Marvel has announced that Otto Octavius will be leaving the moniker of Doctor Octopus behind this December as Superior Spider-Man returns for a brand new ongoing series from Christos Gage (Spider-Geddon) and Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool).
“I had the great pleasure of collaborating with Dan Slott on his incredible Superior Spider-Man run, and I can’t wait for people to see this new chapter in Otto’s journey toward… redemption? Corruption? Triumph? Tragedy? That remains to be seen,” said Gage. “What I can tell you is that the appropriately superior artistic team of Mike Hawthorne, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Jordie Bellaire — titans of their field, all — are absolutely killing it on the art.”
“I’m more than thrilled to renew my exclusive with the folks at Marvel,” added Hawthorne. “I want to emphasize folks’ here, as I think we often talk about Marvel as this big entity that just makes things happen. Marvel, to me, is the people that work day in and day out to try to make the best comics they can. They’re the ones that keep me coming back. I’m ecstatic to dedicate the next few years of my creative energies to adding to the Marvel Universe!”
“After drawing Deadpool for as long I did, I was a little heartbroken to be moving on,” continued Hawthorne. “BUT, getting to work on a Spider-Man book has blunted that pain significantly! (Sorry, Wade). I’m thrilled to get a shot to work on such a flagship character! I think working specifically on Superior Spider-Man is a unique opportunity that’ll allow me to explore my own approach to a Spider-Man book. It gives me a chance to illustrate how Otto’s approach and demeanor differs from Peter, and to build on a story that I find very compelling. Christos, [editor] Nick [Lowe] and [editor] Kathleen [Wisneski] have shown a willingness to trust me and let me do my thing, which allows me to do my best work. Honestly, I haven’t been this excited to work on a new book since the beginning of Deadpool!”
Superior Spider-Man #1 will arrive in comic book shops in December 2018.