himself. The snowstorm is great for building the atmosphere of this story. The tension too. Dave The weather plays such a pivotal role in setting the mood for these stories. Imagine how different the effect would have been had it been sunny? Kev Yeh, it wouldn't have had quite the same effect if the story was set on a nice, sunny, summer's afternoon, would it? Dave No. It wouldn't. Kev Zeck is putting a lot of webbing into that Spidey costume. Dave I like the webbing under the arms. That's a nice touch. Kev Yeh man. I'm a sucker for the old-school web-pits. Dave Haha. Nice one. Kev I didn't come up with that. I've heard them referred to that way, over the years. Dave Yeah, I thought that was a bit too clever for you. That was one of the things about the variety of ways Spidey was drawn. I think we used to do that when we would draw pictures of him as kids, play around with the size of the eye lenses on the mask, and the webby pits or not. Kev I was always a big lenses kid. Dave I think when McFarlane introduced the big lenses my drawings of Spidey followed suit as well. Kev It was definitely the Spidey model at the time, that's for sure.  It was a dark and stormy night..... Dave This section of the story relies more on visuals. It’s not quite as wordy as the first half of the story. Kev Yeh, I think this second act of this story probably needed to lean on the artwork a bit more, because plot-wise, there's really not much driving it at all. It's a proper DeMatteis character piece. Dave The artwork in this section of the story certainly is a visual feast, right enough. It’s a nice blending of colours, and the constant snow blizzard throughout the entire story almost, it is excellent. That spirit, or whatever it is supposed to be, reminds me of the Jawas from Star Wars, what with only the eyes showing from under the hood. Kev Ha, ha! "Whootini!" Who, or what, exactly is this spirit character supposed to be? Is it Peter's subconscious? Is it Death? Or is it just some random spooky? Dave It is a mystery whether this is all in his head, and he is curled up in a graveyard somewhere hallucinating all of this, or not. Kev There's certainly an argument for the former. He could very well be. Dave I suppose it was intentional, keeping it like that. Kev Yeh, the ambiguity adds a little bit of intrigue, if nothing else, I suppose. I’m never daft on “trials” that are “greater than you’ve ever faced before.” I find them to be a bit of a lazy, cliched plot device at this point. I feel like I've just read, and seen them all before. Dave Yeah. That's a good splash page on page 32, of Kraven the zombie emerging from the grave though. And the build up on page 31 works so well too.  "Is this the real life?"  "Is this just fantasy?" Kev Yeh man, that's an excellent splash page of Zombie Kraven.  "(S)he's got Bette Davis eyes." Dave And on page 31, Spidey even questions whether this is "real" or "imagined?" I like that there are only two words on that page. Those were the only words that were necessary, and that’s why it works so well. Kev Yep. As you said, it's cracking visual storytelling from all involved. Dave I've noticed that from page 33 onwards, J.M. DeMatteis is really taking a look at, not only suicide, but just death in general, and spiritual peace, and so forth. He goes deeper into this with his writing than he did in ‘Last Hunt.’ It kind-of repeats the whole fear scenario, with Spidey running away, and delves deeper into his psyche. I suppose that was the next natural step. But we have already covered this territory when he was buried alive. I wonder if there was somebody in DeMattias life who committed suicide, and he is putting his own narrative on it, or it is just how he feels about it? Kev Yeh, but this is where I start to take issue with this story unfortunately. I think it's a bit of a clumsy, misjudged look at suicide. And I don't think that it has aged very well, if I'm being honest. Dave So in what way do you think DeMetteis’s look at suicide was misjudged? Kev The old “I’m not taking the coward's way out!” That’s not a good take when you’re reading this in 2021. It seems like a very outdated way of thinking about suicide. And, “Of course life is hard sometimes--hard and full of pain----but there’s joy, too--joy and love--if you’ve got the courage to look for them.” Again, this implication that people who commit suicide just lack courage, or are cowardly, has not aged well. It seems like such an old-fashioned way of thinking to me. Dave It's very straight to the point, for sure. It seems like this is how Spidey puts his own experiences of loss into regaining his mind, as at