Open letter to Marvel Comics
Jason
Thursday
12:22 am
May 12, 2010
To: Marvel Comics
Cc: Joe Quesada
From: Jason of GeekSix
Hi Marvel,
Its me Jason, that crazy guy from GeekSix. You know, the one who is always asking for very special issues of a Dazzler/Jubilee romance. Over the past couple of months as I wade through special event after special event I have come to realize that you just have way too much stuff going on to sustain an industry.
So I just wanted to point out a couple of things you might want to keep in mind over the next couple of months even years.
Remember the 1990s
You know that time when you went through a small period called bankruptcy? Remember what you did to help yourself get out of that. You may want to revisit some of those guiding principles. Because while the situation may not be that dire, you never do want to reach that point again.
Consolidate the offerings
Did we really need Avengers: The Initiative rebooted?
I have to say that when you announced you that you were ending the bloat of Avengers titles in the upcoming month to replace it with an ongoing single Avengers series, I may or may not have done a little dance. But then reality set in as I heard about at least two more Avengers titles. *sigh* And then we look at a weekly Spider-man title which took the place of four Spider-man titles. And then there is the plethora of X-men titles. *argh*
In an age of waning readers, where newcomers to comics is not a common occurrence, I think it would be best if the offerings were much simpler. Move Amazing Spider-man back to once a month. Have just the single Uncanny X-men and The Avengers titles. Simplify the universe. Less is more.
And perhaps those not overburdened with the X-Universe or the Avengers-verse, might just explore some other titles out there. Perhaps the Fantastic Four whose series has been in a downward spiral. Or trying to maximize an Iron Man or Daredevil title.
And please, please stop letting Wolverine appear in every single title you offer.
No more back to back to back to back mega-events
You know it is not even so many mega-universe events in a row, maybe its that there seem to be three going on at once at any given time. But I am so burned out on mega-events and trying to keep up with the storyline without buying all 103 books to cover all aspects, that when the next one rolls around I no longer care all that much. Case in point? It is no secret that Thor is my main man. After all we both are Vikings to a certain extent. I read everything with Thor. But after going through Civil War and all its fallout into Dark Reign, I could care less about what happened in Siege. And they were attacking ASGARD for frak sakes.
Maybe it is time to put the huge universe implication laden events on hold for a little bit. Let the readers take a breath. Maybe let them explore other characters. Or better yet explore those they already love within the world they know without it being crossed over to another character or team. Give us a little time to recoup and I bet we will be right back with you for the next one.
Embrace that your readership is dropping
You can only play this card once.
When Spider-man and X-men the movies hit it big, you reaped the benefits. Casual readers and non readers started coming around and checking out those dungeons that we called comic shops. They picked up the big titles and occasionally dabbled in the small. But now that the shine has worn off superheroes, they are on their way back out the doors and not coming back.
There is no gimmicks to get them back in the door right now. Sure there was the blips on the screen that some have had success with, ie killing Captain America or even Dark Horse saddling up with Joss Whedon to continue the story that is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Its not like we can kill off Peter Parker can we? So until the next shining boost to the industry makes it way to the forefront maybe we need to ride out the storm.
Full package comics deliver
Morrison was a great story teller, but what happened to their heads?
Not too long ago, readers were all about the artwork. The story didn’t need to be rock solid with some eye popping art and a well known artist. Then there was a shift in the spectrum and readers started wanting the solid stories, even with a little sacrifice to the art. But where do we stand now? People want both. Given the rising prices of comics, is it too much to ask that we don’t have to sacrifice either?
And I understand that the newbies of the field have to establish themselves somehow, but isn’t that what Dynamite and IDW is for? Semi-kidding as they are fine companies in their own right, but not the top of the heap. And once those newbies have sowed their royal oats, you can swoop in and grab them?
So now that I am sure you have contacted your legal department and started on that restraining order to stop me from visiting you in Manhattan, I just wanted to say thank you for all the great years so far. I hope I have many more in me.
Thanks as always,
Jason of GeekSix
PS I am always open to an editor’s position should you need one. Just don’t call Josh about a reference, he says all kinds of things to keep people under his thumb.
Amber
Jason
Nick Burns
Christy
Charlotte
Autumn
Bill
Blain![Josh [geek6.com]](http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/449316830/neweravatar0509_normal.jpg){kind=avatar}
Reader Comments
Well said.
I’d also like to note that I support the hiring of any editor for Marvel that is not Joe Quesada. Just sayin’.
I wouldn’t necessarily agree about Joe. He has done a lot of good things since coming on board as editor-in-chief over at Marvel. And since I am not perfect (though pretty dern close) I cannot ask others to be.
I agree that he’s done a good job, but it’s always nice to get some new blood after a while.
I have to agree, the back-to-back-to-back mega events are getting old. (But Dark Reign and Siege were so good.) I’m getting sick of the piles and piles of books I’m expected to read in order to keep up with things. Please cut down on the number of Avengers books – I gave up on the X-Men a long time ago for this very reason.
