Any chance of Dani Moonstar leading an X-team in this new era? Maybe even a solo book? Or at least joining a team? Loving her in Magik and just want to see more of her!
I'm always grateful for your engagement with us and our questions, Tom!
It's often hard for readers to identify excellent editing, because by its nature it's pretty much invisible. But I'd love it if you could shout out a couple of particularly good editorial decisions made by other editors during your time at Marvel--choices that were especially far-sighted or ingenious or elegant.
Are you able to give us some BTS tidbits about pitches and approvals. Especially when it comes to characters that maybe aren’t considered A-list X-Men anymore. Do they (writers) pitch you an outline just through email or do they do a PowerPoint presentation for you and the editors? Do you approve titles or do you have to run it by the execs up top first? How long does that process usually take for you when you receive pitches and you vibe with them? Am I incorrect in believing that a title maybe takes about three months to create? With picking the cover artist and interior artist. Is it usually shorter or longer than that?
On the point of "hating the fans," I remember when I started working on the business development side of Disney's comics business (vs. the editorial side where I started), there was suddenly a lot of fan response to some new intiatives from a licensed publisher, most positive but more than a few criticisms. I took all of them to heart and brought them up with the licensee. Their reponse was: "This is all just the usual fan nonsense." I was taken aback because on the business side, when your customers are big institutions like Target and Wal-Mart, you take their feedback very seriously, so to dismiss a response from a customer seemed kind of crazy. But the more I looked into it, and the more time I spent seeing comics fandom's responses in particular, the more I learned how right the licensee was to wall it off. It's MUCH more like sports fandom than anything akin to customer feedback in the retail sense. They're emotionally invested in the stuff, which is great, it's why we do it and what makes it a viable business, but the emotion leads to so many uninformed opinions being given voice that you would actually be crazy to listen to all of it -- the resulting comics/sports management decisions/what-have-you would be all contradictory and incomprehensible.
So all that to say, it's a very tough line to walk with a newsletter like this and I think it's laudable to even try. You want to hear what readers say, because the comics are for them, but you also can't let them decide what happens because then the comics wouldn't be the comics that created the fandom in the first place. The answers to their comments are often going to be some variation of: "Thanks for that comment, but we decided to do something different from that for the good of the story" and I don't see another option, really, and when that's perceived as "hating the fans" it's maddening. There IS a certain kind of fan/editor/talent interaction that could be more like DVD commentary ("How did you pull this off? What led to this change? Give us some behind the scenes insight!") that can be really fun, and I think that's ultimately what the comments section of a newsletter like this is always searching for. If more fans could get on that approach I think we'd all be better off!
"Sorry—thought you should know before you go into it with your expectations too high."
Ah. While that did knock some wind out of my sails, I do appreciate you letting me know. Was really excited for some couples fashion, but better to know so I don't waste time, thank you. Hopefully the drought on them won't be too long. And hey, at least we have their dog in Rivals now! 😁
The Jean Grey, Cyclops and Wolverine stuff being ignored is one of the best things in this era. Very damaging and disrespectful to each character and their development over the last few decades.
Mariko was brought back as the Scarlet Samurai some years ago when Old Man Logan was in the 616 Universe.. 616 Wolverine should go see her, rekindle an old flame and stop being obsessed with a married(?) woman.
I could take or leave the polyamory stuff myself, but in what way was it “damaging?” Some people have open relationships, none of those three are particularly religious…if it had been explored more (or at least confirmed on the page, even if I think the intent was clear) it could have made for a really interesting dynamic.
Both Wolverine and Jean accepted that they won't work out and moved on. Wolverine also grew to respect Cyclops and accept that Jean was his wife, and they all began to grow. That was real character development earned over years. even though Jean died, Scott and Logan got to progress as Characters.
What Krakoa did was basically removed the years of development for these characters just to satisfy fan on social media. Which held all 3 of them back and made them props in a love triangle or whatever that didn't go anywhere in the end.
