So strange to see people online complain about Uncanny X-Men and the Outliers in particular. That book (along with Exceptional) have been by far my favourite From the Ashes books. I love reading about new characters especially when they are given time to live and grow. I have read far too many books about Wolverine and Rogue and all the other mainstays. I LOVE reading about new characters and being there when they start and watching them grow is part of what makes comics so enjoyable IMO.
Q4Tom: what was your favourite new character/title where you started with someone/something from their/its debut?
"Plastic Man was just meant to fill six pages towards the back of each issue of POLICE COMICS. But within just a few months, it became clear who the readers were buying for and Plas displaced the hapless Firebrand as the cover feature."
How did the publisher KNOW it was Plastic Man who was selling the comic? If he became the cover feature in "just a few months" (I certainly don't know the exact timeline) was there any way the publisher could actually have sales info to base that judgement on? Assuming a lightning-fast editorial/publishing decision to cover-feature Plastic Man, is it possible that the publisher/editor simply recognized the quality of the strip— and/or how unique it was— and decided to showcase it for that reason, and then sales followed? (And if sales didn't follow, I'm sure Plastic Man would have been taken off covers just as quickly.) I mean, if I was the editor of that book, and one feature was so clearly better than the others— or even if it just tickled my fancy more than the others— I'd certainly spotlight it. Especially since Plastic Man's powers meant covers that would stand out on a crowded newsstand.
How often, if ever, does a comic get to completion with no notes from you? Is there ever a team that just nails every part and you just let them get on with it?
I appreciated Matthew's comment about a comic trope he took a while to catch on to. For me, it was reading the OHotMU and seeing so many villains were mobile, and thinking they were in Alabama. Do you have anything like that in your reading past?
Last week, you mentioned that with the end of X-Manhunt, the only event you’d have to worry about until Imperial was One World Under Doom. That made me curious? what exactly qualifies as an event for you, Imperial is a 4 issue miniseries that could, as you have called it, 100% be classified as an event, but what about things like the upcoming Giant-Sized X-Men series of one-shots? My impression there is that it will have big ramifications on the X-line, and I could easily see someone classifying that as an event
Q4Tom: Since you have mentioned all the issues have go through your approval. My question is how did you approve X manhunt omega final issue. Is this how you handle someone going through a panic attack having him being stabbed by your favorite character. Scott has been mischaracterized in the entire run of this stupid issue. No wonder the sales are so low, you and your stupid editorial love to shit on Scott. I remember when you said that everyone likes Scott being punched in the face. That’s just mean and disrespectful, and you allow the biggest hypocrite of them all Wolverine to stab him. None of these people were there for Scott when he was imprisoned in krakoa and rogue had the cheek to ask the question. I am not expecting an answer from you, you’ll probably say Scott is a fictional character or something along those lines. This is not what he deserves, thank you and have a good day
Let me preface this by saying it's perfectly understandable if you can't really answer this. But I'm curious how the New Champions book happened. It strikes me as strange because unlike the previous Champions attempts at doing a Marvel young heroes book, it's all new characters who'd only debuted in a few very recent Spider-Woman issues. Despite their names and some outfits, they have no connection to any existing characters. And this isn't meant to say it's a bad book, but I'm not seeing anything special in the writing or general set-up of the book (i.e. while a long time back, Runaways also featured all-new characters, but their set-up and interactions were very different from, say, New Warriors or anything else from Marvel. Or to use a more recent one, Strange Academy had connections to existing characters, showed such as teachers, had a unique setting and point of kids learning magic, and the characters were a very diverse set of Marvel magic types/species). So, why the decision to give these newbies a book that doesn't really have a unique or different hook to it?
Apologies in advance for the long-winded comment. I would like to address the "Nothing matters in Amazing Spider-Man" topic that was previously brought up. While I don't believe it's fair to compare the marriage to the black suit, Peter being a school teacher or Doc Ock taking over his body, I think the main point of that question was how important things do happen in current stories but then tend to be treated like they're not that important and the audience needs to just accept it.
For instance and please bear with me for a moment, the current Mary Jane situation where she left Peter for another man, right after the prior ASM run by Nick Spencer ended with calling them "unbreakable", is treated as something that shouldn't even be acknowledged. Peter fought so hard to save MJ just to get kicked to the curb. He ruined his life, sanity, relationships, burned all his bridges with the superhero community, teamed up with the man who murdered his first love, crossed over worlds to save the woman he loved, just to discover that she had forgotten and discarded him after everything they've been through together all because she was trapped with another man. For the past 3 years, MJ has never been held accountable for her actions, never expressed any form of regret for it, treated Peter with contempt and hostility for being unable to accept that she left him for Paul, treated it like this was his fault for taking too long to save her and needed to just get over it, never cared for breaking his heart and took 60 issues to so much as even thank him for saving her. Today, MJ is not a regular ASM cast member anymore, she was forced with superpowers despite showing no prior aspirations to ever become a costumed crime fighter in her entire established history, then she was written out of ASM and sent off to another title.
