Ah, Spider-man.
A classic comic book story if there is such as one.
We all know about the classic boring mainstream regular Spider-man.
So why not have a look at another original iteration of the character?
For more stories of AMAZING FANTASY check those out!!
Comic title: Spider-Man: India
Art by Jeevan J. Kang & Gotham Studio Asia
Story by Jeevan J. Kang, Suresh Seetharaman & Sharad Devarajan
Published by Marvel ComicsFrom 2005
Lineup Spider-man
Format: Trade paperback collecting the issues of the mini-series Spider-Man: India #1-4.
In 2004, a unique opportunity presented itself at Marvel.
Fresh off the Spider-man movies from Sam Raimi, it seemed the timing was right for various authors to present and have various projects greenlighted thanks to the success the line was having.
Amongst all those ideas thrown around at the time were the chance to reinterpreted Spider-man in all-new original settings.
Yeah, kinda like 2099 and Ultimate Marvel, but without the need to necessary launch a whole new inprint, rather just some simple "Elseworld" stories (as DC Comics would have named it).
That is when Jeevan J. Kang came in with this fantastic opportunity.
What would an India-based Spider-man look like?
For this unique story, Marvel themed up with the Indian publication Gotham Entertainment Group - which mostly imported and translated "foreign" comics in their country up to that point - to provide this original interpretation of the famous wall-crawler.
Spider-man would be living in India, with the appropriate adaptations of his concepts into that folklore, as well as drawn and written by local talents.
This is not just a simple "importation", but the basic ideas rewritten under a whole new light!
Pavitr Prabhakar was a simple Indian boy.
His Auntie Maya and Uncle Bhim worked very hard to move to Mumbai so he could leave their native village and get a proper scholarship.
Since his parents died he's been living with them.
But at school the other kids keep teasing and annoying him.
Meera Jain is really the only ray of light in his dull life, but she would never go for a total geek like him, would she?
One day, the mysterious Nalin Oberoi is trying to awake old spirits with an amulet to grant him power so he could become a demon himself, more than man.
But that was without counting on a little help from destiny, as a powerful yogi appears in front of Pavitr to grant him powers in order to face the upcoming threat.
He will help save the world, the future is already written!
Pavitr has been chosen to wield the powers of the spider.
At first he fools around with his newfound powers, but after ignoring and thus letting a woman being attacked by some criminals, his Uncle Bhim is killed defending her... by his fault.
Pavitr learns that with great power must also come great responsibility...
Nalin Oberoi, now the Green Goblin grants powers to scientist Doctor Octopus, of his namesake creature.
He attacks Pavitr who tries to defend his school and his classmates.
This Spectacular Spider-man woos the public. The legend is born.
And the story is far from over ...
The story Jeevan J. Kang pitched is full of classic Spidey, with allusions to characters such as Venom, as well as a nice mix of Indian mysticism and American archetypal superhero journey.
It's a nice presentation and introduction to classic Indian legends through comic books, and vice-versa
The characters and concepts are played with.
The eternal battle of good versus evil is transposed to a world of gods versus demons...which is quite fitting actually.
Norman Osborn's Green Goblin is the product of a demonic pact. Destinies are written in front of the characters.
The changes are actually quite interesting, this story is a nice way to put cultures in perspective. I mean usually USA superheroes are the product of self-pity (grim origin, death of a loved one, path of virtue chosen by the hero in redemption/revenge) or rightness (born with powers, escaped from a doomed planet with tons of powers, mutant... they all end up using their inherent abilities for good thanks to their upbringing, unlike their villains).
Here, it's all about destiny, the way "the story" was already written. Which for these characters transposed to this universe is almost ironic. Almost.
The pacing feels a bit rushed at times, but that's only because Marvel only allowed 4 issues for this tale (which in my eyes could have done with 6...).
The art is...well, it takes a bit getting used to, if you're more of traditional superhero comics fan.
I liked the art, but let's just say "it's different".
Marvel was nice enough to keep the author's column and the lexicon at the end of each issue. (though I'd rather have it at the beginning of each issue, since those little translated word could help)
Yeah, the dialogues kept some obscure allusions and specific language here and there, to localize the story appropriately.
Overall, it's a very fun alternate Spider-man story!
The characters are unique, it's always an original experience to see how classic characters reinterpreted for a new occasion.
The story might feel a bit rushed and quick at times, things seem to run from one point to another.
And the art looks a bit amateur-ish at first, but it gets better over the run.
I say, give it a look if you sound interested by all this.
I give it:
What an odd comic. Good review, bro.
ReplyDeleteI still was a fun comic in the end :P
DeleteAnyways, I love these alternate Spidey!