Wednesday, July 27, 2022

LOST AND FOUND

This past weekend at the San Diego Comic Con Marvel announced my latest project, Spider-Man: The Lost Hunt—with art by Eider Messias and Belardino Brabo.  Here's the description:

Releasing this November, SPIDER-MAN: THE LOST HUNT is a five-issue limited series that will dive into Kraven's origins, revealing secrets and answering mysteries Spidey fans have been waiting for. Prepare to explore the depths of what made Kraven the Hunter the powerhouse villain he was!

As Peter Parker and Mary Jane prepare for their new lives in Portland, a man from Kraven's past stalks them. Who is this mystery man, and what does he want with Spider-Man? Find out when we return to the time period after SPIDER-MAN: THE FINAL ADVENTURE when Peter Parker was powerless!

The first cover (by Ryan Brown) and a couple of teaser pages are below.  Enjoy!




29 comments:

  1. You have put me in an awkward position with this comic coming out, Dematteis.

    Regardless, I have to ask something. You wrote Spider-Man at the time this comic will take place. Except they were married, and Marvel does not want that to be the case anymore.

    Was that weird? I think you have made it clear here that whenever you write Pete and MJ, in your head, they are still married. or maybe I read that wrong.

    Either way, you could not use the word wife.You would have had to write around the concept. Was that odd?

    and, what the hell, here is a brief biography of an impressive man that your teenage self was in awe of...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdQgUBrRcJw


    Jack

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    1. The way I see it, Jack, this story takes place in an era BEFORE the Mephisto thing ever happened, so Pete and MJ were indeed married. And that's the way I'm treating it in this story. (Pretty sure I referred to them as married in the Ben Reilly series, but I can't swear to it.)

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    2. I skimmed the first issue of Ben Reilly, and you did not seem to refer to them as married.

      But... I'm fine with your explanation. My personal head cannon ... as the kids say... is that Mephisto swapped out the main Peter Parker with one from a dimension where he would trade his marriage. If Marvel doesn't like that, well they don;t get to control my thoughts. Though I am sure someone in the entertainment industry is working on the technology.

      Though I have to say. Aunt May had been thought dead , or literally dying like 12 times before that story.

      I think we may have figured out why Peter is always broke. If you are not going to question THE DEVIL when he tells you he is the only one that can stop something you have seen reversed, or proven a lie many times in the past... you probably are not much of a haggler. Must be a salesman dream.

      So much for being the working class superhero.

      Here is a question, Dematteis.

      Let's say Marvel comics realized how ridiculous it is to have all their heroes in one city. That any world dominator only has to obliterate one place and the world is theirs. That villains like Shocker who are a joke in a city fill of heroes could make Indianapolis quake with their crazy powers or tech.

      So they decide to pull a DC and send their biggest characters to different cites, except ones that actually exist.

      Based off personality, what hero do you think would go to what U.S. city?

      Only the big characters, so franchises create between 1961 and 1972

      Think of it as a superhero parlor game.

      Jack

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  2. Here's what springs immediately to mind:

    Doc Strange—San Francisco (A psychedelic city for a psychedelic mystic.)

    Daredevil—Chicago (Seems like a good place for the Milleresque version.)

    Captain America—Brooklyn, where he grew up.

    Fantastic Four—Somewhere in an unoccupied corner of Wyoming, the state with the smallest population. (This way Reed can do all the crazy experiments he wants without endangering millions of people.)

    Iron Man—San Jose/Silicon Valley, where all the tech giants are headquartered.

    Spider-Man—Detroit (that one’s for you)

    X-Men—Los Angeles/Pacific Palisades. (I can see the Xavier School in that ritzy enclave, overlooking the ocean.)

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    1. Daredevil in Chicago makes sense.

      I was thinking Boston for the F.F.. You have the academia for Reed, the Southies for Ben to hang out with the college girls for Johnny, and the homey and lived in nature for Sue. Maybe they could even get to the bottom of why they always bring up having "lace curtains."
      Of course, they claim Boston is a populated area , so I perhaps am part of the problem. Testing those crazy inventions isn't exactly safe for people... or considerate. I seem to remember a Lee-Kirby story where the tenants of the Baxter Building...fairly... got angry at the ruckus they caused.
      Of course, with all Reed's tech, there is no reason they could live in one city and teleport (or what have you) to a remote place for experimentation.
      Wow... Reed is kind of a jerk for not realizing that.

