Comics w/ Female Leads
How's about creating some interest for Marvel's female solo books like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk? (you can throw Spider-Girl in there too.)

As a reader of She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel, both of which I really enjoy, I'm concerned that with all the event books, tie-ins, high-profile minis, and the glut of new ongoings that have been produced in the past year, the well-done yet low profile She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel ongoings aren't getting enough attention from Marvel and sales have been dropping. Maybe Ms. Marvel's SI tie-ins will garner interest, along with the beautiful Adriana Melo art (why is she not doing #27?) but She-Hulk doesn't have a big event to jump onto and I'm starting to fear cancellation.

So please, Tom, and anyone at Marvel who reads these things, do your best to ensure the publishing health of two fine comic books.

Posted by friskydingo on 2008-02-19 18:59:56
The competition just threw down the gauntlet.
...by releasing Art Baltazar's Tiny Titans. It's time for you guys (specifically Chris Giarrusso) to step up and give us a full Mini Marvels comic every month. Don't get me wrong, I love the full page stuff in the back of my books every month, but... I need more. Way more.

Posted by ThiefTMA on 2008-02-19 19:52:35
Delays continue to sting fans and the bottom
"we won every month save one in 2007, and the one we lost we gave up not so much by being outperformed, but because we didn't ship a few key titles during the month."

I noticed that key titles continue to slip. Just to throw a couple out there... Thor, a Top 10 book - plauged with delays. The new Hulk series had a huge debut coming within a hair of beating out BND, but has effectively gone *bi-monthly* right out of the gate. Mighty Avengers, another big seller plagued with delays. I'm sure there's more if I looked.

I'd think that if you guys just made a little extra effort to get your (at least the Top 20) monthlies & event-books to all come out on time, the distinguished competition would really have something to worry about (not to mention making the delay-weary fans happier...).

And speaking of Giarrusso, whose work I also love, you guys should think about giving him his own weekly/bi-weekly Marvel webcomic. :-)

Posted by Kolwyr on 2008-02-19 22:19:06
For all the internet complaining, of which I've been a part from time to time, I just want to say that this is well deserved. Why? Your cadre of creators is simply superior. Not only is Marvel outselling the distinguished competition, but it's for the right reasons. You have more excellent creators currently working for you. Hearty congratulations all around!

Posted by Muldrate on 2008-02-20 01:43:13
If there was NO internet complaining I think Marvel would have more to worry about! It'd show no one cared!

I side with the 'be late, just make the book worth it' end of the debate.

it was the right call with 'Civil War', the right call with 'Astonishing X-Men'. The only book I think it may have hurt is 'Runaways' but I have no facts to back that up, just general gossip.

Also - female heros? I love 'em too and would like to see them given every shot at the top. Ms Marvel needs to stop the endless self-analysis and start kickin' more butt and showing just how 'Marvel'ous she is! Thats my opinion.

Posted by NewChad on 2008-02-20 09:40:55
Oh yeah?
Does being daring include randomly letting amateurs write your comic series for you?

Eh, eh?

Anyway...fine job. Still gotta say: I love the new FF issue! If that's any indicator of overall quality, then I'm impressed.

Posted by PseudoSherlock on 2008-02-20 11:12:52
Great non-Marvel books
While I agree that Marvel's books are pretty great right now, the competition has a lot of awesome titles right now as well. Let me just recommend ten of them:

DC:

Simon Dark.
If you like Daredevil and Simon Garth, this is the book for you.

Tiny Titans.
If you like Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius and Mini Marvels, this is the book for you.

Booster Gold.
If you like Back to the Future and superhero comics, this is the book for you.

Dark Horse:

Rex Mundi.
If you like The Da Vinci Code and alternate history stories, this is the book for you.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Eight.
If you like the TV show, this is the book for you.

The Umbrella Academy.
If you like Morrison's Doom Patrol, Hellboy or My Chemical Romance, this is the book for you.

Image:

Crawl Space: XXXombies.
If you like The Walking Dead and Boogie Nights, this is the book for you.

Godland.
If you like Jack Kirby's New Gods or his Fantastic Four, this is the book for you.

Cemetery Blues.
If you like Boneyard and Dance of the Vampires, this is the book for you.

Oni Press:

Courtney Crumrin.
If you like Harry Potter and Edward Scissorhands, this is the book for you.

Posted by Michael Heide on 2008-02-20 14:14:02
Bringing back Hawkeye would excite me.

Avengers Dismembered and the drive to put Spider-Man and Wolverine in every single Marvel title drove me to buy more DC titles than I'd bought ever. Sadly, this crossover stuff -- with everything being Countdown related -- has had me trim that down to just a few that seem to mostly skirt the crossovers. It kind of reminds me of the '90s era xbooks, where you couldn't buy just one title and still make sense of what's going on, and that's a shame.

Posted by motteditor on 2008-02-20 14:19:54
Hawkeye came back from the dead a long time ago, mott.

