After teasing earlier this week that the Amazing Spider-Man title would be relaunched with artist John Romita Jr. today Marvel officially announced details for this new era of Amazing Spider-Man this April. After taking part in the current “Beyond” era as part of the rotating writing team, it appears Zeb Wells will be taking over as solo writer for the relaunched Amazing Spidey title.
Wells of course is no stranger to helming Spidey having been involved in the “Brand New Day” era of Amazing Spider-Man. However, this time he’s flying solo as writer. Likewise, Romita Jr. is known for his acclaimed runs on various Spider-Man projects, in particular the Amazing Spidey title. For this run, JRJR will be joined by inker Scott Hanna and colorist Marcio Menyz.
A cryptic teaser from yesterday hinted at a seismic new status quo for the web-slinger and Marvel hinted at what’s to come:
Peter’s on the outs with the FF. He’s on the outs with the Avengers. He’s even on the outs with Aunt May! After a terrible and mysterious incident, no one wants to see Spider-Man – except for Doctor Octopus. Ock’s on Spider-Man’s tail and the Master Planner has something truly terrible planned for when he gets his tentacles on Spidey. All that, and Tombstone makes a move that will remind readers why he’s one of Spider-Man’s most terrifying villains…
Incidentally, this year marks the 60th anniversary of Spider-Man so it’s rather fitting that Marvel enlisted legendary John Romita Jr. to return to the title. In the official press release, JRJR discussed his history with the character and what it means to be back on Marvel’s flagship book.
“Ever since my father told my brother and me that Spider-Man/Peter Parker lived close to our home in Queens, NYC, we were hooked! We talked Spider Man on long drives to family get-togethers, and it was as if we had an extra family member!
“As luck would have it, my brother Vic had the brains and went in another direction, while I had a little bit of art in me. As luck would also have it, I was able to watch the greatest Spider-Man artist, my father, John, work with the greatest Spider Man writer, Stan Lee, on the greatest character of all time. Fortunately, after joining the comic book universe, I was given a chance to work on this great character, the Amazing Spider-Man. I was terrified! How do I follow my father??? How do I follow any of the previous Spidey artists?? I had no idea, but I stuck it out and got lucky. The subsequent runs were much less terrifying, and became more and more fun. There was one particular run that was incredibly fun, but also incredibly important to me. The 9/11 issue may well be with me for as long as I live. One commonality with all the runs, was working with the brilliant writers and artists….. again, luck!!
“To take being lucky to another level: Marvel has allowed me to get back to work on this amazing character, and work with another brilliant writer, Zeb Wells! The stories are stunning and I am reading the scripts with a grin and wonderment…..then wondering how the heck to do them justice!!
“Well, fortunately, I have a close friend and brilliant artist to help me do that. Scott Hanna and I have worked on this character before and Scott is still a brilliant artist who will continue to be brilliant, lucky for me and anyone who looks at the art. Adding to Scott and myself is the third artist, the color artist, Marcio Menyz. It’s difficult to describe how wonderful his work is, so to save space and everyone’s patience, I’ll let it speak for itself! It’s stunning!!
“The editorial team beginning with Nick Lowe, adding in Lindsay Cohick, and Kaeden McGahey, make the work process smoother. Judging by the scope of Zeb’s stories, I can use all the help I can get!
“One commonality here, is how lucky I am to be back working on my ‘other’ brother, Spider-Man, and to be back with my professional ‘family,’ Marvel. Thanks folks, I’ll work hard to make you proud!”
Check out preview pages below and look for Amazing Spider-Man #1 to arrive in stores on April 6, 2022
This looks better than JRJR’s recent Superman work. Possibly Klaus Janson was not the right inker for him, or JRJR is trying harder now?
same old. sigh. relaunch. sigh. count me out.
Loving Peter’s smirk!
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