Spider-Gwen swings back into the Marvel Universe next year

Stephanie Phillips and Chris Campana bring the Ghost Spider back to the 616.

After a few recent miniseries detailed what life is like for Spider-Gwen in her own universe, the Spiderverse-hopping hero will once again land in the 616 in a new title coming next year.

Writer Stephanie Phillips (Kicking Ice, Grim) and artist Chris Campana (Red Goblin, The Adventures of Parker Reef) will bring Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider to New York, home of many Marvel heroes and, of course, the home of the deceased 616 Gwen Stacey. Mark Brooks will provide covers.

“Right after I started working on this new Spider-Gwen ongoing, I saw a little girl on Halloween dressed as Gwen and hitting some cool Spidey poses,” Phillips said. “It was kind of a surreal moment to realize that I get to be a part of Gwen’s next big chapter, bringing her into the 616 and giving readers stories that make us rethink who Gwen is and what her role is within this new universe. I’m also working on this story with the incredible Chris Campana, a great collaborator and friend, and I truly believe this is one of the most special books I’ve been a part of.”

Campana echoed Phillips’ comments about working together on the series.

“Stephanie’s writing allows for a ton of artistic freedom, while providing a great framework to work inside of,” Campana said. “I was onboard the moment I heard she was attached.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Bendis + Maleev reveal their ‘Masterpiece’

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Charles Soule, Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque, David and Maria Lapham, Zack Kaplan, Emily Carroll and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen go double-sized in March

Marvel announces plans for ‘Giant-Size Spider-Gwen,’ Miles Morales #300 in Los Angeles.

During a panel at this weekend’s L.A. Comic Con, Marvel announced two extra-sized doses of the Spider-gang that will arrive in stores next March.

Spider-Gwen will get the Giant-Size spotlight in Giant-Size Spider-Gwen by Melissa Flores and Alba Glez, while Miles Morales will celebrate 300 issues in the oversized Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 by Cody Ziglar and a host of artists, including Sara Pichelli and Federico Vicentini.

“To be completely honest, it’s very surreal to be able to write Miles’ 300th issue,” Ziglar said. “This is a character I’ve been following and rooting for for almost 12 years now. There’s so much crammed into this issue and I’m forever grateful that I have been trusted to continue to carry the torch for Miles after [Brian Michael] Bendis and [Saladin] Ahmed.”

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Spider-Gwen and The Mary Janes will hit the road in December

Marvel announced ‘Spider-Gwen: On Tour’ by Melissa Flores and Enid Balám in San Diego.

The ever-popular Spider-Gwen will return in a new miniseries this December by writer Melissa Flores and artist Enid Balám.

Spider-Gwen: On Tour will feature Gwen and her band, the Mary Janes, opening a for a major act on their tour — a major act that a mysterious assassin has their sights on.

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Chaos reigns in Marvel’s annuals this summer

Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and more will be drawn into a plot by Agatha Harkness in ‘Contest of Chaos.’

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned summer annual crossover, nor is there anything like a good old-fashioned superhero tournament. And Marvel has both going on this summer.

In the spirit of Atlantis Attacks and Contest of Champions, this summer will bring Contest of Chaos, which will run through several Marvel annuals and features a rejuvenated Agatha Harkness using her chaos magic to cause “Let’s you and him fight” confrontations between different Marvel characters.

Stephanie Phillips is spearheading the event, which will kick off with a prelude issue in Scarlet Witch Annual #1 by Steve Orlando and Carlos Nieto. It’ll then run through eight other Marvel annuals, including the big finale in Avengers Annual #1 in September.

Here’s a rundown of who is fighting who, and when and where …

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Marvel’s ‘What If?’ returns this summer

Walt Simonson, Gerry Conway, Stephanie Phillips, Scott Eaton and more create new stories set in alternate universes.

Marvel has announced the return of What If?, their classic alternate history comic, for the summer, with four one-shots planned under the title What If? Dark.

