‘Marvel Team-Up’ returns in April

The first arc by Eve Ewing and Joey Vazquez will feature Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man.

One of the staples of Marvel’s 1970s/1980s comic line will return in April, as the publisher has announced plans to reboot Marvel Team-Up.

Written by Eve Ewing with art by Joey Vazquez, the first arc of the new ongoing series will feature a team-up between Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man. Ewing and Vazquez are also working together on a Ms. Marvel story that will be included in Ms. Marvel #38.

“I don’t want to reveal too much, but my goal with the story is to have maximum fun with two characters that are both really sweet and really cool people who are fan favorites (and faves of mine), and to put them both in some delightful awkward and uncomfortable situations where they have to stretch to the limits of their abilities,” Ewing told The Chicago Tribune.

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Comic creators share their #spidersona

Joe Quinones, Tony Moore, Dave Johnson and more share their interpretations of the popular meme that spun out of ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.’

Since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hit theaters last month, fans of the film have been sharing their #spidersona on social media. These creations often imagine the artist as a Spider-character.

Many pros have gotten in on the fun as well; here’s a collection of a few we’ve noticed. You can check out more — many, many more! — on Twitter and Instagram.

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Comics Lowdown: Mark Waid’s attorney asks for dismissal of Richard C. Meyer’s lawsuit

BOOM! Studios cancels ‘Husband and Husband’ collection after plagiarism charges! Image stops selling DRM-free digital comics directly! Chicago Sun-Times drops two pages of comics! Plus: Chip Zdarsky, NaNoWriMo, best of 2018 lists and more!

Mark Waid’s legal representative has asked the U.S. District Court for the Western district of Texas to dismiss the lawsuit filed against him by Richard C. Meyer. The civil lawsuit was filed in September and claims “tortious interference with contract and defamation.” You can read the motion on Newsarama.

“[Meyer] asserts claims against Mr. Waid for tortious interference with contract and defamation. These claims are completely meritless. But the problem at the outset, and which is proper to address, is that this Court lacks personal jurisdiction over Mr. Waid,” reads the motion. “Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to identify any allegations or facts establishing any connection between Mr. Waid and Texas. Instead, Plaintiff merely alleges a single phone call between Mr. Waid, who was in California at the time, and a San Antonio publishing company. That is far short of the necessary substantial connection with Texas to justify personal jurisdiction.”

Mark Waid and Richard Meyer have GoFundMe campaigns going to pay for their legal fees, both of which have reached their goals.

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Comics Lowdown: Stan Lee speaks out on elder-abuse allegations

Patti LaBoucane-Benson appointed to Canada’s Senate! Finding Olivia James at CXC! Plus: Grant Morrison, Matthew Thurber and why we love Spider-Man so dang much!

People: In an interview subtitled “Those I Trusted Betrayed Me,” Stan Lee speaks to The Daily Beast about elder-abuse allegations against his daughter and the removal of several of his associates from his life.

“There really isn’t that much drama,” Lee said. “As far as I’m concerned, we have a wonderful life. I’m pretty damn lucky. I love my daughter, I’m hoping that she loves me, and I couldn’t ask for a better life. If only my wife was still with us. I don’t know what this is all about.”

People: The Outside Circle comic writer Patti LaBoucane-Benson has been appointed to Canada’s Senate by Prime Minister Trudeau.

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Marvel to relaunch ‘Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ in January

Tom Taylor, Juann Cabal and Nolan Woodard team up to tell stories about Spidey’s ‘human side.’

Marvel has announced the return of another past Spider-Man title. Joining Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man in January is Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man by Tom Taylor, Juann Cabal and Nolan Woodard.

“[Spider-Man editor] Nick Lowe contacted me in a period where I was weighing up a lot of exciting writing offers, but as soon as I saw Spider-Man in the email, there was nothing else in my mind,” Taylor told Marvel.com. “Spidey was my first Marvel hero and a character I’ve always wanted an opportunity to write. As a fan, this is a bit of a dream come true. I was already writing X-Men and Star Wars comics for Marvel, and to add Spider-Man to that is, frankly, a little ridiculous.”

