10 Marvel Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

6. Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

Despite having been around around for as long as the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, Kraven The Hunter never seems to have caught on as a classic Spider-Man villain in the same way. Maybe it's because his schtick - big game hunter who wears a lion pelt and hunts superheroes like he's on safari - is somehow more ludicrous than even theirs, or simply because he's not ridiculous enough to stand up against, say, a man who can turn into sand. We're talking about the Sandman there, FYI.

Both Spidey and his readers took Kraven seriously after this book, though, thanks to J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck. Kraven's Last Hunt does rely on some backstory, but most of it comes across in the text itself: you know that he's been after Spidey for a while, and has never bettered him. The webhead himself is clad in his black costume, but that's not really important to the plot, and serves more to highlight the dark nature of this story. It's a lyrical and almost classical tragedy, a wonderfully complex twist on superhero norms as Kraven seemingly "kills" Spider-Man and takes his place, masquerading in a copycat costume and dispensing violent justice against New York's supercriminals.

With a photorealistic art style by Zeck and DeMatteis totally getting away with quoting William Blake poetry throughout, this is a genuinely mature and literary comic book that happens to be about a dude dressed as a spider and another dressed as a lion tamer. It's a fascinating depiction of insanity and violence, and will blow away comic fans and newbies alike.