Posted by Jason M Bryant on 2008-02-20 14:25:13
Hawkeye is *not* a ninja. Clint Barton is not a character that would settle for being the second-*worst* combatant on his *team* (assuming Wong hasn't taught Strange more martial arts than Clint's magical new sword skills) as opposed to the best archer in the entire world.

I don't know what that character is in New Avengers but it has nothing to do with Hawkeye.

Posted by motteditor on 2008-02-20 17:34:22
Hawkeye
"Clint Barton is not a character that would settle for being the second-*worst* combatant on his *team* (assuming Wong hasn't taught Strange more martial arts than Clint's magical new sword skills) as opposed to the best archer in the entire world."

***

You do remember his Goliath days, right?

Posted by Michael Heide on 2008-02-20 18:49:30
Rebuild the Marvel Community--One Unified Uni
I think Marvel should look to Barack Obama's message for inspiration. Because it resonates with the youth. Kids are tired of traditional thinking. More inclusion, Diversity IE a willingness to try new ideas and crossover with other companies. Like FF/Goodland, Dynamo 5/Young X-men, Anita Blake/Blade, or Black Panther/Batman. I also agree with the above poster in regards to Women characters, but I would also add Handi-capped, and minorities. Catoring to one style of reader will get boooks sold, but kill growth.

There are loads of different readers out there, it would be a shame to neglect them all.

Posted by TheWatcher on 2008-02-20 23:18:42
"You do remember his Goliath days, right?"

Yup. And the whole point is he felt that he wasn't cutting it as an archer. Thus he used Pym particles to try to become more valuable to the team. Note also at that time he was a brawler, not someone using swords (though a giant using giant swords might be cool ... or would that be kewl?).

Posted by motteditor on 2008-02-21 19:34:34
On Clint Barton, etc.
The nominal basis for Clint Barton’s change of costumed identity, as I’ve seen it explained, is that he regretted not spotting Wanda’s mental decline, and then died, was brought back, died again, and came back again--and all of that emotional baggage tied to the “Hawkeye” identity was too much to bear, so the “Hawkeye” identity was abandoned in favor of “Ronin.”

There’s little doubt that Bendis’s Clint Barton is a case of mischaracterization. Clint would never idolize Cap; Cap epitomized training, following protocols and procedures, and military discipline; Clint was the pragmatist and master of improvisation.

Far too much of Bendis’s characterization of Clint is based on “Avengers Disassembled,” and since that wasn’t a valid interpretation of Wanda. . . Reviewers and casual readers might find it necessary to treat each issue as a single entity, since that’s how the comics are produced and marketed. Each issue gives the creators opportunities to atone for past mistakes, and gives a reader the chance to enjoy seeing his favorite characters in action. That’s not the editorial perspective, though. An editor would (should) make sure that the premise of a story or arc works, and fix any plotting and characterization problems prior to publication. That hasn’t been happening, though, for years. The latest examples of non-editing are foolishly calling the Venom symbiote a “virus” in MIGHTY AVENGERS #8, and, in ASTONISHING X-MEN #24, sending the “Retaliator” into space without any propulsion or guidance systems and supposing that the giant hunk of metal will somehow make its way to Earth in less than centuries. In the case of MA #8, Bendis might have thought that he needed the symbiote to be a virus so that an antiviral drug could be found quickly; Whedon, in striving to eliminate any way for the X-Men to disable the Retaliator, apparently forgot that it had to travel light years to reach Earth.

Perhaps the biggest single problem at Marvel currently is the policy of apparently letting writers proceed with obviously faulty story ideas and unworkable concepts.

SRS


Posted by Steven R. Stahl on 2008-02-21 22:40:41
I have a few ideas
1. Bring back the marvel try-out book (or try something like ZUDA, but allow fans to use liscenced Marvel characters). You could post them on MDCU to have fans vote, and print the best as a back-up in Marvel Comics Presents.
2. Do a real all-ages series of books (one that isn't indistinguishable from your regular Marvel-U books like the Marvel Adventures line).
3. Bring back Genis Vell through Cloak on the Skrull mothership. He could still be a vital character (as long as you don't put him on the thunderbolts again) in the right hands. Marvel needs a FULL-TIME Captain Marvel.

Posted by sammassey on 2008-02-23 23:42:29
OOOH One more idea...
Just make comics FUN again. have you noticed how depressing the Marvel U has beed getting lately. The fans have.

Posted by sammassey on 2008-02-23 23:46:22
Ho!
@Steven R. Stahl
Whedon, in striving to eliminate any way for the X-Men to disable the Retaliator, apparently forgot that it had to travel light years to reach Earth.
Erm... we were only told it was a bullet at the END of the story. (Incidentally, SPOILERS MAN, AWAY!) Therefore, next "week", Whedon will explain how the bullet is going to collide with Earth more rapidly, possibly by passing through a wormhole generated offworld. Or possibly time is not a factor. Or possibly there's something inherent in the metal comprising it that warps space. Or it's been impregnated with radiation that does the same thing.
None of these explanations are any more contrived than the standard "Our engines break the subspace bubbles and accelerate us into hyperspace via the 4th dimension using macron radiation" which got the X-Men to the Breakworld in the first place.
And as for the Venom virus, I haven't read that yet, but surely the whole point is that it's not a "normal symbiote", but a virus based on the Venom/Carnage symbiote.
And seriously, every time I read one of your posts, it relates back to "the Corruption of Ms. Wanda Maximoff". Case in point:
"Far too much of Bendis’s characterization of Clint is based on “Avengers Disassembled""
HOW? You just pulled this out of thin air, didn't you? How can Bendis' characterisation of Hawkeye be BASED on Bendis' characterisation of Hawkeye?

