As was revealed on social media a week or so back, the place that I travelled to after returning from the Baltimore Comic Con a week or two back was England, where I joined a group of FANTASTIC FOUR creators past and present for a set visit to the in-production
How does Marvel decide who to do crossovers with and who not to? I know a Marvel/DC crossover is a pretty complicated process these days (though I’ll never entirely give up hope) but clearly some other crossovers are fine, given the recent Avengers/Ultraman team up. Does Marvel typically approach the other company? Does it vary? Last and most important, has anyone ever seriously pitched DAREDEVIL/TMNT?
Re: the Sandman anecdote. The more I read of and about John Byrne, it seems like he was always trying to revert characters back to their original incarnation. And all at the cost of continuity and character development. I’m realizing why, as a writer, his stories never spoke to me.
Hello Tom, hoping you remember me, I was the guy I asked about Kitty Pryde and Illyana Rasputin reuniting and potentially becoming a couple in this era at Baltimore Comic-Con, especially given how more prominent they’re being pushed in the comics with Jed’s X-Men, Eve’s Exceptional X-Men, and the upcoming Allen-penned Magik ongoing in January. Just liking to have this question be answered in Print, or in this case, Substack’d.
Since I’m here, it’d be fair to inquire two new questions: Do you believe titles that were invented in The Krakoa Era such as Marauders and IMMORTAL X-MEN will make a return as either future ongoings or limited series projects? I especially enjoyed IMMORTAL with all the introspective dives and seeing characters who walk the moral line on the spectrum interacting and coming together for a common cause while simultaneously trying to carve their own path to power or maintaining their status and influence.
And lastly, I had read on the forums when Krakoa was ending that Hickman proposed when it started a magazine format of the X-Books where instead of multiple titles coming out, it’d be compressed into two to maybe 3 magazine-format books where the titles would be in in order to not overflood the market and being a more accessible option for readers and new customers. I’m curious if such a format would ever be considered for publication especially given the amount of books released now in the From The Ashes X-Line and potentially the wider Marvel Line?
One thing I'll warrant a guess on before Tom gets to it is that Immortal X-Men largely was great the way it was because the incredible Kieron Gillen was writing it. It seems to me like the name will absolutely come back at some point in the future, whether under Tom's tenure or some other editor, but it'll likely be a very different book without Gillen on it
While I would love a magazine format for the x-titles, I can’t imagine that something that Marvel deemed financially inviable in 2019 would be reconsidered in 2024, especially with the price of single issues jumping a dollar since then :/
I’m curious about Uncanny Avengers. I enjoyed that book a lot but it was interesting that it was an avengers team with x-men/mutants on it. I’ve always wondered how the opposite might work and if there’d be a demand for it. An X-men team/book with Avengers/humans on it. Like a team lead primarily by x-men and such but with like, Captain America on it. Instead of improving human/mutant relations by showing mutants can be avengers it’d be the opposite of like “well if Captain America is an x-man maybe these mutants aren’t so bad!” For some marvel citizens and it’d give some avengers the unique perspective of being x-men and seeing mutant struggles from a different angle. I guess if Uncanny Avengers borrowed the common x-men adjective “Uncanny” the opposite could do the same with like, Mighty X-Men 😂
Count me among the contemporary Spider-Man readers who was mollified by your Sandman backup, although it’s given a tinge of sadness to every subsequent Sandman story I’ve read. What on Earth was going on in the Spider-office in those days, when every new launch and plot development seemed half-hearted or wrongheaded?
Hey, Tom! Through the Wringer was, admittedly, in poor taste, but do you really think it was done maliciously? I could see including a buddy in a story postmortem, thinking he’d get a kick out of it in the afterlife.
Hi Tom, your mention of the letter column title leads me to my question this week about... letter column titles!
I feel like they're a very fun, kind of old-fashioned collaboration between the creators and readers as the audience is often tasked with coming up with a clever title (although I sometimes wonder if the creators ever "cheat" and just make up one they like and pretend it was a fan.)