You may wonder where am I going with all this. My point is simply that if stories are supposed to matter, then how can you have a story that effectively destroys the No.1 hero's most important relationship after his most iconic love interest who always stood by him through thick and thin, uncharacteristically decided to leave him for another man, and yet it's treated as something unimportant that doesn't even need to be addressed, let alone potentially remedied in the future. In perspective the biggest impact that story seemed to have was to tarnish Mary Jane's reputation and make her unviable as a romantic partner to Peter going forward, not much different than how Sins Past had previously tarnished Gwen's reputation as well.
If the stories matter, then all I'm asking is for Marvel to please reconsider their handling of some of the characters and what the implications in certain stories could mean for said characters in the long run.
Thank you for this. My man Peter really needs to be let go, let him rest. Miles can take his place surely, or with the rising popularity of Peni maybe she can join 616? Just please, let my boy live out his life 🥺.
Most iconic love interest maybe. Most important, no. It was a status quo for 20 years. Then it wasn’t just like it wasn’t for 20 some odd years prior to the marriage. Shortly before the marriage, MJ wasn’t really involved in the title all that much either. If we’re going to talk about iconic, Spider-Man is at his most iconic when he’s not married. Movies, animation, video games, and the comics use the most iconic version of the character, which is a younger, single Peter Parker.
Seriously, not the first time MJ left Peter. She disappeared for long stretches, I believe, twice while they were married. As someone else pointed out, she had been basically out of the book when they shoehorned in the marriage to match up with the newspaper strip. It also seems like your extremely negative take on MJ in the most recent runs of ASM considers nothing of her experience. You make her out to be some harpy with no consideration for Pete when she went through a massive trauma as well and bonded with someone when she had no idea that she would ever return to her Earth.
And yes, they actually are fictional characters. Don't like it, don't read it.
It's the first time she left him for another man. I don't make her out to be anything, I merely described what she did in that story. Given everything they've been through together in their 60 year history, the idea that she suddenly loses her by that point impeccable sense of loyalty to him, due to being trapped with someone else is nonsensical, as well as the fact that after Peter saved her she told him she knew he won't stop until he came back to her, yet still did what she did anyway. Making her actions even more contradictory. Nothing that happened to MJ required her to do what she did, nor was she portrayed as being traumatized from her experience, you're talking about something we don't actually see in the story. What we do see is her forgetting all about someone she's loved her entire adult life and who she was in a committed relationship with, and falling for someone else because she was trapped with him for too long. It's not about being inconsiderate of her, it's about what we have on the page. Those who treat MJ's character with no consideration are the people who decided to produce that story. Nonetheless, my main point was about the fact that her uncharacteristic act of disloyalty to Peter is never even being acknowledged and is treated as something that readers simply need to accept as if it isn't anything remotely questionable, which goes against the notion that what happens in these stories matter in the long run.
I'm well aware they're fictional characters, thank you, and I'm allowed to express myself when I feel they're being written in a way that entirely contradicts their established characterization and affects their credibility and public perception in a highly negative way going forward.
When did Marvel first start using a formal P&L process as opposed to those in charge simply deciding that they believe a project will sell? And are there any restrictions set on how far ahead writers can write for newer books, so you don't wind up with a bunch of unused scripts if the book is canceled?
Hi Tom, very sad that Weapon.XMen is only five issues. Great writer and artist. The first two issues are so strong. Surely it needs more time to establish itself? This is obviously a projected sales matter - what’s you opinion on this? We’re you just worried Casey might bring Stacy X back?
My personal theory is that the book simply launched too soon after the debut of the Ben Percy Deadpool and Wolverine comic. The two books starring Deadpool and Wolverine on the stands at the same time probably just wound up competing with each other for the same core audience.
I noticed that most of the ongoing monthly books have gotten 5 issue trades (as opposed to the trades for Adjectiveless and Uncanny which get more than 5 issues). I understand that this is because they get ordered for 10 issues, however a listing for Storm Vol. 2 was posted early and it showed that it’ll collect issues #7-12. As a reader, I vastly prefer a six issue trade for an ongoing book and 4-5 issues for a miniseries. Who decides this? You’re the big man in charge, so I assume it’s you, but if a writer came to you and said “I would like to do 12 issues instead of 10” do you entertain that request?
