Well, this was a long time coming!

Way back in October, I wrote what was to be the beginning of a series of articles covering the 16-bit Spider-Man games of my youth.  The first of those games, Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin, received a lengthy and glowing reminiscence about a week later.  Feeling good, I planned the next one … and it never happened.  Well, until now, that is.

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #659

“Fantastic Voyage, Part 1 of 2”

Story: Dan Slott

Dialogue: Fred Van Lente

Penciler: Stefano Caselli

Inker: Stefano Caselli

Colorist: Marte Gracia

“Bug Time”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Barry Kitson

Inker: Barry Kitson

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

“Can’t Get the Service, Part Two”

Writer: Rob Williams

Penciler: Lee Garbett

Inker: Alejandro Sicat

Colorist: Fabio D’Auria

Cover Art: Stefano Caselli and Lorenzo de Felici

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #38

“Identity Wars, Part 1”

Writer: John Layman

Penciler: Lee Garbett

Inker: Mark Pennington

Colorist: Fabio D’Auria

Cover Art: Steve McNiven, Mark Morales, and Marte Garcia

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #657

“Torch Song”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Marcos Martin, Ty Templeton, Nuno Plati, and Stefano Caselli

Inker: Marcos Martin, Ty Templeton, Nuno Plati, and Stefano Caselli

Colorist: Muntsa Vicente, Javier Rodriguez, Nuno Plati, and Marte Garcia

Cover Art: Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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According to Marvel’s June solicitations, Spider-Girl is being cancelled after 8 issues.  You can see the solicit after the jump, as it contains some spoilers for those that may be waiting for the trade.

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #656

“No One Dies, Part Two: Resolve”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Marcos Martin

Inker: Marcos Martin

Colorist: Muntsa Vicente

Cover Art: Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente

Variant Cover Art: Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, and Richard Isanove

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654.1

“Flashpoint”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Carlos Cuevas

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

“Coming Up In Amazing Spider-Man”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Stefano Caselli

Inker: ???

Colorist: ???

Cover Art: Paolo Siqueira

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654

“Revenge of the Spider-Slayer, Part Three: Self-Inflicted Wounds”

Plotter: Dan Slott

Scripter: Fred Van Lente

Penciler: Stefano Caselli

Inker: Stefano Caselli

Colorist: Marte Garcia

“Rebirth”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Paolo Siqueira and Ronan Cliquet de Oliveira

Inker: Paolo Siqueira, Roland Paris, and Greg Adams

Colorist: Fabio D’Auria

Cover Art: Stefano Caselli and Edgar Delgado

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #653

“Revenge of the Spider-Slayer, Part Two: All You Love Will Die”

Plotter: Dan Slott

Scripter: Fred Van Lente

Penciler: Stefano Caselli

Inker: Stefano Caselli

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

“Lock and/or Key, Part Two”

Writer: Fred Van Lente

Penciler: Reilly Brown

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorist: Andres Mossa

Cover Art: Stefano Caselli and Edgar Delgado

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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One thing to keep in mind: this is a stunt costume, so the footwear and other elements are probably altered from the costume design to make it easier on the stunt player.  There’s no need to rush to judgment or anything.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go vomit uncontrollably while hugging my plush Spider-Man doll.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #652

“Revenge of the Spider-Slayer, Part One: Army of Insects”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Stefano Caselli

Inker: Stefano Caselli

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

“Lock and/or Key”

Writer: Fred Van Lente

Penciler: Reilly Brown

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorist: Andres Mossa

Cover Art: Stefano Caselli and Edgar Delgado

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #651

“Big Time, Part 4”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Carlos Cuevas and Joseph Damon

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

“The Sting That Never Goes Away”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Stefano Caselli

Inker: Stefano Caselli

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Cover Art: Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado

Variant Cover Art: Mark Brooks

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #650

“Big Time, Part 3”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Carlos Cuevas, Victor Olazaba, and some other dude

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

“The Final Lesson”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Neil Edwards

Inker: Scott Hanna

Colorist: Morry Hollowell

Cover Art: Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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Marvel has announced a new ongoing Venom series to debut in March 2011.  The book will be written by Rick Remender and drawn by Tony Moore, the creative team behind the recent Frankencastle.

