Comics Official Fans of Reilly Thread

[Ultra Magnus]

Magnus... you rule.

But, I'm - I'm just a soldier. I - I'm not worthy.

I took the time to take a look at your Ben Reilly tribute site. Man, this is cool, great job. I like all the images of Ben, not just as Spider-Man or Scarlet Spider, but also in his civilian identity with the blonde hair. I miss him.

Seeing the Spider-Ben costume prototype reminds me of something.

In the Marvel Previews (or what it was called back then) issue that featured the first previews with Ben as Spider-Man had cover images of Amazing Spider-Man 407 and the other issues where Spider-Man still had this prototype costume.
So I guess they were really going for this costume and only changed it last minute. And with that in mind you can really see this when you read these issues, because the web and the colors are different than they are later.

See the difference?

The web has a completely different direction on the parts that once were blue.

Here is the later version:

And last a reminder: Only 2 days left until Spider-Man: Clone Saga #1.

 

[AgentEnforcer]

Thanks Magnus, I wanted to do a site for years... and was just off work for a bit recently so I decided now was the time, what with the Clone Saga Revisiting. If there are any other sections or things I could add, just let me know, anyone.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

And last a reminder: Only 2 days left until Spider-Man: Clone Saga #1.

Can't wait!

 

[Ultra Magnus]

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090929-Weekly-Webbing-Clones.html

WEEKLY WEBBING: SPIDER-MAN and the Attack of the CLONE SAGA

This week, Marvel will take Spider-Man fans back to a story that was one of the most controversial points in the webslinger's history – The Clone Saga.

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Spider-Man Clone Saga #1, written by Tom DeFalco and Howard Mackie, revisits a part of Spidey's past that has been rarely referenced since. Originally conceived as a fairly short Spider-Man story, The Clone Saga ended up being stretched out into a years-spanning story that replaced Peter Parker as Spider-Man and caused quite an uproar among fans.

At the time of the story's inception, DeFalco was editor-in-chief at Marvel and Mackie oversaw the Spider-Man books. But just as the story was taking off and increasing sales, DeFalco was fired and marketing took a more prominent role in editorial. Because The Clone Saga was successful, the original ending was scrapped as writers were told to draw the successful story out as long as they could and make it as exciting as possible, resulting in controversial changes.

In fact, most of the changes were so controversial that fans cried foul loudly enough to make Marvel take notice and fix things so that most of the Clone Saga never really affected anything.

Now, the original plans for the story will be told in Spider-Man Clone Saga, a six-issue mini-series, drawn by penciler Todd Nauck, telling "what might have been" had the Clone Saga proceeded as planned.

As DeFalco and Mackie told Newsarama when news of the new mini-series broke, the idea came from Mackie, who still has the original outline and notes for the original story.

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Mackie suggested that Marvel editor Ralph Macchio approach the powers-that-be at Marvel and tell them the documents outlining the original storyline still exists, and might make an interesting storyline that would function as a sort of "what if." Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada liked the idea and told Macchio to go ahead with it.

For today's Weekly Webbing, Newsarama talked to Macchio about his role in the original Clone Saga and why Marvel is revisiting the period in not only the Spider-Man Clone Saga mini-series, but also the Amazing Spider-Man story Who is Ben Reilly? that ships in October.

Newsarama: Ralph, you're known for being somewhat of a Marvel history expert. Has there ever been a "Director's Cut" retelling of a story before?

Ralph Macchio: I don't think so. I'm going back through my mighty Marvel memory, and I don't think we've ever done anything like that. We may have done a story where we've later done a more complete version of the story. But I can't remember ever going back this way and saying, "This is how it was originally intended to appear." That is unique. I don't recall us ever doing anything like that in the past.

Nrama: What do you think it is about The Clone Saga in particular that it inspired this never-before-done project? Why does that story get people fired up enough that Marvel would want to do something like this?

Macchio: I don't think it's the story so much. I think it's the character. Spider-Man is front and center. He's probably the greatest Marvel character, and certainly the most popular. And this was a major shift in the perception of the character because what we were saying in this story, initially, was that the character – the Peter Parker that you've been reading about for years – was not the real character. If this had been done with a secondary character, like Moon Knight or Captain Marvel or something, I'm sure it would have been perceived as just another storyline that might have been interesting. But because it's Spider-Man, and because of his importance in the Marvel Universe and in popular culture, something like this was a huge sea change in people's perception. And people are always talking about The Clone Sage. It's just never died. The conversation is still there. You talk about Spider-Man, a number of topics come up, and one of them always seems to be the Clone Saga.

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Nrama: How involved were you originally in the Clone Saga's unfolding. You were an editor on it, weren't you?