I chuckled a bit when I saw that they added “Dark” to the title. If you ever read any of the original What If? run, you know that more times than not, the stories would take a dark turn. For instance, “What If Phoenix Had Lived?” ended with the death of pretty much everything else.

In any event, What If? helped introduce Marvel’s version of the multiverse, and this year will introduce four new universe where things took a different turn. The one-shots also mark the return of two classic Marvel creators, Walt Simonson and Gerry Conway, as they revisit stories they’ve become synonymous with.

Here’s the rundown:

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Spider-Gwen encounters more clones in a new miniseries

‘Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones’ by Emily Kim and Kei Zama introduces a new set of familiar villains designed by Peach Momoko.

Following the events of the recent Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse miniseries that pit a multiverse of Gwen Stacys against the villain Finale, Marvel has announced Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones by Emily Kim and Kei Zama.

The miniseries will feature the character sometimes known as Ghost Spider battling an army of Gwen Stacy clones based on various Spider-Man villains, including Sandman, Vulture and more. The new verisons of Gwen have all been designed by artist Peach Momoko.

“I was a little nervous taking on Spider-Gwen because she’s such an iconic hero,” Kim said. “But the rich story premise and fantastic team has made the process a blast. I’ve quickly fallen in love with Gwen and her unique voice and am excited for people to see how she handles a crazy slew of Gwen clones.”

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Mail Call | John Ridley makes his Marvel debut in January

A round-up of news from Marvel, IDW, Top Shelf and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

Academy Award winner John Ridley has several projects in the works at DC right now, but DC’s not the only publisher he’s doing work for. Marvel has announced that the writer of 12 Years A Slave will have a story in Wolverine: Black, White and Blood #3. The anthology series will feature short stories about the popular mutant, told in black and white … and red. Jorge Fornés is the artist on his story.

“I can think of no better way to kick off my writing relationship with Marvel Comics than by contributing to a truly fantastic anthology series centered around Wolverine,” Ridley told Marvel.com. “Equally exciting is having the story illustrated by Jorge Fornés. I look forward to writing more stories set in the Marvel Universe, and with their roster of iconic characters.”

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‘King in Black’ expands its kingdom

Marvel announces several tie-in titles for the upcoming Venom-centric crossover.

Symbiotes are back in fashion this winter, as Marvel’s King in Black event stretches its gooey black tentacles out to characters from Daredevil to Spider-Gwen to Valkyrie.

In case you need a refresher, Knull is the god of the symbiotes, and in King in Black, he’ll be taking on not just Venom, but the Avengers, the X-Men, the Hulk and more, as he heads for Earth. Now Marvel has revealed details on what existing and new titles will help support the event.

Here’s a rundown of what to expect:

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‘Ghost Spider’ relaunches in August

Seanan McGuire and Takeshi Miyazawa bring Spider-Gwen over to the 616.

While she’ll always be Spider-Gwen in our hearts, the character now known as Ghost Spider (which is a pretty cool name, too) is getting another reboot in August. This time around she’ll be spending more time in the 616, as she enrolls at Empire State University, where Peter Parker has spent a few semesters over the course of the last five decades.

“After dipping her toes into the main Marvel Universe, Gwen Stacy is finally taking the leap part-time as she enrolls in Empire State University,” Assistant Editor Danny Khazem told Marvel.com. “But Gwen’s going to need to do her Spider-History research if she’s going to figure out just who from Spider’s past is keeping tabs on her!”

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Spider-Gwen gets a relaunch, new creative team — and a new name

Seanan McGuire, Rosi Kämpe and Bengal leap into action as the creative team on ‘Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider.’

Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez wrapped up their run on Spider-Gwen this week, finishing up their story of the alternate reality Gwen Stacy who gained the Spider- powers instead of Peter Parker. But that’s not the end for the character — Marvel announced in San Diego this week that the character will return in a new title with a new name — Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider

The new series will be written by Seanan McGuire, an award-winning novelist and filker. She expressed her excitement over her new writing gig on Twitter:

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