Second, your comments on Pete and MJ (which I agree with for the record) have me thinking about one of the married couples that is under your editorial purview: Rogue and Gambit. I remember years ago on Ryan Stegman’s podcast, Donny Cates revealed that part of the reason he pitched Rogue and Gambit as a replacement to the maligned Kitty and Colossus marriage was because Rogue and Gambit as characters could handle getting divorced. So to me, that always signified that divorce was somewhat built into the narrative conceit of them being married. Now obviously, Gail isn’t gonna break them up (although a little strife and drama would be fun), but if a writer in the future - after Gail’s run has ended, of course - came along and had a (good) story to tell that dissolved this marriage, is that something you would consider? Or are Rogue and Gambit the opposite of Pete and MJ and thus need to be married in order to “work”?
It was during a retreat that Guggenheim wasn’t invited to as he wasn’t Marvel exclusive (and was probably too busy working on Arrow at the time anyway). The topic of Kitty and Colossus’ impending marriage and it’s poor reception among fans came up and as Donny told it, he suggested Rogue and Gambit as a replacement to (I believe) Nick Spencer one night while everyone was out for dinner and then presented it to the room the next day.
Why are the characters in the Avengers books almost always the same, but new x-characters are always created in each new ongoing X-series? And most of the new x-characters will be left aside whenever a new run begins.
Perhaps Tom here has gotta at least get fired. Tom could shut up at any point about this. He is purposely stirrnig the pot for outrage buy. I know I will never buy a Marvel Comic again until Tom gets fired. Hopefully after Iger leaves again Marvel Comics gets some serious shake ups
Will we hear more about the post-Imperial line of Marvel Cosmic books at SDCC this summer? I’m just so excited I can hardly wait!
So strange to see people online complain about Uncanny X-Men and the Outliers in particular. That book (along with Exceptional) have been by far my favourite From the Ashes books. I love reading about new characters especially when they are given time to live and grow. I have read far too many books about Wolverine and Rogue and all the other mainstays. I LOVE reading about new characters and being there when they start and watching them grow is part of what makes comics so enjoyable IMO.
Q4Tom: what was your favourite new character/title where you started with someone/something from their/its debut?
"Plastic Man was just meant to fill six pages towards the back of each issue of POLICE COMICS. But within just a few months, it became clear who the readers were buying for and Plas displaced the hapless Firebrand as the cover feature."
How did the publisher KNOW it was Plastic Man who was selling the comic? If he became the cover feature in "just a few months" (I certainly don't know the exact timeline) was there any way the publisher could actually have sales info to base that judgement on? Assuming a lightning-fast editorial/publishing decision to cover-feature Plastic Man, is it possible that the publisher/editor simply recognized the quality of the strip— and/or how unique it was— and decided to showcase it for that reason, and then sales followed? (And if sales didn't follow, I'm sure Plastic Man would have been taken off covers just as quickly.) I mean, if I was the editor of that book, and one feature was so clearly better than the others— or even if it just tickled my fancy more than the others— I'd certainly spotlight it. Especially since Plastic Man's powers meant covers that would stand out on a crowded newsstand.
I would assume feedback from fans via letters or newsstand owners. Wouldn't that have been the only way for them to know at the time?
How often, if ever, does a comic get to completion with no notes from you? Is there ever a team that just nails every part and you just let them get on with it?
Definitely grieving the young avengers project that fell apart!
But honestly my favorite team is the Runaways which is coming back by one of my favorite authors, so Marvel giveth and it taketh away haha.
Hi Tom,
I appreciated Matthew's comment about a comic trope he took a while to catch on to. For me, it was reading the OHotMU and seeing so many villains were mobile, and thinking they were in Alabama. Do you have anything like that in your reading past?
