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Plus, exclusive ‘Astonishing Spider-Man’ preview art!
By
on
As long as the devious Crime Lord runs wild, Aunt May and Spider-Man’s other loved ones are in danger. But what can he do as long as Crime Lord knows Spider-Man is Peter Parker? And if that wasn’t enough, the mysterious Wed-Head is making a name for herself — using Spidey’s nickname!
Did I mention Flame War and her razor-sharp hashtags?
Clearly, there’s a lot going on in the scrolling, digital pages of the Astonishing Spider-Man Infinity Comic, exclusive to Marvel Unlimited. If you’re not reading, you’re missing out on very enjoyable Spider-Man adventures that mix a classic feel with modern sensibilities — courtesy of rotating artists Salva Espin and Julian Shaw and writer Scott Aukerman. But don’t just take my word for it — the Comedy Bang! Bang! host was able to take a break from his podcast empire to discuss Astonishing Spider-Man, Web-Head’s origin story, Peter’s comedy skills, and more.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk comics, Scott! Speaking of your busy schedule, up until recently, you typically wrote short stories, one-shots, or short arcs. What made you say yes to writing the ongoing Astonishing Spider-Man Infinity Comic?
Scott Aukerman: I had always looked at writing something ongoing as a particular challenge that I wanted to eventually tackle, but didn’t really know if I was up for it. I was a little concerned that I would run out of story ideas! But when [Astonishing Spider-Man editor] Jordan D. White offered the book to me, I took a few days to think about what I would do with Spidey. And the ideas seemed to flow really easily. At this point, I’m not worried so much about a lack of ideas as much as tying them all together successfully at the end!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: As a longtime comic book fan, how have you found writing scripts for the scrolling Infinity Comic format?
Scott: I think it’s a really interesting format because it has a different reading pace than a normal print comic. When you turn the page of a modern comic book, you tend to focus on the whole page at once. A lot of text can seem overwhelming, which has led to everything getting simplified and decompressed over the years.
But with the Infinity Comics, you’re focusing on one panel at a time — almost like when you were a kid, and really concentrating on each panel, and poring over them. So there’s an opportunity to pack more into thirty panels and give readers a (hopefully) more fulfilling experience.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Plus, there’s so much the artists can do, knowing that it’s read top-to-bottom, rather than left-to-right. Also, they’re fun to read on the phone, unlike other comics which you need to have in your hands, or get a tablet out for. So a lot of advantages, which we’re hoping to capitalize on as we go.
AIPT: For those who haven’t been reading Astonishing Spider-Man, what can they expect to find in this particular Spider-series?
Scott: I really just wanted to write the kind of Spidey stories that I like, which all goes back to the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko issues that I obsessed over as a kid. Human, relatable stories about a person in impossible situations where they feel over their head. Plus some mysteries, romance, and, of course, jokes!
AIPT: Excellent segue! Surprising no one, you write a very funny Spider-Man. (I particularly enjoyed his “EGOT” joke in Astonishing Spider-Man #5.) But are there any challenges writing Spidey jokes while advancing the plot in these shorter-format issues? I feel like I’d constantly fight the urge to go off on humorous tangents.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Scott: I really wanted to write compelling plots which have jokes in them, rather than just flat-out comedy issues where the plot doesn’t matter. I’ve done that occasionally, and I know it’s what people might expect from me, but I’m trying to do something a little more in the classic vein here. Hopefully, the book has a general tone that’s funny and light-hearted. But I don’t want it to be exclusively a comedy series — I’m trying to give people a mixture of everything I like about Spider-Man.
AIPT: You know what I like? Web-Head! I can’t wait to learn more about her in the series. What can you share about how Lynda Locke came to be?
Scott: I had a conversation with Jordan a few years back about how I felt like a lot of what Marvel was doing at the time was focusing more on giant action plots — whereas I missed reading about the dating lives of all of our heroes. After all, a lot of early Marvel is in that romance comic tradition.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
So when he asked me to do the four-issue arc that kicked everything off [in Spider-Man Unlimited #39-42], I immediately thought about a date that Peter could go on. And the idea of two superheroes hiding their secret identities from each other while they’re on a first date made me laugh. So it all sprung out of that.
But then I started to think about the backstory of Lynda, and how she got her powers, and I ran it by Jordan as something we could explore down the line, were he to be interested. And luckily for me, he was! Which led to him offering me Astonishing Spider-Man.
AIPT: Also… I know Peter and Lynda likely never agreed to a second date… but is there any hope for Spider-Man and Web-Head?
Scott: Fear not! Lynda Locke hasn’t seen the last of Peter, and Web-Head hasn’t seen the last of Spider-Man!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Perfect! Speaking of romance… you introduced the Starkdate superhero dating app to the Marvel Universe in Spider-Man Unlimited #39, which means Spider-Man — not Peter Parker — has a dating profile. I need to know about this profile. Is it cringe? Surprisingly effective? Are his photos his most iconic covers?
Scott: I mean, I think Peter can’t help but try too hard when he’s doing something like that. So yeah, I imagine he would try to put up pictures of him being cool, fighting Doctor Doom or something. But remember — even though he’s saved the world a bunch, he’s still the creepy superhero who dresses like an eight-legged pest! There’s a reason he doesn’t date many of the heavy-hitters in the Marvel Universe — they think he’s a weird dork!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: You co-created another new character making all sorts of problems for Peter Parker — Crime Lord. As Spider-Man arguably has one of the top two rogues’ galleries in comics, how do you approach creating a new Spidey villain?
Scott: I thought about the two mysteries that really engrossed me as a kid — finding out the identities of Big Man and the Hobgoblin. I wanted to do something like that. So I was reading back issues, trying to figure out who could possibly know Peter’s secret identity, and hit on an idea that everyone seemed to like. I’m excited to see if people can figure it out as it goes along!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Finally, sure, Spider-Man’s funny… but could he hold his own among real comedians? I guess what I’m asking is, would you ever book him as a Comedy Bang! Bang! guest?
Scott: Well, not to spoil TOO much, but you’ll definitely see Peter dip his toe into the podcasting realm soon. I think HE thinks he’s funny, but I’m not sure anyone else does. That said, I would probably give him a shot — maybe he would end up being in the exclusive One-Timer’s Club!
AIPT: Crossing my fingers for a Podcasting Peter Parker spinoff series. But on that note, thanks for taking the time to talk all things Spidey, Scott!
Before we wrap, how about a few sneak peeks from upcoming issues, featuring Salva Espin and Julian Shaw artwork, courtesy of Astonishing Spider-Man editor Jordan D. White?
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Look for those scenes and many more exclusively on the Marvel Unlimited app, where new issues of Astonishing Spider-Man are released every Tuesday.
And keep reading AIPT for more on Astonishing Spider-Man this month!
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