Marvel is revisiting the darkest era of Spider-Man’s life with a bloody new series taking place during his time wearing his iconic black suit. This new anthology series will be published under Marvel’s popular Black, White & Blood imprint. As the name suggests, the various Black, White & Blood series each focus on specific characters, telling varied (and violent) stories in stark black, white and red color schemes.

Now, Marvel has announced that Spidey is the latest hero to receive this treatment with the all-new Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood miniseries. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Spider-Man’s classic Black Suit era, the series will reveal never-before-told tales from this period. There will also be stories that explore how wearing the symbiote has affected Peter in subsequent years. Check out the first issue’s cover by Leinil Francis Yu.

Featuring an all-star lineup of writers and artists, the four-issue limited series will be released beginning this August. The first issue will also have variant covers by Greg Land, Ron Frenz and Skottie Young.

Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood Revisits One of Spidey’s Best Eras

In its announcement, Marvel gives fans a tease of what they can expect from the miniseries’ first issue. First off, writer J.M. DeMatteis will return to his classic story, “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” That 1987 arc saw Kraven the Hunter seemingly kill off Spider-Man before donning the black suit for himself. With artist Elena Casagrande, DeMatteis will debut “an unforgiving story that sheds light on an iconic scene.”

Writer J. Michael Straczynski, who had a six-year run on The Amazing Spider-Man, will team up with artist Sumit Kumar for a story that “rips Peter Parker’s (and the symbiote’s) heart out!” The story will reveal a last vestige of the symbiote that has stayed with Peter for years, “waiting for the right moment to tear Spidey down!” Finally, writer and artist Dustin Nguyen will deliver a “spine-chilling tale of Spider-Man being hunted. But how can he hope to escape when the danger comes from within?”

The Black, White and Blood Anthologies Explore Marvel Characters in All Their Gory Glory

Marvel’s Black, White and Blood series of anthologies kicked off in 2020 with the release of a four-issue miniseries focused on Wolverine. Based on the success of that, Marvel has subsequently gone on to publish similar anthologies focused on Carnage, Elektra, Deadpool, Moon Knight, Darth Vader, Alien and Marvel Zombies. In addition to upping the gore and violence of these characters, the series have also told some very engaging stories and explored new areas of lore.

The Black Suit era of Spider-Man history is ripe for exploring. Launching in 1984 when Spider-Man discovered a new, alien costume during the Secret Wars miniseries, this saga introduced symbiotes to the Marvel Universe. Eventually, Spider-Man separated from his symbiote, which would later go on to bond with Eddie Brock and become the iconic villain/anti-hero Venom. However, Spider-Man did continue to wear a black cloth suit for a time after separating from the symbiote. This means that the new Black, White & Blood anthology has a longer period of time to draw from for its stories. Whether it primarily sticks to symbiote-centered stories or not, Spider-Man’s new series is guaranteed to be dark and bloody in all the best ways.

Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #1 will be available August 7 from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics