"So the concern was that a hero with the Marvel name needed to represent the whole of Marvel in some manner."
Do you feel that has been accomplished with Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel? Or was that something left behind when the change happened? Either way, i like her as Cap and for me she is The Captain Marvel, so I'm glad that ended up happening.
And even if you won't talk about it for a while, congrats on the X-men Editor rol. I hope it gets to be exciting and gives us good stories.
Another great newsletter, Tom! Question for you: Can you speak to some of the challenges of bringing old Epic books like Epic Illustrated and the like to Marvel Unlimited or even physical reprints? Thanks!
Just want to offer another congratulations on the news, Tom. And to see that when the time finally comes that you want to spill more beans to Polygon or io9, consider this a standing offer.
(But does this mean I have to retract my report that you'll be the artist on Daredevil? Because I was really looking forward to buying my first original art.)
I've had similar thoughts about Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5. I first read a reprint as a kid, and it was a fun, engaging issue, but it falls apart when you think about it. It's a classic case of bloating the mythology. It might be interesting, but it's not Spider-Man.
I always assumed the real reason Peter was raised by his aunt and uncle was because "Aunt May and Uncle Ben" are far more memorable character names than "Spidey's mom and dad."
Carol Danvers has an interesting past that may have caused some people to pause (the terrible events of Avengers 200 come to mind, the alcoholism, etc..)..maybe Marvel wanted more of a squeaky clean name bearer?
Makes me wonder why they did not go with Monica Rambeau as the main Captain Marvel - who had more of a clean slate past (daughter of a firefighter!) - would love to hear Tom's thoughts on Monica (who was an Avengers mainstay in the 80s but then seemed to be pushed offstage after her creator Roger Stern left Marvel).
Talk of legal challenges to the Squadron Supreme from DC has brought to mind another long-standing query of mine. You may recall Nightwatch, an early-90s Terry Kavanagh creation who hung around the Spider-books for a while, participated in Maximum Carnage, and, oh yeah, looked exactly like Spawn. In the first issue of his solo series, he gets a technological upgrade to his costume that has the added benefit of making him slightly less Spawn-like. This apparently came out late enough in the game that the first issue’s original cover, which is reproduced in the book, has the character’s original, Spawn-ier look. I’ve always heard rumours that the redesign came about thanks to legal action by Todd McFarlane - is that true? Or was Marvel just pre-emptively avoiding liability?
Thanks for the spotlight on Original Sin. I just reread it for the first time since release this summer and it was so great.
Kudos to Mike’s full art chores on all the issues and as much as Jason has written Punisher, his interactions with the heroes and especially Dr. Strange in this story remain my favorite for sure.
Question- Speaking of Fury and Punisher, Garth Ennis has carved out a wonderful overlapping ‘Nam history with the two characters over many stories with another series announced some years back called, “Get Fury”. Last I saw was that it was written and drawn but hasn’t popped yet.
Not yours direct, I know, but any rumblings around the campfire that it might see the light of day?
Thank you for this wonderful space and congrats on the new gig!
You mention the world of Raylon gibbons…. Elmore Leonards stories are taut, tight, terrific with humor and humanity. His achilles heel was a endowing Raylon, Chili and the rest with intelligence way above their adversaries, but that must have been the writers true world view - heroes are smart and compassionate - their opposites are unredeemable dumbasses. No, no Victor Von Dooms or Erik Killmongers standing against him to really make the challenge a challenge.
Congratulations again, Mr. X. I know we’re in good hands. And sorry, I wrote about this to you on twitter, but I know you pay attention to comments, so I’ll mention this once more in the hopes you take it into consideration:
I love Krakoa, please keep it. I got so tired of the years of X-men in hiding and hunted, and I would also rather you not just reset to Xavier heading up the school. And I love Duggan and Gillen’s contributions especially, and I hope we’ll see them involved in your tenure as head of X.
My guess would have been that Marvel was going to be licensing the DC characters and you were going to edit them. But the X-books are interesting challenge too, given how you've talked about the fact that what you liked best about them was the product of a now bygone era. I tend to think attempts to go "back" won't work; as I recall, Decimation was an attempt to restore the feeling of mutants as an endangered minority, but it didn't seem sustainable and took away a lot of what made the X-books popular in modern days. Conversely, I think the Krakoa setup reduces some of the dramatic tension, because I think a big part of the appeal of the mutant concept is "They could be among you" (eg; the "It's 1984. Do you know what your children are?"). So to a degree there really isn't a need to reinvent the wheel; everyone who lives on Marvel Earth knows who Charles Xavier and the X-Men are at this point. Let them be the public face of mutantdom and operate out of Westchester. That isn't going to stop right-wingers from scape-goating and fear-mongering against them, so it’s not like they're any safer in that more "established" position. And if new mutants emerge every day, that gives the opportunity to also focus stories on characters who aren't in the public spotlight.
okay that explains your public animosity with Nick Lowe but what about your public animosity with me
also congrats I guess
You know what you did, Chip. (Took the last sandwich at the retreat three consecutive retreats)
Looking forward to what you do with the X-Men!
Love your column, Tom!
"So the concern was that a hero with the Marvel name needed to represent the whole of Marvel in some manner."
