I recent read Venom: Along Came a Spider, which you edited in the 1990s. There was a second ~book-length symbiote story included in each of the four issues, written by Evan Skolnick, but not featuring Venom. Were they always intended to run together?
Can we get a single issue facsimile of every comic Stan Lee wrote starting from Fantastic Four #1, until the time he left Marvel? I would buy every single 1! Please, I've been dreaming of this since I started reading comics 20 years ago! Wouldn't these single issues be a way of...printing money for Marvel? An avenue they have not done yet? Bringing excitement to the stores on Wednesdays? Imagine getting every single issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, X-Men, etc, with the cover art, bagged & boarded! Make it happen Tom! New subscriber here. Thanks for your books.
I have had something similar happened to me. Some guy also from Isreal, who followed my work, but I have never spoke to before, called me on Facebook Messenger in the middle of the night, I sent him an angry message told him not to call again, sure enough, he called again couple of days later. So I blocked him.
I've had people accidentally call me on Facebook Messenger before. All it takes is touching a spot on the screen. But it sounds like you weren't that enthused with this guy even before this.
Not sure if you are talking to Tom or me, but my guy wasn't accidental, he left a voice message after he called me the second time. I remember the message was something like "Hi, how are you, what do you do, are you an artist?"
Oh no doubt that wasn't accidental, but Tom's might be. Regardless, if as an editor you're being bombarded with unsolicited submissions, and not one of them has been worth a response, then blocking is probably the right approach, accidental call or not.
Are the days of the continuity-heavy story gone forever, do you think? It's just changing audience's tastes, I know, but in some respects I miss the stories that dipped heavily into Marvel's past. Or am I wrong about them being gone at all?
I wouldn't say they're gone at all--the recent Marauders Annual #1, for instance, included deep-cut references to decades-old issues of X-Men 2099 (Brimstone Love), Muties (Bouncer), X-Force (Tempo betraying the MLF), Alpha Flight Special (Stitch), Wolverine (Carver), and Uncanny X-Men (Mr. Clean)... Actually, the whole X-Men line has been doing a bang-up job of building on the past in ways that don't require footnotes to make sense but offer extra meaning to people who know what they're referring to. (Sunspot egging Magneto on in X-Men Red by calling him "headmaster" is a lovely example of that.)
Hi, Tom! Quick q: I noticed in the pages of Avengers Assemble that Kid Thanos is now Young Thanos, and though in no way does it affect my enjoyment of the book, I was just curious about why the change?
The 1978 "Silver Surfer" book that Fireside originally published was the final Lee/Kirby collaboration (and arguably one of the very earliest graphic novels), and it seems to have been reprinted only once, 25 years ago. All the rest of Kirby's '70s work for Marvel has been more or less available over the past decade (aside from "2001," which I imagine has some licensing problems); has the Surfer book stayed out of print because of rights complications, or for some other reason?
I'll take the chance to thank you for your questions. This entry was great and Tom's answers will help with something I'm currently working on (mostly for my own amusement).
I've been reading all of Spider-Man over the last couple years, revisiting my collection and reading the stuff I missed for the first time. I'm currently revisiting the Vol. 2 era, late 2000, almost to the end of Howard Mackie's tenure. His time on the relaunch seems to have been fraught with changes behind the scenes just from reading what was published, with things like MJ's stalker and the long-running Senator Ward plot pretty visibly changing course repeatedly, or Peter's job at Tricorp introduced and basically abandoned. I was wondering if you had any memory of what was going on that caused the book to change direction so often that you cared to share.
Thanks for another great newsletter! It’s always fascinating to me to learn about the goings-on at Marvel and your perspective on them and comics as a whole. Thanks also for answering my question, silly and slight as it was. :)
Were the old-school editor’s notes (of the “Connors first became the Lizard in ASM #6 - Reptilian Roy” variety) actually written by the editor, or were they put into the script by the writer?
Apologies if you’ve been asked this before! It struck me at the time the Avengers were reaching peak popularity in the MCU that there didn’t seem to be a major attempt from Marvel Comics to cash in on potential new readership. For example, I think the Avengers lineup at the time was pretty different from what people were seeing in theaters. Were there conversations about offering similar lineups/characterizations for folks who loved the films but hadn’t picked up a comic?
I'm pretty sure that books like "Avengers Assemble (2012)" were an attempt at that. Just looking at the cover of the first issue you have the roster from the movie.
Hi Mr. Brevoort I’ve been a recent subscriber to your substack and have been looking at your back log of posts. I have a weird question that may have already been asked, but what qualifications does a writer or artist need to get an exclusivity contract? Thanks again for the great content!
Hello! I have written a number of issues for a couple comic series that an artist friend and I have self produced and printed. These were based on the artist’s original idea so he’s had the final say in what ends up in the comic. The changes he makes sometimes improves the story but other times...not so much. When looking at prospective writers do editors and publishers (in general) look only at produced comics or do they look at the comics AND the scripts on which they’re based? Thank you!
I recent read Venom: Along Came a Spider, which you edited in the 1990s. There was a second ~book-length symbiote story included in each of the four issues, written by Evan Skolnick, but not featuring Venom. Were they always intended to run together?