By "polyamory" do you mean Jean being shared by two men, including a jerk who has been stalking her for decades, even though she's a married woman? I have no doubt that if Morrison had ended his run with Jean and Emma agreeing to share Scott romantically, we'd all be saying how misogynistic that would have been.
gonna gently point out that because we never saw how the relationship (assuming there was one, even though-lbr-there was) actually worked, you’re fully making assumptions here
is there something for iceman & nightcrawler in their respective books that you could tease for their fans or could you just confirm if they're sticking around in their respective books especially now with some characters being shelved after their books being canceled
Not big deal it's just a curiosity about my favs and a lot of x-fans like them too
I’m obviously not Tom but I’ve seen this sentiment come up a lot in the last couple weeks and it makes me curious: why the assumption that these books will be canceled? Uncanny and Exceptional seem to both be doing well, and Kurt, Kate and Bobby are main cast members in the books, so why be worried they’re going anywhere unless we get word the book is canceled?
Dear Tom, I always look forward and enjoy this newsletter. I know as a leader in my chosen field (Education) you can never please all the people all of the time, you certainly don’t ‘ hate the fans’ in my book, which just seems a really pathetic thing to say. I think you do a good job of balancing the creative and the commercial consideration of these comics and characters we all love. My love of Marvel from those early days of Britches Weeklies to American comics, to my devotion of the. Men, to Jim Lee, to Grant Morrisons new Xmen to Hickman have kept the characters fresh for me over fifty years. And, yes there have been disappointing periods but I remain loyal. Yes, I’d love an Alan Davis Captain Britain but realise I am in a minority. So please keep doing the Newsletter. Perhaps charge for it?
Thanks for replying Kurt. I recently read your excellent Avengers run, I was a big fan of the Triune Understanding storyline! I had a cancer two years ago and met Alan Davis at a Con in England and he noticed the tube in my arm to deliver the chemo and as a result gave me my Captain Britain Sketch half price. It’s framed on the wall.
While I will always be happy to see more Alan Davis Captain Britain, I would also like to see the Marvel UK characters move out of the shadow of the Davis/Moore/Delano/Claremont era that they've kind of been stuck under for a good while now.
There is a lot of potential in those characters if handled by the right creators.
I’ve been thinking a lot about supporting casts lately and how integral (IMO) they are to a book, especially a solo series. I’m sure this is case by case, but what do you think the secret is to building a consistent and likable supporting cast for a character, and are pitches that strip that cast away a harder sell for you or is that case by case as well? For myself I’m thinking of the run after IMMORTAL HULK that pretty much immediately stripped away everyone Bruce had become close to in that run, and how much that made me lose interest even though it was by a writer whose work I typically enjoy.
One thing I don't in general like about the current age of superhero comics is the relative lack of strong supporting casts, in particular when no or almost no member of such is a non-powered/superhero character, which usually ties together with the relative lack of secret identities these days. For example, since being aged up from 10ish to 18ish after a time distorted absence, I'm not sure if Jon Kent has exchanged a double digit number of word balloons to a non-powered or other not classified as superhero or villain (i.e. Damian or Amanda Waller). Due to such, we don't really get much about characters' off-duty time, hobbies, enjoyment, etc.
As far as secret identities, I can only speak for myself but it’s gotten less and less fun to watch heroes lie to the people they love. I agree that supporting casts are too neglected in a lot of series, but I honestly like the trend of most of the supporting cast knowing a hero’s identity after a while because it allows for honest conversations (and as a bonus, actually makes the hero’s loved ones *safer* because they know what’s going on).
For me, this is all very case by case. I think Spider-Man and Iron Man work better with secret identities, but that the Don Blake identity was a millstone around Thor’s neck.
