I have one question Tom. Marvel unsurprisingly has a ton of characters we haven’t seen in a long while. Does anyone peruse the names and lists of characters from time to time, to see if there’s anything worth another go? Or does it not really work like that?
I’d love to see Warlock, Nova and Quasar back again, and here’s an old one, The Brute (aka Reed Richards).
Thanks for another one of these, Tom. Since I am, at this juncture, honor-bound to continue posing a question each newsletter lest I forfeit my dubious journalistic credibility, here's this week's:
We are in the alternate reality of Earth-B-Voort, in which you ensconced yourself at DC Comics rather than Marvel in the early 1990's. You were given a free hand to choose a family of titles, and fashion it in your preferred direction, rather than the one our reality took it. Which titles did you choose, and what different choices did you make with them?
I have been thinking about the X-Men recently due to your recent posts - my era (as a kid of the 80s) was the Claremont/JRJR/Silvestri era that peaked with Jim Lee and the second title. I lost interest after that (new writers and probably my tastes changing as I aged out of a lot of types of super hero comics).
I always wonder was one of the success factors of the CC X-men the fact that it 'stood alone' - you felt it was connected but it was in its own corner of the Marvel U (ironically I felt the X- movies also benefitted by being in their own Fox movie Universe for 2 decades).
CC was smart to bring in comic and pop culture tropes that made X-men feel relevant (Aliens is a hit movie so we get the Brood, Simonson's Thor is popular so the teams go to Asgard, etc), but still having it feel like it was standing on its own.
Do you think the X-Titles benefit from tying into the larger Marvel U or being off on their own with more tangential links to the rest of the lines (Avengers, Spidey, etc)?
I'm not Tom, but I love the Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Hulk books. I think the first Spider-Man and Kirby books are essential reading for Marvel fans, but they're all quite good.
I look at that Atom Hawkman cover and realize that my age group got to live in the best bracket as far as comics go. I was born in 1975. I was introduced to comics around 1983. I learned what I liked a few years later. I got to learn about the Golden Age greats just before they finished phasing out of this plane of reality, although I never got to meet any of them. But I still hunt for Silver Age titans when I go to cons. I got to chat with Neal Adams a few years ago in Boston. This year, in San Diego, I met Bill Seinkeiwicz.
Story wise, we get the best. We get all the storytelling advances plus a world where a huge media company will spend a couple billion dollars to basically adapt The Infinity Gauntlet into a prestige movie experience. More people can make comics, and there are still so many storytelling ideas!
But all this progress comes at a literal cost. It's hard to make paper magazines profitably. That means kids today don't get to pick up Marvel Tales to see Romita Spidey like I did, and even those reprints might be too pricey in the back issue bin.
I think the medium will survive, but what can we do to make it accessible for eight year olds today?
I was recently reading about an artist that received some criticism back when he was first starting in the industry. He did not take the criticism well and indicated his success was proof that the editor didn’t know what he was talking about. Honestly though, I think the editor was right and had the artist taken the advice he would be a stronger artist today. Do you find most people are receptive to your analysis of their work? Or is it difficult to navigate helping an artist or writer with a critical suggestion?
You've written where you weren't sure about bringing Bucky back as the Winter Solider, not because Ed Brubaker could tell a good story about it but because at the story's long end we'd have a now-alive Bucky with no place in the Marvel Universe.
Are there any resurrected character stories at DC where you thought "geez, I wouldn't have done this if I were editor?" Wally West? Jason Todd? Wally West again? Choose from a selection of Superboys?
One of my favorite covers as a kid was that Invincible Iron Man #76 you had in your last post (I’ve had it! I’m done for!). My mom gave it to me when I was a kid home sick from school and it started my lifelong fandom of old shell head. Years later, I found an Invincible Iron Man #9 … with almost the exact same cover and the same story. So #76 was new to me, but not new at all. I know it’s before your time, but do you know how often that happened or why? Maybe it was a missed deadline so it was just a one-off?
So I just went to Disney for the first time (yes, at 52) and loved it. My girlfriend turned me on to the magic of Disney pins, and I bought a few of the Marvel First Appearance pins. They're really nice- they're made on a thick metal, and they're made of two layers with a hinge. The front of the pin is a reproduction of a Marvel cover, then the pin opens like a book to show the panel of the first appearance of a noted Marvel character. I'm in love with them, and if I didn't have a budget for these things, I'd buy every one of them.
Thus, my questions: 1. Have you been to Disney, and do you have a favorite place to go there? 2. Do you have a favorite piece of Marvel merchandise, something that you treasure either for personal reasons or just because you like it?
Hi Tom! When a new writer is brought to a series, does the editorial team give them an idea for a new direction, or is it expected that the writer bring an idea with them? Thanks!
I have one question Tom. Marvel unsurprisingly has a ton of characters we haven’t seen in a long while. Does anyone peruse the names and lists of characters from time to time, to see if there’s anything worth another go? Or does it not really work like that?