      Is San Francisco still a psychedelic city? Didn't tech bro capitalism crush it out of the city in the 90s? What about New Orleans?

      X-men in L.A. is,.. actually inspired. I would not have thought of it, but it makes perfect sense...until they run out of water. Of course, they lived in the Outback back in the 80s, so they may be used to it.
      If your goal is to build a better relationship between humans and mutants... essentially a P.R. campaign... the media capital of the world makes sense,
      Back around 2010, the X-folk (minus Peter David's X-factor) moved to San Fran, I think inspired by the gay community's history in the city. Then moved to an island in the bay, and became essentially racial separatists...not to be confused with the current story where they live on an island and act as racial separatists.

      (Jack)
      continued....

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    2. AS for Cap....
      It feels odd that I gave to remind a writer of Cap's comics that in said comics, he grew up on the Lower East Side, not Brooklyn.
      It also seems like cheating, since Brooklyn is still part of New York City. However...I will give it a pass. Mostly because I like the idea of Cap wondering what a artisanal, farm-to-table, vegan candle is...and why it costs so much.
      Bonus points if they have ACTUAL Brooklyn native J.M. Dematteis stop by for an issue and wonder what happened to the old swimmin' hole and Mr. McGinty's farm. How the endless field of oat, where he chased fireflies, and the isolated lover's lave/look out point seems to have disappeared.
      I suppose it is nice to give the All-AMerican Man With the Plan a spot in the rustic, Rockwell painting come to life called known as Brooklyn.
      But this is an Action comic Dematteis. Growing wheat and fishin' in the pond is not what action fans want. Wondering where farms went and questioning candle prices is. Wouldn't Cap in Brooklyn just be Andy Griffith in Mayberry?
      Also, are we sure he could afford a place in Brooklyn in a government salary? Does he still draw a government salary?

      As for Spidey in Detroit...
      While I would love to see Pete crawling and swinging around the inside of the Fisher building...great visuals...making it a gift defeats the purpose of the exercise. So, let's see if we can reverse engineer this into logic.
      Well, the area is certainly more affordable, which works out for the hero always claiming to be destitute.
      Also, Wayne State is considered one of the best acting schools in the country, so there is intensive for MJ. Maybe even the impetus for moving.
      Of course, once you get out of downtown/midtown/Greektown/Foxtown/Campus Martius area, webswinging could be difficult could be difficult. Of course, just how high of a surface he needs is ill-defined. I am pretty sure I have seen him do it from street lamps. You could probablty work something out.
      But the point is personality.
      He is supposed to be the working class superhero, and Detroit does have that working class pride. Which would be good for Pete.
      I actually knew a guy back in the day who grew up in...and you won't believe this..Brooklyn. Said he liked the Detroit area because it was like the neighborhood he grew up in before gentrification started. You know, a place of people. A character whose Golden Age tends to be viewed as New York in the 60s-early 90s, it could be viewed as a return to form.
      Also, Spider-man is constantly shit on, but keeps getting back up to fight That is certainly more Detroit than New York.
      Yeah... I think we could make him an honorary Detroiter.
      You were either on to something the whole time, or I made your random guess work..you choose.

      Jack

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    3. Guess I had the movie Steve (who did grow up in Brooklyn) and the comic book Steve mixed up. I hang my head in shame.

      I think we've got the makings of a whole new line of comics: Your favorite characters headquartered in different cities!

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    4. Mixing up the movie and comic? Better hope no one finds out, you may have to turn in your nerd card.


      Jack

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    5. I'll trust you to keep my secret!

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    6. You know...there is a lot of potential in the other city idea, that rarely gets explored anymore.

      It is a pretty good way to establish a new change of pace quickly. Cities have personality, and you can bring that out. Not to mention let creativity run wild, why doesn't Stilt-man go to Cleveland? Maybe the mob-boss there turns those who enter his turf him into Frankenstein monsters who obey his every command.

      However, it is something rarely taken advantage of.when characters move. When Iron Man moved to Seattle in the 90s, there was no real change. Busiek wrote good stories, but they could have all been an Iron Man story set anywhere.

      You and I both overlooked the most obvious answer...Thor in Minneapolis. A lot of Scandinavian immigrants ended up in Minnesota, that is great fodder for storytelling. Not to mention, things like trolls are very different in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. SOmthing similar, but different.