@sammassey
"Just make comics FUN again. have you noticed how depressing the Marvel U has been getting lately. The fans have."
Speak for yourself. I read McDuffie's Fantastic Four, The Order, and Incredible Hercules. I'm laughing my @*@@!@ off every time Ares does his whole 3 step programme.

Step 1) Hit Wonder Man.
Step 2) Shout about how your enemies have treacherously hit Wonder Man.
Step 3) Attempt to kill Hercules.

And as for "lately", consider two of the most famous Spider-Man comics: Amazing Fantasy #15, in which a young man loses his father due to his flippant attitude and "Spider-Man No More", which features the most emo moment I have ever seen Spider-Man undergo. "Uncle Ben is dead! Because of meeeeee!"
The old days weren't that happy-clappy themselves, were they.

"2. Do a real all-ages series of books (one that isn't indistinguishable from your regular Marvel-U books like the Marvel Adventures line)."
Why is this a problem again? Surely the whole point of an "all-ages Marvel comic" is to create an identifiably Marvel comic (e.g. Spider-Man, X-Men, Hulk, etc.), that's suitable for both kids and adults. Seems to me that's... what MA is.

@TheWatcher/
You should have been reading the Order. Supernaut and Calamity are both , Veda and

Posted by deworde on 2008-02-26 14:08:29
Handicapable
@TheWatcher/
You should have been reading the Order. Supernaut and Calamity are both handicapped, Veda is the best strong female character since Storm.

Posted by deworde on 2008-02-26 14:09:53
I believe I may have missed out the word "figure" in "father figure"...

Posted by deworde on 2008-02-26 14:12:38
Another female hero fan
Here here for more comics with female leads. Ms Marvel And She Hulk Are My Favorite books. Why not try Spider Woman And Black Cat?

Just please please please no more lame shock value and hero killing. Try some subtle storylines for once, mayeb something with a happy ending.

Posted by Seru1 on 2008-02-26 23:04:06
Oh and more young avengers. I love the female hawkeye ^_^

Posted by Seru1 on 2008-02-26 23:05:55
Gripes
These are a few of the things I hear people griping about a lot.

- Events have to be uncommon to be special. Leave a few months in between big crossovers.

- Make sure big crossovers really are big. Planet Hulk, for instance, really wasn't. It didn't need to be hyped a year and a half in advance. That just built up unrealistic expectations.

- Have every miniseries more or less in the can before publishing it, especially when the creators have a history of lateness. Ditto limited runs. It's frustrating for retailers because sales drop off. For fans, it gets harder and harder to follow the plot and just enjoy them.

- Keep crossovers simple. Don't drag them out too long. No event should last much more than 3 months. They get fatiguing when every book is suddenly about them. Don't suspend ongoing plots to service the event, unless necessary. If a book has no logical reason to be included, don't include it (e.g. Daredevil during House of M). Allow a "crossover-free" segment of the publishing schedule.

- Keep creators on books longer, if you can. Let them build up storylines and subplots and character development and supporting characters. Let artists stay when writers leave, and vice versa. Familiarity is just as much fun as novelty. (Otherwise why would Spider-Man & the other big names still be so popular?) Try not to soft-reset everything with every creative team change.

- Try not to give away too much too early. Why did we all know about Brand New Day last spring?

- On the other hand, make it clear to retailers when a book is going to be important. A tough balance, I know. It stinks when things sell out, though.

- Another vote for more female leads. Another vote for Black Cat! And maybe some more White Tiger. Black Cat, White Tiger. Hey, give them a two-in-one!

- More female creators too, please. Nothing against the guys but there are a lot of talented ladies who deserve a shot, and a lot of characters who need an escape from the male gaze.

- Don't let the movies dictate creative decisions. Everyone is used to adaptations differing from the original. When a new fan asks, "Isn't it supposed to be Q?" the old fan should say, "Well, in the movies it is Q, but in the comics it's always been W." Not "Well, it was W but now it's Q but for a while it was Z because Scarlet Witch punched time." That's just more confusing. Pity the poor fan who missed the retcon and now has to figure it out again.

- Don't make too many assumptions about what new fans know or don't know. It's OK to reference past stories -- even from years ago -- as long as there is sufficient explanation that the plot makes sense in isolation. It fuels curiosity about the characters' history and gives a sense of their depth. Anyone who starts at #359, knows right away there are 358 issues they haven't read. That's OK. Figuring out continuity is fun. It's a game. Probably 95% of the readers of any given ongoing have been reading for a year or several. Keep them happy first.

Posted by aurata on 2008-03-02 23:26:20