Macchio: Although some people I've spoken to seem to think I was involved with it from the very beginning, it's not true. I was brought in midway through. This was when the storyline had really kind of gotten out of everyone's control. The previous editor, who had done his very best on this thing, had been let go. And when Bob Harris came in as editor-in-chief, he was re-assigning various groups of books. And he called me into his office and said, "Ralph, the Spider-Man line is in a bit of trouble. We may have just extended the Clone Saga too much. There's so much going on now, it's just gotten out of control. We keep adding new layers to this thing, and it's really just getting way out of everyone's control."

And my understanding is that the reason the storyline got extended was because it hit with such a furor that all of the sudden, everyone was going, you know what? Let's let this thing go on awhile longer. And then it took on a life of its own. And then you had sales and marketing and everybody going, what are you going to do this month? Keep this thing going! This is going to be big! And it did get big, but then it got bloated. And then it just got out of control. And then it became a bit of a problem.

So he gave me some parameters, and he said, "Here's where we are. And here's where I want us to be when we come out of this storyline. I want Peter Parker, the one everyone has been reading about all these years, to have been the real guy. Not Ben Reilly. Peter Parker. Ben Reilly is the clone."

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Nrama: So your first task was to fix the clone problem?

Macchio: Yes, and it wasn't going to be easy. Before I came on these books, of course, we had pretty much confirmed that Ben Reilly was the real guy, not Peter Parker. So that all had to be changed.

We also were told to get rid of the baby. One way or the other, we had to eliminate the pregnancy and get rid of the child. That had to be done, and that had to be done in as tasteful a way as we possibly could.

We also had to come up with a big, big villain behind it all. And I know Bob and I had a number of discussions about it. And it was he who suggested, and I think rightly so, that the only guy in Spider-Man mythology who would be big enough to have pulled all of these strings and done all of these things to both Peter Parker and Spider-Man was Norman Osborn. Now this guy, remember, had been dead for 25 years. He was gone, and he was pretty effectively killed because the Goblin Glider had impaled him.

So we had to sit down and put on our thinking caps. I worked with a number of editors here at Marvel and the writers, and we came up with a story that ended the Clone Saga storyline and brought Norman Osborn back as the big gun behind it all. And it showed that Peter Parker was indeed Spider-Man and not Ben Reilly. We did get rid of the baby. And we did all that kind of stuff.

Nrama: Did you have any idea, when you were called upon to fix it all, that the story would cause such an uproar among fans?

Macchio: I knew going into it that this storyline had now become such a polarizing story that no matter what we did with it, it was going to be maligned or loved. It was one of the two. And I told my writers, I said, "Don't tell me what they're saying on the internet or in chat rooms or in letters. This is a storyline that we need to tell. These are my marching orders. And this is what we're going to do." And to their credit, they did it. I think once they got over that original hump of bringing Norman Osborn back, of reversing the decision of Ben Reilly having been the real Peter Parker, then everybody got on board. And I think the creativity was just wonderful.

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Nrama: Do you feel like it worked?

Macchio: I think that it worked out as well as it could. And I think when it was all finished, I was actually very pleased, given the parameters we had. With the direction the storyline had then taken at that time, to pull it all back and take it in another direction, I think it worked. And I was very pleased with the way it came out.

Plus, look at the Marvel Universe now. Norman Osborn is running the place! So every time I read one of these books with Norman Osborn in it, and he's chasing down Namor or going after Iron Man or the X-Men, I think, "You know, Norman, it's good that we brought you back. There's just nobody like you. The curly hair and everything. You're the best."

Nrama: Ben Reilly is getting a revival of sorts in the next Amazing Spider-Man storyline. How difficult was it to tell that character's ending in a way that satisfied both his fans and his detractors? There were a lot of people who hated him at the time, weren't there?

Macchio: Oh, we would get countless letters from people who were fed up with Ben Reilly, going, "OK, now that you have figured it all out, get rid of Ben Reilly right away! Have him hit by a truck!"

My feeling was, if you've brought this character in and you've already made him an important part of mythology, you need to make him so connected to Peter Parker that his death has meaning. Sure, we could have killed him off easily. We could have had something fall on him just to get him out of the way. But I didn't want to do that. I wanted the readers to feel for him. I wanted his death to be meaningful. So we waited until the very end of the story, Peter Parker [Spider-Man] #75, to actually do him in.

What worked out very nicely for us was that Peter Parker [Spider-Man] #75 – that book had been called Spider-Man up to that point, and I put the words "Peter Parker" in there to let everybody know that issue, Peter Parker was Spider-Man. That was also the issue that was the climactic battle between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man. And it also came out around Halloween time, and because the Green Goblin is associated with Halloween, we were able to play up the trappings of Halloween in that story as well. And that happened to be coincidence.

