Pepe Larraz on the challenges of illustrating Spider-Man: "It's very important that you connect with Peter"
We spoke with the talented Spanish artist known for his work on the latest The Amazing Spider-Man series.
As of recently, there have been a lot of discussions about who the big three in the world of comics are. For a long while, fans seemed to agree that it was DC's leading trio of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, but as of the past couple of decades, Marvel has grown in a way that DC hasn't in the mainstream space, so much so that today we often see Wonder Woman losing her place in this pantheon for that of Spider-Man.
Needless to say, Spider-Man is bigger and more important than he ever has been, so what goes into expanding on the lore of this character and what are some of the challenges that writers and artists have to navigate when introducing new tales starring the web-slinger?
We spoke with artist Pepe Larraz at San Diego Comic Con Malaga recently, where we asked him about the The Amazing Spider-Man run that he is a part of and about the question above.
"My experience with Spider-Man is the most difficult series from the House of Ideas for me," Larraz begins. "Especially for me, because it's complicated, not only the way he moves, but not only do you have to be very in charge of the emotion of the character. It's very important that you connect with Peter, so it's very important to be focused on that part. I mean, it's not the problems of Spider-Man, it's the problems of Peter, and then he brings those problems to his Spider-Man life.
"And I'm fortunate enough to have Joe Kelly write the script, because Joe is fantastic writing these kind of scripts. I mean, it's scripts with feelings that really matter, that connect with you on a deep level, on a personal level. And that's what he did in the series, the first arc. I think it's very beautiful, with some stories about Peter at a very young age. And I think you're gonna enjoy it."
Kelly and Larraz' The Amazing Spider-Man series kicked off earlier this year and by the end of 2025 it will have presented its 17th issue. It follows a Peter Parker who is attempting to balance life as a man and as a hero once again and sees how he navigates a world where many of his greatest enemies have disappeared and now operate behind-the-scenes.
Catch the full interview with Larraz below for more on his X-Men stories, Star Wars, and his DC ambitions.