Last year’s Spider-Man and His Venomous Friends panel at New York Comic Con was… Interesting, to say the least. After a Q&A got a little heated between a fan and Editor Nick Lowe, would 2025 repeat the experience? And also, what about Spider-Man books and Venom books, which the panel was ostensibly there to discuss? Let’s break down all the big news, shall we?
But first, here’s the official panel synopsis:
Spider-Man’s in space and Mary Jane is Venom!? VP & Executive Editor Nick Lowe, Senior Editor Jordan D. White, Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski, and writers Al Ewing, Joe Kelly, Stephanie Phillips, and Charles Soule dish about the wild developments currently taking place in Amazing Spider-Man, Venom, All-New Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider and more. Plus, get a sneak peek at what’s on the horizon from the shocking return of Knull to the mystery of the second Spider-Man! Webheads that stick around until the end will receive an exclusive giveaway comic!
That out of the way, here’s what went down at the (hopefully) drama free panel. Right up top, Lowe riled up the crowd by running up and down the aisles, high-fiving fans while wearing a flamboyant Venom sports jersey. Saying he wanted to get more comfortable, he took off that hoodie… To reveal a flamboyant Spider-Man sports jersey.
After welcoming out the panelists, things kicked off talking about Amazing Spider-Man. Kelly explained the currently running storyline which finds Peter Parker in space after getting beaten by villain Hellgate, while Norman Osborn is in the Spider-Man costume on Earth, and Ben Reilly is pretending to be Peter Parker (on Earth, to be clear). Coming up in ASM #14, Spider-Slayers will be repurposed to take down Osborn. Meanwhile in ASM #15, Peter is dealing with Glinch, who is Peter’s new sentient costume — and a member of the Technarcy, who broke free of the hive-mind.
The title will continue to alternate between space and Earth at least until issue #18, as Norman takes on Tombstone and the Goblin Queen, while Peter is… Still in space. Lowe says ASM #16 is one of his favorite issues they’ve put out, and defies fans not to cry reading the issue.
…and then in ASM #19, Hellgate is back, with some big answers coming. Also there’s an Amazing Spider-Man annual coming with work from Saladin Ahmed, Joe Kelly, Federico Vincentini and more, with a cover by Francesco Mobili. That will be in January of 2026.
Moving on to All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider, Phillips explained Gwen has a new suit which Paolo Villanelli designed. In the third issue, which comes out in October, a new character named Tantrum arrives… Who is her old suit, a symbiote who has “learned the angriest parts of Gwen Stacy… He feeds on anger and there is a lot of anger in New York City.”
In Spider-Gwen #4, Agent Anti-Venom shows up during a prison breakout, while in issues five and six, Gwen tries to get a band back together which leads her to Silk. Those two issues will hit in December and January, with art by Von Randal and covers by David Marquez.
Plugging they don’t have a name for the band yet, they offered four choices to the panel room and let them choose by applause. The four choices were:
- Silk & The Static
- Silence & Silk
- Threadbare
- A Subtle Web
…And the winner was Threadbare, so that’ll be Gwen’s band name going forward.
Over to Venom, after some chat about Knull’s return in Venom #250, they revealed the final page, with Hela having imprisoned Knull and stolen her power — calling herself the Queen in Black. Then in #251 and #252, Venom gets a new costume that looks like Spider-Man costume, and it has something to do with Doctor Octopus, who is the new head of the organization coming after symbiotes. And in #253, Venom goes up against Madame Masque once again. That’ll hit in January, 2026.
Then, when a fan shouted, “kill Paul,” Al Ewing answered, “I don’t want to say too much about Paul, but I do want to say he has one of the worst days of his life in Venom #253. So look forward to that.”
Turning to Knull #1, they showed off pages of the title character killing a Celestial. “It’s a very dark, it’s a very violent book,” White teased. “Knull is very evil, and he’s going to take a turn here I don’t think anyone is expecting.” Not only that, but White also said that Knull will be going up against a big Marvel character (not physically large), other than Hela.
Charles Soule popped up next to talk about the final two issues of Eddie Brock: Carnage, #9 and #10. The final issue will wrap up the story in November as Eddie and Carnage figure out whether they can work together while battling Muse. “The last page is an absolute don’t-miss game-changer,” teased Soule, with Lowe adding this will have repercussions down the road.
Oh, at the end of that road? Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral, a nine-part crossover coming next year. It will kick off with a one shot by Joe Kelly, Al Ewing, and Charles Soule, with art by Jesús Saiz, and a cover by Ed McGuiness in February 2026, and then will continue in Amazing Spider-Man and Venom, as well as a TBA one-shot. The story has been in the works for a year, and will introduce a serial killer villain that has ties to “family,” and will take on Spider-Man, Venom, and Carnage.
