Back in the 90s, we used to have a couple boxes of Charlton Bullseye issues at CBH, which you may have even seen when you shopped there years before. IIRC, Paul got them directly from Bob (or maybe David) when one or both of them still lived in Delaware or environs. I think, once things like eBay were a thing, we were able to move them along to new homes.
I have no idea how promotion and advertisement works for comics but I’d love to see more for Exceptional X-Men. It’s so far my favorite of the FtA books. Writing, art, all fantastic. I love the characters, both new, Melee topping that list, and established, Emma topping my favorites list, and I’m hoping it gets a long run.
From the limited sales figures available, it looks like it’s doing great but any chance we could see more promotion for it? Maybe an interview with Dr Eve Ewing and/or Carmen Carnero?
Hoping for Emma to get another solo run, mini or otherwise but I’m really happy where she is now in Exceptional. Dr Eve Ewing is doing an amazing job with her.
Tom, my wife is a mental health technician at a children's psychiatric hospital. The library for the kids there is pretty small and I've been donating whatever trade paperbacks I am willing to give up so they have something to read. The only catch is that they can only get books that are softcover and with no staples. Would you be interested in donating some of your old books? I am in Cleveland OH by the way. Just curious.
There used to be one "Marvel style" of art: now you can be a Tradd Moore or a Mike Allred or a Mark Bagley and be a Marvel artist. Are there any art styles that you feel CAN'T work as a Marvel comic? (Assuming you don't put, say, Simon Bisley on Squirrel Girl or Gurihiru on Deadpool vs Carnage.)
Tom, I know you like Dr Who, but just wondered if you had come across Blake’s 7, and I am sure you know Terry Nation, the writer, created the Daleks (although Tony Hancock gave him the idea apparently). Finally, have you read Nation’a terrific children’s book, ‘Rebecca’s World.’?
What an amazing coincidence! My son wanted to watch SAFETY LAST!, so we checked it out last night. Why a 14yo would be interested in a 100-year-old comedy is beyond me, but I'm glad he suggested it because the film is brilliant - the comedy holds up surprisingly well in 2024.
My wife and I kept thinking that Harold Lloyd should dump his materialistic girlfriend.
(It's ironic that in real life they got married!)
The practical effects are stunning, too. All in all, we greatly enjoyed it.
What are the chances we'll see another Inhumans or Eternals title in the near future? I know both fell out of favor on screen for different reasons and that the Inhumans fulfilled their purpose as a proxy for the X-Men prior to the Fox Disney deal, but they've both had some great runs over the years (Gillen's Eternals and AXE in particular) so it would be a shame to let them fade away completely.
Tom, was there a specific moment/idea from Bendis that won you over on New Avengers, or, kind of as you said this week, was it just kind of a matter of “this is going to work regardless” until it wasn’t?
You talk a lot about cover planning (how the Uncanny cover was dreamed up before the story was blocked out, how the “cover copy” or blurb of the covers on the New Warriors issues were your work, a few weeks back when you showed the Exceptional cover drawing you did). How much are editors in charge of what goes on the cover? I was always under the impression that it was up to primarily the artist as to what went on it, but it seems like you do quite a bit of the planning for them and hand your ideas off to the artists. Is this the norm, a misunderstanding, or something of a case by case basis?
It seems like almost every comic has at least one or two variants when it comes out - has it ever been considered to use a variant to test-market a new trade dress or logo, or anything like that? (I know DC had the "Superman Comics" variants from 1987 or so, but that's it.)
I'm loving the newsletter! It gives such a fascinating insight to the world of comics publishing. There's so much more going on than I had realised. So thank you for doing this!
I'm currently reading through Civil War for the first time (as part of a years-long effort to read Spider-Man from the start) and I have a couple of questions about it that I'm hoping you could answer!
In one of the 'Road To' issues (I think it was a Spidey one...) there's what I can only call an editorial argument that take place over a page or two as a narration. It's played for laughs in the comic, but I'm wondering how accurate it is. Was there an division in the office over the Registration Act and the political themes of the event?
Also, I'm wondering how the characters were split between the different sides? Was there a particular effort to 'balance' particular sides so that there wasn't one overwhelming group, or id it happen fairly naturally?
Finally, I'm finding it interesting to see the narrative reasoning for why characters chose a particular side. The only one I'm struggling to understand is Captain America. Maybe it's just my perception of him, but I thought that Cap was the quintessential government hero given his origins, so the way he suddenly seems to escape the helicarrier and join the resistance seems really out of left field to me. So, to make this a question, I suppose that I'm wondering what the logic behind this was from a behind the scenes perspective. Was it always clear that it was going to be Cap vs Iron Man, or did that come later?
How many years have you been spending on the Spider-Man read? Since the advent of Marvel Unlimited I have done full read throughs of Avengers, Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, and The Defenders. I am currently doing all of Krakoa, which alone is like 600 comics in 5 years, but, even though Spidey is my favorite character, and even after everything I have read, I have found the idea of doing all of Spider-Man daunting.
