What did you think of Kraven's Last Hunt?

[Mister Mets]

I figured it'd be interesting to have a poll on something that is generally very well-regarded. What do you guys think of Fearful Symmetry/ Kraven's Last Hunt, the JM DeMatteis/ Mike Zeck six part saga published in Web of Spider-Man #31-32, Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132?

[Frontier]

I really enjoyed it.

A very engrossing, deep, and psychological story (as befitting J.M. DeMatteis) .

[Tuck]

Turned out it was false advertising.

[Huntsman Spider]

Turned out it was false advertising.

Only because they didn't know how to leave well enough alone.

[Celgress]

A - on damn great comic book story.

[theoneandonly]

seemed a noir story rather than a spider man story with three characters pushing the narrative conflict and its resolution forward with the rest playing a subsidiary role.

[Vegeta]

Overall it's well written, with good art and some very iconic Spider-Man covers. It's also pretty scary (I'm claustrophobic, so the idea of being buried alive is easily one of the worst ways to go.) and it's a horrifying thing to happen so early in Pete and MJ's marriage. I did feel Spidey was taken out almost too easy though, and to be honest Kraven and Vermin are two of my least favorite villains. (They ARE better than say, Judas Traveller or Typeface, but not by much.)

I certainly understand why so many critics consider it a must read though. It's a very dark and adult storyline, that really gets into the individual characters' heads.

[Mister Mets]

seemed a noir story rather than a spider man story with three characters pushing the narrative conflict and its resolution forward with the rest playing a subsidiary role.

Initially I thought about making some of the poll options be about the quality of KLH as a Spider-Man story (more to distinguish an A+ as one of the best comic books ever from an A of one of the best Spider-Man stories ever) but there is the legitimate argument that it is more Kraven's story than Spider-Man's, and might not be quite that good when viewed through that lens.

I think it says a lot about Spider-Man and certainly works on that level, but I didn't want to get into that morass at least in the poll portion.

[SuperiorIronman]

It's A+ content.

What's bad about this is just everything that came since. I was fine with the Grim Hunter (even his death by Kaine was enjoyable) but I didn't really see much point in bringing Kraven back especially since it seemed nothing was really planned for him.

[WebLurker]

I really liked the comic. Very character-driven and seemed to be more than just a disposable filler, like the author wanted to tell something more than just people in tights fighting. Wish they published more stuff like this today.

(Kind of funny, but this was Superior Spider-Man before Superior Spider-Man was a thing; villain kills, or thinks they've killed, Spider-Man, takes on his identity and goes on a ruthless crime-busting spree to prove themselves to be better, ultimately committing suicide at the end, leaving the real deal to stop another supervillain in progress.

(However, from what I read myself of Superior and have gathered about the rest of the series, it doesn't hold up very well in comparison. I think that Kraven had more depth of character; it felt like there was a point to story, while all I got out of Superior was a one-note gimmick of "evil Spidey that never seemed to have any greater meaning. Of course, I really liked how Kraven was written in the former, but cannot stand Slott's Doc Ock at all. Maybe if I found the latter more tolerable, I would've been able to get into it?)

[WeirdSpider]

It's the only good Kraven story. Kraven was one of the more boring Spider-Man villains, and was kind of a joke. So it's nice that he one good story.

[oldschool]

I would be surprised if anyone votes below a "B" and if the overwhelming majority is not "A" and "A+".

On a related note, I recall this being released during an absolute golden era for comics (not just Spidey); this was released right around the era (give or take a year or so) when "The Watchmen" and "The Dark Knight Returns" also were first released. Moreover, I believe the very good (but not nearly as well remembered) "Return To The Mad Dog Ward" arc was released right after "KLH" and, while it certainly wasn't on that level, this was a very good story and also broke from the mold of what was, at that time, standard superhero storytelling.

[Miles To Go]

The perfect story to test Peter and MJ's commitment to one another right off the bat, and to really showcase the potential of the Kraven character. Such a shame he was revived and reduced to a joke twenty two years or so later

[wleakr]

I voted B, as I thought it was good, but not great. I haven't re-read this in forever, but I recall thinking how different this story was compared to what was going on in the Spider books at that time. It was like the books went on a time out and shoehorned in this 6 part story, followed by the 3 part Mad Dog. It felt very "else-worlds" like (or whatever the Marvel equivalent would be). Then we went back to regular scheduled programming after those arcs, where neither story was barely mentioned going forward. Considering he was buried alive, it seemed like there would've some occasional thought or followup on that type of event.

So for me, it's not great because it doesn't fit with the overall theme of the Spider books at the time (kinda like an annual, really) and the focus is more on the villain than the hero (to me the great stories focus on how Spider-man overcomes the toughest odds to save the day).

[comicscollector]

I think is a great story.
Mike Zeck art have a lot to do with the quality of the story and J.M.DeMatteis stories are usually always quite good so that made for one of the best Spider-Man storyilines among the Harry Osborn Saga (By Dematteis as well!),the Stan Lee stories,or the best of early 90s stories as the first Venom story arc or the Return of the Sinister Six storyline by David Michelinie.