Retro Review: Todd McFarlane's 'Torment'
Todd McFarlane's run on Spider-Man began with the five-issue "Torment", and has been considered one of the most tedious, drawn-out reads to beleaguer Spider-Man, which was perhaps all the more reason to revisit it. Last week, I talked smack on Vertigo's I, Zombie for failing to get the plot anywhere in the first issue, but "Torment" proved that plot stagnancy can spread itself for nearly the entirety of the story. Ever the optimist though, I found McFarlane's brain-spasm to be a fun read despite its eventlessness. There might be something to be learned here....
"Torment" visibly resides in the late-80's transition into the 90's, with a sprinkle of Watchmen between the panels as one leads into the next, gratuitous grit and innuendo liberally called upon as if to challenge the CCA label on the cover. The #1 issue includes a Stan's Soapbox welcoming the new wave of smaller publishers (ironic, considering what McFarland would do in under two years). The art is definitive McFarlane, with his meaty, childlike faces and sticky webbing often used to define the paneling. Mary Jane's hair exudes a glam that would put Jem to shame, her loving husband Peter doesn't seem to mind. Though it's visibly aged, McFarlane's understanding of visual storytelling is timeless; A repetitious DOOM DOOM sound effect reverberates on nearly every page, a foreboding beat found in modern comics to the tune of the Red Lantern's rage.
The usage of this sound effect is employed, like many lettered objects, as an element of the page, contributing to a motif of vertical panels. Long bars work to imprison the reader in narrow glimpses of the carnage that goes on between Spidey and The Lizard. There's a macabre oneness to the recurring objects of the story. Be it the spiders and the lizards, the blood and poison, or the mystical dances that accompany the voodoo drum beats, all the pieces interact to generate this semblance of cohesion; Though Spider-Man spends the whole of issue 3 immobilized by poison, the story still takes on a general form that sells its intent of telling you something. It appears to be mindlessly exploring the same sort of mysticism that can be found in today's ongoing Spider-Man:Fever. By the time you've finished issue 5, though, it turns out that this sluggish plot was actually the point of the tale. Calypso stopped The Lizard from feasting on Spidey on at least three occasions just to dangle his heroism in front of him, to torment him with the idea that his vigilantism places him in constant threat. That doesn't defend the endless pretentious splash pages, or the empty cliffhangers, or the pages of Mary Jane flitting around town just thinking about Peter (Though it does set up her obsession as an interesting parallel to The Lizard's bloodlust, for a quick scene. Shame there can't be more of it.)
I was unsettled by my conclusion to the I, Zombie #1 review. Why, after all the negativity, did I still feel obliged to buy issue 2? If "Torment" is any indicator, there's still so much to love about a comic despite its boorish writing. The art of the comic, its presentation, and still-visible influence on the other, better comics surrounding it, proves that having a pace modeled after molasses doesn't damn a book into irrelevancy, especially if it acknowledges and accepts its tendency to plod along. Get to it, Roberson!
Rubber Justice
Posted to Review on 12 May 2010
· Comments (1)
Other stuff like this: spider-man, Todd McFarlane, totally 90s
I’ve recently started a blog, the information you provide on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.