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Spider-Man Spinoff Character Will Be Based, On Printed Page, in Philadelphia

By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mark December 19th on your calendar! That's the day Philly gets its own Marvel Comics superhero-in-residence.

The hero is Venom -- the symbiosis of a shape-shifting alien and Flash Thompson, a longtime supporting character in the Spider-Man stories -- who, in an upcoming installment, moves to Philadelphia to get a new start.

Robert Lefevre, of the Brave New Worlds comic shop in Old City, says this story element is more than just a footnote.

"It continues to show the cultural relevance of the city," he says, "like you can't walk around without seeing a movie being filmed.   (Philadelphia) is becoming a real epicenter of culture and it's really cool, and it's just continuing that by having one of the most major characters in the Marvel universe relocate from New York to Philadelphia."

So take that, New York!

Asked whether the comic will get Philly "right," Lefevre says that Google only goes so far and urges any New York-based creators to come down to the real Philadelphia to get a feel for the place.

 

 

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