Spider-Man Begins a Brand New, and Very Cosmic, Marvel Adventure

Joe Kelly's current run on Amazing Spider-Man has just finished its first arc, which also marked the first Spider-Man storyline drawn by superstar artist, Pepe Larraz, best known for his work on the X-Men titles. The other ?main" artist on the series, John Romita Jr., is about to start his first arc on the book this week with a story featuring the Black Cat. Marvel, though, is already looking past that arc to show the fascinating new angle on the series where both Larraz and Romita will work TOGETHER, as Amazing Spider-Man will soon star TWO Spider-Men!

In September's Amazing Spider-Man #11, Spider-Man will be split into two different versions of himself, echoing shades of the classic 1960s story, Superman-Red and Superman-Blue, and while one version of Spider-Man will be lost in outer space, fighting to return home, the other one will continue to have Earthbound adventures.

Who will draw which Spider-Man?

Pepe Larraz will be drawing the cosmic version of Spider-Man, including a brand-new "Cosmic" costume that Larraz designed for the hero...

The new costume will debut in Amazing Spider-Man #11, which also serves as the 975th issue of Amazing Spider-Man all-time....

Larraz will split art duties on the issue, with John Romita Jr. drawing the adventures of the Spider-Man who remains on Earth. It all ties to a not-yet-published storyline involving the mysterious new Spider-Man villain, Hellgate. Spider-Man's confrontation with Hellgate will result in Spider-Man being split into two, but it is unclear which one is the REAL Peter Parker.

While Spidey is having his cosmic adventures (which will involve a brand-new character named Symbie, who will be one of Spider-Man's cosmic traveling companions), back on Earth, the wallcrawler will be acting much more aggressively, which will lead to his fellow Spider-heroes trying to step in to make sure that Spidey doesn't take things too far. That will go down in Amazing Spider-Man #12, which will be drawn by John Romita Jr., since it will be an "earthbound" issue. It is unclear how long the book will be split up like this.

What does Joe Kelly have to say about the storyline?

In a Marvel press release announcing this big status quo change, Joe Kelly explained the impetus for this idea, "I love really grounded, Manhattan based Spider-Man stories, and I also love when he's in 'fish-out-of-water' mode. You don't get much farther from the pond than deep space. But why choose? Why not have... both? Hence, this Tale of Two Spider-Men."

Kelly continued, "On either track, Spider-Man is facing down his personal demons in the wake of Hellgate's brutal debut, because no matter where Spider-Man goes he brings inner turmoil with him. There are a lot of pyrotechnics in this arc, new characters and threats, but also a ton of heart as Peter and those closest to him try to move forward with their lives in the aftermath of a devastating event."

Amazing Spider-Man #11 is due out September 3rd.

Source: Marvel