Joe Quesada Has Crossed The Line With The Smoking Ban

[Hans]

Quesada's smoking ban has officially gotten out of hand. Did anyone else read the latest issue of ASM (great art by McKone) and think they were reading an anti-tobacco advertisement? It was ridiculous. There are literally 3 entire pages dedicated to showing the reading that smoking isn't cool, it's bad for your health and it's gross in general. And if that wasn't enough, Quesada includes an editor's note explaining that smoking causes lung cancer and death. As if we didn't get the message by that point (or you know, already know). And then, in X-Force: Ain't No Dog, Wolverine just happens to see a pack of smokes and just happens to get the urge to preach about the pitfalls of nicotine addiction and how he's beaten it. Aside from the fact that Wolverine's body shouldn't even become addicted to nicotine (or is tobacco just that bad? ), the entire scene is just bad.

At first, it was just a ban. Fine. It's completely ridiculous to choose one evil or vice and put a ban on it, but whatever. At least Quesada has mentioned that it's ridiculous, but it's his decision to make and he feels strongly about it. It didn't hinder storytelling. But now, he's going out of his way to make sure that kids know that cigarettes are cancer sticks. Now we're beyond the ban. Now we're entering new territory where the stories we pay upwards of $3 for are being used to promote anti-smoking campaigns. Is it a bad cause? No. But it's unnecessary and it's getting in the way of my enjoyment of a Marvel comic book.

What do you guys think?

 

[Anubis]

Eh, I don't really care. Don't smoke, don't read Spider-Man.

 

[THANOSRULES]

It's stupid.

Becuase you want on one hand, comics to be as real as possible in the beleivability of the characters..

People smoke, it should happen in comics too.

Its also hypocritical..on one hand you have heroes/villians consistantly fighting , engageing in violent behavior, and even some serious issues out there...yet they have drawn the line with SMOKING folks...

..and don't give me the "kids" excuse..becuase most of marvel's comics are NOT for kids.

But overrall I really have never even noticed it. So I don't really care.

 

[hippie_hunter]

On one hand it's rather nice to see Marvel promote the ill-effects of smoking and taking an active effort in trying to get people to stop the best way they can. My grandmother died from smoking waaaaay too many cigarettes.

On the other hand it's kinda dumb that characters that smoke like Nick Fury, J. Jonah Jameson, Wolverine, the Thing, Iron Man, the Kingpin, and the Red Skull can't smoke anymore.

 

[Hans]

It's stupid.

Becuase you want on one hand, comics to be as real as possible in the beleivability of the characters..

People smoke, it should happen in comics too.

Its also hypocritical..on one hand you have heroes/villians consistantly fighting , engageing in violent behavior, and even some serious issues out there...yet they have drawn the line with SMOKING folks...

..and don't give me the "kids" excuse..becuase most of marvel's comics are NOT for kids.

But overrall I really have never even noticed it. So I don't really care.

Exactly. At the end of Huston's story in Ain't No Dog, Wolverine is literally sitting upon a pile of bodies, drenched in blood, commenting that at least he doesn't smoke anymore, because hey, that's bad.

 

[Joker]

They only can't smoke in the regular books. In MAX Punisher, Fury is still smoking, while in bed with two prostitutes. So I can sort of see why they don't want to glorify smoking in books that kids can freely get ahold of. But I really don't care either way.

 

[Doc Destruction]

LOGAN QUIT SMOKING!

THAT is lame. Read the one shot X-Force book that came out today. It's good, but that moment made me roll me eyes. I quit smoking, but I don't care if my comic characters do.

 

[Blader5489]

Remind me why this is such a big deal?

 

[Doc Destruction]

They are making it a big deal, not us.

 

[WolfCypher]

Hmm. I haven't had the "pleasure" of reading a comic where they blantantly talk against smoking, but from what I've read here, that's just stupid. Its like those truth commercials...it gets on the nerves. Makes me want to smoke. I would rather have cigarrettes just never appear in comics than for them to go out the way to preach about the hazards of smoking.

And why stop there? Why not ban drinking? How about violence and fighting? Guns? Hey, lets ban blood! And nudity! Profanity...drugs of any kind...sex...lets make Marvel Archie Comics! I could always go for another Punisher meets Archie crossover.

 

[Hans]

Yeah, it's not about banning the habit anymore. Quesada has taken it several steps further and is now both stopping the story to remind you about the dangers of tobacco AND publishing stories that REVOLVE around telling you the dangers of tobacco. It's gotten out of hand.

 

[Themanofbat]

Quesada's smoking ban has officially gotten out of hand. Did anyone else read the latest issue of ASM (great art by McKone) and think they were reading an anti-tobacco advertisement? It was ridiculous. There are literally 3 entire pages dedicated to showing the reading that smoking isn't cool, it's bad for your health and it's gross in general. And if that wasn't enough, Quesada includes an editor's note explaining that smoking causes lung cancer and death. As if we didn't get the message by that point (or you know, already know). And then, in X-Force: Ain't No Dog, Wolverine just happens to see a pack of smokes and just happens to get the urge to preach about the pitfalls of nicotine addiction and how he's beaten it. Aside from the fact that Wolverine's body shouldn't even become addicted to nicotine (or is tobacco just that bad? ), the entire scene is just bad.

