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By Jim Beard
Spider-Man goes Infinite as Marvel Comics unleashes their newest Infinite Comic in honor of New York Comic Con.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: FINAL EXAM will be available online for free October 12-14—the dates of New York Comic Con—and for only $1.99 beginning October 15. The story will be set in the universe of the current hit “Ultimate Spider-Man” animated series and also features real-life New York City Mayor Bloomberg in a guest-star role.
“[Editor] Stephen [Wacker] asked me if I'd be interested in doing an Infinite Comic format story for Spider-Man,” explains writer Matt Kindt. “He knew from my other work that I really get a kick out of playing with the form and experimenting with what comics can do. And he was right. That's the kind of formal challenge that keeps me interested in comics. To me, a good comic doesn't only tell a good story well. It tells it in an interesting way that couldn't be conveyed in any other medium. And Infinite Comics really lend itself to that.
“And [writing this book meant] I had to do a lot of research! And by research, I mean watching a ton of the Spidey cartoon with my daughter. Which is great. With my schedule being pretty busy, it was nice to have some work that didn't seem like work. I really wanted to make sure I was true to the vibe of the cartoon but at the same time trying to really push the ball forward with this new format.”
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: FINAL EXAM hits the ground running as everyone’s favorite wall-crawler swings into training from Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. but runs up against not only a crashed alien ship, but also the ultimate test of that training.
“The [‘Ultimate Spider-Man’] stories are all about him sort of growing up and becoming the perfect, best Spider-Man,” Kindt notes. “So in a way it's an extended coming-of-age story which, to me, isn't something necessarily new, but is definitely more like the Spidey I grew up with. Trying to juggle super heroism with work and a girl, etc. That's always been the appeal to Spidey to me. To me, he was the original ‘what would it be like to be a super hero—but for real’ scenario. Which is how I try to approach all my stories really and everything I've done. Dream up a scenario and then just extrapolate that into what it would mean for a character if it was all real.”
What’s most definitely real for Kindt’s sojourn on the project comes by way of his interaction with artist Ramon Bachs, a memory that the writer will always treasure.
“I think the most fun thing was collaborating with Ramon,” he says. “I wrote a general script/outline and had some ideas for ways to convey the story visually and then the layouts came back and they pushed everything I'd done even further. Definitely a great experience for me; I'm used to working on my own so this just helped me turn the corner on the idea that sometimes a few more hands working together can make something even better.
“Ramon was great—actually the entire creative team was just a lot of fun. Everyone sort of chipped in and brought something or added some small details to support or expand on the story. I think telling the story in this new way that not many people have exploited yet has sort of got everyone excited. It's like being the first guys on the moon. Let's jump around and see what we can do.”
And then there’s that other team member on the book, Mayor Bloomberg, who’s no stranger to swinging with our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
“We worked with the Mayor on the SPIDER-MAN: YOU’RE HIRED! story a couple years back,” Wacker reminds us. “Our marketing man Arune Singh put it all together [for FINAL EXAM] and I assume it all went well because the Mayor’s office seems excited to do more.
“I’m convinced though that the Mayor just wants a chance to meet AMAZING SPIDER-MAN writer Dan Slott and this was the easiest way.”
Can’t make it to the convention? Follow along on the Marvel Events App & events.marvel.com, and visit marvel.com/nycc2012, the best way to get exclusive videos, real-time announcements from the convention floor and up-to-the-minute panel, in-booth, and signing schedules of all your favorite Marvel creators!
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