Spider-Gwen

The greatest challenge the world faces today is the overpopulation of Funko Pops. Soon we will all be outnumbered by the little plastic caricatures, and there will be no one left to stop the invading masses of collectible characters. But that's a problem for tomorrow's children's children to solve. I'll be dead by then, and right now there's a lot of Funko figures to collect. Funko officially revealed the release window for the next wave of Marvel Pops, a few of which were teased during Toy Fair last month. Finally, Captain Marvel will be able to rally the baby bobblehead version of the Carol Corps. The unmasked version being the default means there's plenty of room for a helmeted variant down the line, too. She'll be joined by Marvel's newest leading lady du jour, Spider-Gwen. The world needs more Captain Marvel and Spider-Gwen figures. It's a plain and simple fact, and one only a handful of companies seem to recognize.

Decades after its release on March 13 1973, The Amazing Spider-Man #121 by Gerry Conway, Gil Kane, John Romita and Tony Mortellaro remains one of the most affecting, heartbreaking superhero comics to see publication. What starts off as a traditional superhero versus supervillain battle over the fate of the hero’s love interest takes a tragic turn when Gwen Stacy dies despite the hero's best efforts to save her --- and in that moment, superhero comics grew up in a major way.

The three Spider-Women who all somehow have solo titles right now are having their inevitable crossover, and it all starts in Spider-Women Alpha #1. This book leads into an eight-part crossover between Spider-Woman, Spider-Gwen, and Silk. The crossover is written by Jason Latour, Dennis Hopeless and Robbie Thompson, with art by Vanesa Del Rey, Bengal, Javier Rodriguez, and Tana Ford. Thompson and Del Rey are handling this first chapter.

With actor Tom Holland's take on Spider-Man having finally made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the new Captain America: Civil War trailer (with animated eyes!), it feels like a good time to pay tribute to some other people who have donned variations of the Spider-Man costume over the years --- and we don't mean the actors, we mean the fans. There have been a lot of Spider-Men in comic book history since the original Peter Parker incarnation back in 1962. Besides the Amazing and Spectacular Pete, we’ve got clones, alternate universes, body swaps, role reversals, and almost every other incarnation you can think to put the word “Spider” in front of, including a number of awesome Spider-Woman. To that end, there is a lot you can do with Spidey as a character, and just as much you can do with a Spidey cosplay.

I have to admit, I was worried about this one. While Kotobukiya's had a string of really strong comic character Bishoujo figures, there have been some wild swings and misses from that line as of late. When the Spider-Gwen Bishoujo was first teased, there was no telling which way the figure would fall. Thankfully, Spider-Gwen seemingly gets the comic statues back on track and falls more in line with the Batwoman and Black Canary pieces rather than the Lady Deadpool and Starfire statues. The horror line is still a hot mess, but I'm pretending those exist in a vacuum somewhere far, far away. I understand the point of the Bishoujo line is to show a Japanese approach to beautiful girls, but sometimes that concept just doesn't result in very good portrayals of these characters. Shunya Yamashita's renderings, while stunning, don't always translate to Western audiences. With Spider-Gwen being a teen hero, there was a chance this figure could have ended up on the wrong side of "beautiful." After seeing these production shots of the somewhat final statue, I'm impressed and pleased. Spider-Gwen doesn't have a lot of collectibles at the moment, and that her Bishoujo has come out this nicely is good news for fans.

Although cosplay has been present for decades within the comics, anime, and sci-fi/fantasy fandoms, social media has played an integral role in the thriving communities of costuming that exist, such as Cosplay.com and the Superhero Costuming Forum. Over the years, the cosplay community has evolved into a creative outlet for many fans to establish and showcase some impressive feats of homemade disguise, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics at conventions. In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent. The comics, sci-fi, gaming and fantasy communities’ talents for homemade disguises, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics were definitely on display this weekend at Wizard World New Orleans, and we were there to check out the show, and capture some of the stellar cosplay on display.

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

There's just something about Spider-Gwen that calls to me. From the ways the spider legs are incorporated to the color palette, that whole suit just pops. That style carries through to the main book itself to a degree, and helps Gwen stand out from most other books on the shelf at the LCS. That and the crazy, cool kinetic art of Robbi Rodriguez. I'm guessing that's a bit of what inspired Allegra Town Studio to craft this little fan animation of Spider-Gwen. The hyper pace, the vivid colors; everything that makes Spider-Gwen awesome is all there. And they did it in just seven seconds.

Though New York Comic Con isn't typically a show where Kotobukiya reveals many new items, you can always count on the company to tease a handful of never-before-seen pieces. This year, the pickings weren't robust, but they will make fans of Koto's Bishoujo series for statues happy. While there were some nice Star Wars figurines at the booth as well, the primary source of new statues came from the "beautiful girl" series. Both the Harley Quinn and Spider-Gwen teased with silhouette's back at SDCC were given the concept art treatment at NYCC. Harley will be represented by her New 52 Suicide Squad look, which we knew was coming, but is still slightly disappointing. The second version created by Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti is much more interesting, and doesn't make you want to cringe just by glancing at it. Shunya Yamashita's design does the best it can with what he's got to work with, but this piece is already shaping up to pale in comparison to the classic Harley Quinn.

We Love Fine has launched a new collection of Spider-Verse-inspired apparel, featuring a selection of cardigans, leggings, a Spider-Gwen hoodie, and even a Spider-Woman moto jacket in the style of Kris Anka's redesign for Jessica Drew's Spidey alter-ego. Created by costume designer Catherine Elhoffer, the We Love Fine x Spider-Verse collaboration combines wearable design with the iconic stylings of Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, and Silk. Although Spider-Men are featured in a couple pieces of apparel, the Spider-Verse collection focuses on the current costume designs worn by Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, and Silk, which is no surprise considering the popularity of these characters and their distinctive looks.