this point, he is certainly losing it. "Real or imagined." Kev I just think that it places the blame on the victim of the suicide, rather than looking at the, often external, factors and influences that often lead people to take their own lives. I know there's not a huge amount of real estate to go into a lot of depth in a few pages of a comic book, but I just think that it comes across as cold, almost cruel, and seems to lack empathy, or even understanding. Dave Interesting point. The suicide discussion is certainly something that is prominent in this story but, at the time, it was around ‘92. That era was certainly not the times we live in nowadays. Kev That's true. I did have to remind myself that this was written nearly 30 years ago, and attitudes towards mental health and suicide have certainly changed in that time. Dave But as this story unfolds, there is a delving into Peter’s losses as well. His judgement may be clouded at this time, as he has never properly, or fully, recovered from these losses. Kev Definitely. And there certainly has been a lot of death surrounding Peter over the years. “Captain Stacy. Gwen. Ned.” And Peter has a certain amount of blood on his hands, so to speak, when it comes to those deaths because of his life as Spider-Man. Dave And how he attempts to almost wipe away his grief by donning the mask and costume, but ultimately he never feels it is enough. I like that bit of writing. It is a very astute observation. Plus, Peter was bullied as a kid, I suppose. Emotionally, he still has the weight of that bearing down on him, and wearing him down as well. It is interesting how Kraven’s spirit just has this lifeless, sorry look on his face, as Spidey runs in terror. Kev The Kraven spirit just looks sad, doesn't it? Dave The second part of this story is quite messy, I agree with you there. The structure just goes up in the air, and we have this bout of madness ensuing. Kev Yeh, I certainly don't think it's DeMatteis's most deft writing. I really like those flashes of Peter with his Uncle Ben, and then with MJ, intercut with him literally hanging on for dear life though. They're superb.  "Always fade out in a montage. If you fade out, it seem like more time, has passed in a montage. Montage." Dave I guess that page of Kraven trying to drag him underground is symbolic of his own feelings. Feelings that he is “falling down,” mentally. Kev Definitely. And the perfectly rational fear of literally being buried alive again. Two weeks of that was bound to leave a scar on Peter's psyche. Dave I think the good artwork makes up for this slightly shambolic part of the story. "I choose life.” Pete’s early audition for Renton in ‘Trainspotting?’  He's got a 'Lust For Life.' And heroin. Kev Ha, ha! "Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family," Dave The demonic Kraven is slightly similar to the demonic looking Vermin. Kev He is a bit actually, yeh. The artwork is stellar, I agree. The red in Spidey’s costume is really popping against the whites of the snowstorm and the blues of the night sky. Fantastic work by Steve Buccellatto. Dave That bottom panel on page 42 is superb. There’s so much detail and colour in it. Kev That's a brilliant panel at the top of page 44 as well. And at the foot of page 44 too, actually. And the one at the top of page 45 as well. Jeez, just the whole book, really. Dave Yeah the minimal dialogue is always good in those set pieces, as it lets the visuals tell the story. It's a bit cheesy, that panel of Spidey hugging Kraven’s spirit. Or am I just being too cynical? Kev No, I agree. It is a bit cheesy, and a bit too neat as well. As a wrap-up that is. Dave The “Rest in peace” panel is quite good. I think they should have ditched the hug and stayed with the “Rest in peace.” Kev I think you're right,that "Rest in peace" panel is fantastic. Dave I like the first panel on page 45, of Pete and M.J. and the man clearing the snow with the dog beside him. That’s a nice little touch to a panel.  The Freewheelin' Peter Parker. Kev I like those little "normal" moments in the artwork. I always feel that they help to ground these fantastical superhero stories in something resembling some form of reality. Dave And of course, M.J. basically just saying that none of it was real, and that it was only in his mind. If that is the case, he has suffered from some serious paranoia and schizophrenia, or something. It's really difficult to tell if it was just in his head or not. That's one major hallucination if that's the case. Kev Definitely. Maybe M.J. should be thinking of getting Peter some professional help. Some therapy perhaps. Dave Yep, I think he might be in need of some help, if it was just a mind trip. She seems awfully relaxed that he's back to normal now. Kev Yeh, there's maybe an element of them both burying their heads in the sand here when it comes to the effects of his life as Spider-Man on Peter's mind. Jeez, Zeck and McLeod can make even just the profile silhouette of M.J.’s face seem absolutely gorgeous.  