But I have to disagree on Amazing Spider-Man. I LOVE that it is almost weekly. And I love that I don’t have to read any other titles to keep up with what is happening there. I’ve been on board since they relaunched things with Brand New Day and I’m loving every bit of it. (Well, there have been a few “meh” issues in there.) My biggest complaint is when it’s an off week and I don’t get to pick it up.
Also – we need more Nextwave.
I have been on record as saying the back to back major events has been getting old. But Siege has been SO GOOD. So good, that I don’t care. I feel the journey now has been validated. Unlike, say a DC, even this started off “meh” has crossed into the “ass kicking” column.
As for the Avengers books… well there are some good characters that can not and should not have their own series. However, you collect some strong, good characters that are vibrant and compelling; this is the perfect opportunity to explore them in an ensemble setting. Yes some characters (Spiderman and Wolverine) are spread a little thin, but Hank Pym? Quicksilver? Beast? I could go on, but I won’t.
The 90’s were bad for MARVEL, but that was because MARVEL was bad. It was. I said it. The Writers weren’t up to snuff, all the art in the world couldn’t save some of those story-telling offers… I am looking at you Heroes Reborn, Spiderclone and Red/Blue Superman
Marvel over the last few years has spread out into non-costume realm… but its MARVEL… you want to ask Chevrolet to stop making cars?
As for the art quality the worst art atrocity I have seen in comics in the last 5 years was a Marvel book, it was the cover of S.W.O.R.D. #1 and that artist is a high priced established “star.”
I was cynical about comics too… Till Fraction, Brubaker and Rucka came along…
Really now, just because there are three [soon to be four] X-Men books, doesn’t mean you need to get them all.
They do not always, save for crossovers, require you to read another series. They are self contained.
Don’t write me off as an insane X-Men fan. I stopped reading Legacy because I DIDN’T need to. My reading of Uncanny wasn’t reliant on Rogue and the kids over in Legacy. It will be the same with the Avengers. What will Academy have to do with Secret? Not a lot. Yes, they share the Avengers name, but NOT the content.
You do not need to read all of the Bat Family books to keep up with Batman’s main story.
I understand, and even agree with, a great deal of what you’ve said. The ‘Events’ are an issue. Those DO require you to buy a great number to keep up with what is going on, but WORSE than that is that they almost trick you to buy others you wouldn’t ever normally buy because they share the same banner. There were a great number of Blackest Night issues that really contributed nothing to the main title. If I had bought all the Blackest Night bannered titles, I would have been very poor, and had taken away little to contribute to the main 8 issues.
That is the problem here, much more than numerous X-Men and Avenger titles. At least those [do and/or will] tell separate tales.
I had all three X titles until about a year ago when I went down to just Uncanny. The X-verse has enough crossovers that you don’t really have time to get into the team before they are off again chasing the 2nd mutant born.
Same with Avengers though I wound up keeping both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers.
Yeah, I was actually happy with Spider-Man being one weekly book. Having every concievable permutation of a Spidey title was exhausting, AND each book had their own story arcs, with some occasionally crossing over. It was confusing. Though I reaaaallly HATED One More Day. I can never forgive Quesada for that. Just never. It was pointless. Just some stupid excuse so they could reboot the series.
I wouldn’t have such a problem with their big crossover events if they’d actually deliver. Most of them sound so interesting but then when you get into it, the story is rushed unless you buy every single tie-in. Civil War was the last truly interesting event. The Skrull thing was meh, and they refuse to recognize World War Hulk as one of the major events. Dark Reign was interesting except for the fact that who in their right minds would give Osborn so much power. Siege is…I don’t know. There’s only 4 issues right? How can they have anything truly compelling in that much?
Poor Wolverine. He appears in everything and he’s good, but his own series Wolverine: Origins is terrible. It’s truly terrible.
The Return of Captain America was handled terribly as well. We get a really off the wall story that makes even less sense than anything DC comes up with. Then they mess up the release schedule so that Rogers is back in other comics before the Return is even finished.
Still better than some of DC’s decisions. The only thing DC has had going for it is Darkest Night and Batman being “dead”. The comics produced out of that have been spectacular.
Does anyone here ever see any kids in comic book stores anymore? Last time I was in one, it was all guys who looked to be in their late 20s, early 30s. Also, Spider-Man’s quality has suffered. They need to scale way back.
Excellent points all around. Personally What I REALLY think Marvel is lacking is sticking to their guns with continuity. Don’t give me a year long story arc and then sweep the ramifications of those events under the rug when a new writer comes along that doesn’t like where the characters were headed.
Spiderman: The Other comes to mind. Really, the new powers were just some sort of defense mechanism triggered by the arrival of your antithesis that conveniently disappear when she goes away?
Also, I agree that Marvel has a ridiculous amount of titles. How many places can Wolverine be at once? Even he’s not THAT bad ass.