Comic books are frequently snuffed out by many people who consider them to be less than literature in their own strange, immature realm. This has always bothered me. What makes a graphic novel with pictures and words any less of a piece of art than a traditional novel?

While this is a huge talking point for many creators and academics in comics, there have been certain stories, few and far between, that have challenged the ideals of what a comic book can and should be. Works like Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” or Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” are comic books infamous for their mature content and even more mature themes — the same sorts of themes some writers accuse the comic genre of lacking.

When it comes to Spider-Man, Marvel’s most famous hero, the creative duo of writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Mike Zeck gave Spider-Man his watershed moment with 1987’s “Kraven’s Last Hunt”. This comic has mature writing that deals with adult themes, supported by brutal and graphic artwork. “Kraven’s Last Hunt” ushered in a new wave of mature graphic novels in the 80s and 90s.

Kraven the Hunter, one of Spider-Man’s lesser-known supervillains, hatches his ultimate scheme to destroy the wall crawler once and for all. Kraven catches Spidey off guard one night, incapacitates him and buries him alive.

Once he’s buried, Kraven impersonates Spider-Man and brutally fights crime in a way the webhead never would. This story was an outlier at the time. There were not many stories in the Marvel pantheon that were as dark as this one. The comic had graphic depictions of blood, murder and gore, and the themes it covered, like mental health issues and legacy, were unique compared to other Spidey comics.

This comic took over all of Spidey’s monthly comics, which at the time were “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Web of Spider-Man and Peter Parker,” “The Spectacular Spider-Man.” This showed how much this story was pushed by the creative team. One can tell they were really confident and excited about this storyline, and that excitement can be felt by the audience when reading this story.

Every character in this story is expertly written, and this is thanks to writer DeMatteis. He has written hundreds of both Marvel and DC comics, but he has been widely known for his writing on Spider-Man ever since the early 1990s. He is responsible for many landmark moments in Spider-Man comics history, like the deaths of Peter’s beloved Aunt May and his best friend, Harry Osborn.

DeMatteis is a fan favorite Spidey author due to his consistency in portraying Peter Parker as a lovable yet unlucky superhero. Zeck is his partner in crime on this story, and he is widely known for illustrating many Marvel characters like Spider-Man and Punisher since the late 1970s.

Zeck’s artwork is stunning. It’s incredibly stylized, with his characters having huge, bulging biceps and exaggerated features like Spidey’s huge eyes. It is also graphic and horrific due to the subject matter. This story has various depictions of murder, gore and brutal violence. For Pete’s sake, the main hero gets shot and buried alive.

This story isn’t exactly made for a younger audience. Seeing a character like Spider-Man, who usually fights big rhinos or human goblins, Kraven gave Spidey a tranquilizer dart that had drugs in it, causing him to hallucinate. While Spidey breaks free from his coffin and climbs out of his dirty grave, he hallucinates and sees zombified versions of dead civilians, being reborn as a spider. It is a very bloody, esoteric and graphic depiction of near-death that greatly adds to the story’s gravitas.

This artwork compliments the mature nature of the story. The comic’s theme is essentially antithetical to many other story arcs. Supervillains always get defeated, then come back in the next issue. Throughout the story, Kraven is framed as the narrator. The story is told from his perspective, and he is constantly chanting in his head how he will overthrow Spider-Man and finally be better than him.

The ultimate climax is what shocked so many readers back in the day. Once Spider-Man confronts Kraven after being buried, Kraven gives up. He has no ultimate goal anymore. Spidey leaves to fight another villain, and Kraven’s narration continues. He reflects on his Russian heritage and how his parents raised him. Kraven, who up until this story has been a stoic, one-track hunter, peacefully looks back on his life. He reminisces about being told his mother was insane.

Lightning and thunder crack. Kraven cocks a rifle, puts it on the roof of his mouth and pulls the trigger. His lifeless, crimson body falls into an open coffin he set, along with a picture of him and his family from years ago, now caked in his blood.

It’s safe to say this story has one of the darkest conclusions for a superhero comic book story. This ending ties the whole tale together. “Kraven’s Last Hunt” is more than just a comic — it’s a character study. What does a character who is so dead set on his goals, like Kraven, do when he achieves them? In Kraven’s twisted mind, nothing.

This story subtly explores facets of mental health by giving the audience insight into Kraven’s inner thoughts. When published, it offered readers a more mature and gritty look into the world of Spider-Man and, in doing so, influenced many of his future stories. This storyline changed how many academics inside and outside of the industry viewed not just Spidey comics but graphic novels in general.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, many American comic books took on a darker, more mature tone. This comic certainly had an effect on that. Just a year later, DC released “The Killing Joke,” one of the most famous comic books in history. This story had similar mature themes dealing with a villain’s relationship to their hero, as well as mental health issues and brutal violence and killing. It’s no coincidence that “Kraven’s Last Hunt” came out before DC’s blockbuster hit.

“Kraven’s Last Hunt” is the most important Spider-Man comic due to its incredible effect on not just the comic book industry but outside of it as well.

Nicolas Scagnelli is a senior majoring in English.