Following in the (dubious) tradition of the 90s, this Venom will be on the side of the good guys rather than being a villain — Venom will be a government operative in this incarnation, and Remender promises that the host will be a familiar character.

“Due to the volatile nature of Project Venom, the Pentagon has come in and flagged some of my answers for security concerns,” prefaces the writer. “[redacted], the enhanced, black ops agent Venom, is charged with chasing a trail across the globe to uncover the man behind a plot to sell the world’s dictators and terrorists weaponized [redacted], all while juggling a double life, and a growing addiction to a symbiote that is constantly trying to take him over.

“[The set-up for VENOM] originated with [AMAZING SPIDER-MAN writer Dan] Slott and [editor Steve] Wacker. Once they told me the basic concept, and who the main character would be, I was sold. International adventures of 00Venom, c’mon, that’s good comic booking. Dan and I worked up a few ideas for supporting cast and rules for Venom and both went off to write. The initial set up issue will be by Dan in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654.1 [and] you won’t want to miss that. Then the story picks up in VENOM #1.”

You can read the full story, featuring more artwork and quotes from Remender, at Marvel’s website.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #649

“Kill To Be You”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Carlos Cuevas

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Cover Art: Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #648

“Big Time”

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Carlos Cuevas

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

“The Girl’s All Right With Me …”

Writer: Paul Tobin

Penciler: Clayton Henry

Inker: Clayton Henry

Colorist: Chris Sotomayor

Cover Art: Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado

Variant Cover #1: J. Scott Campbell and Edgar Delgado

Variant Cover #2: Stefano Caselli and Edgar Delgado

Variant Cover #3: Marcos Martin

Variant Cover #4: J. Scott Campbell

Variant Cover #5: No-goddamn-body

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #647

The Brand New Day Finale!

Writers: Various

Artists: Many

Colorists: Myriad

Cover Art: Marco Djurdjevic

Variant Cover: Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Justin Ponsor

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #646

“Origin of the Species, Part 5”

Writer: Mark Waid

Artists: Paul Azaceta and Matthew Southworth

Colorist: Javier Rodriguez

Cover Art: Marco Djurdjevic

Variant Cover #1: Paolo Rivera

Variant Cover #2: Mike Mayhew

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #645

“Origin of the Species, Part 4”

Writer: Mark Waid

Artists: Paul Azaceta and Matthew Southworth

Colorist: Javier Rodriguez

“Spidey Sundays”

Writer: Stan Lee

Penciler: Marcos Martin

Inker: Marcos Martin

Colorist: Muntsa Vicente

Cover Art: Marco Djurdjevic

Variant Cover: Bryan Hitch and Paul Mounts (NOT Paolo Rivera, as the issue itself claims)

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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1993 may be the most important year in my life to date.  On March 13th, I got my very first video game system, the Sega Genesis, creating a love of the medium that only grows stronger as time passes.  Later that year, during the summer, I came across a rack of comic books at a campground newspaper store in Virginia and plunked down some borrowed cash to buy a copy of X-Men Adventures #6, forever setting me down the path of comic book fandom.  Not long after, I procured a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #383, forging a lifelong bond with the webslinger that continues to this day.

Those two hobbies – video games and comic books – would collide before the end of the year when we rented the game Spider-Man vs. the Kingpin from a local video store.  Little did I know that a modest two dollar investment would give me the privilege to play what was and remains the greatest Spider-Man game ever created.

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Thanks to Stephen Broome for hitting me up on Skype with this scoop!  Welsh actor Rhys Ifans has been cast as the as-yet-unrevealed villain in the upcoming Spider-Man film reboot.

Here is the IGN UK writeup:

Rhys Ifans will play the villain, opposite Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, in the next installment of Spider-Man  from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, it was announced today by Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures.

The film, to be directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and produced by Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will begin production in December and will be released in theaters nationwide in 3D on July 3, 2012.

Commenting on the announcement, Tolmach said, “We have been very fortunate to attract some of the best actors working today to play the villains in the Spider-Man movies, and it is exciting to see that trend continue with Rhys Ifans. After seeing his performance in our upcoming film Anonymous, we’re in awe of his talent and think he’s the perfect choice to take on this role.”

