Thursday, January 16, 2014

Alex Ross Does Amazing Spider-Man #1


Doug:  Just released in Marvel's April solicitations, Alex Ross's variant cover to the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #1.


Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

14 comments:

Doc Savage said...

not to my taste, but you knew that...is this a new series? I didn't know ASM
was ever cancelled...I thought it was Marvel's flagship and uncancellable...but then again I never thought DC would trash its history and start Action and Detective over again...strange times we live in...I keep waiting for an announcement from Marvel and/DC that they're just going to stop print comics altogether due to poor sales and just focus on movies/cartoons/TV.

January 16, 2014 at 1:01 PM
William Preston said...

Uhh . . . this is still in continuity, not a reboot? But Ben is there and not Gwen? Does the cover make sense to anyone? Are people supposed to forget about that? Is Peter still Satanically unmarried?

Inquiring minds . . .

January 16, 2014 at 1:03 PM
Doug said...

I don't know much of anything about Spider-Man these days, other than this new #1 heralds the return of Peter Parker to his own body (I think) after a couple of years of Doc Ock's mind inhabiting the Parker body.

Give me the Grizzly and the Mind-Worm, you know?

Doug

January 16, 2014 at 2:27 PM
Anonymous said...

Well, that storyline where Spiderman was actually Otto Octavius possessing Peter's brain wasn't gonna last forever.
Maybe drove up sales for a while, I guess.
But they have a new movie coming out, so Otto's gotta go, maybe he'll transfer his consciousness into a clone hidden in a secret laboratory, or some darn nonsense.
Nice painting, though. Everybody looks like they were drawn by Ditko except Mary Jane, who looks like Romita sr. drew her, which makes sense, because he was the first guy who did.

January 16, 2014 at 2:29 PM
Anonymous said...

I am sure he will remain unmarried.

ASM was "cancelled" in late 2012 w/ issue #700 and replaced with Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius in the body of Peter Parker). It has actually been an interesting series, but not sure if it's been a GOOD series - if you get my drift.

This comes as no surprise. We all knew that eventually Parker would return and ASM would be restarted from #1. I guess it would be Vol #3 since they did a Vol #2, but then folded it back into the the Vol #1 numbering just to confuse stuff.

These days it is all about the restarts for each new big event or creative team. I actually think it'd be a great idea that continuity be dropped altogether and comics should be in 6 to 24 issue volumes with discrete stories that don't necessarily rely on previous stories.

January 16, 2014 at 2:31 PM
david_b said...

I'm not typically into Ross, but this cover simply ROCKS. While it's got all of Ross's fine touches, it totally screams Romita Sr.

And for an artist, is there no finer praise..?

Awesome posting, Doug, thanks a bunch.

January 16, 2014 at 2:48 PM
Doug said...

I think this is a nice blend of the Ditko and Romita influences. The Spidey figure and MJ definitely Romita, though.

Interesting how Ross used the launching web for his panel divisions and as the white highlights in the painting.

Doug

January 16, 2014 at 2:53 PM
Anonymous said...

Who the heck is that bald guy over Pete's shoulder?

January 16, 2014 at 3:13 PM
Doug said...

I think the two bald guys are the mad scientists who were running the radiation experiment. Out in the open, no room with lead lining, a bunch of minors in the room...

My guess is, there were no field trip permission slips signed that day.

Doug

January 16, 2014 at 3:18 PM
William said...

Ooooooh! A new Amazing Spider-Man #1!!! Gosh, I'd better run out and pick up a dozen of them for when the price skyrockets! (That's sarcasm in case nobody recognized it).

I really wish I could care even the slightest little bit, but I just don't. The Spider-Man I know and love has been absent from the comics for many many years (as have pretty much every other Marvel character I ever cared about).

So, they can wrap this book in a spiffy Alex Ross cover all they want. It won't change anything. It's just like wrapping horse crap in Christmas paper.

January 16, 2014 at 4:03 PM
Anonymous said...

Usually I shy away from utter cynicism, but William's got a point there...
M.P.

January 16, 2014 at 4:49 PM
Doc Savage said...

Sad thing is it will probably sell a lot and justify itself that way because so many comics readers fall for this BS over and over and over again. If only it sold disastrously, maybe they'd quit the gimmicks and, gee, maybe try to get readers interested via quality art and stories...ha ha ha ha...maybe on Bizarro World that's what they're upset about: "Why am art and story so good? Me am hate it! Me want gimmick cover and reboot every 6 months!"

January 16, 2014 at 5:47 PM
Redartz said...

A very sharp cover, but probably not enough to part me from the four dollars it would cost. I actually kept up with the book through issue 700, and the first ten issues of Superior. Financial pressures finally cut me off; with only some regrets.

Dan Slott really has written some stong stories, but it just doesn't feel like the webslinger we all know and love. Perhaps Middlespaces has a good approach: letting each series stand or fail on it's own, without concern to continuity. After all, some of the best stories didn't really fit into the scheme, such as the terrific Spider-Man: Blue. Then there was the fine series Untold Tales of Spider-Man, which you may or may not consider as canon. Great reading, one way or another...

January 16, 2014 at 8:32 PM
Anonymous said...

Continuity must just drive some writers crazy.
Who the heck knows what planet Braniac 6 came from? I sure don't.
But dollars to doughnuts there's some smartass out there who does.

January 16, 2014 at 9:01 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Related Posts with Thumbnails