Joe Kelly’s tenure on Amazing Spider-Man will extend beyond “The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man,” the storyline currently running in the title. Marvel has announced that John Romita Jr. and Pepe Larraz will join the writer on a new Amazing Spider-Man #1 next April.
According to Marvel, the new title will feature “classic” Spider-Man storytelling, featuring Peter Parker, his new girlfriend Shay, the redeemed Norman Osborn and “the greatest supervillains in all of pop culture.” Batman may have a thought about that last one …
“Even though this is a new #1, I don’t think of it as a ‘restart’ per se,” Kelly told Polygon. “I’m writing the next chapter of the story of one the world’s greatest characters, lucky enough to follow in the footsteps of the folks before me. After that sinks in, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I love about Spider-Man and his cast, what stories resonated with me at different times of my life, and how I can synthesize all of that into something that works with what came before but breaks new ground. I’m fascinated by the internal lives of these characters and exploring new territory there — Peter’s youth is interesting, for example, the days before he was “puny Parker” in high school. At the same time, I feel a drive to take bold, unexpected swings in order to see how Spider-Man deals with Marvel-sized curve balls. Pressure makes diamonds.”
Marvel shared more details on what to expect:
The new run finds Peter without a job and looking for gainful employment, but his job search is interrupted by a rampaging Rhino who is but the tip of a sinister iceberg. What major Spider-Villain is working behind the scenes weaponizing other Spider-Villains including one we haven’t seen in OVER SEVEN YEARS?! Also, what is that Goblin-free Norman Osborn up to these days?
“The most important part of Spider-Man that I wanted to portray accurately is Peter,” Larraz said. “Of course I can talk about drawing a believable New York, I shot hundreds of pictures of details of the city for reference, or how I’ve focused on drawing the flow of Spidey’s movement and speed in a way closer to animation than comics. But I think Spider-Man comics work because we care about Peter and his world, so that was my main focus: To draw a Peter that you instantly recognize and empathize [with].”
Amazing Spider-Man #1 arrives in stores April 9.