Comics: Current Title Summary
One of the questions we often get asked is "I'm thinking about starting (or restarting) reading Spider-Man comics, but I don't understand all these different Spider-Man comics..."
Well, here's a quick summary to the current Spider-Man titles. You can find a complete listing and detailed reviews in the Comics Index.
Spider-Man Core Titles
Ongoing mainstream titles in which Spider-Man is a headline character.
- Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1):
Amazing Spider-Man is the original Spider-Man title, launched in 1963 under Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and it's still going strong. From January 1999 to December 2003 it was renumbered Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2), which is why there are no issues #442-499 listed here. Obviously, there's been a few creative changes since Stan and Steve's day. Currently, this title is published three times per month and has four different teams of writers and artists working on alternating story arcs. It is the core Spidey title in the mainstream Marvel Universe, and an absolute must for even the casual Spidey fan.
- Avenging Spider-Man:
When fan favorite artist Joe Madureira announced that he wanted to draw Spider-Man it was only a matter of time before he was matched up with famous Spidey writer Zeb Wells to produce an ongoing title that would feature Spider-Man teaming up with interesting characters. Thus the title Avenging Spider-Man was born and sent to the printing press.
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Spider-Man Team Titles
Ongoing mainstream titles in which Spider-Man is a regular team member.
- Avengers (Vol. 4):
In the new "Heroic Age", the Avengers side of the Marvel Universe has grown to spawn four or five different "Avengers" teams. Spider-Man is a member of both of the core "Avengers" team (in this comic), and also of the the slightly more quirky "New Avengers" (see the New Avengers (Vol. 2) title).
- FF:
The Human Torch is "dead" but he asked Spider-Man to take his place in the Fantastic Four. However with Torch gone, the Fantastic Four have changed their name to The Future Foundation.
- New Avengers (Vol. 2):
After the fall of Asgard, Steve Rogers, the former Captain America, reformed the Avengers, and then grouped them into various teams, this team operates out of the refurbished Avengers Mansion, and is lead by Luke Cage.
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Spider-Man Spin-Offs
Spin-Off titles for characters that clearly leveraged Spider-Man in mainstream Marvel continuity.
- Scarlet Spider (Vol. 2):
This title is currently active.
- Spider-Island: Amazing Spider-Girl:
As Spider-Island rages in Amazing Spider-Man, Anya Corazon/Spider-Girl finds herself repowered by The Jackal's plot.
Continuing her story from Spider-Girl #1-8, Spider-Island: Amazing Spider-Girl sees Spider-Girl face The Society Of The Wasp, Hobgoblin and The Kingpin!
- Spider-Island: Cloak & Dagger:
As Spider-Island unfolds, the heroic duo of Cloak and Dagger (Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen) become embroiled in the mayhem! They have already witnessed the spider-powers of a regular New Yorker (in Amazing Spider-Man #663) but are they now ready to face Mr. Negative!?!
- Spider-Island: Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu:
Shang-Chi, the Master Of Kung Fu, has recently been training Spider-Man in his own style of Kung Fu.
As the events of Spider-Island unfold, he has also been infected with spider-powers!
- Venom (Vol. 2):
The Venom Symbiote once attached to Eddie Brock, then Mac Gargon (The Scorpion), has been weaponized by the US Military, and now it has been attached to Flash Thompson, Peter Parker's old High School nemesis.
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Spider-Man Marvel Adventures Universe
Spider-Man in the Marvel Adventures Universe.
- Spider-Man Marvel Adventures:
This title is simply a re-numbering and reboot of Marvel Adventures Spider-Man.
Just like it's predecessor, this is another retelling of Spider-Man, aimed at re-capturing the younger market. While the regular continuity titles are pitched at the long-term faithful, and Ultimate Spider-Man appeals to savvy teenagers, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is shamelessly looking to sell to the pre-teen market.
Perhaps the most unusual thing about this title is that it followed so closely on the heels of another very similar book - Marvel Age: Spider-Man which ran to 20 issues of reworking Spider-Man's early day. For no apparent reason, Marvel canned that book and immediately replaced it with this title which started right back at the beginning once more.
At the time, it seemed as if Marvel simply intended to just keep re-telling the first 20 Spidey stories in different ways. However, "Marvel Adventures" has headed off in its own direction now. I'm not sure how many fans it has, and I keep expecting it to be cancelled, but it keeps hanging in there.
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Spider-Man Ultimate Universe
Spider-Man and others from the Ultimate Marvel Universe.
