The legendary Stan Lee co-wrote another chapter in his ever-growing Spider-Man saga, but this time he looked back to the origins of a not as popular character, the predatory hunter.

Stan Lee is a comic book writer and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. In collaboration with artists Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, Lee co-created such characters as Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, the Hulk and other naturalistic and complex characters for a thoroughly shared comic book universe.

Lee and writer Marc Guggenhiem developed “Spider-Man: Origin of the Hunter #1” which tells the beginnings of Sergei Kravinoff, or better known to fans of Spider-Man as Kraven the Hunter.

The story of Kraven is told through the eyes of his daughter, Ana Kravinoff, and his first run-ins with Spider-Man, as well as an alliance with the master of deception and disguise, Chameleon, who would be later revealed as his half-brother.

Kraven the Hunter was a big game hunter whose obsession with defeating the web-head would cement his legacy as the greatest hunter of all time, according to Marvel.com.

Because of his large stature, he scorned the use of bows and arrows, guns and other manmade weapons by using his hands or traps he made himself to weaken his prey.

The story makes the comic book successful. This story is intriguing and an easy read for those looking to start collections or getting into the comic book business. Since the story is an origin story, it doesn’t just throw readers into the lion’s den

without giving them a back story.

Also, some think Kraven is an underrated character who doesn’t get his licks within the Spider-Man universe and is shadowed by major villains like Venom, Otto “Doc Ock” Octavius, Shocker, Electro and Mysterio.

The visuals are the little things that can hold a comic book back from being a sell. In this case, the cover art drew this reader in automatically, but within any comic book, the visuals can be either hit or miss. The visuals for this comic are a hit, because of the art and penciling by Ditko and Mike Mayhew.

Ditko and Mayhew are both illustrators for this issue of Spider-Man.

Ditko is the co-creator of Spider-Man, alongside Lee. During his time, he worked alongside Lee, and his rival company, DC Comics, creating such characters as the Blue Beetle, The Question and Captain Atom.

Mayhew has also penciled for Marvel in past comics such as “X-Men Origins” and “Justice League: Rise and Fall.”

The art of this book is visually stunning, especially the detail of both Spider-Man and Kraven, but also, paying attention to the little details that make the art successful like the buildings, the detail of the sub-characters, and specific attention to the various settings used.

Overall, this particular comic book passes with flying colors, as well as delivers on the thrill of the hunt for young readers as well as collectors.

Jose Gonzalez can be reached at 581-7942 or

jlgonzalez@eiu.edu.