Spider-Man: Fever #1 (of 3)

Writer/Artist - Brendan McCarthy

Colors, Digital FX & Letters - Steve Cook & Brendan McCarthy

Publisher - Marvel Comics

I think McCarthy is a really interesting talent, but despite over 30 years of work in comics and other media, I can’t really point to anything of his I’ve read aside from that final issue of the late, lamented DC series, Solo. It looks like a lot of his best work has been with Peter Milligan and isn’t that easy to find. Despite all this, I found almost from the start of this comic I was treating McCarthy with a combination of kindness and reverence I normally reserve for old masters who don’t publish often, like, say, Barry Windsor-Smith or Steve Rude.

I mean, after that mind-blowing first splash page, which does McCarthy’s inspiration Steve Ditko proud with the digital effects in harmony with a funky, loose, organic real ink line, we’re faced with some mild Spider-Man humor and then hoary old villain The Vulture. “He’s heavier than I thought”—really? Hasn’t Spidey fought Vulture a few hundred times by now? But okay, so dialogue isn’t his strong suit, so just focus on the love put into each panel, like the very Ditkoesque eyepieces on Spidey, the kooky hand-drawn sound effects, the weird bric-a-brac in Doctor Strange’s home. McCarthy does a nice Wally Wood/Dan Atkins take on Strange, too.

I think plot is probably the least important element here, but the setup in this issue is just fine. Spider-Man’s soul is captured by this sort of spider demon called an Arachnix and spirited away to another dimension, with Strange having to figure out how to find and rescue Spidey. The main thing here is that the story will get the two into a really freaky world to let McCarthy strut his stuff. The page with the two yellow anthropomorphic dogs and the sort of speckled, multi-eyed tree is unlike anything you’ll see in another monthly comic. What I like about McCarthy’s work here is how he’s able to create some creepy characters but never goes for all-out horror. It’s a very playful work, bright and full of funny little bits of business even as it deals with demons eating souls and whatnot. “Albion Crawley” as a stand-in for Aleister Crowley is great, especially when “Crawley” also refers to his spidery predicament. I think this will end up one of those maybe slightly flawed gems you’re just happy someone at Marvel got approved.

—Christopher Allen