      INStant new stories, just by embracing a place.

      There is also another potential plus.

      One of the big issues in modern comics is the lunch box vs, character. The brand vs, the story.
      It is probably older, but the best known example is one more day, You know what I mean, the company thinks they have to keep it one way to sell, but fans want the characters to grow. It has really gotten worse since the MCU.
      While very unlikely, if we are playing around here, moving locations could be a step to fixing that conflict.
      For instance, Let Miles Morales be Spider-Man in New York, and let Peter take another identity in another city.
      Some fans of Captain America seem to forget that he has a story with him questioning the government at least once a decade since the days of Lee and Colan. I am not sure hoe you can be a fan and not realize the, but I digress.
      Have Steve drop the Cap moniker, and have his thought provoking stories with more complex actions while Sam and/or Bucky are the lunch box.
      There are all kinds of exciting possibilities if they opened up the country.

      Jack

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    7. It's a great idea, Jack. And beautifully expressed!

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    8. The biggest problem of course, Marvel is still based in New York. Convincing a New Yorker there is anything but wastelands west of New Jersey is a pretty unrealistic goal.

      Jack

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    9. I thought all those other cities were mythical, like in Middle Earth or Narnai!

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    10. Well... Indiana is not real, that is a joke the Great Lakes states played that got a little out of hand. What? You thought its biggest state would be INDIANApois? Or that it would call itself Indiana? That means "Land of Indians" Every state that allegedly borders it literally has an Indian name, people get the idea. Ludicrous, Grow up, Dematteis.

      Though it does beg the question, were we wrong about the 60s Marvel bullpen? Did they just put almost every book in New York just because they were typical New Yorkers, and had trouble imagining any place inhabitable outside the city?

      Some to think of it, the only book they set outside New York was the Hulk, which was in a baron New Mexico desert.

      Man, that is depressing. They could come up with Galactus and Wakanda, Radioactive Spiders and Stilt-men, Asgard and MODOK, but Ohio was to much for them to grasp.


      Jack

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    11. Well, Cleveland and Youngstwon did attract a lot of immigrants. I know Youngstown specifically had a good deal of Slavic and Italian in the early 20th century...if I remember correctly, a lot of steel workers were in a local bocce ball league. The game is still very popular there.
      So, if Italian immigrants can start a sports league, Irish ones could probably have named some stuff.
      However, Ohio is Iroquois, it means "beautiful river." Michigan comes from the Ojibwa word Michigama, which mean "great lake." Illinois comes from the word Illiniwek, which means "best people"...Though, the name directly comes from the Illinois Confederation, which was made up of....I think 10 tribes. Maybe more.
      I'll grant you, it is not as interesting of a history of just taking a city in England, and slapping the word "new" on it.
      Of course, there is some Roman Empirical history tied to the city, so the large numbers of Italian immigrants that would come later is fitting... but, I don't think that was ever planned. By the settlers, or many immigrants.


      What was my point again? Oh right, New Yorkers thinking anything west is fictional. Wouldn't that be more enticing to a writer?

      Also, if you know anyone from Illinois, you can use them as an example to see if they are really the "best people".


      Jack

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    12. Well, my father-in-law was from Chicago, lived his whole life there, and was one of the finest human beings I've ever known.

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    13. So, that is a "truth in advertisement" vote for Dematteis. Good to Know,

      My mother's Father-in-law and my father's mother-in-law... a shame there is no word for their relation to me...were both from Illinois. I was a big fan of both. So we have correlation, now we just have to check causation.

      Though, I have to say... if your father-in-law lived his whole life in Chicago, wouldn't that mean your wife was from Illinois? Interesting choice not to use her as an example.

      It is great that you got along with her dad... but I would not recommend bringing up during dinner that someone asked if Illinois made the best people, and you did not chose her. I have seen enough sitcoms to know. The Frying pan will come out,... or she will try to get in the show at the Cuban themed night club you run.
      And you thought mixing up cap's home borough in the movies and comics was bad.



      Jack

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    14. To be completely accurate, they lived in Wisconsin for a few years and that was where my wife spent part of her childhood.
      So I don't think of her as purely Illinois bred. But for my father-in-law, those years in Wisconsin were just a blip on the radar.

