A new report details the writings of Ron Whyte, a man who may have ghostwritten Stan Lee’s classic Spider-Man issues. Captain Kirk returns in new IDW series. Robert Kirkman and David Finch are teaming up on a new title.
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Episode Transcript:
Stan Lee’s ghostwriter revealed?
Captain Kirk returns.
Robert Kirkman and David Finch team up.
This is Comic Book Club News for June 19, 2025.
Meet Ron Whyte, The Man Who May Have Ghostwritten Stan Lee’s Amazing Spider-Man:
For years, we’ve heard conflicting stories about how much Stan Lee actually contributed to Marvel Comics. And now a bombshell report introduces Ron Whyte, the man who may or may not have ghostwritten issues of Amazing Spider-Man, including Mary Jane Watson’s introduction with “Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot.”
The story, on Flaming Hydra, is worth a read in full. It’s written by two scholars of Marvel history, Josie Reisman and Zach Rabiroff, and details a treasure trove of old Marvel materials from the ’60s in the Yale archives, all part of the papers from Whyte. As the report details, Whyte was “gay, poor, legally blind, [and a] paraplegic double amputee.” He also worked in some capacity for Stan Lee at Marvel, for at least a year and maybe more.
But what’s most surprising is in between jotted-down and typed lessons on the art of comic creation from Lee, there are outlines and full scripts for Amazing Spider-Man that Whyte’s correspondence seems to indicate he wrote.
The report is careful to detail that it is possible Whyte is exaggerating or taking credit where it’s not due, a point that is backed up by, of all people, Roy Thomas, who himself is known for exaggerating and taking credit where it’s not due. At the very worst, these original scripts present historical documents previously thought lost; at best, it is possible that Whyte wrote scripts while Lee was off doing whatever it was he was doing. Regardless, it’s another piece of the tapestry that makes up the increasingly complicated history of Marvel in the ’60s.
Captain Kirk Returns In New IDW Series The Last Starship:
IDW just finished off this era of Star Trek comics this week with Star Trek: Omega. But they aren’t stopping anytime soon, as the publisher has announced The Last Starship, a wild concept that finds a resurrected Captain Kirk navigating the end of Starfleet circa The Burn, aka the galaxy-wide disaster that caused the destruction of all warp cores, as detailed but not seen in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3.
Written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, with art by Adrián Bonilla, the series will feature an all-new cast of characters, other than Kirk. Said Lanzing via press release, “THE LAST STARSHIP is a dark and complex sci-fi you can hand to anyone. We’ve spent the last eight years celebrating all that Trek has ever been. Now, it’s time to rebuild it from scratch and discover all it can be.”
Star Trek: The Last Starship #1 will hit stores on September 24, 2025.
Robert Kirkman And David Finch Team Up For Skinbreaker:
Robert Kirkman and David Finch are teaming up for a brand new comic book series: Skinbreaker, from Skybound and Image Comics.
Per the publisher, the book is about the Chieftain of a tribe who wields the mighty Skinbreaker — a sword. But with the world about to fall into ruin, will his heir be able to take over? A bloody power struggle ensues, but an even bigger threat might be lurking outside the village.
Said Kirkman, “I have wanted to work with David Finch for the entirety of my career. We’ve gotten close many times over the years, but we wanted our collaboration to be something truly special. Skinbreaker is that series. I feel like this book is a high-water mark for both our careers. An action epic that is unrelentingly brutal but also contains a ton of emotion and heart. It’ll shock you and make you cry.”
Skinbreaker #1 hits stores on September 24, 2025.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And I’ve also wanted to work with David Finch, but you don’t see me sending a press release about it, jeez louise.
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