I’d love to see Warlock, Nova and Quasar back again, and here’s an old one, The Brute (aka Reed Richards).
Thanks for another one of these, Tom. Since I am, at this juncture, honor-bound to continue posing a question each newsletter lest I forfeit my dubious journalistic credibility, here's this week's:
We are in the alternate reality of Earth-B-Voort, in which you ensconced yourself at DC Comics rather than Marvel in the early 1990's. You were given a free hand to choose a family of titles, and fashion it in your preferred direction, rather than the one our reality took it. Which titles did you choose, and what different choices did you make with them?
I have been thinking about the X-Men recently due to your recent posts - my era (as a kid of the 80s) was the Claremont/JRJR/Silvestri era that peaked with Jim Lee and the second title. I lost interest after that (new writers and probably my tastes changing as I aged out of a lot of types of super hero comics).
I always wonder was one of the success factors of the CC X-men the fact that it 'stood alone' - you felt it was connected but it was in its own corner of the Marvel U (ironically I felt the X- movies also benefitted by being in their own Fox movie Universe for 2 decades).
CC was smart to bring in comic and pop culture tropes that made X-men feel relevant (Aliens is a hit movie so we get the Brood, Simonson's Thor is popular so the teams go to Asgard, etc), but still having it feel like it was standing on its own.
Do you think the X-Titles benefit from tying into the larger Marvel U or being off on their own with more tangential links to the rest of the lines (Avengers, Spidey, etc)?
I've become obsessed with Marvel's Epic Collections line, and I was curious: Do you have any volumes that you especially love and/or would recommend?
I'm not Tom, but I love the Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Hulk books. I think the first Spider-Man and Kirby books are essential reading for Marvel fans, but they're all quite good.
Now really wanna read a book called ADJECTIVE AVENGERS !! ;-)
I look at that Atom Hawkman cover and realize that my age group got to live in the best bracket as far as comics go. I was born in 1975. I was introduced to comics around 1983. I learned what I liked a few years later. I got to learn about the Golden Age greats just before they finished phasing out of this plane of reality, although I never got to meet any of them. But I still hunt for Silver Age titans when I go to cons. I got to chat with Neal Adams a few years ago in Boston. This year, in San Diego, I met Bill Seinkeiwicz.
Story wise, we get the best. We get all the storytelling advances plus a world where a huge media company will spend a couple billion dollars to basically adapt The Infinity Gauntlet into a prestige movie experience. More people can make comics, and there are still so many storytelling ideas!
But all this progress comes at a literal cost. It's hard to make paper magazines profitably. That means kids today don't get to pick up Marvel Tales to see Romita Spidey like I did, and even those reprints might be too pricey in the back issue bin.
I think the medium will survive, but what can we do to make it accessible for eight year olds today?
well said!
I was recently reading about an artist that received some criticism back when he was first starting in the industry. He did not take the criticism well and indicated his success was proof that the editor didn’t know what he was talking about. Honestly though, I think the editor was right and had the artist taken the advice he would be a stronger artist today. Do you find most people are receptive to your analysis of their work? Or is it difficult to navigate helping an artist or writer with a critical suggestion?
You've written where you weren't sure about bringing Bucky back as the Winter Solider, not because Ed Brubaker could tell a good story about it but because at the story's long end we'd have a now-alive Bucky with no place in the Marvel Universe.
Are there any resurrected character stories at DC where you thought "geez, I wouldn't have done this if I were editor?" Wally West? Jason Todd? Wally West again? Choose from a selection of Superboys?
Hi, Tom!
One of my favorite covers as a kid was that Invincible Iron Man #76 you had in your last post (I’ve had it! I’m done for!). My mom gave it to me when I was a kid home sick from school and it started my lifelong fandom of old shell head. Years later, I found an Invincible Iron Man #9 … with almost the exact same cover and the same story. So #76 was new to me, but not new at all. I know it’s before your time, but do you know how often that happened or why? Maybe it was a missed deadline so it was just a one-off?
So I just went to Disney for the first time (yes, at 52) and loved it. My girlfriend turned me on to the magic of Disney pins, and I bought a few of the Marvel First Appearance pins. They're really nice- they're made on a thick metal, and they're made of two layers with a hinge. The front of the pin is a reproduction of a Marvel cover, then the pin opens like a book to show the panel of the first appearance of a noted Marvel character. I'm in love with them, and if I didn't have a budget for these things, I'd buy every one of them.
Thus, my questions: 1. Have you been to Disney, and do you have a favorite place to go there? 2. Do you have a favorite piece of Marvel merchandise, something that you treasure either for personal reasons or just because you like it?
Isn't it a bit soon to after the last Thunderbolts mini to reuse the name with a new cast and mission?
Hi Tom! When a new writer is brought to a series, does the editorial team give them an idea for a new direction, or is it expected that the writer bring an idea with them? Thanks!