Do you feel that has been accomplished with Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel? Or was that something left behind when the change happened? Either way, i like her as Cap and for me she is The Captain Marvel, so I'm glad that ended up happening.
And even if you won't talk about it for a while, congrats on the X-men Editor rol. I hope it gets to be exciting and gives us good stories.
Congrats on the gig, Tom!
Another great newsletter, Tom! Question for you: Can you speak to some of the challenges of bringing old Epic books like Epic Illustrated and the like to Marvel Unlimited or even physical reprints? Thanks!
Just want to offer another congratulations on the news, Tom. And to see that when the time finally comes that you want to spill more beans to Polygon or io9, consider this a standing offer.
(But does this mean I have to retract my report that you'll be the artist on Daredevil? Because I was really looking forward to buying my first original art.)
Congratulations on the X-Men!
I've had similar thoughts about Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5. I first read a reprint as a kid, and it was a fun, engaging issue, but it falls apart when you think about it. It's a classic case of bloating the mythology. It might be interesting, but it's not Spider-Man.
I always assumed the real reason Peter was raised by his aunt and uncle was because "Aunt May and Uncle Ben" are far more memorable character names than "Spidey's mom and dad."
Good luck with the X-Books. Hopefully this leads to less of them with fewer crossovers. It's too overwhelming.
Carol Danvers has an interesting past that may have caused some people to pause (the terrible events of Avengers 200 come to mind, the alcoholism, etc..)..maybe Marvel wanted more of a squeaky clean name bearer?
Makes me wonder why they did not go with Monica Rambeau as the main Captain Marvel - who had more of a clean slate past (daughter of a firefighter!) - would love to hear Tom's thoughts on Monica (who was an Avengers mainstay in the 80s but then seemed to be pushed offstage after her creator Roger Stern left Marvel).
Talk of legal challenges to the Squadron Supreme from DC has brought to mind another long-standing query of mine. You may recall Nightwatch, an early-90s Terry Kavanagh creation who hung around the Spider-books for a while, participated in Maximum Carnage, and, oh yeah, looked exactly like Spawn. In the first issue of his solo series, he gets a technological upgrade to his costume that has the added benefit of making him slightly less Spawn-like. This apparently came out late enough in the game that the first issue’s original cover, which is reproduced in the book, has the character’s original, Spawn-ier look. I’ve always heard rumours that the redesign came about thanks to legal action by Todd McFarlane - is that true? Or was Marvel just pre-emptively avoiding liability?
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the spotlight on Original Sin. I just reread it for the first time since release this summer and it was so great.
Kudos to Mike’s full art chores on all the issues and as much as Jason has written Punisher, his interactions with the heroes and especially Dr. Strange in this story remain my favorite for sure.
Question- Speaking of Fury and Punisher, Garth Ennis has carved out a wonderful overlapping ‘Nam history with the two characters over many stories with another series announced some years back called, “Get Fury”. Last I saw was that it was written and drawn but hasn’t popped yet.
Not yours direct, I know, but any rumblings around the campfire that it might see the light of day?
Thank you for this wonderful space and congrats on the new gig!
Yes! Would love to see that other planned Ennis Punisher Max series - I think Goran Parlov was supposed to draw it as well!
Good luck and congratulations, fantastic.
You mention the world of Raylon gibbons…. Elmore Leonards stories are taut, tight, terrific with humor and humanity. His achilles heel was a endowing Raylon, Chili and the rest with intelligence way above their adversaries, but that must have been the writers true world view - heroes are smart and compassionate - their opposites are unredeemable dumbasses. No, no Victor Von Dooms or Erik Killmongers standing against him to really make the challenge a challenge.
Congratulations again, Mr. X. I know we’re in good hands. And sorry, I wrote about this to you on twitter, but I know you pay attention to comments, so I’ll mention this once more in the hopes you take it into consideration:
I love Krakoa, please keep it. I got so tired of the years of X-men in hiding and hunted, and I would also rather you not just reset to Xavier heading up the school. And I love Duggan and Gillen’s contributions especially, and I hope we’ll see them involved in your tenure as head of X.
Thank you, and again, congratulations!
My guess would have been that Marvel was going to be licensing the DC characters and you were going to edit them. But the X-books are interesting challenge too, given how you've talked about the fact that what you liked best about them was the product of a now bygone era. I tend to think attempts to go "back" won't work; as I recall, Decimation was an attempt to restore the feeling of mutants as an endangered minority, but it didn't seem sustainable and took away a lot of what made the X-books popular in modern days. Conversely, I think the Krakoa setup reduces some of the dramatic tension, because I think a big part of the appeal of the mutant concept is "They could be among you" (eg; the "It's 1984. Do you know what your children are?"). So to a degree there really isn't a need to reinvent the wheel; everyone who lives on Marvel Earth knows who Charles Xavier and the X-Men are at this point. Let them be the public face of mutantdom and operate out of Westchester. That isn't going to stop right-wingers from scape-goating and fear-mongering against them, so it’s not like they're any safer in that more "established" position. And if new mutants emerge every day, that gives the opportunity to also focus stories on characters who aren't in the public spotlight.