Last week, you mentioned that with the end of X-Manhunt, the only event you’d have to worry about until Imperial was One World Under Doom. That made me curious? what exactly qualifies as an event for you, Imperial is a 4 issue miniseries that could, as you have called it, 100% be classified as an event, but what about things like the upcoming Giant-Sized X-Men series of one-shots? My impression there is that it will have big ramifications on the X-line, and I could easily see someone classifying that as an event
Q4Tom: Since you have mentioned all the issues have go through your approval. My question is how did you approve X manhunt omega final issue. Is this how you handle someone going through a panic attack having him being stabbed by your favorite character. Scott has been mischaracterized in the entire run of this stupid issue. No wonder the sales are so low, you and your stupid editorial love to shit on Scott. I remember when you said that everyone likes Scott being punched in the face. That’s just mean and disrespectful, and you allow the biggest hypocrite of them all Wolverine to stab him. None of these people were there for Scott when he was imprisoned in krakoa and rogue had the cheek to ask the question. I am not expecting an answer from you, you’ll probably say Scott is a fictional character or something along those lines. This is not what he deserves, thank you and have a good day
Let me preface this by saying it's perfectly understandable if you can't really answer this. But I'm curious how the New Champions book happened. It strikes me as strange because unlike the previous Champions attempts at doing a Marvel young heroes book, it's all new characters who'd only debuted in a few very recent Spider-Woman issues. Despite their names and some outfits, they have no connection to any existing characters. And this isn't meant to say it's a bad book, but I'm not seeing anything special in the writing or general set-up of the book (i.e. while a long time back, Runaways also featured all-new characters, but their set-up and interactions were very different from, say, New Warriors or anything else from Marvel. Or to use a more recent one, Strange Academy had connections to existing characters, showed such as teachers, had a unique setting and point of kids learning magic, and the characters were a very diverse set of Marvel magic types/species). So, why the decision to give these newbies a book that doesn't really have a unique or different hook to it?
Apologies in advance for the long-winded comment. I would like to address the "Nothing matters in Amazing Spider-Man" topic that was previously brought up. While I don't believe it's fair to compare the marriage to the black suit, Peter being a school teacher or Doc Ock taking over his body, I think the main point of that question was how important things do happen in current stories but then tend to be treated like they're not that important and the audience needs to just accept it.
For instance and please bear with me for a moment, the current Mary Jane situation where she left Peter for another man, right after the prior ASM run by Nick Spencer ended with calling them "unbreakable", is treated as something that shouldn't even be acknowledged. Peter fought so hard to save MJ just to get kicked to the curb. He ruined his life, sanity, relationships, burned all his bridges with the superhero community, teamed up with the man who murdered his first love, crossed over worlds to save the woman he loved, just to discover that she had forgotten and discarded him after everything they've been through together all because she was trapped with another man. For the past 3 years, MJ has never been held accountable for her actions, never expressed any form of regret for it, treated Peter with contempt and hostility for being unable to accept that she left him for Paul, treated it like this was his fault for taking too long to save her and needed to just get over it, never cared for breaking his heart and took 60 issues to so much as even thank him for saving her. Today, MJ is not a regular ASM cast member anymore, she was forced with superpowers despite showing no prior aspirations to ever become a costumed crime fighter in her entire established history, then she was written out of ASM and sent off to another title.
You may wonder where am I going with all this. My point is simply that if stories are supposed to matter, then how can you have a story that effectively destroys the No.1 hero's most important relationship after his most iconic love interest who always stood by him through thick and thin, uncharacteristically decided to leave him for another man, and yet it's treated as something unimportant that doesn't even need to be addressed, let alone potentially remedied in the future. In perspective the biggest impact that story seemed to have was to tarnish Mary Jane's reputation and make her unviable as a romantic partner to Peter going forward, not much different than how Sins Past had previously tarnished Gwen's reputation as well.
If the stories matter, then all I'm asking is for Marvel to please reconsider their handling of some of the characters and what the implications in certain stories could mean for said characters in the long run.
Have a good day, Tom.
Thank you for this. My man Peter really needs to be let go, let him rest. Miles can take his place surely, or with the rising popularity of Peni maybe she can join 616? Just please, let my boy live out his life 🥺.
Most iconic love interest maybe. Most important, no. It was a status quo for 20 years. Then it wasn’t just like it wasn’t for 20 some odd years prior to the marriage. Shortly before the marriage, MJ wasn’t really involved in the title all that much either. If we’re going to talk about iconic, Spider-Man is at his most iconic when he’s not married. Movies, animation, video games, and the comics use the most iconic version of the character, which is a younger, single Peter Parker.
Seriously, not the first time MJ left Peter. She disappeared for long stretches, I believe, twice while they were married. As someone else pointed out, she had been basically out of the book when they shoehorned in the marriage to match up with the newspaper strip. It also seems like your extremely negative take on MJ in the most recent runs of ASM considers nothing of her experience. You make her out to be some harpy with no consideration for Pete when she went through a massive trauma as well and bonded with someone when she had no idea that she would ever return to her Earth.
And yes, they actually are fictional characters. Don't like it, don't read it.
