How to use this Page

Amazing Spider-Man #14

Story: Dan Slott

Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Oliver Coipel

Color: Justin Ponsor

Letters: Chris Eliopoulos

Publisher: Marvel 

Spider-Verse’s final chapter has finally arrived. On the whole, the event proved to be one of Marvel’s better endeavors in recent years. In a lot of ways it did for the Spider portion of the Marvel U what Sinestro Corps War did for Green Lantern. Both revealed an extensive importance of the character to their respective publishers that can sometimes be lost in the shadow of more publicized line-wide events. The premise, build up, and start of the arc were engaging and captivating which makes its ending in Amazing Spider-Man #14 feel a bit flat, but not in the way you might think.

Amazing Spider-Man #14 is all about the final battle between the Spider Totems of multiple realities and the vampire like Inheritors. The spiders converge on Loom World in an attempt to stop the blood ritual before it puts an end to every Spidey that was or will ever be. Writer, Dan Slott doesn’t skimp on the action or one-liners in this finale. You’ll even see a gif making moment with Spider-Gwen that makes the wait for her own series feel that much longer. So much of the prime cuts of the event have centered around the dynamics between this eclectic group — Miles and the Web Warriors, Gwen and Silk, and even Peter and Otto —  yet in the finale it gets over shadowed by the spectacle.

The issue is haunted by the feeling of exclusion. Should you not have read any of the tie-in books, you’ll likely be missing a lot of context for the return of Karn the Inheritor and some of the reasons not all the Spiders you saw in early chapters are nowhere to be found here. While it’s easy to forgive and accept spiders disappearing, the twist of Karn turning on his family should have been handled in the series proper.  Now that the event is over and Spider-Man is firmly on the road to Secret Wars, issue 15 could be the epilogue that gives us the character moments between all of the Spideys that didn’t get enough breathing room here.

Despite its faults, the issue really drives home the nature of what it means to be Spider-Man… Woman… Gwen… Pig, etc. Slott builds the tension to the moment of victory and manages to unite them all under the trait that separates Peter from the rest of the Marvel U, mercy. His solution to ending the conflict is well thought out and very in-tune to the nature of Spider-Man. He’s not a murderer and while that would have been an obvious way to go it’s a bit more satisfying keeping that part of Peter Parker intact.

Another thing the book does well, that others most times fail at, is sharing the art duties in a single story of an issue. Giuseppe Camuncoli is joined by the returning Oliver Coipel. While their styles aren’t remotely similar, the book manages to find an even flow that doesn’t halt or hinder the reader. Final battle chapters of stories are supposed to be visually big and this one does not disappoint one bit on the art front.

Ultimately, Spider-Verse couldn’t avoid the recent Marvel event syndrome of starting strong and finishing on a low. It had all the ingredients to end with more moments than it did, but instead steamrolled through the material and past character developments. The necessary finale gravitas is there, but anyone who isn’t Peter Parker doesn’t get an ending worth all the months of developing these awesome new spiders. If you’ve come this far there’s no reason to skip ASM #14. Those who want to come on board just for the ending, wait for the collected edition and enjoy Spider-Verse the right way.

Follow Dave on twitter where he tells you about the time he walked through a spider web at night and it scared him for life.

Written by Mike Costa, Spider-Verse #1 brings the various Spiders from different universes into Marvel’s Secret Wars. Unveiled on Nerdist today, the book brings together Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man India, Spider-UK, Spider-Man Noir, and Mayday Parker.

The official solicit goes like this:

SPIDER-VERSE #1

MIKE COSTA (w) • ANDRE ARUAJO (a)
Cover by NICK BRADSHAW

“Spinning out of the SPIDER-VERSE event, a team of Spiders finds themselves face-to-face with Battleworld! Starring SPIDER-GWEN, SPIDER-MAN NOIR, SPIDER-MAN: INDIA, MAYDAY PARKER, SPIDER-UK and SPIDER-HAM!”

During an interview Costa was asked if the symbiotie suit would be featured anywhere in Secret Wars. The writer jokingly replied “If I were in charge of Secret Wars, EVERYbody would have a symbiote, including Galactus. But… sadly for alien costumes everywhere, I am not in charge, so you’ll just have to wait and see where the suit turns up for yourself.”

In what’s already been a huge week for radioactive spider-people, this news could be more than just a  Secret Wars tie-in. The series could be an insight as to the direction Marvel will go with Spider-Man post Secret Wars. No information was given on the length of the series. We’ll post a review of today’s Spider-Verse conclusion in Amazing Spider-Man #14, as well as some thoughts on the future of all Spiders going forward.