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Spidey villain gets his own title this fall in ‘Superior Octopus’

Christos Gage and Mike Hawthorne chronicle the adventures of Doctor Octopus and his new identity.

One of Spider-Man’s greatest foes — you know, the one who took over his body for a while? — is getting his own series. Superior Octopus by Christos Gage and Mike Hawthorne will launch this fall, spinning out of the Spider-Geddon event that will also bring us the new Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider title.

For those who aren’t up on their Spider-lore, Doctor Octopus traded bodies with Peter Parker in Amazing Spider-Man #698, setting the stage for Superior Spider-Man, where the villain took over Parker’s dual identities. Eventually Parker took control again, and the good doctor ended up in a new body during the “Clone Conspiracy” storyline. His Superior Octopus challenged Spider-Man during the whole Hydra Cap/Secret Empires story, and he showed up at the end of Dan Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man run to save Aunt May. Love never dies.

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IDW to publish ‘Spider-Man,’ ‘Avengers,’ ‘Black Panther’ series aimed at younger readers

Marvel and IDW team up to ‘develop middle-grade comic books designed for younger readers.’

I guess this shouldn’t come as a shock, given how Disney has licensed IDW to create Big Hero 6 and Star Wars comics aimed at younger readers, but still, that headline …

IDW and Marvel announced today that they “will develop middle-grade comic books designed for younger readers. Featuring some of Marvel’s most popular characters, the monthly issues and trade paperback collections, published by IDW, will be available for sale at local comic book shops and book retailers across the country, expanding opportunities for the next generation of Super Heroes to experience the Marvel Universe.”

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Spider-Man, Doctor Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, 90, passes away

The pioneer of psychedelic surreal comic book art impacted culture like no other.

by Stephanie Chan and James Vicari

Legendary comic book artist Stephen J. Ditko has passed away at his home at the age of 90. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, the New York Police Department said that Ditko’s body was found on June 29th. The cause of death has not been released, but it is believed that he passed away two days prior to being discovered.

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Check out André Lima Araújo’s unused ‘Old Man Peter Parker’ pitch

The ‘Avengers A.I.’ and ‘Generation Gone’ artist once pitched a series where an older Spider-Man took on King Venom in the ruins of New York.

Here’s a fun “what might have been” item: On Tumblr, Generation Gone and Black Panther: Long Live the King artist André Lima Araújo shares a pitch he once created while working on Avengers A.I. “Old Man Peter Parker” would have been a story in the vein of “Old Man Logan,” showing a future Spider-Man in a setting where the villains won.

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Comics Lowdown: TSA vs United Airlines – are comic books banned from flights?

Plus: Big Hero 6, DC saves the day, Graphix winners, Best comic shops in the US, Todd Klein’s SDCC, and Spider-Man mows a lawn!

Fly the confusing skies: While at the San Diego airport on Sunday morning, Twitter user @AdiChappo sent out a warning to other Comic-Con attendees about a comic book ban on flights. Recently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) suggested passengers needed to remove books from luggage for inspection, so this idea wasn’t out of the ordinary. Despite the fact that the pilot project was trashed due to civil liberty concerns, this was the message that greeted travelers:

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Comics Lowdown: More Manga, Scary Stories and an Inside Look at North Korea

A North Korean cartoonist looks at the lighter side of defection, an American cartoonist turns down an Iranian award, and Humanoids announces an all-ages horror graphic novel.

Struggles and Smiles: Former North Korean animator Choi Seong-guk was surprised at how different the comics were when he defected to South Korea: “When I first saw South Korean cartoons, I just didn’t get them,” he says. “There were no stories about patriotism or catching spies or war. They just seemed useless to me.” There were a lot of other differences too, including some idioms that he misunderstood. Now he has turned his experiences into an online comic that depicts both the funny and the serious side of the lives of North Koreans at home and in South Korea.

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