Marvel Confirms New Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen Manga Series to Debut in 2026
Image by Charlotte DavisMarvel and KADOKAWA have confirmed that the first two titles from a major new manga project will launch in 2026, with Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen set to lead a five-series lineup featuring original Marvel stories created in Japan.
The new “MARVEL｜KADOKAWA” project will begin with separate Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen manga before expanding with three additional titles that have yet to be announced.
Marvel and KADOKAWA first announced the partnership during the MARVEL FANFARE panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July, with the initiative forming part of Marvel’s wider plans to create new original stories for audiences in Japan and across Asia.
The project also marks a significant expansion of KADOKAWA’s relationship with Marvel, having previously published Japanese editions of art books and reference material based on Marvel movies, TV series and games rather than creating entirely new stories around its characters.
Former Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, who has taken on responsibility for Marvel’s editorial operations across Asia and is now based in Tokyo, is also involved as Marvel increases its focus on original projects developed within the region.
The first new Spider-Man manga will be created by tokitokoro, whose previous Marvel work includes “Jeff the Land Shark”.
Rather than following Peter Parker, the still-untitled series introduces a new Japanese Spider-Man named Haruto Hachidori, a high school student living in Shibuya who unexpectedly develops mysterious spider abilities.
Haruto subsequently begins swinging through the streets of Shibuya as Spider-Man, although his emergence as the city’s new superhero also causes an unidentified threat lurking beneath the surface to begin making its move.
Additional artwork also revealed tokitokoro’s take on both Daredevil and The Punisher.
The newly released concept artwork places the familiar Spider-Man identity within a distinctly Japanese urban setting, continuing a long history of Japanese reinterpretations of Marvel’s web-slinger.
One of the most famous remains Toei’s 1978 Japanese Spider-Man television series starring Takuya Yamashiro, whose version of the hero and giant robot Leopardon have recently returned through new high-end figures and collectibles released in Japan.
Marvel has also continued working with Japanese studios through projects such as “MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls,” the Arc System Works-developed fighting game that brings together characters including Spider-Man and Japanese-American Spider-Verse hero Peni Parker.
The second manga will focus on Spider-Gwen and is being created by Ryusei Yamada, who previously illustrated Captain Marvel for “MARVEL SWIMSUIT SPECIAL”.
This series returns to Gwen Stacy’s familiar origin as an ordinary high school student and drummer for the Mary Janes before she is bitten by a radioactive spider during an incident in a laboratory.
After gaining superhuman abilities, Gwen decides to protect her city as Spider-Woman, although KADOKAWA has teased that the decision will eventually force her to confront increasingly difficult choices and personal conflicts.
Spider-Gwen has become one of Marvel’s most prominent alternate Spider-People since her comic debut, with her appearances in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse helping introduce the character to a much wider audience outside comics.
Spider-Verse fans are also set to receive several new figure releases from Bandai, with updated S.H.Figuarts based on Earth-42’s Prowler Miles G. Morales and Miguel O’Hara’s Spider-Man 2099 recently revealed ahead of their return in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse in 2027.
Marvel and KADOKAWA plan to reveal three additional manga as part of the project’s initial five-title lineup, although no characters or creators have been confirmed for those series so far.
Both the new Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen manga are scheduled to begin serialization through KADOKAWA’s KadoComi manga platform before the end of 2026, with collected print editions planned after their respective serializations begin.
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