lol...Tom's going for more hits!
1) I understand that stunts (like OMD and Bucky as Cap) are a sure way to sell comics, but Marvel is going too overboard with all of that stuff and the cross-overs now. It's something that really damaged the greed infested 90's and put a lot of those editors on the unemployment line. Something to consider.

2) Wolverine and Spider-Man are in too many books. Neither would work with New Avengers. I'm sick of both of them. Milking your two biggest cash cows, logic and quality be damned, really isn't good for the characters. Are the characters the #1 priority or is the money?

3) Not enough lead time for stuff like Thor, despite having like a year between the creative team announcement and the first issue's release.

4) Not enough old school talent. You're just now throwing bones to David Michelinie, Bob Layton, and Roy Thomas, but "new Marvel" has turned it's back on it's history, regardless of how very qualified they are. Where is something new from Roger Stern, J. M. DeMatties, Larry Hama, JOHN BYRNE, Jim Shooter, Walt Simonson, or Gerry Conway? There's a bit too much "gool old boys club" stuff going on right now at Marvel. I don't think cliques are healthy.

5) Creative team stability lacks. Too many hit and run creators like Warren Ellis and Mark Millar, who do nothing more than create a big mess with no care about the consequences.

Posted by Dusty. on 2008-02-20 18:26:24
Dusty hates Warren Ellis
Film at 11.

Things that annoy the crap out of me about Marvel Comics.

1. Marvel not defending creators. The abuse Daniel Way gets online is shocking.

2. Chuck Austen has disappeared of the face of the Earth. Please rectify this.

3. Inexplicable creator "pushes". Mark Guggenheim has bounced from Wolverine to Spider-Man to Young X-Men, while not displaying a damn bit of talent, and all the while bleating about how he hates "decompression" and wants to work with John Byrne - neither of which is appropriate conduct for a Marvel Writer.

I realise all three of them run together, so here's some other minor things.

1. Marvel's trade policy leaves me bemused. You can buy the Brubaker Omnivus of Captain America - which I did, yet John Jackson Miller's Iron Man run has vanished from the face of the Earth. I mean, a War Machine trade, seriously?

2. Where's the trade of Warren Ellis' Excalibur run? I have everything else he's done, but Dublin isn't exactly best equipped for me to search for that work.

Here's one - the characterisation of Emma Frost. In Uncanny X-Men and Astonishing, she's written as a normal, (as normal as a telepath can be) character, making amends for her past. In everything else (Guggenheim in particular), she's written as a witch out to destroy the X-Men from within.



Finally. Not enough Max books. I understand completely why editorial wouldn't go near a Spider-Man Max book, or a Wolverine Max book, but surely the level of creators currently working for the line could have a go at them. Duane Swiercynski wrote Punisher harpooning a man. Imagine what he could do with Wolverine.

Posted by Dave James on 2008-02-20 18:43:45
Tom makes great points
In reality though I collected Spidey for years, when omd/bnd happened i gave up on it, and I decided to try new comics that normally I wouldn't have, in fairness the few I have tried I haven't been able to get into, but I will be more open to continue trying new books, because of the money i am saving, some marvel, dc or orther. Just no spidey or any title associated with. As for speaking for other writers and things, exactly right, no one ever truly knows what anyone believes. As far as my gripe....put your current fans first, your future ones last. And stop doing major events only to undo them, and big arcs all the time loses that importance feeling.

Posted by DS2008 on 2008-02-20 18:51:02
some run-of-the-mill complaints
1. LATE BOOKS - Yep, I know they're par for the course these days and bumping a book for a week or two (or sometimes three) doesn't really phase me anymore. What I get peeved about is when a comic (or comics) in an ongoing series is removed from the schedule for over a month with absolutely no explanation. It really wouldn't anger me so if I just knew why. I think changes that big warrant an explanation. More communication with fans concerning publishing issues, please.

2. UNEXPLAINED CHANGES - Shawn Moll is no longer penciling She-Hulk. Why? His art was good and the book shipped on time. Adriana Melo was touted as "the new series artist" for Ms. Marvel and after only two issues on the book, someone else is solicited as the penciler for what would've been her third issue. Why?

3. VARIANT COVERS - If Marvel is so keen on artists doing variant covers, do more 50/50 covers so more fans can actually enjoy them. Those Dodson covers for Capt. Marvel and Ms. Marvel are wonderful but, inevitably, they'll only be made available to a select few people willing to pay premium prices. That's ridiculous.

4. E-MUSIC CARDSTOCK ADS - Please don't do that again. That was horrible.

5. MARVEL.COM MESSAGE BOARDS - Are the boards routinely ignored by Marvel? Is the online fan community that low of a priority? The boards are riddled with waves of glitches every few months wiping out threads and encouraging fans to post elsewhere. There are still glitches that aren't fixed. The avatars aren't being updated with new images or new characters anymore and most of the ones that are available aren't labeled so everyone knows who they are. Fans have also been pleading for new emoticons that they never get. The vast majority of Marvel's writers and artists prefer to post on other boards like CBR and Newsarama and hardly ever show up to our boards, for what are probably good reasons. It's a darn shame. Marvel needs to commit to creating a thriving online community.

That's really All I got. I have a whole lot more complaints about fans than I do about Marvel.

Posted by friskydingo on 2008-02-20 19:24:47
My subjective gripes and suggestions:
I agree with Dave on more MAX books (like Werewolf by Night, Hannibal King, Cloak and Dagger, Nick Fury, Sleepwalker, Masters of Evil). And I wouldn't mind Jason Aaron's Ghost Rider book moving under the MAX label.

I agree with Dusty that Roger Stern, John Byrne, JM DeMatteis and other writers (and artists) have fallen to the wayside a bit. Is it possible to create their own corner for them, like the MC2 universe? Their own sandbox to play in, where they wouldn't have to deal with Superhero Registration or Skrulls?

Other gripes:
I don't mind variant covers. I love Arthur Suydam's style. But the "Suydam recreating classic covers with Zombies/Skrulls/whatever" formula is becoming a bit stale.

Daredevil needs a shot in the arm. I love Ed Brubaker, but the Mr. Fear storyline (including the build-up) has gone on a bit too long now. Maybe the collaboration with Greg Rucka will jump-start my interest in the book. I sure hope so, because I love the character.

This is a personal thing, and I doubt that you can do much about this, but you asked us what frustrates us, so I'll be honest: I seriously think there are too many X-books right now. I understand that variety is important, but three core titles, three "next generation books" (New Warriors, Young X-Men and GeNext), two Wolverine books, X-Factor, X-Force, Cable and whatever I might have forgotten is far too much. When Joe Quesada became Editor in Chief in... what was it, 2000? 2001? Anyway, back then, the X-books were whittled down, giving each book room to breathe and a distinctive, non-redundant direction. I'm getting the feeling that something like that is needed again.

Please don't adress Peter's marriage and/or Mephisto again. "The past is past, so don't look back-- look forward." I liked that sentence in #546. It's important.

I enjoyed Civil War, sat out World War Hulk, Annihilation and most of Messiah Complex, I'm looking forward to Secret Invasion. But I'd be grateful if you guys would cease doing huge crossovers after that for at least six months, if not more. I get the feeling that ever since House of M, things have been moving at a breakneck speed, jumping from one huge cataclysmic "event" to the next. We readers don't get a chance to let plot elements like the post-The-Other status quo sink in, the Avengers seem to change their roster every two weeks (in actual Marvel time), and I can't remember the last time the X-Men just took a break and played softball. Marvel comics need those quiet moments every once in a while.

I'd love to see more of The Loners and Book of Lost Souls.

Remember that Rucka/Perkins Wolverine noir book from the last Editorial Simulation? I'd give a kidney if it led to that book actually being published.

Posted by Michael Heide on 2008-02-20 19:30:29
Griping!
I've really had to think about it because you fellows are doing such a great job. And for any one of these gripes, there may be a book that nulls the gripe, but I only have so much money guys.

1) Where are the back up stories? Sure, I like my issues to have lots of story, and speech, and action, but I would gladly give up a page or five to see something that you guys thought would be cool to put at the back. Not some lame, "history of" designed to educate me on stuff, that's what the internet is for. I want some meaningless toss away story to add fluff and chuckles to my issue. A book that does this very well is Iron Fist. Cool little vignettes to add depth and expand the story tangentially, without essentially being educational or plot divisive.

2)Are the X-men part of the rest of the world? They weren't a part of Civil War, and they don't look very important to Secret Invasion. They just cloister together and inbreed. And anti-mutant sentiments don't really make too much sense in a post-reg world. With the Initiative giving people powers, how can people really hate and fear mutants now? And after all this time, why hasn't someone come up with a cause for the X-gene? The X-books have always been scary and baffling to me, even more so after House of M. But I guess that is what Ultimate X men and First Class are for.

3)Glossy paper. I guess I would need some more information on this one, but I'll throw it in anyways. I think glossy paper and computer coloring have really driven up prices. I love Fables and Gotham Central, they weren't any cheaper, but the paper quality didn't ruin the storytelling. You can get back to blowing our minds with all the Photoshopped HD art you want when it all goes digital in a few years, but lets figure out a way to put comics in my hands for cheaper in the mean time. haha

Posted by kyle-latino on 2008-02-20 19:34:44
1) Iron Man seems to appear in every Marvel book I read, and I don't even read IRON MAN or MIGHTY AVENGERS. Ever since Civil War ended, he's been on this global passive-agressive apology/guilt trip tour, where he asks/coerces heroes to register and says he's so sorry he ruined so many friendships by endorsing registration and the stress of it all makes him want to crawl back in the bottle. Mind you, I don't have a huge problem with Civil War or its aftermath, but clearly Tony does and I'm getting tired of his whining because not everyone thinks he was right.

