FWIW, my riff on the golden rule is that (as a rule) there’s justification for being an asshole.
That said, I might honor it more in the breech, I don’t know, I don’t keep score. Then again, I think fairly highly of Howard Chaykin... I suppose the line between being a jerk and being righteously or rightly angry is a relative thin one.
Meanwhile, even those this isn’t my holiday, I’m gifting you all this since Tom mentioned Wertham:
Thank you for sharing your beliefs. From reading your writings over the years I have thought that this may be how you felt, but I am glad to see you say it. I am surprised at how you and I believe in all of the same things. It may be because we were raised in the same era by parents with similar ways of thinking.
Great newsletter, as always, Tom! One question - I've been reading a ton of Avengers issues from different eras (mostly to fill gaps of my own reading, or just for kicks) and I've found a lot of entertaining runs that don't fall under the typical "Best Runs Ever." So, as someone who's edited the book forever and read most, if not all, of the issues - which are your favorite "underrated" Avengers/West Coast Avengers runs? Happy holidays!
Great article this week Tom - Happy Holidays - one question for you: Marvel ws always known as the 'world outside your window' - I find in recent years the titles are more fantastical - Avengers are no longer on 5th avenue but in a giant Celestial, the X-men are on Krakoa, Spidey is swinging through the multiverse, etc..not a complaint - I love all these titles but I wonder if that is something you have taken note of?
Do you feel the need to 'ground' some of these titles after their current adventures (will the Avengers get back to Earth and work out of the old mansion)? Or is this just nostalgia talking? I just noted it as a lot of the titles new status quo was out of NYC and into some fantastic setting these days (maybe it is an old trope that the heroes all worked out of Swanky mansions:)).
"whole storylines around exploring and explaining the connections between disparate earlier stories... At Marvel, we often refer to those as “stories about stories”
Didn't Bill Jemas come up with that term? At least, the first time I recall hearing it was in an interview with him or perhaps the pages of Marville. Ironically, the biggest Marvel film of all time, Avengers: Endgame, was a story about stories (ie; the previous Marvel films) so I'm not so sure Jemas was right about the mass appeal of the concept.
I tend to think the problems with stories about stories occur mostly in the execution and the storytelling skill of the given creators, rather than the concept itself. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a series of stories about stories, and it's regarded as one of the finest comics produced, because Moore and O'Neill provide enough for it to be enjoyed on multiple levels; both by those who haven't ever read the source material, and an added experience for those who have.
"pretty much the only thing that we can evaluate a newcomer like yourself by is the finished product. "
How finished does a product have to be in order for you to look at it? Do you only look at comics printed on paper from newcomers, or might you check out a webcomic someone sends you a link to? Do you limit it to comics solicited by the biggest distributors (ie; PRH, Diamond, Lunar), or could someone use other channels get your attention? Would you need to pick it up from the comic store yourself, or can you accept freebies after solicitation but before release? Has anyone ever tried to convince store owners, where they know editors shop, to carry their self-published comics, in the hopes of getting access that way?
Wondering if there is, or has been consideration, of some kind of character reference guide for artists working at Marvel to help things like artists not drawing Captain America in his slightly updated costume to characters of color being, well, colored in ways that some people find offensive? Would such a thing even be logistically feasible? Would artists bristle at that level of direction?
A question about story titles: Back in the day, it seems like story titles were de rigueur for Marvel comics, even if readers often didn't pay much attention to them. (Everyone knows the words "This Man, This Monster" but how many remember, say, the title of the last chapter of the Dark Phoenix Saga?) But pretty much every story had one. These days, it seems a lot more inconsistent. Some series have them, some don't. Some series normally have them but every once in a while forget for an issue. Some series have them in the periodicals but omit them in the trade collections. (A decision I'm not too fond of. I feel the story title's still part of the story, even if a very small part.)
Was there an official change of policy at some point, and what brought it about? And what goes into deciding whether a book should have story titles? I imagine it's at least partly individual writer's preference, but I also see instances of broader consistency than that (like how all the Judgment Day minis and one-shots didn't have them).
FWIW, my riff on the golden rule is that (as a rule) there’s justification for being an asshole.
That said, I might honor it more in the breech, I don’t know, I don’t keep score. Then again, I think fairly highly of Howard Chaykin... I suppose the line between being a jerk and being righteously or rightly angry is a relative thin one.