So those things came together very nicely for us. And as I said, I'm very pleased with the way it played out. I knew we had a tough road ahead, and I think we did the best we could.

Nrama: But at the time, did you know there had been this original plan that was never carried out?

Macchio: No. I was not aware of it at all, because I was brought in at the middle of the storyline and had no connection with the Spider-Man books. At the time, I honestly didn't want to be the Spider-Man editor and had no interest in doing it because I couldn't imagine editing so many books about the same character. But I was a grunt and when my editor needed me to work on those books, I did. But no, I did not know, until Howard told me recently, that there had been an original outline.

And wow, what an outline it was. It was so detailed, really, that they knew exactly where it was going to begin and end. I just thought maybe they had some hazy ideas and that kind of thing. But this was a pretty specific document about where it was going to go. So I was surprised about what was in it.

Nrama: We've talked to the creators about the comic, but as an editor, what can you tell us about what readers can expect from Spider-Man Clone Saga?

Macchio: I think people will be surprised. It really is a director's cut, but not just a few changes here and there. And usually, the director's cut is longer than the original. Not so in this case! [laughs] This is considerably shorter. But it is what was originally intended.

And I think enough time has gone by that we can revisit the Clone Saga and appreciate that period in Spider-Man history. It really was, I have to say from an editorial point of view, despite the fact that it was highly controversial, it was a fascinating thing to be part of at that time, to see the kind of effect it had on readers and staff people and Marvel in general. To see how deep people's affection was for Peter Parker. The extent and length to which they would go to voice their opinion about this.

But I think this is a nice companion piece for people who are still fascinated by the Clone Saga. They can say, "OK, this over here is what is actually a part of continuity, what came out. But here's what could have happened if the original idea had been carried out."

Keep in mind that initially, the storyline was fascinating to everyone who was reading it. Marvel only decided to draw this thing out longer because the original story captivated the audience of the books at the time. The writers were taking Spider-Man and doing something very dramatic and radical with him. And now we're going to see what would have happened if that original, dramatic story had unfolded the way it was originally intended.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

^^ Great interview! Tommorow's the big day, guys.

 

[spidey-dude]

hope its good - not got any comic shops near me and cant get on the net regularly at the mo

 

[Ultra Magnus]

Okay, while I'm waiting for my copy, I have an addition to my first post on this page.

Here is the cover from Amazing #407

And here is the one from the preview. Ben still wears this other costume design they nearly chose. And this costume had webs under the arms.

 

[AgentEnforcer]

And to add another layer of mystery, here is another image of Ben where the final design is off:

The webbing pattern is the same, but they added the underarm webbing and took away the web shooters. The source for this is the Marvel Vs. DC Crossover... the voting pages at the back.

 

[AgentEnforcer]

So, in honor of Clone Saga 1 coming out today, I'm going through all my old Wizards to find Clone Saga ads and articles to put on the site. If anyone has any of these to scan, please post them here and I'll add them if you wish. I'm hoping to find a full page add of a Romita Jr. Drawn Spider-Ben... it's all white except for for Ben and the tag line is something about Marvel putting character back in comics. Anyway, it should all be up soon!

 

[Ultra Magnus]

Got it!

The art is awesome, the story is familiar, but different in the details and reduced to the important parts.
It's a great read and it's soooooo cool to see Ben again.

I feel like 13 again and I am so happy right now. Couldn't get any better.

DeFalco, Mackie and Nauck, you made my day, my week and my month. Thank you!!!

 

[AgentEnforcer]

Just read it too, couldn't agree more! The dialogue was great, and the banter between Peter and Ben was awesome too.

For those of you who want to know what happened but can't get your copy, here is what happens:

Spoiler

The forward discusses what has been happening with Peter lately, including Harry's death, the return of his parents... and their re-dying, and finally May's failing health. DeFalco talks about the Clone Saga going on way too long, causing what could have been a great story to become so controversial.

The story starts with Spider-Man swinging to the hospital, musing about his luck and rollercoaster of a life. Aunt May had collapsed while she was on the phone with a man named "Benjamin," and Mary Jane had her rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, we see Ben leaving a Diner from which he has just quit; with his co-workers wondering why such a great employee would up and leave after a phone call. Ben jumps on his motorcycle and we see his Midtown High Graduation Ring which was so prominent during the original Clone Saga.

Peter and MJ talk with a doctor about May's condition, and the doctor mentions that they have ruled out any health problems a woman her age might have. MJ excuses herself to the washroom and throws up. When she is done, Peter isn't in a mood to sit around and says he needs to go stretch his muscles. MJ agrees and says she'll get a cab home, but instead goes to see a doctor about her nausea and vomiting.