It's the first time she left him for another man. I don't make her out to be anything, I merely described what she did in that story. Given everything they've been through together in their 60 year history, the idea that she suddenly loses her by that point impeccable sense of loyalty to him, due to being trapped with someone else is nonsensical, as well as the fact that after Peter saved her she told him she knew he won't stop until he came back to her, yet still did what she did anyway. Making her actions even more contradictory. Nothing that happened to MJ required her to do what she did, nor was she portrayed as being traumatized from her experience, you're talking about something we don't actually see in the story. What we do see is her forgetting all about someone she's loved her entire adult life and who she was in a committed relationship with, and falling for someone else because she was trapped with him for too long. It's not about being inconsiderate of her, it's about what we have on the page. Those who treat MJ's character with no consideration are the people who decided to produce that story. Nonetheless, my main point was about the fact that her uncharacteristic act of disloyalty to Peter is never even being acknowledged and is treated as something that readers simply need to accept as if it isn't anything remotely questionable, which goes against the notion that what happens in these stories matter in the long run.
I'm well aware they're fictional characters, thank you, and I'm allowed to express myself when I feel they're being written in a way that entirely contradicts their established characterization and affects their credibility and public perception in a highly negative way going forward.
When did Marvel first start using a formal P&L process as opposed to those in charge simply deciding that they believe a project will sell? And are there any restrictions set on how far ahead writers can write for newer books, so you don't wind up with a bunch of unused scripts if the book is canceled?
Hi Tom, very sad that Weapon.XMen is only five issues. Great writer and artist. The first two issues are so strong. Surely it needs more time to establish itself? This is obviously a projected sales matter - what’s you opinion on this? We’re you just worried Casey might bring Stacy X back?
My personal theory is that the book simply launched too soon after the debut of the Ben Percy Deadpool and Wolverine comic. The two books starring Deadpool and Wolverine on the stands at the same time probably just wound up competing with each other for the same core audience.
Yes, you maybe right - too much of the same thing. I enjoy Casey’s stubstack and know how much he is putting into this. Shame.
I noticed that most of the ongoing monthly books have gotten 5 issue trades (as opposed to the trades for Adjectiveless and Uncanny which get more than 5 issues). I understand that this is because they get ordered for 10 issues, however a listing for Storm Vol. 2 was posted early and it showed that it’ll collect issues #7-12. As a reader, I vastly prefer a six issue trade for an ongoing book and 4-5 issues for a miniseries. Who decides this? You’re the big man in charge, so I assume it’s you, but if a writer came to you and said “I would like to do 12 issues instead of 10” do you entertain that request?
Second, your comments on Pete and MJ (which I agree with for the record) have me thinking about one of the married couples that is under your editorial purview: Rogue and Gambit. I remember years ago on Ryan Stegman’s podcast, Donny Cates revealed that part of the reason he pitched Rogue and Gambit as a replacement to the maligned Kitty and Colossus marriage was because Rogue and Gambit as characters could handle getting divorced. So to me, that always signified that divorce was somewhat built into the narrative conceit of them being married. Now obviously, Gail isn’t gonna break them up (although a little strife and drama would be fun), but if a writer in the future - after Gail’s run has ended, of course - came along and had a (good) story to tell that dissolved this marriage, is that something you would consider? Or are Rogue and Gambit the opposite of Pete and MJ and thus need to be married in order to “work”?
Please don't put any ideas into his head
Why was Donny Cates giving suggestions to Guggenheim, Thompson, and White on who should get married?
It was during a retreat that Guggenheim wasn’t invited to as he wasn’t Marvel exclusive (and was probably too busy working on Arrow at the time anyway). The topic of Kitty and Colossus’ impending marriage and it’s poor reception among fans came up and as Donny told it, he suggested Rogue and Gambit as a replacement to (I believe) Nick Spencer one night while everyone was out for dinner and then presented it to the room the next day.
Wow, what a story! I don't agree with Cates' reasoning, but I do like the outcome of it.
Why are the characters in the Avengers books almost always the same, but new x-characters are always created in each new ongoing X-series? And most of the new x-characters will be left aside whenever a new run begins.
Finding and training emerging mutants is built into the DNA of the book, isn't it?
What kind of deal can I make with Mephisto so that I never have to hear about the Spider-marriage again?
Right?
Perhaps Tom here has gotta at least get fired. Tom could shut up at any point about this. He is purposely stirrnig the pot for outrage buy. I know I will never buy a Marvel Comic again until Tom gets fired. Hopefully after Iger leaves again Marvel Comics gets some serious shake ups
Wait a minute... if you hate Tom why are you reading his newsletter full of his opinions?
What pitched story do you remember that was the closest to the finished project? And/or which was the furthest?