I enjoyed this article & like your friend said – I have heard the buzz. ...In response to that, I offer you the words of my mother, (quote) "Consider The Source" (end-quote). I'm kind of in an odd place with everything. I'm an artist, musician, & writer – who puts off the same type of vibes as John Lennon, Bob Dylan, & Johnny Cash. I've also done a lot in leadership – largely via pastoring churches. I've written/recorded 100+ songs (13+ albums), written/been published in 30+ literary books, etc. More recently, since last year, I've been writing comics. 5 came out in 2024. 4 of them are still available. Stylistically, they're all over the place 'cause it was about getting my feet wet & fishing for an audience. It's been my privilege to work with so many comic shops. The list keeps growing. Basically, I consider a 3-hour driving distance from my front door as home. Ergo, I cover the Appalachian region of the USA. You actually get talked about far more highly in comic shops than you know. ...I mean, I have conversations with people all of the time about all things comics. I don't ascribe to singular appoints & fads constructed for agenda-driven narratives.
Years ago, when I was a substitute teacher, I told the class that historically smart people are always the ones who ask the question Why & analyze things rather than being fed whatever without question. Certainly, a number of people have become targets for clout-chasing agendas that seek to build a platform on mounds of discontentment, instead of going after what makes them happy. Days ago, I popped up in such a person's comments section on YouTube. Gail Simone has been nothing but terrific to me. She's a sparkling jewel in the crown of Marvel Comics – yet, people with an agenda, who've never met her, spoken to her, or read her stuff, strive to cut her off at the knees.
Nearly half a decade after a particular Kelly Sue Deconnick interview, certain people still strive to take a handful of sentences out of an entire page worth of talk & miscontextualize them to vilify her. When Kelly Sue said, "If you don't like my politics – don't read my books" – it was in response to people targeting her, reading her stuff just to verbally thrash it, and such things. That's bullcrap & not cool to do to anyone. Todd McFarlane was on a stream months ago that is run by one of those people & he said exactly what I say – he talked about walking through the grocery store & avoiding what he doesn't like & gravitating towards what he does & expressed that is what people should do in comics. Amen.
The problem with a lot of criticism is that it is genuinely bad-faith criticism. I liked the Sony movie Kraven & the Warner Brothers' movie Joker 2 just fine. While neither one of them compared to the superiority & brilliance of Deadpool & Wolverine or Spider-Man: No Way Home – they still by no means were bad movies. It's like how there is a difference in being offended & looking to get offended. Something that I've also noted often – as I had seen it as such even as a teenager – is that people who are offensive are also the same people who get easily offended. Sad, but true.
Your job is by no means an easy one. I will say that my journey into writing comics professionally has been a nice one. I've had numerous people who currently work in or have worked in the mainstream perpetually all of whom have been nice to me & are rooting for me to succeed. It's not hard to see why either – I'm not attacking anyone. I like to see others do well. Mr. Brevoort, if I was ever working with you – even if it was just for a 1-shot or something – it'd be a metaphorical feather in my cap. I feel like there's a certain trashiness to dog people who you do or have worked with. I'm praying for you. If you check your email – you'll see that I wrote you – I say this merely so you're aware. I know that you're a busy person. Perhaps one day our paths will cross at a ComicCon or something.
PS: Within film & television, I have a good feeling that I'll enjoy THUNDERBOLTS*. I'm also looking forward to the live-action SPIDER-MAN NOIR. I have an account with Previews & pick & choose things that speak to me to have them placed in my pull-box.
I will say, though, the Garthan Saal Nova costume design was really cool, so at least you had that from the final issue. I had no issue with Phil Gosier's art at the time as I was accustomed to it from the later issues of G.I. JOE... I'm not sure what I would think of it if I were to revisit it today.
As for your friend and his response to your newsletter, telling you to stop.... No. Fans are sensitive, myself included, and they react and say things that are often untrue. (Heck, I remember getting really nasty at you when I was 19 years old on AOL, though I was going through some personal issues at the time which may have made me even more obnoxious than I normally would have been at 19). Obviously you don't hate fans or you wouldn't be doing this newsletter. Just like we know you're a fan too, and you want the ability to honestly offer your feelings and opinions. In short -- don't sweat it.
