So this week was a busy one, during which I got to lay out all of our X-MEN plans for the whole of Marvel. And despite my usual stumbling, bumbling delivery, it all seemed to go over well. Perhaps my favorite comment was when I was asked how long we’d been working on all of this stuff, and I told the questioner “since August”. And if nothing else, they were impressed with the sheer amount of concepts and material that had been generated in that time. But that’s the world of comic books for you: we move nimbly from idea to execution, far swifter than is possible in the worlds of merchandise, consumer products, television, film or animation.
Holy cow, I’ve got to side with Sarra on the Masterworks debate—if the splash page lands on the left, doesn’t that screw up all the page-turn reveals for the entire issue? Better to have the cover facing the splash, since the reader already bought the book and doesn’t need to be enticed to pick the issue up off the newsstand. Or am I missing something?
While Chapter One (like most of the Spider-books of that era) was a total misfire, I did like the Vulture’s “undertaker” costume, and I’m sorry it fell by the wayside.
In England we had a TV show called Room 101 where to quote Wikipedia "celebrities are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign those hates to oblivion in Room 101, a location whose name was inspired by the torture room in George Orwell's 1949 novel" . What is the one thing you personally would like to banish from the comic industry to make it a better place ?
Personally, when I think about what to recommend to someone who wants to get into Marvel Comics but isn't sure what to read, I always say MARVELS by Busiek and Ross. It's just so good, and it gives a high level overview of the foundations of the Marvel Comics Universe that would quickly show someone who's only seen the movies how the world of the comics is different from the world of the movies.
Tom, really enjoying the newsletter, but also wanted to use this forum to issue a public apology. About a decade ago, you and filmed hours and hours of footage for the Fantastic Four’s 50th anniversary and it was great stuff thanks to your insight and expertise. However, those videos never aired, and it’s one of the biggest regrets of my professional life. If anybody at Marvel still has access to those files, hopefully someday they get discovered. Sorry Tom! And thanks for the content!
The first issue of Spider-Man I bought was 153. I have every issue of the main book since then with the exception of almost the entirety of the Byrne run. I picked up the first few issues then dropped it til JMS came onboard. It was shockingly bad.
"I can argue that projects such as ETERNALS were better off before they were shoe-horned into the shared continuity of the Marvel Universe"
There's an argument to be made that the assimilation of the Celestials into the Marvel Universe (alongside Galactus, Eternity and the whole cosmic hierarchy in general) is somewhat easier than those of the Eternals (in a world already populated with Asgardians, Inhumans, Mutants, etc).
Hey, Tom. Long time reader, first time questioner. (I think)
Any insight into why the changes were allowed from Byrne's Spidey? Was it really a "this is great!" attitude, or more of a "he did such amazing work rebooting Superman that we're just going to get out of his way." Always been curious about this because I bought Chapter One because of the art, not the story. Which is a rarity for me. And Byrne's Superman is my Superman. Maybe second to, but probably tied with the Donner/Reeve version. (First two movies only, please. ;)
People have been asking you about X-Men, and of course you can't really talk about that yet. But that's probably par for the course for all your projects. Was there a bean-spillage moment from the past where you told one seemingly trustworthy person a bit of future Marvel plans, and then saw those plans broadcast all over the place?
How does someone become a comic writer for marvel or another big company? I hear so many stories about how artists break into the field, and see things like the Stormbreakers initiative but I never hear anything about how writers get into it, other than a few who I see making indie comics and then are specifically reached out to, or ones like Neil Gaiman who were already established authors before they started on comics
Yikes. Well we are not in bad faith, we tell the truth. You admit it's about the left wing political agenda first in this very blog, and that's what "woke" is if you were unclear of the definition. The thing is why do you call fans "cretins" who just don't want that agenda in their entertainment? Shouldn't you care what the audience wants first in taking care of a property like X-Men?
I know you said recently that editor's names shouldn't be in the credits but you might like to know that having been uninterested with the X-line for a while now, I will be trying out the X-books again when your reign starts simply because I feel, in general, the comics you like are the comics I like so I'm going to give it a go. Not sure if the X-Men will ever again be in a place where I can love them again but your name and the love and effort I know you will bring to the project has me interested at least which A. N. Other editor would not have done.
I'm thrilled that you put a nice spotlight on Sarra. I found her to be wonderful to work with in your office and when she moved onto another office. MECHADOOM....oh my. I can still remember Mike Manley and I discussing him...we could not figure out what Denys was going for because it kept changing...was it a floating mass, or a robot or what? Sometime it looked really cool, and other times...I think it was a tough visual concept to pull off. But man oh man the conversations Mike and I had...lol. It was really very strange to color these stories that I didn't help write...and listen to Dwayne complain about various aspects of it that he wasn't allowed to do because other offices didn't want him using their characters in a specific way. I CAN share that he never complained to me about YOU. That's pretty big.