While on patrol, Spider-Man's spider-sense is triggered, and we see Kaine is stalking him from the shadows. Ben arrives at the hospital, his face not yet shown, and goes to see Aunt May. A nurse comes in while he is there, and notices Spider-Man out the window. Ben bolts so that there is no confrontation, only to run into Peter on the roof. Peter is immediately upset over seeing a man who looks like him, after his experience with his parents' return from the dead. Ben tries to reason with Peter, explaining that he is the clone Peter fought years ago, and that he has been alive all of this time in exile. Peter still tries to fight him until a car is thrown at them both.

The car misses but falls off the edge of the building, Peter springs to action making sure no one is hurt on the ground, but he can't handle the weight of the webbed car himself. Ben pulls on his Spider-Man mask and says he'll clear the street below. Peter thinks to himself that Ben had the perfect opportunity to attack him while he was distracted holding the car. The car falls and Ben saves a lady who does not get out of the way in time. Kaine is surprised that Peter and Ben put aside their differences so quickly and worked together.

Meanwhile, the doctor tells MJ he has figured out why she is nauseous and vomiting-- he says that congratulations are in order.

Next, Peter and Ben are attacked by green globules (bio-bombs) which stick to them and begin to cover them completely. Ben rolls to a nearby fire caused by the thrown car, and the green globs dissipate. Ben then grabs Peter who is now totally covered, after a water tower is thrown at them both, and tells him he knows how to get the green stuff off of him. Ben takes Peter to the Smokestack where Peter dropped him, thinking he was dead, 5 years ago. Peter says this must have been Ben's plan all along, and even Ben thinks to himself how easy it would be for him to reclaim his life back, but then jumps into the smokestack with Peter. The two emerge as Kaine watches from afar, reporting that the two men worked well together, "exactly as you had predicted."

We see a man covered in shadows, watching everything on multiple video screens who replies, "Of course! No one knows his Spider-Men better than I."

 

[spidey-dude]

just eeeeeerm "obtaining" it as we speak (got internet in our house bout 20 mins ago) will buy it when i get the chance (wish i could buy 5 copies now)

 

[AgentEnforcer]

something else to get excited about that came out today:

 

[Venom 1988]

She so does not look like 13 there

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Sadly, I didn't get a chance to pick this up today, but i have it on hold, and will be picking it up first thing tommorow!

 

[Venom160]

Just finished reading issue 1 and all I gotta say is holy fleerking shnit! I loved it and I guarantee any clone head will love it.

 

[stillanerd]

Well, I decided to look at Spider-Man:The Clone Saga #1 of curiosity, as I'm usually fascinated by "What If's" and "What might have been's"

Spoiler

*Reading this issue certainly brought back a lot of memories of the 1990s, and certainly there does seem to be an element of that going on here. It was a smart move of Deflaco and Mackie to give a recap of all the things that have lead up to this point such as the death of Harry Osborn, Maximum Carnage, and the Robot Parents storyline as it's so crucial to understand what came before and why Marvel felt the Clone Saga needed to be done in the first place.

*If there is certainly one thing to take away from this issue it's that it's "fast paced." Yeah, it seems like such an anathema when you think of the Clone Saga considering how long it actually took, but here we see right away just how condensed everything is. Within the first issue alone, we get Aunt May being hospitalized after what appears to be a hear-attack, Ben Reilly's return to New York, Mary Jane learning that she's pregnant, the introduction of Kaine, Peter and Ben meeting, fighting, teaming up, and then reconciling...all which, in the original saga, took months to tell. And by excising a lot of the extraneous crap such as Judas Traveler, Scrier, and the whole Peter going mad at Ravencroft as the psychos were about to be let loose, which is how Peter deals and reacts with the return of his clone whom he thought was dead.

*However, by keeping things more compact, it does have tendency to lose some of the emotional impact the original beginning of the Clone Saga had. You don't get really get the feeling here that Peter is about to lose the woman who was like a mother to him like you did in the original stories, even though we're told as much. I remember the original moment when MJ told Peter that Aunt May was in the hospital and could be dying and we actually saw Peter break down, for it was just almost the last straw to a series of really bad misfortunes. Likewise, having Ben Reilly leave for New York and just show up and then fight and help Spider-Man again seemed to lessen the emotional impact this otherwise should have given. It almost feels like this first issue could have been a three-part introduction, so in that way, we get a bit more characterization and thus more emotional depth.

