Epic Spider-Man Covers From All-Star Artists Celebrate Spidey’s New Era

As everyone’s favorite Webhead celebrates 60 years of swinging into action this year, an assortment of comics’ best artists are releasing variant covers to mark Spider-Man‘s occasion, along with Amazing Spider-Man beginning a new volume in April. Six of these covers have been revealed by Marvel already, showing delightfully different takes on the spectacular hero and his world.

Marvel has reported that Spider-Man’s new era is going to have the classic elements of what readers love about Peter Parker, as well as some creative re-imaginings of his villains. The Webslinger just emerged from a coma in the most recent volume, with no superheroes rushing in to help Spider-Man (he was instead saved by a determined Aunt May with Doctor Octopus in tow). Things don’t seem to get much better in the next volume, as there will be a central mystery to begin the story, with a horrible, unknown incident putting Spider-Man at odds with virtually everyone—the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Aunt May included. While the characters within his own universe may no longer appreciate him at the start of this new creative run, real-life appreciation for the Friendliest Neighborhood Hero is soaring, extending to some of the industry’s greatest artists. This coincides with the character’s success on the silver screen, where Spider-Man’s popularity is a huge box office draw in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The variant covers for Amazing Spider-Man #1 are from a wide variety of artists, including Peach Momoko, InHyuk Lee, Stanley “Antgerm” Lau, Travis Charest, and Humberto Ramos, to name a few. These are joined by a Hidden Gem cover by Mark Bagley and classic Spider-Man artist John Romita, Sr. Each of those listed is one of the variant covers that has been previewed by Marvel already.

Spider-Man has a rich history to draw from for source material and the covers’ celebratory art will feature villains, heroes, and brand-new costume designs alike. For instance, the #1 Hidden Gem variant cover by Mark Bagley and John Romita, Sr. shows Spiderman poised just above his extensive rogues’ gallery. The variant cover by Stanley “Antgerm” Lau is a split profile between his wife Mary Jane Watson Parker and Black Cat, who are two of Spider-Man’s dramatically different love interests. In addition to choosing to include his friends and foes on covers, the four remaining known variants (from Momoko, Li, Charest, and Ramos) capture Spider-Man’s connection to the city, whether it is performing mid-air acrobatics or clinging ever-vigilantly to a New York City skyscraper, as in the special cover from InHyuk Lee.

This high level of appreciation for Spider-Man and his mythos will be found throughout various Marvel titles in April, not just in the form of epic Amazing Spider-Man #1 cover variants, as other characters join the fun. Some will re-imagine themselves in the Spider-Man aesthetic, as seen when Emma Frost dons a stunning spider-costume in an Immortal X-Men #2 variant cover from Kaare Andrews, or will pay tribute in other ways. The six variant covers of Amazing-Spider-Man #1 that were mentioned are available in April and Russell Dauterman, Patrick Gleason, Rose Besch, Skottie Young, and more will soon follow with their take on Spider-Man.

Source: Marvel