Too Many Spiders

By David Nieves

Amazing Spider-Man #12

Written by Dan Slott   Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Justin Ponsor 

(NO ASM 12 SPOILERS)

We all know the cliché about too much of a good thing. Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott probably hasn’t heard it, which is far from a bad thing. The latest chapter of the ongoing spider-vent Spider-Verse continues the break neck pace and suprising intrigue using a smorgasbord of Spider-People

For the benefit of those without google, Spider-Verse is a war for the survival of the spiders of all realties because a terrifying vampirey family called the Inheritors is hunting around the multiverse devouring the life essence of Spider-People. Amazing Spider-Man #12 picks up right after the father of the Inheritors killed the cosmic Spider-Man in the dimension which had up to that point been a safe zone for the spiders of all realities. So far every Spider-Verse issue has pushed the story in a manner that does make ASM the only series you need to read to enjoy Spider-Verse. However issue twelve doesn’t do as much for readers who have been following all the tie-in books. The audience drops in on Jessica Drew with the Inheritors along with Spider-Man 2099’s autopsy of one of their enemies. In fact the only thread of the web not seen in this issue are the Scarlett Spiders in the clone factory. Once you get to the end of the issue, if you’ve managed to avoid the Internet spoilers, you will be in for a big moment at the end of the ASM 12.

Each ASM issue of Spider-Verse has introduced an alternate reality Spidey that’s stood out among others. Though his time was deliberately short, Spider-Banner from ASM #9 remains my favorite thus far. Chapter four has a spectacular run in by Takyua Yamashiro, the Spider-Man of Earth-51778. I hope we can call him Spider-Voltron without being sued.

Artist Giuseppe Camuncoli’s work can best be described as busy. For a story where the sheer number of characters on a page borders on gluttonous; very little space feels wasted. Slott works very well with Camuncoli’s art by keeping the dialogue necessary and letting the visual unfold the story. If there is one criticism that could be offered to the overall arc, it’s in the color work. While colorist Justin Ponsor does a solid job; the shifts to different dimensions feel too similar in tone. For a reader on the stand just flipping through the book it would be difficult to understand that these Spiders are in vastly different places.

As a stand-alone issue Amazing Spider-Man 12 has to be looked at in two ways. Readers who have been strictly sticking to Amazing Spider-Man have to pick up this issue to keep going on Spider-Verse. You’ve come this far and if this is the lull of the event then it did a horrible job of being boring. However should you be one of the die hard readers who’s kept up with every tie-in; you almost don’t need ASM 12 because much of the meat of the issue is simply keeping readers apprised on what’s going on in the other series. Overall, Spider-Verse as an event is doing the same magic for Spider-Man as a character that Sinestro Corps did for Green Lantern. It continues to prove you don’t need a company wide crossover to make an extravaganza that resonates.

By David Nieves

Marvel saved some big reveals for their NYCC curtain call. Among the top of those announcements is the creative team on Spider-Gwen #1. The ongoing series will be written by Jason Latour with Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renz. Introduced in Edge of the Spider-Verse #2, Gwen Stacy Spidey has become an overnight fan favorite and the series was a no brainer for Marvel. Spider-Gwen ongoing will debut in February 2015.

Nick Lowe announced Spider-Woman #1 with the creative team of Dennis Hopeless and art by Greg Land in November. 

Also announced on the panel was the Slik ongoing series launching February after Spider-Verse. Starring Cindy Moon, the character recently introduced inAmazing Spider-Man who was bitten by the same radioactive spider that gave Peter Parker his powers. Supernatural writer Robbie Thompson pens the book, while artist Stacey Lee draws them and Eisner Award winner Dave Johnson provides the covers.

We’ll update more as it comes in but in the meantime enjoy these gorgeous cover reveals. 

UPDATE: Marvel announces Scarlet Spiders, a three-issue miniseries written by Mike Costa and drawn by Paco Diaz. Spider-Verse Team-Up will be coming in November. Each issue has two stories in it, pairing classic Spidey writers and artist with newcomers.

During Marvel’s exclusive retailer meeting at NYCC, the publisher made a few updates concerning recent announcements. One of which will make the Spidey fans ecstatic was word of a new Spider-Gwen series in February of 2015. No official title was given but will see writer Jason Latour and artist Robbi Rodriguez returning to the character. No artwork or further details were given during the presentation.  The character first appeared in Edge of Spider-Verse #2  and with this new announcement looks like she’ll be surviving the upcoming Spider-Verse event in the Marvel 616.

by Alexander Jones

This early in the morning, it’s tough to get comics fans to wake up for anything. Luckily here at San Diego Comic-Con, there was a room full of eager Spidey fans frothing at the mouth to hear more news about the upcoming Spider-Verse event over at Marvel. The event combines every single Spider-Man character (owned by Marvel) into one jam packed story. This saw multiple heroes down at the show decked out in some awesome costumes. There was an Black Cat cosplayer in the room, a Miles Morales Spider-Man, and the original Peter Parker outfit as well.