2) When Marvel and its fans have a major disagreement on something (as in the case of One More Day), I often get the sense that people speaking for Marvel write off the disgruntled fans as being the stereotypical aging overweight loser comics nerd. To them this may seem inoffensive, like a Catholic telling Catholic jokes, but from this end it's more like divas expressing barely-disguised disgust with the common rabble they have to put up with.

3) Minor characters--the ones who don't appear regularly enough to firmly establish their characterization--are often reduced to generic throwaway characters in today's Marvel books. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL is pretty bad about this, simply by its nature as a book cycling through dozens of minor supervillains for Frank to shoot at. In that book, everyone from the Rhino to the Mandrill sounds exactly like the same: like this ordinary joe character who dropped out of high school and can't get his life together and wishes Spider-Man would lay off him and says "dude" all the time.

It's not that I'm all anal about paying proper respect to a character like the Mandrill. But the conceit of presenting a C-list superhuman as an average guy in tights is only clever when done sparingly, and with the right C-listers. Bendis also did this sort of thing on NEW AVENGERS, at least before I dropped it. On the other hand Warren Ellis goes for the same effect, but with much better results, in THUNDERBOLTS--American Eagle comes off as Just A Regular Guy without being the same Just A Regular Guy as Sepulchre and Steel Spider.

Posted by jim_smith on 2008-02-20 19:40:18
Gripes
1) I know Marvel is a business and is the business of making money, not just making great comics as many fans belive. My gripe is the lost opportunity of both with Marvel Digital Comics. I love seeing the older issues and love to see how old stories affect new stories like you're doing in Secret Invasion, but I'm dismayed that we have to wait months after an issue is released for it to appear online. I am a subscriber of Marvel Digital Comics and I prefer the medium, why can't I follow the current storylines along with using the back catalog as a reference.

2) Why is so much effort put into promotion of new series, while fantastic existing series that have had long, excellent creative runs are ignored until its event time? Titles such as Daredevil, Captain America, Ultimate Spider-Man and New Avengers have had amazing stories lines with the same or very similar creative teams, but are generally ignored until event tie-ins occur. These are your best titles, with a extensive and coherent run for new readers to enjoy, they should be your best foot forward and not the lure of the magical #1 issue that sells out then sells less over time than these great ongoing runs.

3) Wolverine is now in his own series, Wolverine: Origins, New Avengers, X-Force, Astonishing X-Men, and the upcoming Logan not to mention Wolverine: First Class, and his Ultimate appearances. I looked through your May X-Men solicitations and there were over 3 or more X-Men related books a WEEK without Astonishing X-Men shipping! Iron Man has two ongoing series now, excluding Ultimate Iron Man, Hulk has his own series, and various spin-off books. Like your Spider-Man Manifesto states "The line's identity became fractured because of the diverse hands and diverse directions across the different books. While there are some advantages to this approach, the one thing it really kiboshed on an almost subliminal way is the feeling that SPIDER-MAN is the linear story of Peter Parker's life." You may argue that this approach is unique to Spider-Man due to the character's "Peter Parker is Spider-Man, Spider-Man is not Peter Parker" history. As well with titles such as Daredevil, Captain America and Thor you let these characters interact in their own pocket of the Marvel U and only crossing over when the story calls for it. I also give you credit for generally being better at this than DC is with how many Batman and Superman titles. However, as I'm sure you're seeing with the success of BND in sales, one unified title for each character attracts more interest to the books, not just the character. Marvel is in the business of selling books as well as the merchandising of the character.

4. I know this is a small thing, but why are titles separated into seperate volumes or series? As you reunified the numbering of Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four, why not do this for other titles such as Daredevil (16 issues from #500), Iron Man (36 issues from #500), Hulk (13 issues from #600 included the new Loeb Hulk series), Captain America (17 issues from #600), Thor (8 issues from #600), Ghost Rider (37 issues from #250), Ms. Marvel (3 issues from #50) and so on. I appreciate the ties to the past with titles like Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man and Uncanny X-Men, and with most the the other titles already over 100, is the higher issue number really going to scare off new readers?

Posted by aboris26 on 2008-02-20 20:03:54
Counter-programming
I guess my biggest gripe about Marvel right now is the lack of "counter-programming" in their takes on their characters. Don't like Bendis Avengers? Tough. Want Spider-Man with intact continuity? Tough. I liked when we had a choice between Kurt Busiek's Avengers and Mark Millar's Ultimates, between JMS' ASM and Bendis' USM, and so on. These were real differences in both setting and tone. It gave readers an alternative.

My second gripe would be over the way second-string characters, such as Quasar and Speedball, are frequently regarded as disposable because they don't have Spider-Man level popularity. I wish there would be more consideration given to the fact that even the second-stringers have their fans, and just because they may not carry their own book doesn't mean they're worthless.

My third gripe regards the Initiative. I understand the need for a return to the "outlaw" status of many Marvel heroes, and increased conflict amongst heroes. But I think it fundamentally hurts characters like Iron Man, who despite his flaws is supposed to be heroic, to have them as government stooges.

My final gripe is just a desire for a return to the casual cross-title continuity from the days of yore. It used to be that you didn't need to have formal crossovers; writers would frequently reference what was going on in their peers' books just 'cause they liked their stories. I wish we'd see more of that today; maybe it would be help if Marvel increased their comps to their writers?

Posted by CylverSaber on 2008-02-20 20:06:05
A variation on a theme
I want to gripe about events. Not that I have anything against events, but it feels like they are stealing great stories that could just be told in one title. House of M was a definate example of this. Secret Invasion (at this point) seems like it could just be told in the pages of one of the Avengers books. I love these stories, don't get me wrong, but it feels a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul. And if the (highly suspect) sales data is to be believed, it would be a good idea to have a story-line driven sales increase, rather than huge sales on an event mini.

Posted by dingogary on 2008-02-20 20:07:15
Pay Royalties to the Families of the Men That
The one thing that bothers me is Marvel's policy on not paying royalties on trades to the estates of dead creators. Why can't a few pennies from the $100 Omnibuses and $60 Masterworks go to the families of the men who create the characters that you profit from today? It's especially galling when you have a relationship with Kirby's daughter today.

There is no rational defense of the policy. The Distinguished Competition is paying Kirby's estate royalties on the Fourth World Omnibuses (this was confirmed by Mark Evanier on the Marvel Masterworks board). I want to see Marvel do the right thing. Pay the families of the creators their royalties.

(And if Marvel doesn't pay Steve Gerber's estate for the Howard The Duck Omnibus...well, there's just no words for wrong that would be. Gerber's fight to regain Howard in the 70s led to the creators' rights movement that every working artist today still benefits from. It would be galling if Marvel, who was willing to pay Steve for this book while he was alive, would shun his estate now that he's no longer with us.)

Other than that...not much. The worst thing I could say is that I can't figure out why One More Day couldn't have been carried out with Norman Osborn and the Infinity Gauntlet instead of Mephisto. Generally, I like the stories you're telling. I think we don't tell you how glad we are for the work that you do. Thanks, Tom.

Posted by wishlish on 2008-02-20 20:17:49
Renumbering Series
Captain America - 17 issues till #600
Hulk - 13 issues till #600 including Incredible Hulk and Hulk series
Thor - 8 issues till #600
Daredevil - 16 issues till #500
Iron Man - 36 issues till #500
Wolverine - 45 issues till #300
Ghost Rider - 37 issues till #250
Moon Knight - 39 issues till #100
Ms. Marvel - 3 issues till #50

Posted by aboris26 on 2008-02-20 20:48:35
The Favoritism
How is it that Millar and Ellis can take YEARS to put out 6 issues because they're treated as being above having to use a fill-in artist? Marvel should pick better writers to give the best artists to and give favoritisms to.

Posted by Dusty. on 2008-02-20 20:49:55
I hate
the fact that about 1 out of 10 Marvel comics I buy the centerfold pulls lose from the staple. At least over the past couple of months.

Posted by mcross76 on 2008-02-20 21:23:50
my gripes
Dusty called me a "suckup" or a "buttkisser" a few weeks back (forget which), so I guess this is a grip from someone who loves your books.
1. New Avengers has lost it's zing. Bendis needs to speed it up and tighten up the story. I am hoping that the Secret Invasion saga unifies the Avengers titles right now because they are slogging badly.

2. Wolverine over-exposure. I am hopeful that Secret Invasion will cure this as well.

3. Events that kill solo-titles. New Avengers and Civil War killed ASM for 2 years. Even Brubaker's near-perfect run on Cap got held up for a while by CW. New Avengers should have been the center-piece for the telling of CW, but instead it got reduced to a 7 month side that could not tell a self-coherent story.


Posted by bigdaddyhub2 on 2008-02-20 21:55:27
Some thoughts
I dislike....

Fill in WRITERS. Not as common at your office as others, but still. It just ruins the flow of the narrative, especially since nowadays, fill in writers don't even try to make their voice sound like the other guy (Christos Gage on TBolts is a good exception).

Fill in Artists Cast Against Type. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, its terrible. You have xxx issues with xxx artist, then all of a sudden BAM totally different style artist comes in to fill-in. The worst of these was Ultimate X-Men with the brilliant Kaare Andrews totally tearing you out of the continuity of the story with his art not meshing with the issues around it.