Not OP, but I'm currently reading every appearance of Spider-Man ever (and recapping issues over at Every Spider-Man Ever on YouTube /plug). That includes all his cameos, so significantly more that just the Spidey-specific titles like ASM.
I have a list of about 10,000 comics, and after three years I'm about a quarter of the way through the list. I've read everything between 1962 and 1992.
I started in early 2021, so coming up on 4 years now. I've managed to get to an average reading pace of about one year's comics each month, but it can really vary based on how many comics Spidey was in at a particular time. I blazed through the silver age comics because he was only in Amazing for most of it, but really slowed down by the late 80s and into the 90s when there were 3+ Spidey books.
Even though there is a bunch of them missing in Unlimited (only ASM is complete at the moment), I think I'm at almost 2000 read when you include his appearances in other hero's books and in events. There's an absurd amount, but I have found it quite enjoyable, so I would recommend it if you can commit the time!
Hi Tom thanks for another great read and I hope you're having a nice week after Ur hols.
I am loving reading From the Ashes X Men via Marvel Unlimited, my preferred platform for big two comics atm (for monetary reasons more than anything else), however I'm a bit worried about their release schedule on the app. I notice several series are releasing much quicker than the usual 5 ish month delay and, furthermore, not consistently month by month. Is this expedited digital release schedule permanent (I hope so!) or a short term thing designed to entice readers to buy the physical mags? I'd be sad if it is the latter, as it would disrupt my monthly enjoyment of the stories, but also understand the marketing reasons behind it. Any info appreciated ! (Ps as always when new big series start I am considering adding them to my physical pull list, but think I'll stick digital for now) Thanks - Jessica xx
Where does the idea that Kamala is now more relatable because of her new powers come from?
I have enjoyed Kamala’s foray into mutant world for sure (have every single issue with her since Hellfire Gala!), but she has always been the super relatable nerdy kid with a family who doesn’t quite understand her. I’m very glad she is on the road to having both powers in comics, not just one or the other though
Back in the 90s, we used to have a couple boxes of Charlton Bullseye issues at CBH, which you may have even seen when you shopped there years before. IIRC, Paul got them directly from Bob (or maybe David) when one or both of them still lived in Delaware or environs. I think, once things like eBay were a thing, we were able to move them along to new homes.
Hey Tom,
I have no idea how promotion and advertisement works for comics but I’d love to see more for Exceptional X-Men. It’s so far my favorite of the FtA books. Writing, art, all fantastic. I love the characters, both new, Melee topping that list, and established, Emma topping my favorites list, and I’m hoping it gets a long run.
From the limited sales figures available, it looks like it’s doing great but any chance we could see more promotion for it? Maybe an interview with Dr Eve Ewing and/or Carmen Carnero?
Hoping for Emma to get another solo run, mini or otherwise but I’m really happy where she is now in Exceptional. Dr Eve Ewing is doing an amazing job with her.
Tom, my wife is a mental health technician at a children's psychiatric hospital. The library for the kids there is pretty small and I've been donating whatever trade paperbacks I am willing to give up so they have something to read. The only catch is that they can only get books that are softcover and with no staples. Would you be interested in donating some of your old books? I am in Cleveland OH by the way. Just curious.
Thanks!
Sure, just send me along the details and I'll see what I can do.
Oh wow! Thanks! Is there a more private email address I can send the address info to, besides this thread?
If you click on his name at the top of this post there is a "message" option.
There used to be one "Marvel style" of art: now you can be a Tradd Moore or a Mike Allred or a Mark Bagley and be a Marvel artist. Are there any art styles that you feel CAN'T work as a Marvel comic? (Assuming you don't put, say, Simon Bisley on Squirrel Girl or Gurihiru on Deadpool vs Carnage.)
Just popping in to say Gurihiru on Deadpool vs Carnage would turn a 'no interest' book into a must-buy for me.
This is probably outside your area, but any chance Marvel will establish an official presence on BlueSky?
Tom, I know you like Dr Who, but just wondered if you had come across Blake’s 7, and I am sure you know Terry Nation, the writer, created the Daleks (although Tony Hancock gave him the idea apparently). Finally, have you read Nation’a terrific children’s book, ‘Rebecca’s World.’?
What an amazing coincidence! My son wanted to watch SAFETY LAST!, so we checked it out last night. Why a 14yo would be interested in a 100-year-old comedy is beyond me, but I'm glad he suggested it because the film is brilliant - the comedy holds up surprisingly well in 2024.
My wife and I kept thinking that Harold Lloyd should dump his materialistic girlfriend.
(It's ironic that in real life they got married!)
The practical effects are stunning, too. All in all, we greatly enjoyed it.
Glad Mike is doing well!
What are the chances we'll see another Inhumans or Eternals title in the near future? I know both fell out of favor on screen for different reasons and that the Inhumans fulfilled their purpose as a proxy for the X-Men prior to the Fox Disney deal, but they've both had some great runs over the years (Gillen's Eternals and AXE in particular) so it would be a shame to let them fade away completely.