That punchline needs workshopping, M.J. Dave It's interesting how she is drawn, still looking glamorous, but in a more mature way. She is kind of more elegant looking, and not fully dressed up like she was always drawn. Kev Yeh, there's no cheesecake, overly sexualizing of M.J. here. She looks like a responsible, well dressed Manhattanite, on her way to a shiva in the winter. Dave Roger's aunt bears an uncanny resemblance to Aunt May in the 2nd panel on page 46, where you see Roger’s uncle, and Aunt Hannah in the background. Kev Ha, ha! So she does. New York aunts of a certain age, man. They all look the same. Dave The shiva ritual of seven days of mourning is interesting right enough. It makes sense actually. Kev Yeh, it seems like a very respectful custom, for someone who, like myself, was raised Catholic and as such, has very much an outsider's perspective on it. Any knowledge I have whatsoever of Judaism, comes from Larry David and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.' Dave What do you make of the final panel? Kev It's okay. Like you said earlier about the spirit hug, I think it's a bit cheesy though.  "Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, everything that's wonderful...." Dave Yeah. One hug with Kraven and he's cured. I notice the deliberate change in weather, with the sun and the writing on the tombstone showing that all is better, as Kraven is finally in a better place. Kev Yeh. I can't help but feel that this was DeMatteis trying to write themselves out of the criticism they received from certain fans for “glorifying suicide” in ‘Fearful Symmetry.’ Which I never felt they did. Dave I think he was trying to wrap up, and move onto a new chapter in Spidey's life, by making him come to terms with his loss and grief, but somehow he didn't pull it off effectively. Kev Yeh. I think there's a good character study of Peter, and his dealings with guilt, and the trauma that all the deaths in his life have inflicted upon him in here, but the Kraven redemption angle just cheapens Kraven's death in ‘Fearful Symmetry,’ I feel. It certainly lessens the emotional impact of it for me. Dave It kind-of goes for the whole neatly wrapped-up ending. Which actually doesn't work, as if all is fine and blissful. Kev No. I much preferred the messier (literally) ending of ‘Kraven's Last Hunt.’ It just resonates more with me. Dave Yeah, I think so too. So how would you rate this, as a sequel to ‘Kraven's Last Hunt?’ Kev I think it's okay. It certainly has its moments, but I think the set-up in act one is better than the payoff in act two. All in all, I just think that it was a bit unnecessary. Perhaps even redundant. I just don't really think it was needed at all. Which makes me wonder why it took five years to get around to doing it. Maybe time had just moved on, and the moment had just passed. And I'm really not a fan of its handling of the act of suicide. What about yourself? How do you feel about it? Dave As a sequel, it is passable, but certainly not memorable, and it lacked the atmosphere of the original. It had some interesting character development and study elements for sure, and good artwork, but if ‘Kraven's Last Hunt’ was a horror/psychological story, which was dark and fitted the month of release in October, being in time for Halloween, this felt more like a watered down TV version, with a slight Christmassy feel, with all the snow. I just felt they could have done so much more with it. Kev Do you think it was perhaps hurt by being so much shorter than ‘Kraven's Last Hunt?’ After all, I suppose it's only about one third of the size. Dave I think the size was only what it was because there wasn't enough in it to make it a larger story. Kev Not enough meat on the bones, no? Dave No. I mean, in actuality, not a lot really happened. Except for Pete's psychological journey. Kev I agree. It is pretty light on plot. Not that that is a bad thing in this type of story, necessarily. Dave There was also the sub-plot with Vermin in the original, which took up a good chunk of the story. Kev Good point. There's no real B story here to flesh out the themes, is there? Dave Nope, that was another thing that was missing. (D) & (K) The end. 
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