*I did, however, find some rather interesting angles being presented here. As I said, the idea that it's NOT a simple heart attack Aunt May is having but that it's some problem at the genetic level makes me think that either it has something to do with Peter's irradiated blood again, OR that Aunt May might actually be a clone and is undergoing clone degeneration, which would have REALLY thrown readers through a loop wondering if the real Aunt May actually died years ago or whether (as before) she was abducted. Likewise, I like the touch that Deflaco and Mackie go back to the original smokestack where Peter tried to dispose of Ben and used it as a means for Ben to not only help Peter from suffocating from the fungus, but that it brings things full circle in that they now become allies. I'm not so sure about Kaine working for whomever is the "mastermind" behind this, as if IIRC, Kaine was always an independent operator. Not to mention, he does lose some of the complexity J.M. DeMatties originally gave him, in that while he wants revenge against Ben Reilly, he actually wants Peter and MJ to have a happy and fulfilling life. Here, it just seems he's simply following orders to put Peter and Ben against each other, which makes him seem like a lacky that Spidercide was.

*As for the artwork, Todd Nauck does an excellent job here. It looks crisp and dynamic, which really helps to emphasize the fast-paced, economy-sized storytelling approach that is being taken with this mini-series

So, despite both it's strength and it's weakness of making things compact, this is a nice treat for the die-hard Spider-Man fan, and certainly for those who wonder what actually might have been.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

She so does not look like 13 there

She looks like a 30 year old street-walker who went a little too heavy on the eye shadow. And is that collagen lips?

 

[JewishHobbit]

Hate to say it but I was a little disappointed. It could be because I was already jaded at Spider-Man a bit due to looking through the newest issue of Amazing and seeing him ****ing it up again, but I just wasn't feeling the Clone Saga issue. After all the emotional impact of the first few arcs of the original Clone Saga, this condensed version just paled and came accross as unbelievable, forced, and a little silly.

I'm sad about that though because I've officially made the decision to not buy the Ben Reilly arc of Amazing due to my still disdain of the "new" BND direction (once again, further enhanced by the said ****ing). I was hoping to at least really enjoy the Clone Saga mini and as of this issue I feel like I'm just reading some cheesy retelling isn't at all worth the $4 I spent on it. I'll probably pick up the next issue, but if I'm not enjoying it more after that one I just might drop the title.

It sucks that OMD/BND is tainting even my enjoyment of stories I've waited years to read.

 

[freemadison]

Hmmm... That is a tempting offer... but for now I'd say don't worry about it. We'll see if freemadison ever posts here again, and I can ask him.

YO! Missing pages? I think they're all there.

Btw, check out who i ran into at the SD Comic Con. LOL.

 

[JewishHobbit]

You look stupid with your pants hanging down like that. But that's a cool costume. Could do without the buldge though.

 

[AgentEnforcer]

Freemadison: Yeah there were two pages which weren't loading anymore, where Osborn takes a pipe and beats Ben nearly to death with it. Magnus has since posted the pages up so it's all good now.

Hobbit: Damn man, you need like a filter or something. And the buldge again? Seriously?

 

[Ultra Magnus]

Interview with J.M. DeMatteis by Matt Adler
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23140

J.M. DeMatteis on Raising Kaine

In 1994, the comic book industry was in a slump, and Marvel Comics needed a big event to revitalize their lead franchise, Spider-Man. Dovetailing with this need was the opinion of many writers and editors that they needed to return Spider-Man to being a bachelor, and all the drama that that entails. What they came up with was meant to be a short storyline, lasting only a few months, which would reintroduce the long-forgotten clone of Peter Parker, as created by one of his greatest enemies. But internal company politics saw the story take a detour, and it wound up stretching out across 3 years, in the process becoming one of the most controversial comic book storylines of all time, to be known forever as the "Clone Saga."
There were, however, many fondly-remembered smaller stories within the overall storyline, produced by many talented creators. So much so, that a number of new Clone Saga stories have been announced in recent months. These include the "Spider-Man: The Clone Saga" 6-issue miniseries by Tom DeFalco, Howard Mackie, and Todd Nauck, debuting this month, which will retell the Clone Saga the way the creators originally intended, as well as October's "Who Was Ben Reilly?" arc in "Amazing Spider-Man" #608-610, by Marc Guggenheim, Marco Chechetto, and Luke Ross, which follows on from this year's "Amazing Spider-Man Annual," and may reveal disturbing secrets about Peter Parker's clone.
Another of the original Clone Saga creators is J.M. DeMatteis, whose work on "The Death of Aunt May" and "The Lost Years" stands among the high points of the Clone Saga for many readers. One of the main characters of the "Clone Saga" (and "The Lost Years" in particular) is Kaine, a damaged, warped version of Peter Parker, who served as a dark reflection of the road not taken. DeMatteis was acclaimed for his work with the character, and in October, he gets the chance to revisit Kaine, with the lead story in the new "Web of Spider-Man" series. CBR News spoke to DeMatteis about his affinity for the character, the return of the Clone Saga, and his own return to Marvel.

