Dark, Gritty, and.... Kinda Slow
I picked up the Premiere Hardcover edition of this arc, because I had heard it was good. All I knew was that Spider-Man and the Lizard get into a very violent fight, which was enough to sell me on it. A complex story is good and all, but sometimes you just want a cool action scene, right? So anyway, after getting the plastic covering off said hardcover, I picked it up and eagerly dove into it... only to emerge thirty-odd minutes later wondering why the action was so slow.
The premise of the book is a simple one, and one which could be executed really well. But ultimately, the idea of "Spider-Man fights the Lizard" is diminished by the sheer length of the story. It's a five-issue story which could probably be told in three, maybe even two issues. Don't get me wrong, there are still some really good bits in here, such as Spider-Man kicking the Lizard onto some spikes, only to have the body mysteriously disappear the moment Spider-Man takes his eyes off of him. Spider-Man is poisoned by the Lizard early on in the story, and we really do get a sense that he's weak, possibly dying, and is fighting for both his body and mind.
But as I said, the biggest problem with this is the pacing. A simple scene will be incredibly decompressed, with every single detail being s-l-o-w-l-y explained. As a result, we'll be reading a scene, and basically end up wading through a sea of words, trying to find the part in which the plot continues. I actually don't blame McFarlane for this, however. An editor's note at the start explains how Jim Salicrup wanted Todd's first Spider-Man story to be put into TPB form, so my personal theory is that Todd had a three issue storyline plotted, but was forced to extend it to five issues, so I can ultimately forgive him for that.
Even if you find the positive points I mentioned earlier dull and unimaginative, I still think that the art is ultimately the saving grace of this comic. There's a good reason why McFarlane was given his own series to draw (and write), and I think that if you're a hardcore art fan, it's definitely worth picking this up just to bury yourself in the art. I guess there's probably a small niche out there somewhere who find his art too exaggerated, or something, but it's still ultimately entertaining and amazing. If you want an example of good '90's artwork, look no further than this comic.
So to sum up, if you're more into stories than artwork, you'll probably find this slow and unenjoyable, whereas if you prefer artwork to stories, it's definitely worth a look. It's a decent story which is ultimately let down by bad pacing, but can be saved by the artwork, depending upon your personal preferences.
