That tingling sensation you’re currently feeling in your fingertips, your toes, your arms, your legs and/or your chest?

It’s not that extra helping from the holiday gravy boat or the excessive eggnog you’ve imbibed over the last few days. You’re not about to have a stroke from eating too much of the honey-glazed spiral ham and it’s not the heightened effect of tryptophan from all that good, good turkey eating either. That feeling, my friends, is your pop-cultured spider-sense: an early warning system set to caution you on potential pop-culture threats.

So, why is it tingling so acutely right now? Brace yourselves. Today marks the end of an era.

Today, the long-running Amazing Spider-Man monthly comic book series ends with issue #700. And I’m afraid our favourite web-headed superhero won’t be making it into a new issue #1.

Wait. WHAT???

Amazing Spider-Man #700

Written by: Dan Slott and others

Illustrated by: Humberto Ramos and others

Published by: Marvel Comics

For the past few months, within the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, writer Dan Slott has been detailing the slow death of Otto Octavius, better known to the world as Spidey’s arch-villain, Doctor Octopus. Hooked up on a life-support machine and semi-coherent, Doc Ock has weakly been whispering “Peter Parker” over and over again, unable to release himself from the obsession of his long-standing enemy. Two issues ago, on the brink of the man’s demise, Spider-Man finally approached his once powerful antagonist in order to “goodbye” and Slott revealed his great storyline trick: that the brilliant Doctor Octopus had somehow transported his consciousness into Peter Parker’s body and sent Parker’s mind into the dying physique of Otto Octavius! It was Peter whispering his own name time after time – trying to alert someone to the evil machinations of his adversary!

Crazy!

What’s crazier is that Otto’s fragile body finally gives out and flat-lines and the Otto-Spider-Man sets out into the world as a would-be “reborn” costumed hero!

But that’s not all! No, the craziest footnote to what’s going on in the world of Spider-Man is that in the wake of this particular plot thread and the lead-in to historic issue #700, Dan Slott has actually received death threats and threats of violence! Authorities have been alerted and Slott, ever the slinger-of-words, continues on writing the Spidey story of his life, one long in the making, racing towards January of 2013.

What’s happening in January of 2013? Only the premiere issue of Superior Spider-Man #1. And no, it’s not Peter Parker under the mask.

Crazy!

So make the run to your local comic book shop on Boxing Day. A historic conclusion to one of the greatest comic book titles ever published, Amazing Spider-Man #700 is sure to sell out fast! And if you’re tied up and can’t make it…make like Doc Ock and transfer your cognitive essence to someone fleet of foot. You need to be reading this book today!

Every Wednesday, JP makes the after-work run to his local downtown comic book shop. Comics arrive on Wednesdays you see and JP, fearful that the latest issue will sell out, rushes out to purchase his copy. This regular, weekly column will highlight a particularly interesting release, written in short order, of course, because JP has to get his – before someone else does!

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