CBR: You've been doing more and more work for Marvel lately; what led to you getting back in the fold after being away for several years?
J.M. DEMATTEIS: I wrote so many Spider-Man stories for so many years that I really thought I'd pretty much run out of stories to tell. Then, a while back, I got this feeling that I'd like to write another—it was like the sudden urge to contact an old friend after you haven't seen each other for years—so I dropped Spidey editor Steve Wacker a line, he said, "sure" and we were off and running. It was really that simple.
Did you know Steve beforehand?
I know Steve from his DC days, when he was the assistant editor on both my "Spectre" run and "Formerly Known As The Justice League." He was a pleasure to work with then and he's a pleasure to work with now.
What's been new and/or interesting for you in returning to Spider-Man for this go round? What do you think of his new status quo?
I've been pretty much out of the loop, so Steve W sent me a stack of recent Spidey material and I was very impressed with the work: I think it's fresh and smart and fun. (I liked it all, but I was especially impressed with Dan Slott's work. I think he's terrific.)
A number of people have asked me what I thought of the whole Mephisto reboot, and my feeling is that the Mephisto story, whether it was brilliant or a total stinker, isn't what matters. What matters is what happens after the reboot. And I think the Spider-guys have done a great job with the books since then.
Does it feel different writing a single Peter Parker vs. a married Peter Parker?
There's certainly a different psychological space you have to get into, especially since the vast majority of Spider-Man stories I've written have been grounded in the Peter-MJ relationship. I think their marriage deepened the character and his world in so many ways. That said, I understand why the status quo was changed (we were trying to get to the same place with the Clone Saga) and, in the end, Peter Parker is Peter Parker. Married or single, the essence of the character remains the same.
One of the big changes post-One More Day is that Harry Osborn is alive again. You wrote the classic story where he died, and you also had the opportunity to write a story recently that had him and Peter dealing with his return. It strikes me that this is not the first time one of your best-received death stories has been undone; the death of Aunt May retconned to being just an actress comes to mind. How have you felt about all this?
Where Harry's concerned, I'm not really bothered. The "Death of Harry" story—which remains my favorite of all the Spider-Man stories I've written—was something like fifteen years ago. I think the fact that no one brought him back till now is quite a triumph. I also think that the way in which Harry was brought back actually works very well in the context of the current continuity. Which is why I was happy to write that recent story about Peter's first encounter with Harry after his "return from the grave."
As for the Aunt May story (which is another of my all-time favorites as a Spider-writer): I assumed May would be brought back eventually—hey, it's comics, that's the way the game is played and it's fine with me—but I didn't think she'd be brought back so soon. And, unlike the Harry story, I thought the way she was brought back didn't really work. That said, May is a wonderful character, and returning her to the books gave the Spider-writers that followed me a chance to use her in new and interesting ways.
The most important point, though, is that it doesn't really matter. The Harry and Aunt May stories are still there for anyone to read and enjoy.
You mentioned that you're enjoying a lot of the newer writers' stuff. Do you think you've had an easier time adapting to the newer styles than most veteran writers, and has that made it easier to get work with the newer editors? It seems, at least to me, that you've made the transition seamlessly.
For better or worse, I've always pretty much followed my own muse. I remember way back when "Moonshadow" came out, there were people scratching their heads saying, "It's good, but it's not a comic book," because the storytelling approach was so different. The fusion of prose and sequential art, the slower pace that allowed us to explore the characters and their world in a deeper way, Jon J Muth's incredible painted artwork, all these things seemed very strange to some people. At the time, I wasn't trying to do something different, I was just trying to tell the story in the best way possible—and along the way I really found my voice as a writer. I've continued to do the same thing since then: tell the story in the best way possible and try to grow as a writer. I've also tried not to lock myself in to any one genre. I've done mainstream super heroes, offbeat personal projects, humor, children's fantasy, autobiography...whatever has excited me. Certainly, whatever was in the comic book zeitgeist at the moment influenced me, but I've pretty much stayed in my own idiosyncratic universe.
I think that's helped me in some ways, hurt me in others. (Believe me, there've been points in my career where work was hard to find. It wasn't always so "seamless.") But the one thing that's allowed me to keep going more than any other is that it's vitally important to me to have major projects that I'm passionate about. Projects I can pour my heart and soul into. Projects that I refuse to give up on. "The Life and Times of Savior 28" is a story I worked on and pitched—in various forms—for more than twenty years. I kept at it till I got the project set up. Same thing with projects like "Abadazad" and "The Stardust Kid." They took years and years between conception and realization. But those projects meant the world to me and I had no choice but to see them through.
