Marvel Laying Out Plans for Spider-Man’s 50th Anniversary

by Josh Starnes, CMRO Editor

This August will be the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of the Amazing Spider-Man in the pages of Amazing Fantasy #15 and Marvel Comics are making sure the landmark does not go by unnoticed.

On top of Amazing Spider-Man #629 by writer Dan Slott and artist Humberto Ramos, which Marvel is publicizing as the ‘one true 50th anniversary issue’ the company plans to make a fifth-week event of the anniversary, publisihing five Spider-Man one-shots which will each cover the different eras of the wall-crawlers history.

Set in the present day, the books will however flashback to important events in Peter Parker’s past, according to editor Tom Brennan.

“The story in ‘Peter Parker, Spider-Man’ deals with the warehouse where Spider-Man caught Uncle Ben’s killer and a new crime that he and Norah Winters have to solve, while ‘Web of Spider-Man’ reveals the first superhero team Spider-Man ever joined, the Brooklyn Avengers!”

The ‘Sensational Spider-Man’ will be set in the present day, focusing on Carlie Cooper and a new mystery.

Returning to write these stories will be a trio of classic Spider-Man writers: Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern and Stuart Moore. Having DeFalco and Stern, who were long time ‘Amazing’ writers in the 70s and 80s, was vitally important for the anniversary, Brennan said.

For the anniversary issue editors Brennan and Steve Wacker took their inspiration from other major anniversary issues, including several different stories from multiple creators in a celebration of the character’s history.

“I always look to the classic Superman #400 as an example of a comic that should be the blueprint for anniversary issues, a way to celebrate the heritage and future of these characters that have stood the test of time,” Wacker said.

Adding to the mayhem will also be Avenging Spider-Man #11, featuring a Spider-Man/Aunt May team up.