Spider-Man: The Clone Saga Omnibus Volume One

Marvel Comics

Writers: Todd Dezago, Howard Mackie, Terry Kavanagh, J. M. DeMatteis

Artists: Mark Bagley, Steven Butler, Liam Sharp, Phil Gosier

The clone saga. This is probably the most controversial period for a character in the entire history of Marvel comics. Back in the ’90s, it seemed like every major character had to go through a traumatic experience. Batman had his back broken, Superman died, Wolverine had his adamantium ripped out and Spider-man got cloned. That probably doesn’t sound as distressing as what the other heroes went through, huh? Let me assure you though, this period in the wall-crawler history had a massive effect on the character. This omnibus covers the first 45 comic releases of the saga along with material from the Spider-man Collectors’ Preview.  Let’s have a look.

I’d mentioned in my previous review of the New X-men omnibus that it was a big book at 1100 pages. This one’s even bigger. This first volume of the Clone Saga weighs in at 1240 pages. It’s a big boy so you’re definitely getting a lot of content for your money here. Unfortunately, the larger size does make it more difficult to handle. This is definitely one of those books you’ll want to read at a desk or with it on your lap. Despite that, I have to say that it’s actually of better build quality than the smaller New X-men omnibus. That book was 140 pages smaller but it still had some gutter loss in between pages due to the binding. This one doesn’t. I’ve been through the whole book and it’s laid out perfectly. Whoever Marvel has making these books really deserves a pay rise.

In terms of content, this omnibus is no slacker. We have appearances from a number of classic Spider-man villains: Venom, Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, The Jackal, The Sinister Six, and to a lesser extent, Puma. This book also introduces a number of new bad guys for the web-head to battle. We see the debuts of Judas Traveller, Kaine, Stunner, and The Grim Hunter. They’re hit or miss but it’s nice to see some experimentation with new characters. The ’90s get a lot of criticism for the new characters they introduced. They’re often considered edgy, overly-violent clichés with too many pouches on their outfits. In some cases that’s true but I’ve always appreciated the creators for not just sticking to the same old characters. They took a financial and creative risk every time they made a new character in the ’90s and they deserve credit for that.

I’d say that there are two major plotlines running throughout this book. The first is the failing health of Aunt May. The second is the sudden appearance of Ben Reilly, a clone of Spider-man. These both lead to massive changes for Spider-man as a character. The Aunt May storyline is probably the highlight of this omnibus. May has been around since the beginning of Spidey comics and she’s endeared herself to the fans over the years. She’s been portrayed as a frail, sickly old woman for so long but she always pulls through.  You’d think that’d take some of the weight away from a story like this. It doesn’t though and it’s heartbreaking to see Spidey and his supporting cast confront the idea of finally losing her.

The Ben Reilly story continues into the volume two omnibus and I’d argue it’s the bigger revelation of the two. It alters the history of the Spider-man character and resulted in changes to the Spider-man books that came afterward. I think that’s one of the major issues a lot of people take with the Clone Saga. People generally don’t like change. Despite this it is a good story, certainly, at the point, this book ends in any way. There’s the tiniest hint of pacing issues thanks to the multiple writers involved by the end of the book. It’s not too noticeable though and I found this omnibus thoroughly enjoyable. Also, despite having another volume this book doesn’t end on much of a cliffhanger. It can be read on its own. There are plot points that the next volume goes into but you don’t need to get both to understand this book.

In terms of special features, you get a fair amount here. As I mentioned, you get the Collectors’ Preview. It features interviews with Mark Bagley, J.M, DeMatteis, Steven Butler, Terry Kavanagh, Howard Mackie, Tom Lyle Sal Buscema, and Tom DeFalco. They talk about the creative process, being veterans of the comic industry and Spider-man in general. It’s fairly interesting. Plus, we get early sketches of the Scarlet Spider and numerous essays about the wall-crawler and the characters around him. Finally, we get a stack of alternate and unused covers, profiles of various villains, poster art, and pencils. This omnibus certainly isn’t skimping out in this regard.

Overall, I’d say this book is worth the money. Not every story’s great but they’re usually entertaining. It’s like most periods in Spider-man history in that regard. The artwork and writing is pretty solid. There are brief moments where I think that too many cooks start to spoil the broth though. I’d recommend giving this book a read, even just for the historical importance. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite its flaws and I’m fairly picky about what I like. If you’re a comic fan curious about the Clone Saga then try not to let the hate it gets put you off. There’s a lot of bandwagoning in the comics fandom and you should always make up your own mind.