So, really, it all comes down to the old Joseph Campbell cliche of following your bliss. You've got to care, to the bottom of your soul, about the work and just keep banging your head against the wall till you break through.
Ok, now how were you approached about doing this Kaine story?
I suggested it to Steve. The Clone Saga is understandably controversial, but some wonderful things came out of it, most notably Ben Reilly—a fantastic character—and then Kaine, one of my all-time favorite Spidey antagonists (I wouldn't use the word "villain" where he's concerned). I always loved writing him. I think that "Spider-Man: The Lost Years" is one of the best Spidey stories I ever wrote, and a good part of that was because I was given the opportunity to really explore the character, dig deep into his psyche. (I also wrote another Kaine/Ben-centric mini called "Spider-Man: Redemption" that allowed me to spend quite a bit of time in Kaine's head and heart.)
Steve and I were discussing what story I would do next for him, and I threw Kaine out there, thinking "Nah, he's not going for this" but, to my surprise, he really liked the idea.
Artist Val Semeiks joins you for this story. What's it been like working with him?
This is the fourth Spidey story in a row that we've done for Steve and it's been an absolute pleasure working with him. I've seen the first batch of pencils for the Kaine story, and they're Val's best yet. We've also lined up the great Dan Green to ink, so, no matter what people may think of the story, I think I can safely say that the art is going to be spectacular.
How do you see Kaine as a character?
He's a multi-layered—and incredibly tragic—character. He was the first Peter Parker clone created by Miles Warren. Loved and nurtured by his "father," and then heartlessly discarded when Warren discovered that Kaine was suffering from cellular degeneration. Like the biblical Cain, he was then cast out to wander the world, seeking some sense of meaning and purpose. On the one hand, he's a monster, capable of doing terrible things; on the other, well, he's still Peter Parker—or at least there's an aspect of Peter buried deep inside him. That tug of war, between the monster and the decent man, is what makes the character fascinating to me. It's not a Jekyll and Hyde situation where he's either one thing or the other. Both aspects of Kaine exist side by side, woven together inside the man. And his relationship with Ben Reilly really underscored the contradictions in Kaine. It was Ben who ultimately convinced Kaine to surrender to the authorities and take the first step toward some kind of redemption.
The story in "Web of Spider-Man" takes place in prison, where Kaine is forced to re-evaluate himself and his life. It's a story that people familiar with the character will enjoy but (I hope!) it's presented in a way that will allow readers new to Kaine to understand, and connect with, the character.
Kaine was shown escaping from the Vault in "Thunderbolts Annual '97," to hunt down Norman Osborn for the murder of Ben Reilly (and as readers of Spider-Girl know, eventually rescue Baby May from his clutches). Is this story set during his time in the Vault, or has Kaine been reincarcerated since?
The story is set very soon after "Spider-Man: Redemption" (although clearly after Ben Reilly's death). Kaine's in a super-max prison that may or may not be the Vault. We don't really know how many different prisons he's been in along the way. And it really isn't important to the story.
Were there any reservations about returning to elements of the Clone Saga?
Not these elements. If someone wanted a story spinning out of "Maximum Clonage," then I'd have some reservations! But Kaine and his mythos? Not in the least.
What were some of the best moments/aspects of the Clone Saga from your standpoint? Are there any other elements you'd be interested in revisiting? Maybe Traveller and Scrier?
The best moments for me were the two previously-mentioned mini-series—The Lost Years and Redemption—as well as the "Death of Aunt May" story in "Amazing Spider-Man" #400. Those were stories that were great fun to write and that I think hold up very well.
The other highlight of that era for me was what the readers didn't see: the regular meetings the writers would have, especially in the early days before the whole Saga (and Marvel itself, as a company) got a little out of hand. Danny Fingeroth was editor and ringmaster and we'd all get together every few weeks to plot out the stories, eat Chinese food, yell at each other and laugh our heads off. It was a great group of guys and we all had tremendous respect for each other. No egos in the room, no showboating. Just a bunch of crazed freelancers having a great time. I can't begin to tell you how much fun we had.
As for Traveler and Scrier, I liked both characters quite a bit—even if they were a little out of place in a Spider-Man story. Traveler, especially, is a multi-layered character with tremendous potential.
You alluded to the turbulence in the Marvel of that era; is that what led you to leave the books at the time? Was it hard to do?