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    15. I am not sure a few years is enough to really take the Chicago out of someone. I have heard enough Chicagoans go on about it to have a good idea.
      HOWEVER, probably enough to back track away from her hitting you with a rolling pin...or singing at the Copa Cabana...or taking the violence out of Itchy and Scratchy. So... you may have sitcom husband game.

      If it makes you feel any better, New York Pizza is definitely better than Chicago style. I don't care What Chris Claremont X-Men #129, it isn't the world's "best pizza." That run may be a classic for good reason, but that is nonsense. He is lucky Roger Stern was the editor, because people from most places would have been concerned about spreading lies, and a New Yorker would have viciously beaten him.
      Again, love the run, and nothing against the man... but this is not about something frivolous like comic books, or politics, or religion,, or the value of human life, it is about pizza. I have seen New Yorkers kill over that. Kill, destroy burn the land, and salt the Earth so nothing ever grows there again. Interestingly, the last part is what my father thinks Sherman should have done to Atlanta.

      If you are wondering what my thoughts on New York vs. Detroit style pizza, I had no idea it was a thing, until it got a little famous last year. The only real difference is that it is square, the crust is a little, thinker pepperoni, and sometimes a bit more generous with the cheese.
      Given the similar taste, I like most people view it as pretty interchangeable. However, the square nature makes division for large groups easier.

      However, we have to loop this back to the point.

      Wisconsin, you say? That is the home of The Great Lakes Avengers. They are a perfect example of what not to do when you set up heroes in a new city.

      I don't know many Great Lakes Avengers fans. Believe it or not, regardless of what creative team you put on it, making the very idea that region has importance a joke does not win over many readers from that place.

      There I looped it back, that is a sign of commitment. Ir being crazy. Maybe dedication to being crazy.

      Jack

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    16. New York also has square pizza, Jack. We call it a Sicilian pie. (As opposed to a "regular.") I'm very fond of it.

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    17. I have had Sicilian style pizza before. The truth is, that while there are a few differences... whether you roll the crusts for instance...the difference is not exactly light-years. It is enough that a different name makes sense for clarification, but those familiar with one could probably mistake the other as a signature version.
      In fact... and I would have to check to be sure...but I think Gus Guera was Sicilian. Or maybe it was his wife. That might actually be why Chicago style pizza is so different, the creator Ike Sewell was not Italian. I guess that would usually be an issue, but pizza was not quite as ubiquitous in 1943 as now. I would say in the time since pizza is more associated with America than Italy, but back in the 40s...not really.

      Anyway, here is a photo of Detroit style pizza form Buddy's, the restaurant that invented it (kind of) in 1946.

      https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/1b/72/7a/57/authentic-detroit-style.jpg

      I was actually trying to explain to a friend of mine from South America how common foods get unique by region.
      Though, admittedly, the main example was hotdogs.


      Jack

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    18. Sicilian generally, but not always, has a lighter crust. It's not as dense as a regular pie. I believe the deep dish is quite heavy. And we have now come very far from the topic at the top of this page!

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    19. Detroit style is usually pretty airy. It has the same sponge type look to the crust. After I sent the last post I checked, and it actually is made with Sicilian dough. The primary difference is a more cheese infused crust, thicker pepperoni, and it is backed in a unique pan.
      The original is... so they say.. one from the factory floor that held nuts and bolts. It does look very similar, so I would not be surprised if that was the original base.
      The metal is industrial based, and therefore cooks it slightly differently.

      If you like Sicilian style, you would probably like Detroit style. It is the same type of dough.

      We may have strayed from The Lost Hunt, but we are still very much on target with my conversation about superheroes moving to new cities, and how different cities have different personalities. I am pretty sure that became the dominant topic a while ago.

      Jack

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    20. And now for our discussion of Chinese food. (I'm kidding!!)

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  3. With the parting of Nichelle Nichols...the first nerd hearthrob... let us remember not just as an actress, but as a woman who impacted the real world.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSq_UIuxba8

    and to see the further impact...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtMNAHwPSgA

    Jack

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    1. An amazing woman...and a great loss.

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    2. It was interesting to see comments on the article where I first saw the news.

      Mostly just praise, but every once in a while you would see something about how she was on Star Trek "before it got political" or "woke".

      I was confused by that. Star Trek was many great things, subtle was not one of them.


      Jack

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    3. The very fact that she was on the bridge of the Enterprise in that role was political!

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