Can we get a single issue facsimile of every comic Stan Lee wrote starting from Fantastic Four #1, until the time he left Marvel? I would buy every single 1! Please, I've been dreaming of this since I started reading comics 20 years ago! Wouldn't these single issues be a way of...printing money for Marvel? An avenue they have not done yet? Bringing excitement to the stores on Wednesdays? Imagine getting every single issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, X-Men, etc, with the cover art, bagged & boarded! Make it happen Tom! New subscriber here. Thanks for your books.
I have had something similar happened to me. Some guy also from Isreal, who followed my work, but I have never spoke to before, called me on Facebook Messenger in the middle of the night, I sent him an angry message told him not to call again, sure enough, he called again couple of days later. So I blocked him.
Sounds like it might be the exact same guy. Which would put the lie to his protestations of it being an accident.
Probably not though, he claimed to be a graphic designer. Doesn't even know I do comic books, but follows me for some reason.
I've had people accidentally call me on Facebook Messenger before. All it takes is touching a spot on the screen. But it sounds like you weren't that enthused with this guy even before this.
Not sure if you are talking to Tom or me, but my guy wasn't accidental, he left a voice message after he called me the second time. I remember the message was something like "Hi, how are you, what do you do, are you an artist?"
Oh no doubt that wasn't accidental, but Tom's might be. Regardless, if as an editor you're being bombarded with unsolicited submissions, and not one of them has been worth a response, then blocking is probably the right approach, accidental call or not.
Are the days of the continuity-heavy story gone forever, do you think? It's just changing audience's tastes, I know, but in some respects I miss the stories that dipped heavily into Marvel's past. Or am I wrong about them being gone at all?
I wouldn't say they're gone at all--the recent Marauders Annual #1, for instance, included deep-cut references to decades-old issues of X-Men 2099 (Brimstone Love), Muties (Bouncer), X-Force (Tempo betraying the MLF), Alpha Flight Special (Stitch), Wolverine (Carver), and Uncanny X-Men (Mr. Clean)... Actually, the whole X-Men line has been doing a bang-up job of building on the past in ways that don't require footnotes to make sense but offer extra meaning to people who know what they're referring to. (Sunspot egging Magneto on in X-Men Red by calling him "headmaster" is a lovely example of that.)
Hi, Tom! Quick q: I noticed in the pages of Avengers Assemble that Kid Thanos is now Young Thanos, and though in no way does it affect my enjoyment of the book, I was just curious about why the change?
Jimmy Callaway
The 1978 "Silver Surfer" book that Fireside originally published was the final Lee/Kirby collaboration (and arguably one of the very earliest graphic novels), and it seems to have been reprinted only once, 25 years ago. All the rest of Kirby's '70s work for Marvel has been more or less available over the past decade (aside from "2001," which I imagine has some licensing problems); has the Surfer book stayed out of print because of rights complications, or for some other reason?
Thanks, Tom! I’m enlightened.
I'll take the chance to thank you for your questions. This entry was great and Tom's answers will help with something I'm currently working on (mostly for my own amusement).
You're welcome.
I've always been obsessed with how the sausage's made, sometimes even more than the sausage itself.
Should have noted, though, that Judgement Day was the best even in I-can't-remember-how-long.
I've been reading all of Spider-Man over the last couple years, revisiting my collection and reading the stuff I missed for the first time. I'm currently revisiting the Vol. 2 era, late 2000, almost to the end of Howard Mackie's tenure. His time on the relaunch seems to have been fraught with changes behind the scenes just from reading what was published, with things like MJ's stalker and the long-running Senator Ward plot pretty visibly changing course repeatedly, or Peter's job at Tricorp introduced and basically abandoned. I was wondering if you had any memory of what was going on that caused the book to change direction so often that you cared to share.
Has the Enchantress guy let up on you now that's been a recurring villain in Captain Marvel?
Thanks for another great newsletter! It’s always fascinating to me to learn about the goings-on at Marvel and your perspective on them and comics as a whole. Thanks also for answering my question, silly and slight as it was. :)
Were the old-school editor’s notes (of the “Connors first became the Lizard in ASM #6 - Reptilian Roy” variety) actually written by the editor, or were they put into the script by the writer?
Apologies if you’ve been asked this before! It struck me at the time the Avengers were reaching peak popularity in the MCU that there didn’t seem to be a major attempt from Marvel Comics to cash in on potential new readership. For example, I think the Avengers lineup at the time was pretty different from what people were seeing in theaters. Were there conversations about offering similar lineups/characterizations for folks who loved the films but hadn’t picked up a comic?
I'm pretty sure that books like "Avengers Assemble (2012)" were an attempt at that. Just looking at the cover of the first issue you have the roster from the movie.
Hi Mr. Brevoort I’ve been a recent subscriber to your substack and have been looking at your back log of posts. I have a weird question that may have already been asked, but what qualifications does a writer or artist need to get an exclusivity contract? Thanks again for the great content!
Hello! I have written a number of issues for a couple comic series that an artist friend and I have self produced and printed. These were based on the artist’s original idea so he’s had the final say in what ends up in the comic. The changes he makes sometimes improves the story but other times...not so much. When looking at prospective writers do editors and publishers (in general) look only at produced comics or do they look at the comics AND the scripts on which they’re based? Thank you!
Thanks for recommending the Muppet Family Christmas. Here's a link to a much higher resolution version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyiaS-WwGSk