I feel like I can't pop in here without a question so I'll ask it: Do you think it's better for a popular character to have only one title, perhaps distributed more, or a family of titles? For example, is a biweekly AMAZING SPIDER-MAN a better notion than the Web of/Amazing/Adjectiveless/Spectacular we had in 35 years ago, or the Superman family of Man of Steel, Adventures, Action, and the main title?
One of the main things I love about the From the Ashes books is that each series has it's own unique pacing. Adjectiveless double ships and is fast-paced with multiple storyline building. Exceptional comes out once a month and takes a leisurely pace (kind of like a hang out vibe). Storm feels thoughtful, deliberate and more heady and emotional. X-Factor would go as fast as the jokes would come.
This might just be the way I'm personally reading these, but I really enjoy that there is such a variety in tone and pace. For me, the four books I mentioned really have a pacing that fits the characters in each.
How do you set-up that type of variety while creating and maintaining an entire line of comics?
Thanks for confirming the Spidey appearance. I've been counting a single Spidey hand reaching through a window to steal party food, so this will count too.
I also want to say thank you for the newsletter and how frankly you answer questions here. I see the ways you get misinterpreted online, and that's a massive shame, but I appreciate you answering pretty much any questions posed to you. That's a wonderful resource for a comic fan.
My question this week: is there a costume in comics that you miss because it changed for some reason?
Any chance of Dani Moonstar leading an X-team in this new era? Maybe even a solo book? Or at least joining a team? Loving her in Magik and just want to see more of her!
I've heard a lot of people say that they're liking that Magik series.
And it seems to be selling really well, too! Magik and Storm have been the top selling female led solo books at Marvel so far.
Another vote for Netflix's Dark, Tom, it's incredible and sticks the landing unbelievably at an almost impossible level of difficulty.
I'm always grateful for your engagement with us and our questions, Tom!
It's often hard for readers to identify excellent editing, because by its nature it's pretty much invisible. But I'd love it if you could shout out a couple of particularly good editorial decisions made by other editors during your time at Marvel--choices that were especially far-sighted or ingenious or elegant.
Happy Sunday Mr. Brevoort
Are you able to give us some BTS tidbits about pitches and approvals. Especially when it comes to characters that maybe aren’t considered A-list X-Men anymore. Do they (writers) pitch you an outline just through email or do they do a PowerPoint presentation for you and the editors? Do you approve titles or do you have to run it by the execs up top first? How long does that process usually take for you when you receive pitches and you vibe with them? Am I incorrect in believing that a title maybe takes about three months to create? With picking the cover artist and interior artist. Is it usually shorter or longer than that?
On the point of "hating the fans," I remember when I started working on the business development side of Disney's comics business (vs. the editorial side where I started), there was suddenly a lot of fan response to some new intiatives from a licensed publisher, most positive but more than a few criticisms. I took all of them to heart and brought them up with the licensee. Their reponse was: "This is all just the usual fan nonsense." I was taken aback because on the business side, when your customers are big institutions like Target and Wal-Mart, you take their feedback very seriously, so to dismiss a response from a customer seemed kind of crazy. But the more I looked into it, and the more time I spent seeing comics fandom's responses in particular, the more I learned how right the licensee was to wall it off. It's MUCH more like sports fandom than anything akin to customer feedback in the retail sense. They're emotionally invested in the stuff, which is great, it's why we do it and what makes it a viable business, but the emotion leads to so many uninformed opinions being given voice that you would actually be crazy to listen to all of it -- the resulting comics/sports management decisions/what-have-you would be all contradictory and incomprehensible.
So all that to say, it's a very tough line to walk with a newsletter like this and I think it's laudable to even try. You want to hear what readers say, because the comics are for them, but you also can't let them decide what happens because then the comics wouldn't be the comics that created the fandom in the first place. The answers to their comments are often going to be some variation of: "Thanks for that comment, but we decided to do something different from that for the good of the story" and I don't see another option, really, and when that's perceived as "hating the fans" it's maddening. There IS a certain kind of fan/editor/talent interaction that could be more like DVD commentary ("How did you pull this off? What led to this change? Give us some behind the scenes insight!") that can be really fun, and I think that's ultimately what the comments section of a newsletter like this is always searching for. If more fans could get on that approach I think we'd all be better off!