That’s not all… Next up is Queen in Black, an event from Al Ewing, coming Summer 2026 from Marvel. Tagline is “Hel Will Reign,” and it will include Spider-Man heroes, Venom heroes, as well as the entire Marvel Universe.
Then it was time for Q&A from the audience, with the first questioner asking whether Marvel would make a statement on using AI, similar to the one Jim Lee made for DC yesterday at NYCC.
“Yes, we’ve never used AI,” Cebulski said. He noted they have a whole team that scans art to detect AI discrepancies, adding, “They’ve really gone to great lengths to detect AI… We never used it, we will not be using it, and we don’t condone it in the Marvel Comics division.”
Another question? Will Mary Jane join Gwen’s band? “Maybe!” said Phillips, laughing about the framing of the question, which explained that she could join the band now that she’s broken up with Paul. “I don’t think Paul told her she can’t join a band,” said White.
One point of clarification: Spider-Man – Peter Parker style – will be back on Earth by the Death Spiral storyline. And while Kelly loves the cosmic Spider-Man adventures, he did note Peter is running away from things – so he will come back but “not get a lot of time to breathe.” And another hint: he may not come back home alone.
Last note: Miles Morales will not be in Death Spiral as the event is pretty “tight,” according to Lowe.
And that’s it for the panel! Thwip! Check out official solicit info for some of the titles mentioned on the panel, below.
Amazing Spider-Man #19
· New Issue of Ongoing Series, On Sale January 2026
· Written by JOE KELLY
· Art by PEPE LARRAZ
· Cover by PEPE LARRAZ
· SPIDEY VS. HELLGATE, ROUND TWO!
· The spacefaring SPIDER-MAN heads back to Earth – only to find HELLGATE standing in his way! Spider-Man’s finally strong enough to beat the most powerful foe he’s ever faced…right?!
Amazing Spider-Man #20
· New Issue of Ongoing Series, On Sale January 2026
· Written by JOE KELLY
· Art by JOHN ROMITA JR.
· Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
· NIGHT OF THE GOBLIN (SLAYERS)!
· Norman Osborn may be purged of his sins, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still come back to haunt him! HOBGOBLIN wants Norman out of the SPIDER-MAN game (and this life) for good – and he’s got the hyper-lethal tech of an entire goblin-slaying army at his disposal. What does Norman have…?! A Spider-Man or Woman or two who trust him as far as they can throw him…
All-New Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #6
· New Issue of Ongoing Series, On Sale January 2026
· Written by STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
· Art by PAOLO VILLANELLI
· Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
· UNFRIENDLY COMPETITION?
· Gwen’s new band competes in a Battle of the Bands! But things get more dangerous than they bargained for when someone unexpected takes the stage by storm. Will Gwen and her band survive?!
Venom #253
· New Issue of Ongoing Series, On Sale January 2026
· Written by AL EWING
· Art by CARLOS GOMEZ
· Cover by CARLOS GOMEZ
· UNFRIENDLY COMPETITION? MASQUE MAKES HER MOVE!
· Madame Masque wants Venom out of her way – one way or the other. And somehow, she’s found out who’s under the goo. With all the power of A.I.M. in her golden glove, she’s turning the screws on the world’s strangest roommates…but will the goosome twosome squish under the pressure? Or is Madame Masque waking up the monster within?
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
· New one-shot, On Sale January 2026
· Written by SALADIN AHMED, JOE KELLY & MORE!
· Art by FEDERICO VICENTINI
· Cover by FRANCESCO MOBILI
· RAPID RESPONDERS!
· SPIDER-MAN shows new speedster RAPID around the friendly neighborhood! Rapid has A LOT to learn about the super-hero game! But the training wheels come off when SCREWBALL live streams death and destruction across NYC!
Amazing Spider-Man: Death Spiral
· New Amazing Spider-Man/Venom Crossover, kicking off with an alpha one-shot in February 2026
· Written by JOE KELLY, AL EWING & CHARLES SOULE
· Art by JESÚS SAÍZ
· Cover by ED MCGUINNESS
· DEATH SPIRAL – PART ONE!
· The next epic SPIDER-MAN and VENOM crossover starts here, spinning out of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, VENOM, and EDDIE BROCK: CARNAGE from February to April! A new super powered serial killer is on the loose and they’re coming for Spidey, Venom and everyone in between. But what terrible secret has CARNAGE learned and what does it have to do with Spider-Man?! Don’t miss the next chapters of this spiders and symbiotes saga in the pages of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and VENOM!
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