Dirty Porn Covers. I collect She-Hulk in trade primarily because that's 8-10 less "BEWBS!!" covers per year that I have to get in public. Why great stories get the half naked girls with the thrusting pelvises when the story isn't remotely sexual, I dont' know... See also Emma Frost series.

Haphazard Commitment to Hardcovers - especially series like X-Men and Daredevil, what IS a hardcover and what is only a trade is all over the place. Just consistency and reliability that if I get "Volume 1" of a hardcover, there will actually be a "volume 2".

Death. Everybody dies all the time. It really has lost all meaning and impact. I mean, Robert just killed like 6 dudes in Ultimate X-Men and I didn't blink an eye. Even in the fun and witty Astonishing X-Men, Cyclops has died in 2 out of the last 4 issues but he still isn't dead. Seriously, just make "romantic relationships" the new death. I have a feeling you'll piss off even MORE people and get more reactions out of people (Rogue slept with WHO????).

The lack of good mystery subplots. This "Secret Invasion" thing doesnt count because the audience only knows its a subplot because you're telling them to look for it. I mean the kind where a shadowed person does something, and you have 1-3 years of clues until you find out who it was. The potential for great mysteries is one of the advantages of the long-form comic.

Crossovers interrupting my story. I might be in the sales minority, but I'm in it for the long haul, the detailed story from one writer. When BAM CROSSOVER TIME KIDS BAM happens, I lose interest, ESPECIALLY when you have to read other books to follow the crossover (good crossover series: She Hulk Planet w/o Hulk, and Ant Man. bad crossover series: House of M where everyone has to acknowledge the lack of mutants even if their story was unrelated, since several characters are now missing. Joss handled it best but it was still annoying)

Also, I dislike multiple monthly titles about the same person in the same continuity (Spider-man, Wolverine, Iron Man, the competition's guys...). 98% of the time, I just end up buying none of them since I get lost too easily. The new Spider-Man, I may try just because I enjoy the idea of one plot to follow instead of 3 or 4.

One last gripe - vocabulary. Reading the old Claremont X-Men a few weeks ago, it dawned on me how much simpler the books have gotten - like the audience has gotten dumber. Would it kill people to put in a few unique words BESIDES THE HERO'S PITHY MONIKER?

Really, though, I enjoy Marvel and what they put out. Keep up the good work, Tom. Your Blog is amazing.

Posted by stuckinazkaban on 2008-02-20 21:56:51
UGH
1. I'm sick of Marvel movies affecting the related comics. (Spider-Man wearing the black suit near the time the movie comes out, villians appearing out of nowhere for the same reason).
I know this is a business, but it's completely noticeable. The movies usually don't match with the comics' history, so why try to match the comics with the movies?

2. Retcons. Just stop changing history. Seriously. Find a better way to fix bad stories than acting like they didn't happen. They happened. I have it on my shelf. It's legit. Keep it legit.

3. Nudity. I'm sick of almost seeing a naked girl in my comics. It's like "hey i'm covered up by a cloud of smoke just barely over my nip or a blanket so it doesn't count." If you want kids to really read comics, then you probably shouldn't almost put boobs in them.

Posted by coryfetzer on 2008-02-20 22:40:59
gripes
Find an effective way to bring back Steve Rogers and I'll be gripeless.

Posted by ted_dahlman on 2008-02-20 23:41:39
My complaints
1. Not enough books having their own stories. Everything has to be setup to lead into the giant summer event. In the past the comic industry survived and we didn't see all these big events. I would like to see the books be more unaffected by the others and be in their own universe with their own stories more.

2. Hiring Hollywood writers and not doing anything when they are late. I think it is absurd that Marvel allows them to treat this as a hobby. if you all pay them they should be on time and consider this job a priority.

3. Tired of movie type tie ins. Back in Black blehh

4. Editorial edicts that are crammed into a story so that the story makes little sense. Yeah Omd im talking here. Also the whole Gravity was supposed to be Captain Marvel thing that was being set up and then tossed to the side.

5. Allowing artists to be late.

6. Editors in chiefs trying to not be straight with the fans. Here is looking at you Joe Q.

7. Editor in chiefs not respecting the fans.

Posted by mre2u on 2008-02-21 00:44:43
Bad tie-ins
My complaint: Tie-ins that have nothing to do with the original.

Awhile back I was very happy to see something on the comic book store shelves that had '2099' in the title. I leafed through it and couldn't see any real connection to the universe I knew and loved. Even without spending a dime, I felt ripped off.

I know that name recognition is a useful tool, but if it isn't really 2099, please don't put 2099 on the cover.

Posted by Jason M Bryant on 2008-02-21 01:04:24
Bewbs
There's no material in the real world that works like superhero outfits. Even Captain America's scale mail wraps tight around his body, sinking in between the mucsles so that every bit of definition is shown. I get that and I accept that it makes the heroes look powerful.

But this is ridiculous:

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wizarduniverse/hulkthe5.jpg

That is not woman wearing clothing. That is a naked woman with clothing painted on her sliding breasts. Come on, She-Hulk would still be damn hot even if she wore a real shirt that stretched over her chest instead of individually wrapping the breasts.

Posted by Jason M Bryant on 2008-02-21 01:17:21
gripes
honestly, my biggest gripes are
A. all the gripes ive seen about ASM and BND. READ THE BOOKS, THEY ARE AWESOME.

2. tie ins that put the story lines on the back burners, i think peter david did a great job with the civil war tie in to X factor, but sometimes it just seems forced.
on the other hand i love tie ins where the same writer is writing every book. im looking forward to SI

C. Artist being on the wrong books, lets just face some facts here, without saying any names, there are clearly certain artists who shouldnt be on superhero books. put them on something less costumed like punisher, or a fury book (im sure there will be a new one early next year)

4. dead story lines. face it, over the years there have been series that sudden just ended midseries. and there is a bunch of history there that could be filled in, but is just a statistic right now.

E. Give Sofia Mantega her hair back!!! she is one of my favorite character ranking above most of the avengers. i dig the fact that shes on a team again, especially with CHAMBER, another underdeveloped C lister that has great potential.

6. people who cant keep their listing system straight, who switch back and forth from letters to numbers because they cant remember which they are on and are too lazy to scroll up and find out.

G. run on sentences (see above)

Posted by hxcscarecrow on 2008-02-21 01:42:45
Well, heh, I'm trying to do less of this, but posting a big ol' thread like this...

1. The general atavistic state of mind that seems to predominate. My problem with BnD (and I don't want to pick on everybody's favorite whipping boy, but it's a recent example), is not so much that I'm a huge fan of the Spider-marriage, per se. It's that there seems to be this idea that the original status quo is always better and should keep being restored. Even if you legitimately believe that the original creators' versions of the status quo are always the best, the fact is, they've already been done BY THE ORIGINAL CREATORS. This constant "taking a character back to his/her/its roots" seems to frequently be code for "I have no unique ideas, so I'm going to do Lee/Kirby/Ditko AGAIN, now with a new hat!" I don't think it's disrespectful to Stan Lee or whoever to leave a character different than you found him. These guys were idea factories, whose characters were fluid and frequently going through major changes. Spidey got the through high school and into college and suffered to major, unreversed supporting character deaths while Stan was EiC, right? I think it's more disrespectful to come to a property built on innovation and make no changes, or to insist that all recent changes be reversed. Plus, of course, the law of diminishing returns says that it's just not that interesting to see what I saw yesterday again. Nostalgia is great, but that's what back issues are for.

1a. The words/phrases "respect," "essence of the character," and "understanding of history" are all ridiculously overused and should be banned from being uttered by fans, creators, and editorial, as they most often seem to mean "I really like it this way and not that way, but I need a way to give my personal tastes more gravitas."

2. I'd like to see less negativity in general. Again, not to pick on an easy target, but this is why I don't particularly want to see more books by guys like John Byrne (also, frankly, because he's a good example of the "comics should all revert to the way they were in 1972" mentality). If you spend the bulk of your time moaning about the state of the industry. constantly repeating that's it's dying, continually complaining about both of the major companies and virtually all creators who got their start in the last twenty years, it creates a really poisonous, anti-fun atmosphere. I mean, if you were totally new to comics, would that attitude make you want to sign-up? Still, with a few exceptions, I think the fans are far worse about this. I think many of the younger creators are much better behaved than people really give them credit for. Message boards are frequently mean-spirited, angry places that accuse them of being hacks, incompetent, @#$%, and that's just from the people who are trying to be polite. "Who cares about a bunch of screaming internet nerds?" seems to be an incredibly restrained response to that sort of abuse, and many of them take far worse without commenting on it at all.

3. Constant ressurections render death meaningless, and I think they make for terrible, predictable storylines, but I realize that the doulbe jump in sales, once when a character is killed and again when ressurected is hard to argue with.

4. This is a big one that's not easy to solve, but I'd love to see great, original characters being introduced in continuity. I know the "new characters don't sell" argument has some weight, but I think part of that is because creators don't want to give up all the rights to a great new idea. Therefore, all the best new ideas of the last twenty years were done in creator-owned or partly-creator-owned, out-of-universe titles. This is a tough one to get around, but I might like to see Marvel bite the bullet and start offering really good royalty agreements for the use of new characters in in-universe titles (i.e., Marvel gets the rights to do whatever we want with your character, but you get a paycheck of -reasonable amount- whenever your character appears.) Thus, if you create an awesome character for the Spider-man universe, you'll be comfortably assured of a payday for years to come. As it is, there just seems to be very little incentive or drive to create really GOOD characters for mainstream continuity. I mean, seriously, if I'm a writer and I have a character that I really thing is going to set the world on fire, is there ANY reason that I should write him into my Marvel book and not save him for a creator owned project?