Excellent analysis and sensible points.
"Sorry—thought you should know before you go into it with your expectations too high."
Ah. While that did knock some wind out of my sails, I do appreciate you letting me know. Was really excited for some couples fashion, but better to know so I don't waste time, thank you. Hopefully the drought on them won't be too long. And hey, at least we have their dog in Rivals now! 😁
The Jean Grey, Cyclops and Wolverine stuff being ignored is one of the best things in this era. Very damaging and disrespectful to each character and their development over the last few decades.
Mariko was brought back as the Scarlet Samurai some years ago when Old Man Logan was in the 616 Universe.. 616 Wolverine should go see her, rekindle an old flame and stop being obsessed with a married(?) woman.
I could take or leave the polyamory stuff myself, but in what way was it “damaging?” Some people have open relationships, none of those three are particularly religious…if it had been explored more (or at least confirmed on the page, even if I think the intent was clear) it could have made for a really interesting dynamic.
Both Wolverine and Jean accepted that they won't work out and moved on. Wolverine also grew to respect Cyclops and accept that Jean was his wife, and they all began to grow. That was real character development earned over years. even though Jean died, Scott and Logan got to progress as Characters.
What Krakoa did was basically removed the years of development for these characters just to satisfy fan on social media. Which held all 3 of them back and made them props in a love triangle or whatever that didn't go anywhere in the end.
By "polyamory" do you mean Jean being shared by two men, including a jerk who has been stalking her for decades, even though she's a married woman? I have no doubt that if Morrison had ended his run with Jean and Emma agreeing to share Scott romantically, we'd all be saying how misogynistic that would have been.
gonna gently point out that because we never saw how the relationship (assuming there was one, even though-lbr-there was) actually worked, you’re fully making assumptions here
Everyone's "hot take" on this says more about them than it does about the characters. Since nothing was spelled out on the page.
Hear hear!
is there something for iceman & nightcrawler in their respective books that you could tease for their fans or could you just confirm if they're sticking around in their respective books especially now with some characters being shelved after their books being canceled
Not big deal it's just a curiosity about my favs and a lot of x-fans like them too
Thanks in advance if you respond the questions
Enjoying exceptional a lot
I’m obviously not Tom but I’ve seen this sentiment come up a lot in the last couple weeks and it makes me curious: why the assumption that these books will be canceled? Uncanny and Exceptional seem to both be doing well, and Kurt, Kate and Bobby are main cast members in the books, so why be worried they’re going anywhere unless we get word the book is canceled?
It's more about curiosity like I'm only keeping up the books cuz of my favs if they weren't in there
I probably wouldn't be and you never knows when a book can be canceled these days
I would have read the hell out of that Shocker comic.
As a process question, how do you approach editing an issue at its various stages of production (i.e. editing a script vs editing a fully drawn page)?
Dear Tom, I always look forward and enjoy this newsletter. I know as a leader in my chosen field (Education) you can never please all the people all of the time, you certainly don’t ‘ hate the fans’ in my book, which just seems a really pathetic thing to say. I think you do a good job of balancing the creative and the commercial consideration of these comics and characters we all love. My love of Marvel from those early days of Britches Weeklies to American comics, to my devotion of the. Men, to Jim Lee, to Grant Morrisons new Xmen to Hickman have kept the characters fresh for me over fifty years. And, yes there have been disappointing periods but I remain loyal. Yes, I’d love an Alan Davis Captain Britain but realise I am in a minority. So please keep doing the Newsletter. Perhaps charge for it?
"I’d love an Alan Davis Captain Britain but realise I am in a minority."
I'm with you, David.
Third the motion.