Holy cow, I’ve got to side with Sarra on the Masterworks debate—if the splash page lands on the left, doesn’t that screw up all the page-turn reveals for the entire issue? Better to have the cover facing the splash, since the reader already bought the book and doesn’t need to be enticed to pick the issue up off the newsstand. Or am I missing something?
While Chapter One (like most of the Spider-books of that era) was a total misfire, I did like the Vulture’s “undertaker” costume, and I’m sorry it fell by the wayside.
In England we had a TV show called Room 101 where to quote Wikipedia "celebrities are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign those hates to oblivion in Room 101, a location whose name was inspired by the torture room in George Orwell's 1949 novel" . What is the one thing you personally would like to banish from the comic industry to make it a better place ?
Personally, when I think about what to recommend to someone who wants to get into Marvel Comics but isn't sure what to read, I always say MARVELS by Busiek and Ross. It's just so good, and it gives a high level overview of the foundations of the Marvel Comics Universe that would quickly show someone who's only seen the movies how the world of the comics is different from the world of the movies.
Priest has written extensively about his "Captain America and the Falcon" experience at his old website here:
https://digitalpriest.com/legacy/comics/caf.html
Tom, really enjoying the newsletter, but also wanted to use this forum to issue a public apology. About a decade ago, you and filmed hours and hours of footage for the Fantastic Four’s 50th anniversary and it was great stuff thanks to your insight and expertise. However, those videos never aired, and it’s one of the biggest regrets of my professional life. If anybody at Marvel still has access to those files, hopefully someday they get discovered. Sorry Tom! And thanks for the content!
The first issue of Spider-Man I bought was 153. I have every issue of the main book since then with the exception of almost the entirety of the Byrne run. I picked up the first few issues then dropped it til JMS came onboard. It was shockingly bad.
“But putting out four comic books in a single day: that’s incredible.” It is incredible but is it his most in a single day?
"I can argue that projects such as ETERNALS were better off before they were shoe-horned into the shared continuity of the Marvel Universe"
There's an argument to be made that the assimilation of the Celestials into the Marvel Universe (alongside Galactus, Eternity and the whole cosmic hierarchy in general) is somewhat easier than those of the Eternals (in a world already populated with Asgardians, Inhumans, Mutants, etc).
Thanks as always Tom!
Your last couple sentences seem a bit ominous! Do you foresee discontinuing the newsletter in the near future?
Hey, Tom. Long time reader, first time questioner. (I think)
Any insight into why the changes were allowed from Byrne's Spidey? Was it really a "this is great!" attitude, or more of a "he did such amazing work rebooting Superman that we're just going to get out of his way." Always been curious about this because I bought Chapter One because of the art, not the story. Which is a rarity for me. And Byrne's Superman is my Superman. Maybe second to, but probably tied with the Donner/Reeve version. (First two movies only, please. ;)
People have been asking you about X-Men, and of course you can't really talk about that yet. But that's probably par for the course for all your projects. Was there a bean-spillage moment from the past where you told one seemingly trustworthy person a bit of future Marvel plans, and then saw those plans broadcast all over the place?
How does someone become a comic writer for marvel or another big company? I hear so many stories about how artists break into the field, and see things like the Stormbreakers initiative but I never hear anything about how writers get into it, other than a few who I see making indie comics and then are specifically reached out to, or ones like Neil Gaiman who were already established authors before they started on comics
Yikes. Well we are not in bad faith, we tell the truth. You admit it's about the left wing political agenda first in this very blog, and that's what "woke" is if you were unclear of the definition. The thing is why do you call fans "cretins" who just don't want that agenda in their entertainment? Shouldn't you care what the audience wants first in taking care of a property like X-Men?
I know you said recently that editor's names shouldn't be in the credits but you might like to know that having been uninterested with the X-line for a while now, I will be trying out the X-books again when your reign starts simply because I feel, in general, the comics you like are the comics I like so I'm going to give it a go. Not sure if the X-Men will ever again be in a place where I can love them again but your name and the love and effort I know you will bring to the project has me interested at least which A. N. Other editor would not have done.
I'm thrilled that you put a nice spotlight on Sarra. I found her to be wonderful to work with in your office and when she moved onto another office. MECHADOOM....oh my. I can still remember Mike Manley and I discussing him...we could not figure out what Denys was going for because it kept changing...was it a floating mass, or a robot or what? Sometime it looked really cool, and other times...I think it was a tough visual concept to pull off. But man oh man the conversations Mike and I had...lol. It was really very strange to color these stories that I didn't help write...and listen to Dwayne complain about various aspects of it that he wasn't allowed to do because other offices didn't want him using their characters in a specific way. I CAN share that he never complained to me about YOU. That's pretty big.