Again, though, I'd like to reiterate that Marvel has done a really good job in recent years, especially with regards to reaching new, skilled talent. So, ultimately, I offer the above as constructive criticism for a company that I really enjoy. Well done, guys.

Posted by Muldrate on 2008-02-21 02:42:05
Gripes
1. Drawn out stories. Stories that just last too long... Do we really need four part, six part, 12 part stories? Are we really going to have to wait 5 years to find out the identity of the Messiah Complex baby?
2. The competition's declining margin share.
3. Comic book companies (not just Marvel's) inability to address the digital, downloadable age in an effective way. If the future isn't here now, then um... when can the world get their legal digital "downloadable" comic books that they can store on their hard-drives the same way you can store a comic book on a shelf, or unopened sealed within a plastic cover, tucked inside a box hidden in a closet waiting for that day when it might pay for your kids college tuition? iTunes but with comics?
4. Deadlines! Surely there must be a way to take into account unforeseen circumstances? Speaking of, Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk remaining unfinished is a little insulting... Find a miracle drug for Bendis to at least semi-prevent his breakdown in a couple of months.
5. Super-villains of the week, like Baskin-Robbins and all the flavors... and just how powerful are a thousand exploding suns? Wasn't one enough?
6. Jean Grey will come back eventually, right, and If Captain America the movie has a writer engaged and we're looking at a what, Summer 2010, Summer 2011 release, does that mean that Marvel has till then to bring back Steve Rogers, or are all those potential new readers really just going to have to learn about Bucky, the Red Skull, and Cosmic Cubes in the recap page?
7. "GeNext" sounds great! Finally an attempt to play with the concept of "time" and "aging" within the MU. One way or another, in twenty years time. Frank Castle will have fought in a war over fifty years ago. Let alone the other characters that fought in wars in the MU... Bold type stating that an event from five years ago was only a few months ago is just kind of stupid. Going to be even stranger in 2025 when Fury, Ross, and all the other WWII guys are still, oh, lets just say... walking and talking...
8. A "shock and awe" moment that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, still leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, no matter how cool the moment was, or what follows...
9. Which leads to, people that won't give a story a chance to redeem itself before they condemn it. Verbally of course, because as the numbers go, they still purchased it.
10. Female figures... The thread from before should REALLY be touched upon. In fact the male and female form in 21st century society in general maybe? Think of the kids right when it comes to smoking, but not when it comes to normal body types, not that Comic Book Guy couldn't do to lose a few pounds or anything though...
11. 52 issues of a comic book in one year sounds cool... Something that say, encompasses the entire MU maybe even. You should write it, better yet, Loeb, "Heroes" should really get interesting then.
12. Can someone look me dead in the eyes and with a straight face tell me who Cassandra Nova is and how she came into existence? Please? Convert the saying about how "if it sounds too good to be true..." into a saying about stupid ideas please. But it's okay, because she only killed every mutant on the island of Genosha with a giant robot. Where was House of M when Marvel needed it?
13. Golden SHIELD Hellicarrier... When metal looking just isn't enough. Speaking of SHIELD, please let Secret Invasion change and redefine SHIELDs smaller and more covet mission within the MU. Or call them CANNONFODDER, that would work right now too, 'cause the life expectency of a SHIELD agent is what, two, maybe three pages? Bet the C.I.A. can afford a better dental, although with a lower LE it would make sense for SHIELD to have a pension policy that pays out a little more.
14. Natasha's speech to the U.N. General Assembly in UXM #307... Comics should have more awe inspiring moments like that one. Which makes a U.S. government sponsored Avengers so hard to swallow. Ya know that saying about old movies, sometimes even old music too, how they don't make 'em like they used to... Don't allow Marvel to become like that.
15. Waiting till Thursday on national holidays.
16. Looking at the cover of the X-Men #1 that cost 12 cents. And we all moan about rising oil and gas prices... It's worth it though. Average reader can't pick up what they used to be able to though. How high are taxes in the MU btw? What with hellicarriers being destroyed every other month?
17. Lack of Marvel on Saturday morning cartoons. Seriously, get back into the animation business. It surely opens up people to the world of Marvel and comics in general, thus helping the industry as a whole.
18. Wolverine has been alive for over one hundred years. Sit down, map out his life, and tell all the different stories between then and now. Origins mini-series was good for a reason. Lots of stuff happened. Do we really need another team-up book? Pick James Howlett or Logan, but not Wolverine, make a different book for that, Wolverine should be in more then twenty books anyway, it'd just be bad business if he wasn't. Or are costumes just more fun to play with...
19. Will all of Secret Invasion take place with the United States and New York City, or will the other six billion people of the world be affected to? Anyone ever noticed how many supers the U.S. has compared to the other 200 odd nations?
20. X-Force is about time, but how many people do you have to have killed before you can be on the list? Seriously... For a while there it seemed as if Magneto might actually be able to hit the hundred thousand mark. Apocalypse according to all the retcons is at what, couple a' million by now? And who do we go after, the brotherhood of Marvel really doesn't care, Marvel just created/revived you a couple of years ago to kill a bunch of kids that were only referenced what, twice outside of New X-Men, that and you're completely expendable. Please go large with the future targets, not that it'll affect sales, it's got Wolverine in it, but it would just be so cool to see them off some deserving guy like Sinister, or Dark-Beast, or the guy that did Storm's hair.
Well, that was fun, thanks.

Posted by Thomas More on 2008-02-21 03:18:35
I love my girl-friend.

Posted by notapotatoe on 2008-02-21 06:15:42
My main gripe: Not enough Iron Man. This week's issue was awesome -- we need more comics with Iron Man fighting people. It was a thing of pure, unadulterated beauty.

I went to my comic shop yesterday and added 8 titles to my pull-list, 6 of which were Iron Man related (not including Essential IM v.3). And I thought to myself, well, hey, still could use more Iron Man.

Posted by ljacone on 2008-02-21 06:58:08
Gripes
1. Too many comics.. I wish comic companies like Marvel would put out 5 to 10 comics a month and staff every issues with a great writer. Instead, I collect around 40 a month and the authors range from fantastic to drivel. The large number of titles makes it hard to attract people to good reads. Make the Marvel U look like the Ultimates U with a fairly scaled back list of titles and the people reading comics will probably be much happier.

2. Too few creator created comics.. I understand that long standing comics are sure sells and the bread and butter of any comic book company but giving writers a chance to write what they really want is better. Try something like Kabuki or Criminal if you disagree..

3. Too little dedication to digital comics.. 25 issues a week sounds like a lot but it doesn't even scratch the back catalog. Digital comics lose value unless you can read entire stories.

4. Too little support for creative talent in mainstream comics.. Many gripes by people like Alan Moore against the comic industry are fairly legitimate. Marvel seems to be doing a good job in this arena compared to DC. Maybe that is why they have better writers at the moment.

5. More of a Marvel community on the web.. Tom B is great but where is everyone else? The comic industry should be about building a community of people who love comics and the talent that works on them. I don't see that happening as quickly as I would like.

6. Status Quo.. I hate comics that stay the same just to maintain sales. Fantastic Four, most of the dc universe, etc.. How great could these comics have been if the people working on them took more chances. Sure, there would have been mistakes but there would have been a lot of really exceptional moments too.

7. Use independents and comics like Marvel Presents to farm new talent.. Don't immediately give unproven talent a series. I would prefer to see people start small and if the fan reaction is great enough then get their series. There are too much bad talent and I prefer that it get ferreted out before the group gets picked to run the next arc of my favorite comic.

8. Make the writers/talent more prevalent on the covers of comics.. Especially writers. I would like to see Brubaker or JMS, etc. when I buy a comic. That way I know I am probably getting a good comic. People should be encouraged to collect writers the way they do comics today. They will probably be more happy with what they are reading.

Posted by shaunbed on 2008-02-21 07:15:52
Poor customer service
When I have problems reading a digital comic on multiple computers, I wait days or weeks for an initial email from support, and then get promised a follow up that I never receive (or haven't yet). I am just trying to help make the site better and I feel ignored.

I also have trouble finding emails that would allow me to contact marvel concerning issues like printing errors (luckily most shops are willing to help). It seems like the days when you could get service from a live body are over and that is very sad.

Posted by shaunbed on 2008-02-21 07:26:04
Already been mentioned - but shabby tie-ins.
Civil War: X-Men?!

Posted by NewChad on 2008-02-21 08:07:59
I really don't like the idea that more realism automatically makes things better. Part of what makes comics so fun is the escapism. My favorite Daredevil run is Karl Kesel's when he's fighting over the top threats.

My favorite Thor run is Simonson's when he's a frog and Beta Ray Bill's showing up and there are giant dragons.

I think some of the best X-Men stories have them off in space or fighting demons or dealing with a transformed earth.

I feel like the current Marvel regime has been very gloom and doom, street-level, and intrigue based.

I love so much of Mark Gruenwald's Cap run which was all over the place.

My favorite Spider-Woman stories have her going up against Gypsy Moth and the Brothers Grimm and all that weird, neat stuff that has NOTHING AT ALL to do with SHIELD and spies.

I want WONDER in my Marvel Comics.

Posted by MattDiCarlo on 2008-02-21 09:19:55
Right on, mcross76!
"I hate the fact that about 1 out of 10 Marvel comics I buy the centerfold pulls lose from the staple. At least over the past couple of months."