Thanks for replying Kurt. I recently read your excellent Avengers run, I was a big fan of the Triune Understanding storyline! I had a cancer two years ago and met Alan Davis at a Con in England and he noticed the tube in my arm to deliver the chemo and as a result gave me my Captain Britain Sketch half price. It’s framed on the wall.
That was very nice of Alan, and I bet it looks great. Hope you’re doing much better now.
All clear now, and yes, it looks great. I walk past it every day. A special and magical moment after a challenging time.
I second the Alan Davis Captain Britain! Or Excalibur.
Wouldn’t that be great? But would it fit in with the current ‘vibe’ of the Marvel Comic Universe? Or would it need to be a retro piece?
While I will always be happy to see more Alan Davis Captain Britain, I would also like to see the Marvel UK characters move out of the shadow of the Davis/Moore/Delano/Claremont era that they've kind of been stuck under for a good while now.
There is a lot of potential in those characters if handled by the right creators.
I agree.
I’ve been thinking a lot about supporting casts lately and how integral (IMO) they are to a book, especially a solo series. I’m sure this is case by case, but what do you think the secret is to building a consistent and likable supporting cast for a character, and are pitches that strip that cast away a harder sell for you or is that case by case as well? For myself I’m thinking of the run after IMMORTAL HULK that pretty much immediately stripped away everyone Bruce had become close to in that run, and how much that made me lose interest even though it was by a writer whose work I typically enjoy.
One thing I don't in general like about the current age of superhero comics is the relative lack of strong supporting casts, in particular when no or almost no member of such is a non-powered/superhero character, which usually ties together with the relative lack of secret identities these days. For example, since being aged up from 10ish to 18ish after a time distorted absence, I'm not sure if Jon Kent has exchanged a double digit number of word balloons to a non-powered or other not classified as superhero or villain (i.e. Damian or Amanda Waller). Due to such, we don't really get much about characters' off-duty time, hobbies, enjoyment, etc.
As far as secret identities, I can only speak for myself but it’s gotten less and less fun to watch heroes lie to the people they love. I agree that supporting casts are too neglected in a lot of series, but I honestly like the trend of most of the supporting cast knowing a hero’s identity after a while because it allows for honest conversations (and as a bonus, actually makes the hero’s loved ones *safer* because they know what’s going on).
For me, this is all very case by case. I think Spider-Man and Iron Man work better with secret identities, but that the Don Blake identity was a millstone around Thor’s neck.
Everybody in exceptional has gotten a pov moment so far even Sinister, so does iceman gonna be having some
I enjoyed this article & like your friend said – I have heard the buzz. ...In response to that, I offer you the words of my mother, (quote) "Consider The Source" (end-quote). I'm kind of in an odd place with everything. I'm an artist, musician, & writer – who puts off the same type of vibes as John Lennon, Bob Dylan, & Johnny Cash. I've also done a lot in leadership – largely via pastoring churches. I've written/recorded 100+ songs (13+ albums), written/been published in 30+ literary books, etc. More recently, since last year, I've been writing comics. 5 came out in 2024. 4 of them are still available. Stylistically, they're all over the place 'cause it was about getting my feet wet & fishing for an audience. It's been my privilege to work with so many comic shops. The list keeps growing. Basically, I consider a 3-hour driving distance from my front door as home. Ergo, I cover the Appalachian region of the USA. You actually get talked about far more highly in comic shops than you know. ...I mean, I have conversations with people all of the time about all things comics. I don't ascribe to singular appoints & fads constructed for agenda-driven narratives.
Years ago, when I was a substitute teacher, I told the class that historically smart people are always the ones who ask the question Why & analyze things rather than being fed whatever without question. Certainly, a number of people have become targets for clout-chasing agendas that seek to build a platform on mounds of discontentment, instead of going after what makes them happy. Days ago, I popped up in such a person's comments section on YouTube. Gail Simone has been nothing but terrific to me. She's a sparkling jewel in the crown of Marvel Comics – yet, people with an agenda, who've never met her, spoken to her, or read her stuff, strive to cut her off at the knees.
