Marvel NOW! is an exclamation, a reaction, and a well needed shot in the arm to the Marvel Comics properties this fall, 13 months after the reboot of the DC Universe known as DC New 52. The blockbuster movie summer is over and the company seems to be aligning the characters with the now familiar on-screen versions of our heroes. It’s not at all strange to see these announcements right after The Avengers Blu-ray hit the shelves. Here’s what we heard about and read about the Marvel NOW! books at New York Comic Con this weekend.

Shocker! The Amazing Spider-Man is 50 years old this month and is approaching issue #700!

What happens after such a long string of numbers? They decide to call it quits and start again at a new number one.

We were aghast to see this happen to Detective Comics and Action Comics last year but really we got over it, especially with Grant Morrison taking on Superman and NYCC celebrity all-stars Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo dropping Batman #13, reintroducing The Joker last week. The relaunched Spider-Man title will be The Superior Spider-Man, (January 2013) written by longtime Spidey-writer Dan Slott. Here’s the rub though—it ain’t Peter Parker behind that mask, and he’s making out with Mary Jane. No secrets about this hero revealed at the Con, but the new Spider-Man is someone we are familiar with in the 616.

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