It's been a long time but my memory is that a) the behind-the-scenes stuff was just getting out of hand and, perhaps because of that, b) I was getting a little burned out on Spider-Man. Was it hard to do? I don't think it was. I was ready to parachute out of there. That said, I ended up returning to Spidey, post-Clone Saga, for another run on "Spectacular Spider-Man" because I really missed the character.
Now, in addition to this Kaine story, Tom DeFalco and Howard Mackie are doing a miniseries retelling the Clone Saga, and there's an upcoming arc called "Who is Ben Reilly?" in ASM. Why do you think this is all happening now?
I think it's as simple as "what goes around comes around." Despite all the controversy, or maybe because of it, there were lots of people who read and enjoyed the Clone Saga and enough time has passed that I think a certain nostalgia/re-appreciation has set in. Whatever the story's flaws—and there were certainly many—there were some terrific elements in there. I'm happy to see the resurgence of interest.
You've mentioned "redemption" a couple of times regarding Kaine, so I have to ask, do you think the Clone Saga itself can be redeemed? There were so many good stories within those 3 years; do you think Marvel can gradually work them back into active Spider-Man continuity, separating the wheat from the chaff so to speak? If they wanted to collect the Clone Saga in trade paperbacks today, they could probably do selective collections of just the important story arcs, and even if they skipped a lot of the stuff in-between, new readers would still be able to follow the story pretty easily, I would think.
I know I'd love to see the short background stories I did about Ben Reilly's early days (some were illustrated by Liam Sharp, others by John Romita, Jr) collected together with the "Lost Years" mini-series and "Redemption." I think they'd make a fantastic collection that would help new readers understand what was so wonderful about the characters of Reilly and Kaine. They're strong stories that stand on their own.
And the idea of hitting the high points of the Clone Saga in either a series of tpbs or one massive collection is a great one. I'd love to see that.
Clearly, Marvel's not ignoring the Clone Saga any more. I think they can see that there were some wonderful stories during that era. If they ignore the confusing crap and concentrate on the strong characters and concepts at the heart of the CS, they can easily fuse that era with the current continuity. (I, for one, would love to see Ben Reilly back. I'd jump at the chance to write a current-day Ben story. Or even return to those lost years.)
Are there any other characters you're itching to get your hands on?
There are a few characters I might be interested in having another crack at—Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer come to mind—and I always thought the Fantastic Four would be a perfect fit for the Giffen-DeMatteis approach, but, overall, I'm much more interested in doing originals these days. Not that I don't still love those characters, just that I've been lucky enough to have written most of the major Marvel and DC icons and it's much more challenging, and fulfilling, creating new worlds with projects like "Abadazad," "Hero Squared" and "Savior 28." Working on my novel has been a wonderful challenge and a real creative stretch. No pictures!
That said, these Spider-Man stories have been great fun, Giffen and I are having a blast writing "Metal Men" (it's perfectlly suited to what we do together), and if the right project came along I'm sure my passion could be reignited.
Let's turn to your creator-owned series "The Life and Times of Savior 28" for a moment; now that it's finished, how do you feel about how it's turned out?
I'm still pretty close to it, so anything vaguely resembling real objectivity hasn't set in yet. That said, I'm incredibly proud of this series. It's one of the best things I've ever done in comics, thanks in no small part to my collaboration with Mike Cavallaro. "The Life and Times of Savior 28" is a story I waited more than twenty years to tell and—for me, at least—it was worth the wait.
[...]
Web of Spider-Man #1 with art by Val Semeiks and Dan Green goes on sale October 14.

I especially liked this sentence: "I, for one, would love to see Ben Reilly back. I'd jump at the chance to write a current-day Ben story." Amen to that.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Hobbit: Damn man, you need like a filter or something. And the buldge again? Seriously?

Yeah I probably do. I've had a frustrating few weeks. Sorry Madison. I just can't help but to shake my head at this whole drooping thing people think looks so cool these days. I've always found it humorous.

Heh, back in highschool a guy started acting all big and bad with his pants all hanging down. My friend and I just belted out laughing in his face about how rediculous he looked. I've not stopped laughing.

It's just a personal thing.

And I've never mentioned anything about a buldge before, but honeslty, it looks horrible. That's why the movie renditions of a lot of costumes that eliminate that works much better.

 

[AgentEnforcer]

Fair enough...

As cool as that looks I just don't think the red crotch would look great on the big screen. It'd be like seeing a grown man walking around in a red leotard. Not pretty. I'm thinking it'd have to be more pants-like.

I like the first one with the webbing on the back of the head and arms myself. And the costume can basically be the same, just widen the legs a bit. Spider-Man can have the tights because it's dark blue which hides the bulge, but the lighter red color will showcase the crotch.

Crotches AND Buldges.