The filmmakers prefer to not reveal which character Ifans will be playing in the forthcoming film.

Spider-Man is a hugely popular character, enduring for many decades across comics, cartoons, and now films, so it’s only natural that he has had a large presence in video games.  As far back as the Atari 2600, Spider-Man has been slinging his pixilated (or polygonal) webs in the privacy of our own homes – and both kids and adults across the country and all over the world have been eating it up.  There have been some great ones, and some … er, not-so-great ones.

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Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

Developed by Beenox | Published by Activision

Available for Playstation 3, Xbox360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC

And now, for something a little different – a video game review!

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I’d like to take a moment to interrupt your regularly scheduled program …

Most of you like to think of me as a happy-go-lucky sort of guy.  I chuckle and smile a lot when talking Spider-Man, and I generally try to keep things light and friendly.  What most of you probably DON’T know is that the lives of my close family members have been hell for the last year plus.  You see, breast cancer has struck in my family.  TWICE.

As you can see, breast cancer awareness is a cause that hits close to home for me.  I’m not asking you to sympathize or even care.  What I am asking is that you take a moment to donate to one of the many organizations funding research for a cure.  I’ve seen firsthand that progress is being made in medication and treatment of the disease, with experimental medications that are effective at combating that proliferation of cancerous cells and even killing the cancer itself, so rest assured that it IS making a difference.  If you can manage to spare a few bucks, there is somebody out there that can and will benefit from it.

You can find information about the disease and advancements in its treatment HERE, and you can find links to donate HERE.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #644

“Origin of the Species, Part 3”

Writer: Mark Waid

Penciler: Paul Azaceta

Inker: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Javier Rodriguez

“Spidey Sundays”

Writer: Stan Lee

Penciler: Marcos Martin

Inker: Marcos Martin

Colorist: Muntsa Vicente

Cover Art: Marco Djurdjevic

Variant Cover: Chris Bachalo and Tim Townsend

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #643

“Origin of the Species, Part 2”

Writer: Mark Waid

Penciler: Paul Azaceta

Inker: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Javier Rodriguez

“Spidey Sundays”

Writer: Stan Lee

Penciler: Marcos Martin

Inker: Marcos Martin

Colorist: Muntsa Vicente

Cover Art: Marco Djurdjevic

Variant Cover #1: Phil Jiminez and Frank D’Armata

Varaint Cover #2: Leonel Castellani

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #642

“Origin of the Species, Part 1”

Writer: Mark Waid

Penciler: Paul Azaceta

Inker: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Javier Rodriguez

“Spidey Sundays”

Writer: Stan Lee

Penciler: Marcos Martin

Inker: Marcos Martin

Colorist: Muntsa Vicente

Cover Art: Marco Djurdjevic

Variant Cover: John Romita Sr. and Marcos Martin

New York Comic-Con Variant: John Romita Jr., John Romita Sr., and Dean White

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #641

“One Moment in Time, Chapter Four: Something Blue”

Writer: Joe Quesada

Penciler: Paolo Rivera and Joe Quesada

Inker: Paolo Rivera and Danny Miki

Colorist: Paolo Rivera and Richard Isanove

“Spidey Sundays”

Writer: Stan Lee

Penciler: Marcos Martin

Inker: Marcos Martin

Colorist: Muntsa Vicente

Cover Art: Paolo Rivera

Variant Cover #1: Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, and Richard Isanove

Variant Cover #2: Beats me, there was no credit

Variant Cover #ENOUGH WITH THE VARIANTS ALREADY: Joe Quesada

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #640

“One Moment in Time, Chapter Three: Something Borrowed”

Writer: Joe Quesada

Penciler: Paolo Rivera and Joe Quesada

Inker: Paolo Rivera and Danny Miki

Colorist: Paolo Rivera and Richard Isanove

“Spidey Sundays”

Writer: Stan Lee

Penciler: Marcos Martin

Inker: Marcos Martin

Colorist: Muntsa Vicente

Cover Art: Paolo Rivera

Variant Cover #1: Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, and Richard Isanove

Variant Cover #2: Jelena Djurdjevic

Variant Cover #THERE ARE TOO MANY DAMN VARIANTS: Joe Quesada

Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!

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