Tom, was there a specific moment/idea from Bendis that won you over on New Avengers, or, kind of as you said this week, was it just kind of a matter of “this is going to work regardless” until it wasn’t?
You talk a lot about cover planning (how the Uncanny cover was dreamed up before the story was blocked out, how the “cover copy” or blurb of the covers on the New Warriors issues were your work, a few weeks back when you showed the Exceptional cover drawing you did). How much are editors in charge of what goes on the cover? I was always under the impression that it was up to primarily the artist as to what went on it, but it seems like you do quite a bit of the planning for them and hand your ideas off to the artists. Is this the norm, a misunderstanding, or something of a case by case basis?
Isn't it kind of weird that the cover to Action Comics #1 seemingly depicts Superman as a crazed maniac terrorizing the city?
Maybe the costume and superhuman strength were so novel that that was the focus of customers at the time? I've always kinda wondered about that.
There's a really interesting video about the reason behind Superman smashing the car, from Nerdsync: https://youtu.be/IFUNh1Ba3Xg?si=NWZGvm5FYqeXMdtO
It seems like almost every comic has at least one or two variants when it comes out - has it ever been considered to use a variant to test-market a new trade dress or logo, or anything like that? (I know DC had the "Superman Comics" variants from 1987 or so, but that's it.)
Hi Tom,
I'm loving the newsletter! It gives such a fascinating insight to the world of comics publishing. There's so much more going on than I had realised. So thank you for doing this!
I'm currently reading through Civil War for the first time (as part of a years-long effort to read Spider-Man from the start) and I have a couple of questions about it that I'm hoping you could answer!
In one of the 'Road To' issues (I think it was a Spidey one...) there's what I can only call an editorial argument that take place over a page or two as a narration. It's played for laughs in the comic, but I'm wondering how accurate it is. Was there an division in the office over the Registration Act and the political themes of the event?
Also, I'm wondering how the characters were split between the different sides? Was there a particular effort to 'balance' particular sides so that there wasn't one overwhelming group, or id it happen fairly naturally?
Finally, I'm finding it interesting to see the narrative reasoning for why characters chose a particular side. The only one I'm struggling to understand is Captain America. Maybe it's just my perception of him, but I thought that Cap was the quintessential government hero given his origins, so the way he suddenly seems to escape the helicarrier and join the resistance seems really out of left field to me. So, to make this a question, I suppose that I'm wondering what the logic behind this was from a behind the scenes perspective. Was it always clear that it was going to be Cap vs Iron Man, or did that come later?
Thanks again!
How many years have you been spending on the Spider-Man read? Since the advent of Marvel Unlimited I have done full read throughs of Avengers, Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, and The Defenders. I am currently doing all of Krakoa, which alone is like 600 comics in 5 years, but, even though Spidey is my favorite character, and even after everything I have read, I have found the idea of doing all of Spider-Man daunting.
Not OP, but I'm currently reading every appearance of Spider-Man ever (and recapping issues over at Every Spider-Man Ever on YouTube /plug). That includes all his cameos, so significantly more that just the Spidey-specific titles like ASM.
I have a list of about 10,000 comics, and after three years I'm about a quarter of the way through the list. I've read everything between 1962 and 1992.
I started in early 2021, so coming up on 4 years now. I've managed to get to an average reading pace of about one year's comics each month, but it can really vary based on how many comics Spidey was in at a particular time. I blazed through the silver age comics because he was only in Amazing for most of it, but really slowed down by the late 80s and into the 90s when there were 3+ Spidey books.
Even though there is a bunch of them missing in Unlimited (only ASM is complete at the moment), I think I'm at almost 2000 read when you include his appearances in other hero's books and in events. There's an absurd amount, but I have found it quite enjoyable, so I would recommend it if you can commit the time!
Hi Tom thanks for another great read and I hope you're having a nice week after Ur hols.
I am loving reading From the Ashes X Men via Marvel Unlimited, my preferred platform for big two comics atm (for monetary reasons more than anything else), however I'm a bit worried about their release schedule on the app. I notice several series are releasing much quicker than the usual 5 ish month delay and, furthermore, not consistently month by month. Is this expedited digital release schedule permanent (I hope so!) or a short term thing designed to entice readers to buy the physical mags? I'd be sad if it is the latter, as it would disrupt my monthly enjoyment of the stories, but also understand the marketing reasons behind it. Any info appreciated ! (Ps as always when new big series start I am considering adding them to my physical pull list, but think I'll stick digital for now) Thanks - Jessica xx
Where does the idea that Kamala is now more relatable because of her new powers come from?
I have enjoyed Kamala’s foray into mutant world for sure (have every single issue with her since Hellfire Gala!), but she has always been the super relatable nerdy kid with a family who doesn’t quite understand her. I’m very glad she is on the road to having both powers in comics, not just one or the other though