- Ultimate Comics Spider-Man:
Magneto all but participated a worldwide, catastrophic life-ending event by crashing a celestial object into the Atlantic Ocean and causing a worldwide tsunami the likes of which haven't been seen since biblical times.
New York City was buried under hundreds of feet of seawater, killing thousands, including numerous superheroes. A new world order is about to arise out of these cataclysmic events.
- Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (Vol. 2):
This is the new "Ultimate Spider-Man" title which caused a stir among the mainstream media by introducing the young Hispanic/African American Miles Morales as the replacement for the deceased Peter Parker as the new Ultimate Spider-Man.
- Ultimate Spider-Man:
Ultimate Spider-Man was a rather unusual beast - a successful re-telling of Spider-Man. Most similar efforts to "reboot" Spidey have failed spectacularly. Chapter One, anybody? However, due undoubtedly to the consistency and strength of the creative team, this book lasted well beyond most expectations. Set in its own "Ultimate" Universe, and matched by other "Ultimate" books (iterations of the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Avengers as well as various mini-series), this version of Spidey gathered enough popular support to survive for 133 issues.
The "Ultimate" Spider-Man has Peter Parker still in high school, and has Mary Jane as the main love interest, though other paramours appeared. The writing was fresh and modern, but without the embarrassing self-consciousness and pandering that ruined other "new Marvel" titles. The early issues are ridiculously expensive, however this book has been reprinted more times than probably any other comic book since Amazing Fantasy #15, so getting hold of a decently priced reading copy won't be any problem. If you haven't read Ultimate Spider-Man, we recommend you give it a look some time.
Long-time penciler Mark Bagley left and was replaced full time by Stuart Immonen starting with issue #112.
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Spider-Man Other Universes
Spider-Man in non-mainstream universes that have no dedicated section.
- Spectacular Spider-Man (UK Magazine):
While sharing the same name as the long-running main continuity title, this Spectacular Spider-Man is in fact a Kids Magazine produced in the UK once every three weeks. Aimed at the pre-teen market, each issue features an 11-page Spidey story, plus a centrefold wall poster, puzzles, games, villain profiles and all sorts of other goodies. As an extra incentive, each issue also ships with a plastic Spider-Man toy or giveaway cellotaped to the front cover. The "Spider-Man" of these stories is a generic cartoon version, essentially based on the popular 90's TV cartoon. You probably won't find this in the U.S., but for UK collectors it's a nice little bonus.
- Spider-Man & Friends (UK Magazine):
This UK kids Magazine is produced by Panini, and it's a companion to the Spectacular Spider-Man (UK Magazine) produced by the same guys.
The new "Spider-Man & Friends" range is based around Spider-Man, his cousin Spider-Girl, plus Hulk and Wolverine, though there's plenty of guest appearances. You should be able to find plenty of Spider-Man & Friends toys still in the shops, the style is a western/manga cross, and the target group is the 3-9 year old market.
Published every four or five weeks, this UK magazine features a toy taped to the front of each issue. Inside you'll find a four page Spidey & Friends story with three panels per page, captions of 8-20 words per panel. Then there's some nice simple kids puzzles, some coloring, a couple of competitions, and a page or two of Spidey merchandise. Essentially, it's the same format as the older kids magazine, just with a much younger target market.
- Spider-Man Heroes & Villains Collection (UK):
This is a licensed weekly magazine sold in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia. There are 60 issues in the series. Issues include a pack of collectible power cards, which will eventually add to our Cards section. There are 8 random cards per pack, one pack per issue (except 2 packs with issue #1). Issue #2 features a nifty card tin.
In the UK, the first issue is £3.99 with subsequent issues £7.99. In New Zealand, the price is heavily discounted at NZ$4.99 for issue #1 and NZ$8.99 for subsequent issues. Issues #1 and #2 definitely feature an original seven page story. Presumably later issues will also do so.
Note that the cover dates I am listing for this title are the dates that this comic was available in New Zealand. I believe that the UK dates were approximately six months earlier.
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Spider-Man Promo
Spider-Man promotional comics, commercial & social.
- New Avengers (Military - AAFES):
This series of specialty books is produced by Marvel especially for the U.S. Military, and is distributed only on military bases around the world. The series stars the New Avengers, alongside other groups of heroes (including, but not limited to The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, etc.). As these are non-continuity-based tales, the effects of Marvel's Civil War Event or other on-going storylines are not really felt in these pages. Still, as the series progresses, it appears that these stories just may occur within official Marvel Timeline.
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