Meanwhile, even those this isn’t my holiday, I’m gifting you all this since Tom mentioned Wertham:
https://www.academia.edu/1564874/Seducing_the_Innocent_Fredric_Wertham_and_the_Falsifications_that_Helped_Condemn_Comics
A really great great read, all important things to keep in mind this time of year. Enjoy the holidays!
Thank you for sharing your beliefs. From reading your writings over the years I have thought that this may be how you felt, but I am glad to see you say it. I am surprised at how you and I believe in all of the same things. It may be because we were raised in the same era by parents with similar ways of thinking.
The talk of Kid and Young put me in a mind to want to see Mary Thanos, Uncle Thanos, and Thoppy the Thanos Bunny.
Great newsletter, as always, Tom! One question - I've been reading a ton of Avengers issues from different eras (mostly to fill gaps of my own reading, or just for kicks) and I've found a lot of entertaining runs that don't fall under the typical "Best Runs Ever." So, as someone who's edited the book forever and read most, if not all, of the issues - which are your favorite "underrated" Avengers/West Coast Avengers runs? Happy holidays!
Great article this week Tom - Happy Holidays - one question for you: Marvel ws always known as the 'world outside your window' - I find in recent years the titles are more fantastical - Avengers are no longer on 5th avenue but in a giant Celestial, the X-men are on Krakoa, Spidey is swinging through the multiverse, etc..not a complaint - I love all these titles but I wonder if that is something you have taken note of?
Do you feel the need to 'ground' some of these titles after their current adventures (will the Avengers get back to Earth and work out of the old mansion)? Or is this just nostalgia talking? I just noted it as a lot of the titles new status quo was out of NYC and into some fantastic setting these days (maybe it is an old trope that the heroes all worked out of Swanky mansions:)).
And to throw some credits on the Christmas cards --
-- the first looks to be by Kirby and Sinnott plus a bunch of mostly-Kirby stats, and the other three are all the work of Mirthful Marie Severin.
Thank you for answering my question!
"whole storylines around exploring and explaining the connections between disparate earlier stories... At Marvel, we often refer to those as “stories about stories”
Didn't Bill Jemas come up with that term? At least, the first time I recall hearing it was in an interview with him or perhaps the pages of Marville. Ironically, the biggest Marvel film of all time, Avengers: Endgame, was a story about stories (ie; the previous Marvel films) so I'm not so sure Jemas was right about the mass appeal of the concept.
I tend to think the problems with stories about stories occur mostly in the execution and the storytelling skill of the given creators, rather than the concept itself. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a series of stories about stories, and it's regarded as one of the finest comics produced, because Moore and O'Neill provide enough for it to be enjoyed on multiple levels; both by those who haven't ever read the source material, and an added experience for those who have.
"pretty much the only thing that we can evaluate a newcomer like yourself by is the finished product. "
How finished does a product have to be in order for you to look at it? Do you only look at comics printed on paper from newcomers, or might you check out a webcomic someone sends you a link to? Do you limit it to comics solicited by the biggest distributors (ie; PRH, Diamond, Lunar), or could someone use other channels get your attention? Would you need to pick it up from the comic store yourself, or can you accept freebies after solicitation but before release? Has anyone ever tried to convince store owners, where they know editors shop, to carry their self-published comics, in the hopes of getting access that way?
Hi Tom,
Wondering if there is, or has been consideration, of some kind of character reference guide for artists working at Marvel to help things like artists not drawing Captain America in his slightly updated costume to characters of color being, well, colored in ways that some people find offensive? Would such a thing even be logistically feasible? Would artists bristle at that level of direction?
Aww, 😪 my facsimile reprint question never got answered. 😭
Hi Tom,
A question about story titles: Back in the day, it seems like story titles were de rigueur for Marvel comics, even if readers often didn't pay much attention to them. (Everyone knows the words "This Man, This Monster" but how many remember, say, the title of the last chapter of the Dark Phoenix Saga?) But pretty much every story had one. These days, it seems a lot more inconsistent. Some series have them, some don't. Some series normally have them but every once in a while forget for an issue. Some series have them in the periodicals but omit them in the trade collections. (A decision I'm not too fond of. I feel the story title's still part of the story, even if a very small part.)
Was there an official change of policy at some point, and what brought it about? And what goes into deciding whether a book should have story titles? I imagine it's at least partly individual writer's preference, but I also see instances of broader consistency than that (like how all the Judgment Day minis and one-shots didn't have them).