Hey, true believers!

Well, you made it back for part 2, eh? Good! I hope you're enjoying the story! Now, I've come to realize that these stories may inspire some of you to take a look at the actual Clone Saga and see what you may have missed, as indicated by a review left to part 1. So, I've decided to help you all out by listing every single relevant issue to the Clone Saga at the end of my little gab session here. So, all you'll have to do is scroll on down and take a gander.

Many people may not realize that the Clone Saga's roots were set down about 30 years ago, which makes it an extremely long story arc. Some Spidey fans will tell you it was a travesty while others will tell you it was great. Personally, I thought it was great but with the obvious flaws that will come with office politics, several different writers over several different titles, and a convoluted history to deal with. But, I still liked it. Does that mean you will? Absolutely not, and thus the other reason for the list; so you can all track down whatever version of the comics you can, read them, and make your own judgment.

Now that I've promoted business to various back issue retailers, I wanna give you all a little history on this little project of mine. Last issue, I said I wrote these scripts for Marvel's Epic line a couple years ago. But, saving Ben was something I tried to do back in 1997. At the time of his death, I was running a small story site on the web where I was doing different Wolverines at the time. That's when I got the idea to expand into Spidey territory.

The plan was to alter the ending to Spider-Man #75 (a version of which you read last issue) and to have TWO Spider-Men swinging around between the 6 titles. Ben would have double duty in Sensational and Web of, Peter would get Amazing and Peter Parker (or Spider-Man, whatever you choose to call it), both would alternate in Spider-Man Unlimited and have team-up adventures in Spectacular Spider-Men. The Ben issues would be brand new, while the Peters would be condensed retellings of stories published after the Clone Saga. Ironically enough, my first story arc involved the Scarlet Spider…but not Joe Wade. Rather, an entire year before a fateful issue of What If…, I had actually created my own Spider-Girl. I did the first five parts but kind of lost interest around part six and never finished. Maybe one day I'll wrap it up and present it to the world.

Well, that's a little more back-story for ya! See you for the epic conclusion of "Scarlet Fever" in two weeks! And remember, if you want Ben to keep on swinging after the conclusion of this story arc, just let me know!

C


CLONE SAGA CHECKLIST:
Amazing Scarlet Spider #s 1 & 2
Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #s 14, 31, 37, 39-40, 53, 121 & 122, 129, 136, 144 -151, 391, 393-418, 435
Amazing Spider-Man Annual '96
Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1
Avengers vol. 1 #400
Daredevil vol. 1 #354
DC Versus Marvel #s 1 & 4
Giant-Size Spider-Man #5
Green Goblin #s 1 & 13
Marvel Fanfare vol. 2 #3
Marvel Versus DC #s 2 & 3
Maximum Clonage Alpha
Maximum Clonage Omega
New Warriors vol. 1 #61-67, 70
Scarlet Spider #s 1 & 2
Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1
Sensational Spider-Man #s 0-11
Sensational Spider-Man Mini-Comic
Spectacular Scarlet Spider #s 1 & 2
Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1 #s 25-31, 68, 142 & 143, 149, 200, 215-240
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual # 8
Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special #1
Spider-Man vol. 1 #s 48-75
Spider-Man vol. 2 #s 27 & 28
Spider-Man Holiday Special 1995
Spider-Man Super Special #1
Spider-Man Team-Up #s 2-6
Spider-Man Unlimited #s 7-14, 17
Spider-Man: 101 Ways to End the Clone Saga #1
Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand #1
Spider-Man/Punisher: Family Plot #s 1 & 2
Spider-Man: Funeral For an Octopus #s 1-3
Spider-Man: Lost Years #1-3
Spider-Man: Redemption #s 1-4
Spider-Man: The Final Adventure #1-4
Spider-Man: The Jackal Files #1
Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1
Spider-Man: The Parker Years #1
Thunderbolts Annual '97
Uncanny X-Men #339
Venom Super Special #1
Venom: Along Came A Spider #s 1-4
Web of Scarlet Spider #s 1-4
Web of Spider-Man #s 114-129
Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1
What If…? Vol. 1 #30
What If…? Vol. 2 #86

For complete timeline of the clone saga, head on over to samruby dot com and for detailed issue information, check out spiderfan dot org, two of the greatest Spidey resources on the web!