Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: March 2002
Cover Price: $2.25
Writer: Kaare Andrews
Artist: Kaare Andrews
Young Peter Parker arrives at his dojo, late for practice, to discover that Venom has killed his sensei. Before his final breath, Peter’s sensei instills within him a deep sense of responsibility. However, Venom’s employer, the Kingpin, is disappointed that the entire Spider Clan was not destroyed – so the lord of the Kuji Kuri dispatches the enforcer to kill the last remaining member of the Spider Clan: Peter Parker. Bearing the burden of his sensei’s death, Peter dons a costume and begins training heavily to avenge his loss. In the battle that ensues, Spider-Man must make a decision between avenging his sensei’s death by killing Venom, or saving innocent lives that are threatened. For Spider-Man? It’s really no decision at all…
This was the first of the Mangaverse specials to not let me down. And, actually, I was rather impressed with it. Kaare Andrews’ character designs fit very well into the Mangaverse and his art is superbly dynamic and fun to look at. His script kept it simple and to the basics of the Spider-Man character. A little Eastern sensibility was added to the Spider-story but, it all pulls together nicely and sets up a greater story to be told. Fortunately, this is the one Mangaverse one-shot that was, indeed, followed up on with a mini series, years later.
On Ebay: Mangaverse | Spider-Man | Kaare Andrews
On AtomicAvenue: Mangaverse