Spot on, mcross76. Something needs to be done about this.

Posted by friskydingo on 2008-02-21 10:31:13
Since you asked
LATE BOOKS: Specifically, the interminable delays for ASTONISHING X-MEN, and the complete continuity train-wreck that ensued. Having the Big Shock Ending of Whedon's four-year, twenty-five issue opus spoiled by the rest of the X-line (Who isn't coming back? Process of elimination says .....) is really a drag. On top of which it begs the question--- why are none of the characters acknowledging the loss/departure? I'm hoping this will be rectified with the Warren Ellis re-up, at least insofar as having the AST cast free to appear in the core roster rather than be quarantined in a pocket universe where time flows very .... very .... slowly....

"DEDICATED MINI-SERIES": Where nothing happens. X-MEN CIVIL WAR is the best example, but I don't have high hopes for the FF or X-MEN Secret Invasion books either. The Big Event of the moment either impacts the characters and their world or it doesn't. The "dedicated mini", while it does remove the burden of crossover-its from interrupting monthly stories, feels even more like a cynical cash-in. What's more, we know for sure that none of the FF and none of the core X-Men are Skrulls, because otherwise their monthly book would be impacted, and the build-up to UNCANNY 500 and the Millar/Hitch run respectively would be interrupted. So .... it feels like trying to have things both ways, and it feels disingenuous.

OLD NAMES, NEW(ish) FACES: Darkstar and Crimson Dynamo are dead. And then they pop up in HULK #1. While the writer does at least do a a head-fake towards addressing this, it's unsatisfying to say the least. "Yeah, those are new guys in the costumes" and ... that's all we get? C'mon!

WEIRD TRADE/COLLECTED ED. DECISIONS: Some of this just baffles me. We have something like eight or nine FF VISIONARIES from Byrne, a stack of Peter David HULK, five Simonson THOR volumes, everything Frank Miller ever touched that even smelled like Daredevil and ... no Claremont Visionaries. I know the Masterworks and the Esentials are out there, but it's not nearly the same. Plus, without Visionaries some of this stuff is never gonna get reprinted in color. And it would sell! It's X-Men, it's Claremont, there's no overhead --- it's a no-brainer.

And what's up with KITTY PRYDE AND WOLVERINE getting the Marvel Premiere Classics treatment? I can get that in hardcover with a fancy bookstore variant, but still no Brood saga? The mind boggles.



Posted by Gentleman Jack on 2008-02-21 11:31:57
As has been mentioned before, having a huge event every year takes away from the gravity and permanent effect it seems to have on the universe as a whole. It seems too much is happening too quickly with drastic changes each time. Not that they have been bad, although WWH wasn't all that great IMO. Hopefully after Secret Invasion which has been hyped as a 'huge change for the Marvel universe' and 'nothing will be the same' (not to say the others were not hyped this way as well), the individual books will be able to tell the stories for about a year or two before another big Marvel event happens.

Posted by djesterus on 2008-02-21 11:38:52
A lack of range. What I miss most from Marvel is the lack of Epic Comics. You predated Watchmen with The One. Had the longest creative in Marvel's history run with Sergio and Mark on Groo The Wanderer. Hell, you even published Cerebus. Bozz Chronicles, Akira, Marshall Law, Elfquest, Sleeze Brothers, Stray Toasters, Airtight garage, Moonshadow, Void Indigo, I don't see anything like this breadth with the current run - ICON is too limited in that. The Soleil stuff is interesting, the ex-Dabel again helps. But while DC publish DMZ, Y The Last Man, Exterminators, Incognegro, Pride Of Baghdad, Northlanders, Scalped, 100 Bullets, Faker and Army@Love, Marvel has very little that's expanding the literary possibilities of the medium. And, as the biggest US comics publisher, it really should.

Posted by RichJohnston on 2008-02-21 11:41:45
THE BOOKS, THEY ARE Oh So GOOD!!
First of all, why is everything always taking place in Manhattan?!

But anyways,my only real gripe concerning Marvel's handling of the Marvel Universe is the topic of CHARACTER DEATHS.

I'm finding that not only is it really hard for me to say goodbye to some of those who have passed, and I'm not just talking Steve Rogers, but that I solemnly cannot understand why that character was iced in the first place.

I enjoy the shake-up's that have rocked the Marvel U., but sometimes I feel that character deaths are coming along a little too cheap.

This sentiment rings especially true considering the frequency in which deaths are overturned.

Pound for pound, the writers you have employed are the most enjoyable, professional, thought-provoking, and exciting gang around, but I as a reader, challenge them, (openly!), to come up with more creative ways to take a character out of a story's dynamic that doesn't involve death.

Stilt-Man's death was acceptable, but why kill Aragorn?

I hate to say it, but Peeper's death was very, very cheap.

Mammomax's death was cheap, as well.

That did, in turn, make Predator X's death that much more of a treat, but let's think before we kill! That is all!

-Cody44

p.s. Don't listen to all the gripes we have here Mr. Brevoort, those with closed minds and small tolerances are fans of bland stories.

p.p.s. I love cross-overs.

p.p.p.s. I love new teams, and exploding dynamics

p.p.p.p.s I love new locations, when was the last time a new and exciting geographic locale was introduced.

p.p.p.p.p.s. More Iceman!

Posted by cody44 on 2008-02-21 11:58:09
1.) More statues, for cheaper. Glad to see them branching out with Hard Heroes. Cost is still to high. Too many busts.
2.)Director's Cuts. Make that material free online. Please don't try and get us to by the same book twice. It would give your website a much needed shot in the arm.
3.)wishlish's post about royalties is the most relevant thing written on any of these blogs in a long time. Right on!
4.)Digital Comics. I'm on a DSL connection with a fine computer, but the reader seems to time out about 3/4 of the way through most books. Maybe server capacity. Should put a refresh button on the reader that resends the request for info on command or something, but keeps the pages you have already opened.
5.)OMD and the consequences of it sucked it up. HOWEVER, BND is some of the best Spider-Man I've read in a while. The pacing, layouts, dialogue, artwork and everything is great. But Peter being an annoying man-child isn't working. And the fact that I'm reading a supposed current continuity book that contains Harry Osborn in it makes me cringe, along with Jackpot. It didn't take it back to the roots of Peter Parker or the Spider-Man story(Spidey the character, maybe),but Pete is like a different person even from the original. Spidey couldv'e matured and filled a void left by Steve Rogers, with help from Luke Cage. It's still very fixable and would actually make on hell of a comendable storyline if we could look back 6 months from now and be past it. Don't turn it into a clone wars. You asked for gripes and I can't gripe without mentioning it. Anyway, the fresh creative teams on short contained runs is what's making this book work. It'll work for others. I would think an immediate result would be less missed deadlines. (And quit telling us to stop complaining about the story)
6.) Please, for the love of God, kill that kid who is making the Incredible Hulk or Herc or whatever, unbearable to read. Killing people is popular, kill him. And Hercules may be strong, but he can't carry a title.
Aside from these few things, I have really enjoyed Marvel comics over the past 4 or 5 yrs. Nice work.

Posted by TConway on 2008-02-21 11:58:15
digital comics
Agree with those who want (legal) digital comics to be more accessible. Adding content, particularly new releases, more quickly to DCU would help. Better would be downloadable digital comics that could be purchased and saved on our hard drives.

And yeah, I don't like the continuity destruction unleashed by OMD/BND. But I'm giving it a chance. BND is certainly written well.

Posted by baron1971 on 2008-02-21 12:16:31
Weak artists getting more and higher-profile work while other talented ones are struggling to get any work at all.

Poor co-ordination of timelines (Bendis and Loeb are especially guilty of this).

Posted by Fetsur on 2008-02-21 13:08:51
My gripes
1) Cheesecake covers for seemingly any and all books with a female lead. It took me forever to pick up both She Hulk and Richard Morgan's Black Widow books because I was so completely and utterly turned off by the covers. I ended up getting them in Trade based on seeing positive reviews over and over and over again from reviewers I trusted, but the covers were enough of a turnoff that it took a lot of good word of mouth to overcome the effect. I'm curious about Ms. Marvel, and would probably be reading it, but the covers kept me from buying the first few issues and it hasn't become a priority to get caught up via trade.

2) Related to above: Greg Land. Ugh. I'm not against photo-referenced art. I'm not against women looking attractive/sexy in comics. I am against photo-referenced art where the illustrations of women are so heavily dependent on porn/fashion references that the appearances of the female characters are completely interchangeable and inconsistent, and their expressions and posture rarely correspond to the events happening within the story. I can name any number of artists who draw women in comics that I find sexy, but Land's women just squig me out and pull me right out of the story every time.

3) More clarity with the oversized hardcover line. The oversized hardcovers are definitely my preferred way of buying collected editions of Marvel Books. I buy a lot of monthlies and generally if I like something enough to want a collected edition of it I will wait to pick it up in the oversized hardcover or omnibus. I'm fine with waiting, I would just like to know when or if such a thing is coming. Not only would it make the waiting easier, it would also help me to decide which things to buy in other formats while I'm waiting. DVD double dips annoy me when they aren't announced, but if I know in advance (for example) that Zodiac and Hot Fuzz are coming out in bare bones sets first and then coming out in a few months with more bells and whistles, I'll wait for the bells and whistles edition and pick up something else I want now.

4) OMD Sorry. Can't gripe about Marvel without mentioning it. I'm picking up BND. I'm enjoying it. I can't actually look at it as connected to anything that came before though because of how it got there. I also think that everything that is making BND fun could have been accomplished with a married Spider-Man. Seriously.

