Amalgam Comics Legend ‘Spider-Boy’ Returns In October From DC & Marvel
by Tony Thornley
In the pantheon of intercompany crossovers, one name is whispered with reverence. With the first Marvel/DC crossover in decades hitting in October, it’s time for Amalgam Comics and their flagship title Spider-Boy to return to comic shops with a fantastic facsimile edition.
The Amalgam age of comics launched in the middle of the legendary DC Vs Marvel crossover. The series of mash-up one-shots featured the top names in the comics industry, like Mark Waid, Dave Gibbons, John Byrne, Ron Marz and Kevin Nowlan. But one jumped ahead of the pack, and remains a fan favorite even today — Spider-Boy #1 from Karl Kesel and Mike Wieringo. As part of the excitement around October’s Deadpool/Batman, Marvel and DC are reteaming to re-release this legendary story in a facsimile edition.
As iconic heroes of two worlds collide in the Amalgam Universe, get ready to meet Pete Ross – your friendly neighborhood clone known as Spider-Boy! Join the amazing Arach-Kid mid-fight as he protects Project Cadmus from the deranged D.N.Alien, Bizarnage! But even if he can solve that problem, big trouble lies ahead courtesy of a somehow giant-sized King Lizard! Can Spider-Boy bring his reptilian rogue down to size in time to meet the blind date lined up for him by his ally, Otto Octavius? Face it, tiger – you’re dying to find out!
Here’s the sad fact about these Amalgam Comics one-shots- a lot of them were essentially lost to history. The shared ownership of the characters meant that if DC and Marvel editorial wasn’t getting along (like they haven’t been for much of the past two decades), there was no way to ever see new or reprinted stories featuring these characters. Thankfully, that time is over, and we’re getting these again.
Even putting that aside, many of these stories were actually good, some even great. All of them had fantastic art at a minimum. Spider-Boy was the crown jewel of that experiment, presenting a character that wore its influences on its sleeve, while also letting the character stand on his own. So for the first time for myself personally, I’m thrilled to see one of these facsimiles hit shelves.
Watch for Spider-Man #1 Facsimile edition in comic stores in October, and watch this space for more news about Marvel and DC’s crossovers!
