Over the course of his 56 year existence, Spider-Man has seen much of the weird, wondrous, and downright scary things the Marvel Universe has to offer. Of course, this doesn't mean the Web-Slinger can't be surprised about where his adventures take him, nor by the unlikely allies that end up fighting by his side.

A perfect example of both is at the heart of the current “Amazing Fantasy” arc in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, by writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Joe Quinones. In the tale, Spidey has traveled to an alternate timeline where he can interact with his past self and not change his present. Assisting him in this cross-time caper is his long lost sister, Theresa Durand, but perhaps the strangest twist of all is the fact that his other ally is the man who used to believe he was a menace: J Jonah Jameson.

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Jameson discovered Peter's identity in an earlier issue of the series and, much to the hero's chagrin, has insisted on assisting Spidey in his quest to foil the master plan of the terrible Tinkerer and his alien allies. CBR spoke with Zdarsky about Jameson's discovery of Peter's secret and his plans for the character, Theresa Durand's role in the book now that she has definite proof that Peter is her brother, and the ethical tightrope of traveling to a world where messing with your past won't alter your future.

CBR: It's been awhile since we talked about Spectacular Spider-Man, Chip, and since then you've introduced a fun, new wrinkle into Peter Parker's world. J Jonah Jameson now knows Pete is Spider-Man! What inspired you to do this? What was the reaction when you mentioned it to editorial and other writers at Marvel?

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man #304 by Adam Kubert and Jason Keith

Chip Zdarsky: When we started I had the first -- I wanna say fifteen issues -- roughly plotted out. I always knew issue six was going to be a “Dinner With Jonah” interlude, but the idea to have Peter reveal his identity at the end didn’t kick in until issue one was about to come out. The more I thought about the issue, the more I realized it needed a better, bigger outcome, and the reveal just made sense and opened up some fun story possibilities.

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It... took a bit of convincing to the editorial department. They weren’t against it, but I think they just wanted me to think it through, to prove that it would help the story in the long run. And I think it has! I love writing their dynamic and seeing it ripple out into other books. Jonah is one of the greatest comic book characters of all time.

It seems like you're having a lot of fun writing Jonah with this new knowledge of Peter's identity. Based on his actions in the current "Amazing Fantasy" arc of Spectacular and in other Spidey books it feels like knowing Peter's identity and helping him has aided Jonah in dealing with his loneliness and given him some things to atone for. Is that your sense of the character?

Yeah, he’s been a little adrift lately. Feeling that he can help Peter—whether he wants it or not—is giving him some purpose again. He wants to be a mover and shaker, he wants to matter. I think, by extension, Jonah feels like he's Spider-Man now. The question is, how long can Peter take it?

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The other major player in your Spectacular run has been Peter Parker's "sister," Teresa Durand. In Spectacular #302 she discovered some info that suggests maybe I shouldn't be using those quote marks. Can you talk at all about the birth certificate Teresa discovered in the issue and what it means for her character going forward?

Yeah, she’s his sister! The time travel arc was the perfect spot for her to make the discovery. And now that she knows, she’s got a little bit of what Jonah has: A desire to help Peter, whether he wants it or not. But whereas Jonah will more than likely be unhelpful, Teresa’s a skilled spy, so that can come in handy.

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EXCLUSIVE: Art from Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man #304 by Adam Kubert and Jason Keith

When "Amazing Fantasy" began, Peter and his allies were confident that they couldn't change their present, so they started introducing all sorts of new information and elements into this alternate timeline. And in issue #302 it became clear that their actions may have disastrous consequences for the reality they traveled to. So what sort of hints and teases can you offer up about the remaining chapters of "Amazing Fantasy," which concludes in issue #303, and where things are headed after? Are you telling one, big long-form story in this series?

It’s ultimately one long story, but we’re trying to make it a bunch of smaller arcs to keep things interesting. With this arc, I wanted to explore the world where Spider-Man is just beginning through the eyes of Peter and Jonah now. And [thanks to] the relative freedom of an alternate timeline where he can’t mess up his future, he tries to right some wrongs.

The ethics of this kind of time travel really interest me. Like, if you in the present received foreknowledge of the future, would you work toward making it a better future? Is that a different thing than traveling back in time and changing the future?

Anyway, yeah, things go wrong.

With the "Amazing Fantasy" arc you've re-teamed with your Howard the Duck collaborator artist Joe Quinones. What's it like working with Joe on Spider-Man? He seems to really be enjoying this past set arc and the chance to sort of Ditko things up.

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man #304 by Adam Kubert and Jason Keith

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Oh, yeah! Joe is the best. He really is the perfect fit for this sort of story. Joe has a cartoony style, but it’s not a nostalgic style, so he’s amazing at making something set in Marvel’s past feel fresh and new. And Jordan Gibson on colors too! He’s a great complement to Joe’s work. Together they’ve added so many fun bits, like referencing the clothing from the 90s animated series, stuff that wasn’t on my radar at that time it aired because I was pretty drunk.

Finally, circling back to what we talked about at the beginning, in June you and Mike Allred are working on a Spectacular Spider-Man Annual that focuses on JJJ. What can you tell us about that book? What's it like working with Mike?

It’s a Jonah spotlight! We’ve been so go go go with our main book that we haven’t had a lot of opportunity to examine Jonah’s new role in Peter’s life, so this is devoted to that. And it’s been a long dream to work with Mike! He draw the best J. Jonah Jameson.

After his amazing run on Silver Surfer with Dan Slott, we’ve brought him back to earth for this one with a story about Jonah’s past and his future. I think people are going to dig it.

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man #304 by Adam Kubert and Jason Keith