5) Minor inconsistencies within specific runs or arcs that pull you out of the story when it is read as a whole. I don't want to come off as a continuity nit-picker here. I agree with the consistency + good stories over continuity argument. I'm talking about the following - I sat down to read Bendis' run on Daredevil as a novel instead of a serial the other day. It works very well for the most part, but there was one thing that really bugged me as I was reading it before that bugged me even more reading it this way. The cliffhanger that leads into 'The Golden Age' arc states that Matt Murdock was Alexander Bont's lawyer. Not his prosecutor, 'his' lawyer. The first time that I read the story I kept waiting for the reversal that would explain why/when/what got Murdock to represent this guy. When it never came I started to wonder what had happened - had the story changed midway through the telling. It's just a little detail, but it's one that really sticks out and that mars the experience of reading the story in the format that it will be read in the most over time (collected). And the thing is, I can think of many, many, many more examples of things like this. I really like longform stories that are paced as novels. I love the focus on character detail that can come out of this approach and the control over pacing that many writers can show. I would just like to see that consideration extend to making sure that the same attention is applied to details like that by assistants or editorial to insure that it works at the optimum level.

6) People that @$#**% about late books and don't seem to be able to see what might (for example) possibly cause Bryan Hitch's work on Ultimates to be late. Are you serious? Are you high? I'll admit that I'd prefer books with artists like that not be solicited until they are pretty close to finished so that there won't be an interminable wait between issues, but I can't possibly imagine work with that level of scope, detail, variety of characters, variety of layout, and level of 'performance' through body language and facial expression being produced by anyone on a monthly basis. Some art styles can be produced at the monthly rate and not suffer. Some need more time. Fans need to get better at accepting this and shut up.

6) That there isn't any sort of affordable color equivalent to the Essential books. I realise that a color equivalent wouldn't be as inexpensive, but I'd really like to have something cheaper than the omnibus editions or the Marvel Masterworks for books like the Claremont/Byrne X-Men, the Lee/Ditko/Romita Spider-Man, Gerber Defenders, Jack/Stan FF. I'm really in love with the Fourth World Omnibus collections DC has been putting out recently (and, yes, I *like* the paper they are using). Maybe something similar?

Posted by ed2ward on 2008-02-21 13:25:09
gripes
-Monty doodle monty doodle do you copy ?
-yes Scott, Logan'speaking...
-we need X-Force to jump to the Wundagore mountain to rescue Young X-Men , emergency quote..
-WHAT? that means 12 hawaian cheese burgers, 24 specials,30 nuggets and 70 seven-up...
-yes, there's the complete release of the 'Toxic Avenger' on MTV tonight, X-Men can't do that...
-sCOTT...I can't let you do that....
-lOGAN, is that the best you can do ?

Posted by notapotatoe on 2008-02-21 13:38:28
My Gripes
1) Not enough Bendis written books. I would seriously buy more books that he pens.

2) Not enough Brian Reed books with not enough promotion for Ms Marvel one of the best books on the stands

3) No collection of the Hercules series by Bob Layton

Posted by Suiter on 2008-02-21 13:38:51
Wow
Yeah, shootin' for the hits, huh? Oh, and I'd like to personally thank shaunbed and Gentleman Jack for having nice bulletpointed posts that I didn't have to read every single line to move on from!

Ahem, my gripes:

1. A real effort toward MAX! MAX is throwaway at this point, minus the Punisher. I read a few mini series from MAX and they were just an excuse to drop a couple nude figures into any character's storyline that were slightly edgy. That's not adult, that's softcore porn. Find some more writers who can write things that are adult and put a real effort into the MAX series to compete with DC's long-standing Vertigo. Oh, and don't put anyone who spent their life in a gated community on a book with poor black people as characters. Please. It's disgusting.

2. Put people on books because they're artists, not because you can link their name to a popular TV show/movie. Really, a formulaic TV show script does not directly translate into a good comic series. TV has become a series of twisted plots and one-upping shock drama. Without some strong emotional connection, that makes for really boring comics. I.e. Blade.

3. Be more daring with a select number of series. Try turning an entire run of some known characters into a very realistic-looking experiment. Tone down the muscles and breasts, give them more realistic clothing (don't go down the black spandex route like X-Men the Movie, however), and put them in interesting, real-life situations. Things like that. Try some stuff out, see what people like. Please don't just shock-ending and drama everyone to death. That might get a few jumps in sales, but it won't create lasting fans.

4. Put forward a better writer/artist talent net. As mentioned before, sort of, some better way to find new writers and artists than just farming crappy TV shows and movies. Something like a Marvel Presents (as mentioned) to act as a revolving artist showcase would be more beneficial in the long run than pumping Ellis and Millar to death. Eventually, everyone will be sick of them and you'll still be shoving all your money in their faces.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Good topic...good luck reading it all/taking it in!

Posted by PseudoSherlock on 2008-02-21 14:07:15
Generally, I have no problem with drastic changes or sweeping events. However, I find that they rarely deliver on what they promise, occur with little explanation as to how they affect the marvel Universe, or are quickly erased by the next shake-up.

I thoroughly enjoyed Messiah Complex, but I don't feel that it has created anything new or lasting. The X-Men remain what they've always been, the down-trodden heroes. Thematically that's appropriate and i'm happy to see it maintained, but it falls short of the hype given to it.

Meanwhile, an event like World War Hulk devastates New York, the core of the Marvel universe. While it crosses over into several titles, its impact is muted. In many titles, it appears to have never happened, or not happened yet. While I wouldn't expect the effects to be explored in every title, I had hoped to see something acknowledging that recovery wouldn't be instantaneous.

This problem has been reflected in virtually every event over the past few years. The Super-Hero registration Act passed extremely fast, with little exploration of the various legal/moral issues the build up to Civil War hinted at. In the end, the arguments against it were swept under the rug and forgotten. I personally have no idea where Silent War fits into continuity, as it appeared to have happened before and after Civil War and World War Hulk. While I like to think that these are all purposefully interconnected to Secret Invasion, that seems improbable enough to detract from the story if it were.

My biggest gripe, however, is the unwillingness to commit to change. Alterations to the status quo are a standard in comics. Occasiionally, in order to stimulate intrest and pave new creative avenues, it's necessary to break out of stagnation. I accept and appreciate that. Unfortunately, these are too often limited in scope and things are quickly returned to normal, or to something else. Spider-man embraces his totem, a contreversal event that is debated by fans, but that opens a number of development options for the character, including the exploration of his new powers. Spider-man then, builds a friendship with Tony Stark, gaining a new costume, a contreversal event that is debated by fans, but that opens a number of development options for the character, including the exploration of his new abilities. Spider-man then unmasks publically, a contreversal event that is debated by fans, but that opens a number of development options for the character, including the exploration of attacks on himself and his family from friends and enemies alike. Spider-man beats the Kingpin severly, delivering an ultimatum, restabishing his presence as a protagonist in the street-level underworld. Spider-man makes a deal with the devil...

At some point this has to stop. If these concepts had been introduced and individually plotted over a decade, it would have still seemed rushed and chaotic. If Marvel suggests that they are going to update, or reboot a concept, they need to be prepared to commit to the idea. Wiping out such changes by magic, reality warping, time travel, cosmic reprecusions, or some other pre-planted plausible retcon, can be as damaging to the character and disappointing to the fans as the initial changes.

That's one of the reasons so many of us took issue with OMD/BND. The marriage was one of those contreversal changes that, time and again, you decided to stick with. Each time it was undone, there was a negative response, and it was returned. This was a change that had become accepeted, largely becuase the stories surrounding it supported it. Had that been the case with any of the above plots, or even the Clone saga (okay, maybe not that), those too may have been accepted and appreciated. As it stands, change has become the status quo, and reboots have become cliched. By the way, it isn't necessary to celebrate every time a new creative team joins a book with a "special issue".

My final seperate gripe is how comics seem to underestimate the maturity of their readers. By that, I don't simply mean that readers are older than they used to be. The idea that children have no interest in aged characters and prefer to read about young characters is a misconception in my opinion. The most endearing characters are ageless. They can be toddlers, teenagers, spouses, parents or senior citizens. Any character can be relatable to any audience, as long as they are not treated as cliched archetypes. Maybe your research shows something I don't see in my nephews, but "de-aging" a character doesn't make him relatable, writing for your audience does. Neither one, necessarily leads to the other.

Posted by y4uriteme on 2008-02-21 14:40:02
oh, one more thing..
Convince Bagley to stay and can Greg Land

Posted by TConway on 2008-02-21 14:49:26
1) Tom, you edit New Avengers. Could you PLEASE tell Brian Bendis that next time there's a team-remix, could he throw Wolverine off? Logan appears in FOUR BOOKS, count 'em four, and shares THREE COSTUMES between those. Let him carry on with his own team, X-Force. He deserves one of his very own.

2) Also, could Brian please explain who that black-suited Clone in the Ultimate Clone Saga was? It's bugging the hell out of us.

3) Now that I think of it, forget 1) if Wolverine turns out to be a Skrull in any way whatsoever.

4) I like the treatment of Chris Claremont as of recent times - give him his own books, with his own characters, that don't affect any other books. Now do this to Jeph Loeb. The man's writing soils everything it touches; I won't ever be able to look at Ultimate Thor again without frowning. Give him a Heroes Reborn title or something, for crying out loud. Just get him off anything that other, better writers have to deal with.

Posted by The Gecko on 2008-02-21 14:50:09
Generally I'm not a big griper, but since you asked me to I will.

