Hannah Blumenreich

In superhero comics, there's nothing quite as iconic as seeing the triumphant hero clash with their ultimate nemesis, and for Spider-Man that rival is none other than The Green Goblin. In next month's The Amazing Spider-Man #25, Dan Slott and Stuart Immonen bring back a more cunning and deadlier version of Norman Osborn for a special oversized issue that also features stories by Cale Atkinson, Hannah Blumenreich, and more!

I don't spend a lot of time seeking out fan-generated content or non-canon ships, possibly to my own detriment, but the pairing of Spider-Man and The Human Torch is one that I've become very invested in over the past year. Spideytorch not only helped me put a lot of important personal things in perspective; it gave me a way to appreciate how fan-art can have an impact on how different individuals approach canon stories.

Check out the best cartoonists of 2016, including our critics’ picks and the cartoonists you voted the runners up and winner in this category!

Check out the best superhero comics in 2016, including our critics' picks, and the comics you voted the runners up and winner in this category! This is the very best of 2016!

This month, in Marvel’s March solicitations, we've got some surprising returns, a most welcome homecoming, and the Marvel Comics debut of one of the best superhero cartoonists in the business today.

Warm up your body and soul this season with a steaming hot mug of feelings and coffee. Stories like the fabled "coffee shop AUs (alternate universes)," where licensed characters are imagined in low-key, romantic settings, have been derided by some as lacking drama or conflict, and to that I say: thank god. We don't need to fantasize about conflict or drama in all our fiction when we can just greet what's waiting on our front door. Sometimes, the soul just needs kindling. Share the gifts of feeling and warmth with this coffee shop AU gift guide.

In Hannah Blumenreich's Spider-Man fan comics, Peter Parker disentangles Gilmore Girls relationships while helping Aunt May knit, falls asleep on the couch to the tune of I Love Lucy, and gushes about Cowboy Bebop while shielding a woman from street harassment. Blumenreich's Spidey Zine and other Peter Parker fan comics explore a quieter, more introspective take on the iconic character, drawn with the physicality of a realistically young, potato-esque teenager. ComicsAlliance attended the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo and sat down with Blumenreich to discuss fan work, arachnophobia, and evil Disney lawyers.

Spider-Man is one of the most beloved characters in fiction, I think that's fair to say. However, take a second and think about how huge that is. Everyone loves Spider-Man, or near enough. Your five year old niece, and your dentist and the garbage man all probably love Spider-Man! But what is it about the character that is so universal that makes him so widely loved, outside of the fact that he beats up a dude dressed like a Keebler Elf on a hoverboard? I think it's his relatability and his personality, and that's something that's explored in new, fun and interesting ways in Hannah Blumenreich's twenty-page Spidey Zine, which you can get right now on Gumroad for free (or pay-what-you-want). Whether Spidey is watching television with Aunt May, hanging out in the street, or mourning the loss of his Uncle Ben, Blumenreich's slice of life comics cut to the core of why we all love Spider-Man.