A MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL
By Susan K Putney & Berni Wrightson (Marvel)
ISBN: 0- 87135-154-4
Marvel’s experiment with graphic novel publishing in the 1980s produced some classy results that the company has seldom come close to repeating since. Both original concepts and their own properties were represented in that initial run and many of the stories still stand out today – or would if they were still in print.
One such is this charming fantasy fable written by Susan K. Putney and painted by comic-book legend Berni Wrightson. Marandi Sjörokker is not the twelve year girl she appears to be. For a start she’s been twelve for over two hundred years, and when she introduces herself by calling Spider-Man “Petey†she reveals how she knew him when he was a toddler and she delivered his Uncle Ben’s newspapers.
And so begins a wild and gently charming other-dimensional romp, full of action and spectacle, as the web-slinger takes a break from his grim and grimy reality to help the permanently adolescent sorceress against the demonic and unstoppable TordenKakerlakk (which I’m reliably informed is Norwegian for Thunder Cockroach). Moreover, this witty, whimsical coming-of-age tale is beautifully and imaginatively illustrated by a master craftsman. A wonderful change-of-pace tale that perfectly displays the versatility of everybody’s favourite wall-crawler – and one long overdue for re-release.
© 1986 Marvel Entertainment Group/Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.