But anyway, it's a bit of a broad question but just wondering if you had any funny or interesting stories about letter column titles: maybe ones you hated, or loved, or something that happened behind the scenes.
Thanks as always! Glad to hear your trip was so fun and particularly that Vanessa Kirby seems so invested in Sue - she is a terrifically talented actress!
I remember that Sandman story well! As someone who was a fan of the reformed Sandman, it at least made the change in course plausible, even if said change disappointed me.
Without needing to comment on specifics, after the alleged accusations came out about Neil Gaiman, are we likely to see the concluding Bronze Age of Miracleman? I feel it would be a disservice to the other creators and the fans who have been sticking with the series this long for the last series not to come out.
Hello Tom. At what point in a new ongoing series is it decided that it will continue or be cancelled or relaunched? Take Phoenix by Stephanie Phillips. It had been greenlit for 10 issues as revealed by yourself - I believe you mentioned most if not all the ongoing x-men titles were greenlit for 10 issues - and herself. When do you decide whether it will be allowed to continue or will be cancelled or relaunched under a new team
following up on the thought bubble question, what do you think of Al Ewing's use of them in Immortal Thor (if you've been reading that... I can't for the life of me remember if you edit that book). Feels like he's been doing an excellent job at utilizing them in a way that feels both classic yet incredibly natural to fit into a modern book.
Given that DC:s Absolute titles are selling absolute gangbusters and also Marvel's bestselling titles now take place in alternate universes, what does that tell about the future for the main universes in DC and Marvel? Is it time to move on?
The two top selling titles last month were both Earth-616 Marvel. USM was #3. I’m digging Ultimate and Absolute as well, but the traditional worlds have always had staying power and always will.
How does Marvel decide who to do crossovers with and who not to? I know a Marvel/DC crossover is a pretty complicated process these days (though I’ll never entirely give up hope) but clearly some other crossovers are fine, given the recent Avengers/Ultraman team up. Does Marvel typically approach the other company? Does it vary? Last and most important, has anyone ever seriously pitched DAREDEVIL/TMNT?
I need one of those outline drawings of the group photo with labels for everyone in the photo. 😊
Re: the Sandman anecdote. The more I read of and about John Byrne, it seems like he was always trying to revert characters back to their original incarnation. And all at the cost of continuity and character development. I’m realizing why, as a writer, his stories never spoke to me.
Hi Tom! With Halloween on the mind, what are some memorable costumes that you can recall marvel staff rocking in celebration?
Hello Tom, hoping you remember me, I was the guy I asked about Kitty Pryde and Illyana Rasputin reuniting and potentially becoming a couple in this era at Baltimore Comic-Con, especially given how more prominent they’re being pushed in the comics with Jed’s X-Men, Eve’s Exceptional X-Men, and the upcoming Allen-penned Magik ongoing in January. Just liking to have this question be answered in Print, or in this case, Substack’d.
Since I’m here, it’d be fair to inquire two new questions: Do you believe titles that were invented in The Krakoa Era such as Marauders and IMMORTAL X-MEN will make a return as either future ongoings or limited series projects? I especially enjoyed IMMORTAL with all the introspective dives and seeing characters who walk the moral line on the spectrum interacting and coming together for a common cause while simultaneously trying to carve their own path to power or maintaining their status and influence.
And lastly, I had read on the forums when Krakoa was ending that Hickman proposed when it started a magazine format of the X-Books where instead of multiple titles coming out, it’d be compressed into two to maybe 3 magazine-format books where the titles would be in in order to not overflood the market and being a more accessible option for readers and new customers. I’m curious if such a format would ever be considered for publication especially given the amount of books released now in the From The Ashes X-Line and potentially the wider Marvel Line?