1) I wish we could just get a little stability going. Since the Civil War the MU has just been crazy with WWH and now the Secret Invasion. For me at I think that there needs to be some time to just ease into this new marvel world order.

2) Quit killing characters. Every time you kill someone villain or hero it always gets me down. I was a fan of New Warriors , dead. Captain America fan, dead. Goliath, dead. Carnage, dead. See where I'm going here.

3) Could you have things make sense to me in Spiderman world. I don't mind you changing everything just as long as I understand it. The new status quo section you gave on the first comic just wasn't enough for me.

4) Quit making so many new characters.

5) I live on a military base in Germany and all the comics are always at least a month behind. It keeps me from being able to talk on the boards here at Marvel.com

I just would like to mention that I really do like marvel comics. Captain America is the best comic I'm currently reading and that's just one of the many amazing titles I'm currently reading.

Posted by Web-Head3003 on 2008-02-21 15:02:34
1. I'd like to see more projects from older creators, even if it's in the form of self-contained minis, like the upcoming Iron Man/Dr Doom series from Michelinie(sp?)/Layton.
2. I have enjoyed the big events, and am looking forward to Secret Invasion, but am hoping after that the Marvel titles get a chance to breathe and do their own thing for a while.

Posted by joeshan on 2008-02-21 16:20:25
One more thing - my daughter says she wants more Mini-Marvels!

Posted by joeshan on 2008-02-21 16:21:22
well...
1) Let me subscribe to Nova!
2)Cap's gun... He's holding a Colt .45 on the cover of #34, inside the book he uses what looks like a Luger. For some reason that really bothered me. I feel that Bucky should either use a .45 due to its iconic nature or he would use a modern tactical pistol such as a USP. His weapon choice should either carry some symbolism or provide him with tactical options.
I know thats a huge nitpick but, hey it kept me from complaining about BND right?

Posted by gusshopper on 2008-02-21 16:26:58
Ripping fans off
Putting unnecessary cardstock covers on books which hike the price up. Comics are pricey enough without the needs to resort to this length.

Also Wolverine: Origins, the worst book you guys put out and one that has slowly killed the career of Steve Dillon over the past few years.

Posted by theguvnor on 2008-02-21 18:29:33
Trades going out of print
The collected editions department obviously isn't your purview, but if they have a gripes thread I'm not aware of it.

I find it frustrating how many Marvel collections go out of print and how quickly they do so. There are several series I haven't tried out because some of the early collections are out of print and others that I've followed only to find later volumes (most annoyingly X-Statix) fallen out of print. It seems that most of the Omnibuses are either out of print or had long periods where they were out of print.

By contrast, it was refreshing to order Absolute Watchmen from Amazon recently and receive the 3rd printing. While a 1st printing is always nice to have, I was pleased to see that DC has kept it in print with no interruption whatsoever in its availability--I didn't even know it they'd had to go back to press on it. Marvel seems to be doing better, as my 2nd printing of The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus attests, but I think it was out of print for awhile and several others remain out of print.

Marvel's so good at collecting virtually everything, but that means less if it can't keep its foundation books and even installments in current series in print.

Posted by BrendanHW on 2008-02-21 19:09:32
What happened to my post?
Weird. I know it was there this afternoon. In fact, somehow it doubled itself and posted twice. And now it's gone ...

(Add ANOTHER gripe to the list!)



Posted by Gentleman Jack on 2008-02-21 19:13:51
pet peeves
1) glossy paper. I hate glossy paper. It's reflective and hard to read, and it makes everything uglier. I understand that newsprint is unpopular, but you could use good matte stock and end up with something much better looking and much easier to read.

2) I especially hate glossy paper used for reprinting material that was not originally created for that kind of paper. Please use off-white matte paper to reprint older material -- and please don't recolor so garishly. Make it look closer to the source material.

3) Confusing storytelling, especially in Bendis comics. It's often unclear whether to read two facing pages horizontally (in long two-page rows) or vertically, page by page. This is very jarring, in addition to being poor storytelling. The storytelling should be seamless; it shouldn't kick us out of the story while we try to figure what order to read the panels in. Always making a page a distinct unit would solve that. Break the rule when it's really necessary, but breaking the page rule is overused and too often gratuitous, serving no real storytelling purpose.

4) On the one hand, creating storylines where inter-title continuity is important, even essential, and on the other letting too many continuity gaffes spoil the suspension of disbelief. As a reader, I can go either way, but currently Marvel is simultaneously going to extremes in both directions, and the result is jarring, again ruining the suspension of disbelief. You need to choose a strategy and stick to it -- at least for the main MU titles.

4) Inconsistencies in how series are collected/reprinted. (For example, why no softcover of Casey's two Avengers mini-series?)

5) Being unclear about the ratio of new-to-reprint material in Giant-Sise specials, and not explicitly stating in advance exactly what is being reprinted.


Posted by ClintLives on 2008-02-21 19:24:36
Renumbering
Please, pick a title, keep it. "New Excalibur"? "New Exiles"? "New X-Men"? No, wait ... let's cancel that title, make a new #1, and call it "Young X-Men"!

Yeah, #1's sell, but it's dang annoying. Reeeeeeeally annoying. And nothing is gained in my opinion.

Even New Avengers ... when is it not "New" anymore?

Posted by mutantnemesis on 2008-02-21 19:25:22
My Gripes:
overall i think Marvel's been pretty great over the last couple years! and i can't wait for Secret Invasion!!!

#1. $3.99 books. $2.99 is my line in the sand for a standard size book. when books go over that i'm out (i'll get my absolute favorites in trade). and throwing a cardstock cover on a book doesn't make it worth $3.99 to me (but extra content does). Recent examples include Captain America: the Chosen, which i would have loved to pick up, but passed on due to the higher cost.

#2. Loose continuity. I'm far from a rigid continuity freak, but when books that come out the same week or month blatantly contradict each other, it can drag me out of the story.
the New Avengers/Might Avengers/Fallen Son snafu was a recent example.

#3. Variant covers. Smells like the 90s.

and i'll 2nd New Chad on the shabby tie-ins. Civil War X-men, Mutopia X during House of M, Spider-man HoM (seriously, what happened there?) and stuckinazkaban on the "bewbies" thing, because when i was getting She-Hulk (a book that at the time would have been GREAT to give to a female reader) i had to explain to my wife that it was actually a great series when she saw a couple of the sexxxed up Greg Horn covers.

Posted by artiepants on 2008-02-21 19:32:57
By far my biggest frustration with Marvel right now is its tendency to rewrite history instead of writing forward. While it's tapered off slightly in the past year, for a while every major development was a MASSIVE retcon (Wanda was crazy throughout Busiek's run despite no evidence of it; Black Panther and Storm were in love their entire lives despite next to no evidence; Deadly Genesis; the Illuminati, despite it contradicting published comics; Jessica Jones; Capt. Marvel being back; even Bucky, though that's generally been lauded; and of course now Spider-Man).

Now we're getting Secret Invasion, which is at least hyping the idea that some characters we've been reading about were replaced ages ago.

I understand sometimes retcons are necessary, but the current crop of writers at Marvel seems to rely on them as the main focus of their direction for the universe. Write forward. Come up with new tales and move the Marvel Universe ahead instead of trying to keep change already published comics or fit in tales that simply don't work with other books that have already been published.

Posted by motteditor on 2008-02-21 19:33:05
A few more (sorry) after reading the thread:
* Bring back Hawkeye.

* Tell us what happened to Alpha Flight. Who survived and who do we have to wait to come back from the dead? Then never kill a character/team that manage 130+ issues of their own series off-panel again.

* While we're at it, let's not kill a character just to make a completely unremarkable villain seem tough so the heroes seem even tougher when they beat said villain. In fact, developing new villains in general would be good.

* Some consistency for Hank Pym's character. I realize some writers (*cough* Bendis *cough*) don't like him, but that's no excuse. He has a mini where we see him restart a relationship with Firebird. Then suddenly he's shacking up with Jan. Or is it Tigra. Or both? And why is Warbird thinking she wants him to die, when in the Marvel Universe, he's just won Time Man of the Year and appears to be fairly well regarded at the moment? Move the character past one godawful out-of-character Jim Shooter issue that happened more than *300!!!* issues ago.

* Not so much a gripe, but I'd love to see Firestar come out of retirement soon. Heck, getting some of the New Warriors on the New Warriors would be good.

Posted by motteditor on 2008-02-21 19:48:48
a press-related gripe
This is a very different sort of complaint--not about content--but a Marvel press/review policy would be really useful. Marvel doesn't really seem to have one at all right now (as opposed to basically ever other comics publisher), and it makes it incredibly difficult to cover Marvel publications in mainstream newspapers and magazines when we have no lead time at all, there are no advance copies or copies available for production, and it's next to impossible to arrange interviews.

Posted by aspectacle on 2008-02-21 20:17:12
Gripes!?
Don't have time to read everyone's gripes so I apologize if I'm 2nd or 3rding anyone's gripes.

1) Honor the old. There are a lot of fantastic creators who seem to have been tossed to the side in favor of the flavor of the month. I love Bendis and Ellis and all those guys but you have a wealth of talent available to you, guys who put in 10-20 years of great work despite working under a more dictatorial editorial regime. I don't want to see their work out of a sense of nostalgia, I want to see it because they wrote and illustrated great stories.

2) Bendis dialogue. I love it on a book like Ultimate Spider-Man or Alias but EVERY single one of this Avengers sounds exactly the same and in the case of some of the older, more established characters, don't sound anything like they should.