The panelists included Dan Slott, writer of the event; Senior Editor Nick Lowe; Daredevil author Mark Waid; Superior Foes of Spider-Man author Nick Spencer; artist Humberto Ramos; and Amazing Spider-Man colorist Edgar Delgado. Nick Lowe solicited much excitement from the crowd who happy to oblige amongst some of the others. He teased that he was going to show some of the fans a video later on in the panel. Mark Waid was attempting to tease that artist Humberto Ramos was only late because he wanted to make a big entrance. This solicited even more applause from an energetic crowd.

We then got another tease at the Spider-Verse tease variant covers by Gabrielle Dell’Otto.

Another comic was shown off at the upcoming The Superior Spider-Man #32 by Slott and author Christos Gage, along with Giuseppe Camuncoli and Adam Kubert teased the Edge of Spider-Verse. Humberto Ramos then showed up to a crowd who didn’t give him any applause at first. The audience then gave him some news after the initial whimper. Lowe explained that they were not going to show us any of the art from Spider-Verse yet.

Slott elaborated on the return of Superior Spidey. He states that Spidey got caught in a time vacuum and ended up stranded in 2099, where the new comic book picks up. The audience was shown some variant Skottie Young covers that are absolutely gorgeous. The focus then naturally shifted over to Spider-Man 2099. Lowe asked the audience if they bought the title from Will Sliney and original creator of the hero; Peter David. The audience once again broke off into massive applause. The editor explained some of the premises behind the issue. Rick Leonardi was mentioned as returning to the book with Issues #4 and #5 coming in October.

Mark Waid then teased Daredevil during Original Sin, which focuses the spotlight on Matt Murdock’s mother. She had abandoned him as a child, and Matt sees her again when she has been on tough times and found her way to prison. She is on her way to Wakanda. The group teased pages from upcoming Daredevil #7. Lowe shared that the group has a terrifying story coming up entitled “Who Are The Purple Children.” Waid states that the happy-go-lucky Daredevil is now starting to lose his cool with this title.

Slott elaborated about the Original Sin storyline crossing into Spider-Man, which features the Spider that bit Peter has also bitten Cindy Moon. She is also known as the Spider-Bride by Ezekiel. Ezekiel served as Spidey’s mentor for a short  time. Ezekiel has been keeping Moon enslaved for a certain amount of time, and her breaking out of imprisonment is going to be a major inciting incident towards Spider-Verse.

Lowe then brought some more attention to The Superior Foes of Spider-Man. Author Nick Spencer was talking about how this comic is focusing on some of the C and D-list villains in the Marvel Universe. He teased that that the comic book series may be crawling down to a halt soon. Issue #14 shifts the character focus more towards Overdrive. Spencer noted that at times he only needs to write down a paragraph and then have artist Steve Lieber work out what the page in full is going to look like.

Edge of Spider-Verse #2 by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez was met with much fanfare, as it features the return of Gwen Stacy as an alternate Universe Spider-Man. Edge of Spider-Verse #3 is written by Gerard Way and Jake Wyatt was also met with much acclaim. Lowe stated that he has been trying to find a way to write for Marvel for some time. The musician turned comic artist has a massive following.

In The Amazing Spider-Man Issue #7, Dan Slott teased a brand new spider-Man that he created for Spider-Verse. The Spider-UK, who has supposedly been on the Captain Britain Corps. The next issue bring in the MC2 Spider-Girl known as Mayday Parker. Slott teased that she may be in for a “rough” time.

Spider-Verse Team-Up was then announced which is a new comic shipping in November. Each issue is being written by a different author. Christos Gage, Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, Dave Williams, and others will be penning the story.

The crowd was even more excited about the brand new Scarlet Spiders tale. The comic is a mini-series written by Mike Costa and drawn by Paco Diaz. The book features Ultimate Jessica Drew, Ben Reilly Spider-Man, and the Scarlet Spider. The cover teased was a variant issue drawn by long-time Ultimate Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley.

The trailer for a multi-media project was teased. Developed by Gameloft, the panel was teasing a video game entitled Spider-Man Unlimited. There are 23 playable Spider-Men in the brand new phone game. Lowe noted that each Spider-Man has different abilities, and there are going to be other villains in the title. The game is set-up like a Temple Run style format.

Whew! That is a lot of Spidey info. Spider-Verse kicks off in Amazing Spider-Man #9 in November.