Nearly half a decade after a particular Kelly Sue Deconnick interview, certain people still strive to take a handful of sentences out of an entire page worth of talk & miscontextualize them to vilify her. When Kelly Sue said, "If you don't like my politics – don't read my books" – it was in response to people targeting her, reading her stuff just to verbally thrash it, and such things. That's bullcrap & not cool to do to anyone. Todd McFarlane was on a stream months ago that is run by one of those people & he said exactly what I say – he talked about walking through the grocery store & avoiding what he doesn't like & gravitating towards what he does & expressed that is what people should do in comics. Amen.
The problem with a lot of criticism is that it is genuinely bad-faith criticism. I liked the Sony movie Kraven & the Warner Brothers' movie Joker 2 just fine. While neither one of them compared to the superiority & brilliance of Deadpool & Wolverine or Spider-Man: No Way Home – they still by no means were bad movies. It's like how there is a difference in being offended & looking to get offended. Something that I've also noted often – as I had seen it as such even as a teenager – is that people who are offensive are also the same people who get easily offended. Sad, but true.
Your job is by no means an easy one. I will say that my journey into writing comics professionally has been a nice one. I've had numerous people who currently work in or have worked in the mainstream perpetually all of whom have been nice to me & are rooting for me to succeed. It's not hard to see why either – I'm not attacking anyone. I like to see others do well. Mr. Brevoort, if I was ever working with you – even if it was just for a 1-shot or something – it'd be a metaphorical feather in my cap. I feel like there's a certain trashiness to dog people who you do or have worked with. I'm praying for you. If you check your email – you'll see that I wrote you – I say this merely so you're aware. I know that you're a busy person. Perhaps one day our paths will cross at a ComicCon or something.
PS: Within film & television, I have a good feeling that I'll enjoy THUNDERBOLTS*. I'm also looking forward to the live-action SPIDER-MAN NOIR. I have an account with Previews & pick & choose things that speak to me to have them placed in my pull-box.
I will say, though, the Garthan Saal Nova costume design was really cool, so at least you had that from the final issue. I had no issue with Phil Gosier's art at the time as I was accustomed to it from the later issues of G.I. JOE... I'm not sure what I would think of it if I were to revisit it today.
As for your friend and his response to your newsletter, telling you to stop.... No. Fans are sensitive, myself included, and they react and say things that are often untrue. (Heck, I remember getting really nasty at you when I was 19 years old on AOL, though I was going through some personal issues at the time which may have made me even more obnoxious than I normally would have been at 19). Obviously you don't hate fans or you wouldn't be doing this newsletter. Just like we know you're a fan too, and you want the ability to honestly offer your feelings and opinions. In short -- don't sweat it.
I feel like I can't pop in here without a question so I'll ask it: Do you think it's better for a popular character to have only one title, perhaps distributed more, or a family of titles? For example, is a biweekly AMAZING SPIDER-MAN a better notion than the Web of/Amazing/Adjectiveless/Spectacular we had in 35 years ago, or the Superman family of Man of Steel, Adventures, Action, and the main title?
One of the main things I love about the From the Ashes books is that each series has it's own unique pacing. Adjectiveless double ships and is fast-paced with multiple storyline building. Exceptional comes out once a month and takes a leisurely pace (kind of like a hang out vibe). Storm feels thoughtful, deliberate and more heady and emotional. X-Factor would go as fast as the jokes would come.
This might just be the way I'm personally reading these, but I really enjoy that there is such a variety in tone and pace. For me, the four books I mentioned really have a pacing that fits the characters in each.
How do you set-up that type of variety while creating and maintaining an entire line of comics?
Thanks for confirming the Spidey appearance. I've been counting a single Spidey hand reaching through a window to steal party food, so this will count too.
I also want to say thank you for the newsletter and how frankly you answer questions here. I see the ways you get misinterpreted online, and that's a massive shame, but I appreciate you answering pretty much any questions posed to you. That's a wonderful resource for a comic fan.
My question this week: is there a costume in comics that you miss because it changed for some reason?