3) Listen to the fans. Yes the internet is filled with trolls who often use bad language to express their points but they're still making points. How long did people rail against Ron Zimmerman and Chuck Austen before someone finally realized that the fans didn't like them?

4) Don't make huge universe altering story decisions based on the personal feelings of the EIC. I'm with Joe on Spidey being more interesting as a bachelor but he's not. He's married. And it's the worst kind of lazy storytelling to retroactively erase that to make it easier to do your job. Play the hand you're dealt.

5) Crossovers. I don't mind em. I kinda like em. But do something with them when they're over. House of M set up so many possibilities that went completely unexplored (heck, it gave you a much better set up for splitting up Peter and MJ than Mephisto did) before you moved on to the next crossover. Civil War's Spider-Man story was completely undone a year later. Finish a crossover and then give it some time to breathe before starting another one. Explore the ramifications of the events you set in motion before hitting us over the head again.

Posted by cfunke on 2008-02-21 21:29:03
B, C, and D-list
I wish there were a book that highlighted the breadth of the Marvel Universe. The Marvel Universe has a rich cast of characters, many of which are considered B-list or lesser, but could still be used to tell short but effective stories. I'd hoped that Marvel Comics Presents would serve this purpose, but the tales have been so long that the book feels like it's focused on just a few characters. Ideally, I'd like to see more 1 to 3 part stories in MCP, some dealing with A-listers, but the majority dealing with minor characters. MCP should serve in a smaller degree the same purpose as the Annihilation series has, in that they re-introduced and sparked tremendous interest in forgotten characters.

A second, smaller, self-serving gripe would be the lack at both Marvel and DC of any sort of New Talent Spotlight or First Issue Special types of books, in which new creators can cut their teeth, and seasoned creators can try out some of their outlandish concepts.

Posted by cmurrin on 2008-02-21 21:42:03
Movie Tie-Ins (Kind of)
Ok, so the only book I'm reading currently which has had a movie come out recently or will have a movie come out soon is Captain America.

It may sound obvious what I'm about to say next but please don't replace Bucky with a miraculously brought back Steve Rogers just as the movie is coming out.

It's clear that a lot of people don't like this type of movie tie-in, especially when it is presented as having nothing to do with the movie, such as Spider-Man's Back In Black phase.

Personally, if you had to do something like that, make another separate series, such as you have done with Invincible Iron Man, debuting in May. However, in the case of Cap I still feel it would work better if this was not in current continuity as otherwise it would still feel like it would wreck Brubaker and Eptings awesome work on the current volume.

Posted by SOAE on 2008-02-21 21:49:42
Cover Artists (Sorry I had another one)
My second gripe which I just remembered while filing a build up of comics is with cover artists, or more specifically, the changing of cover artists mid arc.

I don't know how others feel, but I much prefer having one single artist (not including variants if you have to have them) during the course of one arc on a title. I feel this helps preserve the flow of the covers and also helps separate arcs stand out. A good example of this would be Steve Epting's run of covers on Captain America, or Tex's run of covers on the Vicious Cycle on the new Ghost Rider volume.

It feels abrupt however when looking through your issues and the artwork on the covers of issues within an arc changes dramatically, such as during the Revelations arc in Ghost Rider just now finished and to a lesser extent the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven arc in The Immortal Iron Fist. (which is to a lesser extent as the overall [brilliant] structure of the covers with the white side panel down the right of the cover with the banner and arc title have been preserved each issue).

Thanks for listening, reading in this case, to my gripes Tom.

An avid reader of your blogs.

(And Brubaker but i digress)

Posted by SOAE on 2008-02-21 22:31:11
My Gripes
1.) Too much Iron Man. As much as I love Tony Stark, I think I'm really getting sick of him showing up in every single comic. Captain America, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Hulk, and now he's going to have two of his own titles. Give Tony a break.
2.) Big Events. I do love the big events (I was a huge fan of Civil War especially) but I think the timing in between the big huge events like Civil War and World War Hulk and Secret Invasion is a bit tight. Give the fans room to catch their breath in between, please.
3.) I have to say it. Even though he's in Avengers: the Initiative, I miss Ant-Man having his own title.
4.) Finally, on a very specific note... what is up with the delays on Runaways? The amount of time in between issues is starting to become troublesome for me. Perhaps Mr. Whedon is stretching himself a bit too thin.

I know many of these have already been touched upon, but that's my two cents. Thank you for asking our opinion.

Posted by CenturyChild533 on 2008-02-21 23:03:43
The editorial staff should be straight and honest in interviews or just avoid answering questions they don't want to leak spoilers about. Lying just makes you guys seem sleazy and ruins any kind of trust between readers and you all.

Posted by scottking on 2008-02-22 00:03:43
Just a few from me
1. Greg Land's blatant tracing of celebrities and porn stars and using the same head shot/pose for diffrent characters.( NO it's not photo referencing it's tracing.) and getting away with it.
2. Wolverine being in almost every book.
3. The whole Spider-Man deal at the moment is unnessersary( No matter what JQ says)
4. Delays of any kind just down right annoy me.

Posted by sickboy_ukuk on 2008-02-22 06:26:39
For refrence
Proof of Greag Lands TRACING can be found here in the Greag Land guessing game threead over at Newsarama
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134443

Posted by sickboy_ukuk on 2008-02-22 06:28:54
The Gripe List
1) Too many crossovers and "directions" for a whole line of books. Make each book exciting on its own. Gotta say, Tom, your previous post doesn't sound too good on this.

2) Lack of appeal to kids, both in adult content and storytelling styles. They're the foundation for superheroes but Marvel seems to be trying less and less to create stories that will energize younger readers in your main books. Yes, you have MARVEL ADVENTURES and MARVEL AGE, but as a kid I want to read AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, dammit, but, unfortunately, I'm gonna have to be able to spend $9 a month to do that. Meanwhile, every other book either has WORLD WAR HULK or SECRET INVASION at the top and is both incomprehensible and dull when taken on its own.

3) Storylines that drag out too long. More one-part and two-part stories, please, and at the very least each book should be a good, long read with a beginning, middle and, you guessed it, end. Less five-minute breezes that are designed for collection in trade.

4) Too many stories that hinge on in-built reader knowledge and care for characters. I understand Marvel's big event this year will be the discovery that certain characters have been Skrulls for a while. If I don't know who any of these characters are in the first place, why would I care? Likewise, too many references to decades-old stories. More fresh, new stories that don't require entry-level knowledge to be enjoyed, please.

5) Lateness and lack of professionalism in disregard for the continuity your own stories establish.

6) Comics still focused on a handful of characters created half a century ago. Lack of substantial new characters and new directions. In the 70s to combat flagging sales Marvel tried horror, blaxploitation and kung fu books. Why nothing like this now?

7) And the one that links all of these together: comic books still centered around the direct market and an aging fanbase. This is something Marvel probably can't change on their own and is gonna make it hard for any of my other gripes to be changed.

Posted by skagandboneman on 2008-02-22 06:32:52
1. Wolverine and Spidey in too many books. I’m a completely fan of Spidey, but he is over exposed. And there are other mutants besides Logan, you know?
2. I live in Mexico and usually I don’t have any problem getting to all kind of monthly issues and TP’s, through the usual retailer, however there are a couple of collections that I can’t buy: Thor Visionaries Walter Simonson (Specifically Vol. 2-3), and Annihilation HC (Vols. 1-2). The store clerks tell me that Marvel has discontinued those. Therefore I’m not buying Thor Visionaries Vol. 4 and 5, but I would really love to read Mr. Simonson’s run. I know you will suggest to buy them in Amazon or E-Bay, but I’m too lazy for that, and besides I think that comics should be available for everybody.
3. Glossy paper. I usually read at night and have to keep moving the damned thing to avoid the reflection of light. One day I will be blind and it will be totally your fault! (just kidding).
4. Mark Millar writing 616 Universe. Face it, he’ll always write ultimate Reed Richards and Ultimate Captain America. Even if he is doing a 616 series. Civil War had some of the worst dialogues I’ve ever read, and there is no way Punisher is so stupid as to shoot a villain in a room full of heroes. Now he is writing FF, and puts Doombots running freely in the house? Valeria and Franklin must be having the worst of nightmares…
5. I think BND is incredible, however the steps to get there, meaning Back in Black and OMD where awful. You put Spidey on the worst situations during the last couple of years, and then you simply ret-conned it using a pact with the devil???. Please never do that again to another character.
6. You put Dan Slott in the right place. Keep him there until he does his magic.


Posted by freyes2000 on 2008-02-22 06:45:31
-Lateness of books. While it isn't as important to me as it used to be, it is still iritating to have to wait 3-4 months between issues.
-Contain the events more. Tie-in issues should be in the main series not a tie-in mini series, unless the character of team doesn't have a series, otherwise it should be told within the main event book.
-Creative runs are far too short. I like Millar and Whedon, but these miniature runs are kinda of a bummer. They are great stories, but they leave me wanting, and they usually are late. I like the consistency of a run from the same creators. Guys like Bendis and Brubaker seem to be rare nowadays. They have a long term commitment to the book and they have runs that really pay off.


Posted by ZacGoyette on 2008-02-22 07:08:05
Hey Tom,

First: I think you being here and asking this question is already one wonderfull thing. I think every online Marvel fan is truly grateful for this and it feels nice just being asked for our opinions.

Now as for the actual gripes: well... I know you specifically said not to begin about OMD but if you ask us about our opinion about what bugs is... I just have to mention one thing about it (already addressed, but I w