New Spider-Man Comic Goes Back to Basics

New York is calling Spidey home.

By Jesse Schedeen

Marvel has announced (via Entertainment Weekly) a new monthly Spider-Man comic called Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man. Written by Chip Zdarsky (Star-Lord) and drawn by Adam Kubert (All-New, All-Different Avengers), this series aims to provide readers with a more traditional Spidey status quo while still reflecting current developments in Dan Slott's Amazing Spider-Man.

According to EW, Spectacular will co-exist with Amazing but feature a more familiar New York setting and supporting cast. The series will make its debut in the form of a Free Comic Book Day one-shot in May, with the main series to debut in June.

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 cover by Adam Kubert. (Marvel Comics)

Zdarsky spoke to EW about the connection between the two titles, saying, "With this book, we’re using the same Spider-Man in-continuity but shifting the spotlight back to his NYC environment and supporting cast. But even though we’re pushing to make it a more personal book, we’re still going to have big adventures with ramifications that’ll be felt in his other books. If I had, like, a true mission statement for the title though, it would be: 'Have fun, have heart, have stakes.'”

Zdarsky also elaborated on Spidey's status as the perennial everyman hero. "Spider-Man is kind of like when you’re a kid and you go to camp or a new school, and you think, 'I can be a new person here,' but you invariably end up with the same problems because you’re still, you know, the same person. Peter can be having a crummy time of things, put on his Spider-Man outfit and feel like he can do anything. But inevitably his “Parker luck” spoils things, even as Spider-Man. And part of the fun of the character is seeing how he gets out of the holes he digs for himself."

Scarlet Spider #1 cover by Mark Bagley. (Marvel Comics)

Spectacular isn't the only new Spider-Man comic making its debut in the next few months. Last month, Marvel revealed that the recently resurrected Ben Reilly will be the star of a new series called Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider. We also know that Slott's Amazing Spider-Man is gearing up for a major new story arc after The Clone Conspiracy, as artist Stuart Immonen joins the series and Peter has his long-awaited showdown with Norman Osborn.

Look for Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 to debut in June.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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