It’s hard out there, even for a genetically enhanced superperson Spider Man will learn the hard way on its next relaunch. Polygon can exclusively announce that Marvel’s The great Spider-Man #1from writer Joe Kelly and artists Pepe Larraz and John Romita Jr., will be released in April 2025.
The pieces are set for a classic Spider-Man adventure: Peter Parker is unemployed, the Rhino is on the loose, and according to the book’s official synopsis, “a major Spider-villain is working behind the scenes to arm other Spider-heroes. ” -Villains, including one we haven’t seen in OVER SEVEN YEARS?!”
Meanwhile, Norman Osborn is Goblin-free and… well, that’s up to Kelly, Larraz and Romita Jr. to reveal.
Based on the enthusiastic responses sent to Polygon, Kelly and Larraz are living a dream with this new Spider-Man book – both men cite the hero as one of their first comic book obsessions as kids. So where do you start when challenged to add to the webslinger’s 60-year legacy and his rogue’s gallery?
“Humility is a good start,” Kelly writes back with a well-deserved smile emoji. “Even though this is a new #1, I don’t necessarily consider it a ‘reboot’. I’m writing the next chapter in the story of one of the world’s greatest characters, who is fortunate enough to follow in the footsteps of those before me. After that sinks in, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I like about Spider-Man and his cast, what stories resonated with me at different times in my life, and how I can boil that all down into something that works with what I do. has been there before, but is breaking new ground. I’m fascinated by the internal lives of these characters and exploring new territory there. Peter’s childhood, for example, is interesting, the days before he was “puny Parker” in high school. At the same time, I feel the urge to take bold, unexpected swings to see how Spider-Man handles Marvel-sized curve balls. Pressure makes diamonds.”
Approaching Spidey as a lifelong fan, Larraz also found himself drawn to the icon’s physicality.
“The main part of Spider-Man that I wanted to accurately portray is Peter,” he said. “Of course I can talk about drawing a believable New York, I took hundreds of photos of details of the city for reference, or how I focused on drawing the flow of Spidey’s movements and speed in a way that was closer to animation than resembles comics. But I think Spider-Man comics work because we care about Peter and his world, so that was my main focus: to draw a Peter that you immediately recognize and empathize with. Luckily, Joe’s script is fantastic and he captured Peter’s voice so perfectly that it made the job much easier for me.”
Larraz not only credits Kelly’s humor and sense of action for making illustrating a Spider-Man book so exciting, but also nods to colorist Marte Gracia (“a guarantee that whatever I do, the book will be beautiful”) and Marvel editor Nick Lowe for the support needed to bring it all to life in an authentic way.
“I didn’t think we could get Joe for a substantial series of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN,” Lowe said in a statement. ‘He’s always so busy with animation, television and films that he usually just dips in and out of comics. That’s why we asked him for ‘The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man.’ He was doing so well, so when he asked if we would consider him as the continuing writer, I felt like I had won the lottery. Add to that the masterful and supersonic talent of Pepe Larraz and we knew we had the makings of an instant classic. Then John Jr. voted. agreed to stay on…fireworks went off. I better go buy some lottery tickets!”
Take a look for the first time Awesome Spider-Man #1 below. The book will be available in comic shops on April 9, 2025.