At first, it was just a ban. Fine. It's completely ridiculous to choose one evil or vice and put a ban on it, but whatever. At least Quesada has mentioned that it's ridiculous, but it's his decision to make and he feels strongly about it. It didn't hinder storytelling. But now, he's going out of his way to make sure that kids know that cigarettes are cancer sticks. Now we're beyond the ban. Now we're entering new territory where the stories we pay upwards of $3 for are being used to promote anti-smoking campaigns. Is it a bad cause? No. But it's unnecessary and it's getting in the way of my enjoyment of a Marvel comic book.

What do you guys think?

I just read the Spider-Man issue that you think was anti-tobaco, and it didn't come across like that at all... the editor's note just made me chuckle, because I knew someone would have a brain aneurysm over it...



Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket tonight...

The McKone art was great, and surprisingly enough, it was easily Gale's best issue yet since becoming part of the Spider-Team... nice "too be continued" moment at the end.

 

[Hans]

I just read the Spider-Man issue that you think was anti-tobaco, and it didn't come across like that at all... the editor's note just made me chuckle, because I knew someone would have a brain aneurysm over it...

Yeah, when nearly every exchange between two characters over the course of three pages includes some kind of jab at cigarettes, I think it becomes factually anti-tobacco. Just my opinion.

 

[Blader5489]

Yeah, it's not about banning the habit anymore. Quesada has taken it several steps further and is now both stopping the story to remind you about the dangers of tobacco AND publishing stories that REVOLVE around telling you the dangers of tobacco. It's gotten out of hand.

Warning about the dangers of tobacco? How dare he!


Wait a minute, it's Wednesday?! Holy crap I totally forgot.

 

[Hans]

Warning about the dangers of tobacco? How dare he!

Wait a minute, it's Wednesday?! Holy crap I totally forgot.

Dude, when you market a product as one thing and it turns out to be another, I think the customer has a right to *****. If I knew the X-Force one-shot was going to be an anti-smoking commercial, I'd have definitely passed on it.

 

[DoomJester]

I don't particularly care. I mean, I didn't get to read X-force, but if it was done in the manner that Spider-man's "smoking is bad" goes then I probably wouldn't mind. I mean, the conversation in Spider-man was innocuous.

I don't smoke, but I don't really care that there is a little editorial box on it.

 

[Hans]

I don't particularly care. I mean, I didn't get to read X-force, but if it was done in the manner that Spider-man's "smoking is bad" goes then I probably wouldn't mind. I mean, the conversation in Spider-man was innocuous.

I don't smoke, but I don't really care that there is a little editorial box on it.

The Wolverine story wasn't done in that way, though. It wasn't an aside about smoking. The story WAS smoking.

 

[DoomJester]

Then perhaps smoking was allegorical? Wolverine can't stop killing but at least he can stop smoking? I don't know. If you didn't like the comic because it was bad, then that's one thing, but if you didn't like it because it had a message then that's another.

I'm just saying, I haven't read it, you could be right, but the writer is pretty good, and I honestly don't think Quesada micro-mandates that much fine tuning in his stories.

 

[Hans]

Then perhaps smoking was allegorical? Wolverine can't stop killing but at least he can stop smoking? I don't know. If you didn't like the comic because it was bad, then that's one thing, but if you didn't like it because it had a message then that's another.

I'm just saying, I haven't read it, you could be right, but the writer is pretty good, and I honestly don't think Quesada micro-mandates that much fine tuning in his stories.

Man, you and me both. I wouldn't have thought someone like Huston would've been cool with doing an entire story that revolves around everything Logan doing being not as bad as his old smoking habit. Clearly, I was wrong.

 

[DoomJester]

Well, it happens, sometimes you grab a comic and it's just not what you wanted. It's happened to me more times than I wanted! I'll have to read it and see how bad it is.

 

[Blader5489]

Hans, do you smoke?

 

[Kitsune]

I've been months without a single issue of ASM and I didn't even use the patch.

 

[Doc Destruction]

I've been months without a single issue of ASM and I didn't even use the patch.

Been years for me! High five!

 

[Norman Osborn]

I've been months without a single issue of ASM and I didn't even use the patch.

There was a patch?

 

[The Question]

Quesada's smoking ban has officially gotten out of hand. Did anyone else read the latest issue of ASM (great art by McKone) and think they were reading an anti-tobacco advertisement? It was ridiculous. There are literally 3 entire pages dedicated to showing the reading that smoking isn't cool, it's bad for your health and it's gross in general. And if that wasn't enough, Quesada includes an editor's note explaining that smoking causes lung cancer and death. As if we didn't get the message by that point (or you know, already know). And then, in X-Force: Ain't No Dog, Wolverine just happens to see a pack of smokes and just happens to get the urge to preach about the pitfalls of nicotine addiction and how he's beaten it. Aside from the fact that Wolverine's body shouldn't even become addicted to nicotine (or is tobacco just that bad? ), the entire scene is just bad.

At first, it was just a ban. Fine. It's completely ridiculous to choose one evil or vice and put a ban on it, but whatever. At least Quesada has mentioned that it's ridiculous, but it's his decision to make and he feels strongly about it. It didn't hinder storytelling. But now, he's going out of his way to make sure that kids know that cigarettes are cancer sticks. Now we're beyond the ban. Now we're entering new territory where the stories we pay upwards of $3 for are being used to promote anti-smoking campaigns. Is it a bad cause? No. But it's unnecessary and it's getting in the way of my enjoyment of a Marvel comic book.

What do you guys think?

I think it's arbitrary and kind of ridiculous, but I can't fault Quesada for having personal craziness over tobacco products after his dad died of lung cancer.