One thing I'll warrant a guess on before Tom gets to it is that Immortal X-Men largely was great the way it was because the incredible Kieron Gillen was writing it. It seems to me like the name will absolutely come back at some point in the future, whether under Tom's tenure or some other editor, but it'll likely be a very different book without Gillen on it
While I would love a magazine format for the x-titles, I can’t imagine that something that Marvel deemed financially inviable in 2019 would be reconsidered in 2024, especially with the price of single issues jumping a dollar since then :/
I’m curious about Uncanny Avengers. I enjoyed that book a lot but it was interesting that it was an avengers team with x-men/mutants on it. I’ve always wondered how the opposite might work and if there’d be a demand for it. An X-men team/book with Avengers/humans on it. Like a team lead primarily by x-men and such but with like, Captain America on it. Instead of improving human/mutant relations by showing mutants can be avengers it’d be the opposite of like “well if Captain America is an x-man maybe these mutants aren’t so bad!” For some marvel citizens and it’d give some avengers the unique perspective of being x-men and seeing mutant struggles from a different angle. I guess if Uncanny Avengers borrowed the common x-men adjective “Uncanny” the opposite could do the same with like, Mighty X-Men 😂
Count me among the contemporary Spider-Man readers who was mollified by your Sandman backup, although it’s given a tinge of sadness to every subsequent Sandman story I’ve read. What on Earth was going on in the Spider-office in those days, when every new launch and plot development seemed half-hearted or wrongheaded?
Hey, Tom! Through the Wringer was, admittedly, in poor taste, but do you really think it was done maliciously? I could see including a buddy in a story postmortem, thinking he’d get a kick out of it in the afterlife.
With the prescription goggles of retrospect, what scene from a previous Marvel film would you have wanted to be a on-set visitor and seen filmed?
Hi Tom, your mention of the letter column title leads me to my question this week about... letter column titles!
I feel like they're a very fun, kind of old-fashioned collaboration between the creators and readers as the audience is often tasked with coming up with a clever title (although I sometimes wonder if the creators ever "cheat" and just make up one they like and pretend it was a fan.)
But anyway, it's a bit of a broad question but just wondering if you had any funny or interesting stories about letter column titles: maybe ones you hated, or loved, or something that happened behind the scenes.
Thanks as always! Glad to hear your trip was so fun and particularly that Vanessa Kirby seems so invested in Sue - she is a terrifically talented actress!
“But I don’t forget, which means Marvel doesn’t forget.”
LOL, even though that I’m taking it as an unarguable fact.
Anyway.
Tom, if there’s no NDA: the group for the set visit — is that some sort of closing credits “thanks” thing or more like just the living and available?
I remember that Sandman story well! As someone who was a fan of the reformed Sandman, it at least made the change in course plausible, even if said change disappointed me.
Without needing to comment on specifics, after the alleged accusations came out about Neil Gaiman, are we likely to see the concluding Bronze Age of Miracleman? I feel it would be a disservice to the other creators and the fans who have been sticking with the series this long for the last series not to come out.
Yes I would love to know if the "dark age' is being worked on by Gaiman and Buckingham.
Hello Tom. At what point in a new ongoing series is it decided that it will continue or be cancelled or relaunched? Take Phoenix by Stephanie Phillips. It had been greenlit for 10 issues as revealed by yourself - I believe you mentioned most if not all the ongoing x-men titles were greenlit for 10 issues - and herself. When do you decide whether it will be allowed to continue or will be cancelled or relaunched under a new team
following up on the thought bubble question, what do you think of Al Ewing's use of them in Immortal Thor (if you've been reading that... I can't for the life of me remember if you edit that book). Feels like he's been doing an excellent job at utilizing them in a way that feels both classic yet incredibly natural to fit into a modern book.
Given that DC:s Absolute titles are selling absolute gangbusters and also Marvel's bestselling titles now take place in alternate universes, what does that tell about the future for the main universes in DC and Marvel? Is it time to move on?
The two top selling titles last month were both Earth-616 Marvel. USM was #3. I’m digging Ultimate and Absolute as well, but the traditional worlds have always had staying power and always will.