NEW JOE FRIDAYS, WEEK 10. Comments, Spoilers, Etc.

Dread

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NEW JOE FRIDAY'S, WEEK 10

http://www.newsarama.com/NewJoeFridays/NewJoeFridays10.html

Not sure if this got a topic yet. If so, merge. If not, feel free to read and reply.

It's another week of Joe Q answering the hard hitting questions and taking time out of his admittedly busy schedule to talk to fans about bits, and most importantly, sweeten the pot with previews about stuff so we buy more.

I just figured I'd add my own imput to certain statements JQ makes, which is pointless because he'll never read it, but maybe someone in Hypeland will agree with me:

Joe Q said:
: There are so many factors that go into all of this stuff but the biggest factor is that at the core of it there are human beings at all ends of the creative and business spectrums of what we do. We go in with the best of intentions and stuff just happens. To even suggest indifference is really insulting.

But look, fans want all of these big events to make sense and coordinate properly in order to keep all elements of the Marvel Universe in lock step with each other, so we do work incredibly hard to accomplish that, but with so many titles depending on one and other, the process becomes exponentially more and more prone to breakdown the bigger it gets in scope. When you deal with a big summer event that has so many ancillary tie-ins, you have to put a flag in the sand and say, "this happens during these publishing months," simply because there are so many moving pieces and behind every moving piece are several human beings working at trying to keep all the plates spinning. You have to make sure that the time selected makes sense for your creators and for the fiscal publishing schedule as well but sometimes you can’t get to one of the plates and when one crashes, there’s a good chance that several will come crashing down as well.
The fact that your fanbase finds your editorial dept. "indifferent" is not something that happened on it's own and one day it may be worth investigating. Just saying.

And secondly, I agree that when you have so many chapter tie-in's, this stuff gets harder to manage. Maybe that means having CW be a whopping 70 CHAPTERS, which is the biggest in recent memory, was a bit of a misstep? You can't simultaneously put out a lot of books, in some cases too many, and then complain about the problems that arise. You cut back on the books and retrench, or you admit you're just greedy and shaddup. I think fans would respect that honesty. Or just use it to whine on the 'net more, whatever.

It is also worth noting that while CW, as timely a story as it is, is trying to captilize on the success of DC's IC, note that IC was almost equally long winded and whose chapters only started getting muddled with lateness towards the final 3rd of the story, about the last 3 months or so. CW is barely halfway and the lateness has emerged to suck wind out of it. Comments? What'd DC do right that y'all didn't? And would you be willing to learn from it, or would you just stick your fingers in your ears and go "lalalalalalalala" mentally like you always seem to do, Joey?

Joe Q said:
JQ: No I don’t believe this because this comic book lateness thing has been a part of the industry way longer than people care to remember. Does anyone remember the beginning of the Image era? Does anyone remember that both Dark Knight and Watchmen had shipping delays? Does anyone remember that there was a time when unannounced inventory stories and reprints were installed into the monthly runs of books because of creative delays?

What is old is new again. How about the case of Daredevil #1.

Bill Everett the artist on the book was working at a greeting card company at the time as well as moonlighting doing some comic’s work. Daredevil #1 was scheduled to be released in late 1963. By that I mean that within the old system of publishing comics, Marvel had press time reserved for the book and back in the day, if you missed the press time it would cost you tons of money, a bigger sin you could not imagine in the world of comic’s publishing. Well, as luck would have it, Everett was late on the book, so late that Marvel was about to miss it’s press time. But, Martin Goodman the publisher loved Bill Everett’s work so much that he decided to forego the scheduled press time and take the loss in order for Everett to do the book. Daredevil #1 shipped, I believe in April of 1964, at least four to six months from its appointed ship date.

So, folks can play devil’s advocate all you want, but if there’s a “Broken Window” theory, that window was broken a long time ago.
So, let me summarize. Your answer to the growing epidemic of comic book lateness is, "That's the way it's always been for 45+ years, so complaining about it or expecting a 21st century EIC to do anything in his power to change it is irrational?" Hmm. I'll paraphrase from an exchange from CIVIL WAR #1, as written by Mark Millar:

"You can't take away lateness and comics. It's been part of the industry since as long as there's been one."

"So's smallpox. Now quit being an idiot."

Besides, you miss the point that you can only find a handful of examples for older stories, whereas in modern times, you can't go 2 months without a delay, and usually a delay that is must frustrating to fans and retailers. As an EIC, or the head of a company, it's your JOB to look at how your company has done things presently and in the past and see how it can be improved and what can be done about it. Shrugging one's shoulders and going, "meh, it's been that way for 45 years, nothing I can do" shows about as much innovation as Homer Simpson. So simply because "that window has been broken a long time ago" means that an EIC should have no strategy to fix it? Gasp, IMPROVE on a flaw that's been going on for almost half a century?

Thank god not everyone isn't like this, otherwise we'd have no computers or Internet because "Morse Code and Radios work damn fine".

I mean, I'm not saying you can't be an executive of a company without being innovative. But if you're not, you shouldn't brag about what hot **** you are and how all of your decisions are best.

Joe Q said:
JQ: I’m glad you asked me this, fortunately this question has been raised again and it’s given us the opportunity to spark some internal discussions and revisit this issue especially in light of the fact that we have characters like Freedom Ring (who is the current star of Marvel Team Up without much fanfare mind you) and that we’ve had more gay and lesbian characters appearing in Marvel comics than ever before. In many ways, the old policy over the last few years has just sort of faded away, so let me just say that there is no longer any policy.
Now that's a cheap shot, because MTU hasn't had any fanfare for years. It is one of Marvel's poorest selling titles that is dead in about 3 months. To cite it as an example is really reaching. In fact, why NOT create some fanfare about a gay hero starring in a Marvel title? Some could call it "ethnic pandering", but it's not like Marvel, under Joe Q, didn't do that before. ARANA was launched solely on the premise of her being a "Latina superhero" regardless of whether she had anything original to her, simply to pander to Hispanic readers. The marriage of Black Panther and Storm has been done almost exclusively to pander to black readers, so much so that BET has been involved as Hudlin works on both that and BLACK PANTHER. And a few years ago, Marvel made a big stink about making RAWHIDE KID gay and on MK, to get newspaper attention. That also tanked.

So, your answer is, "we don't have foul policies about homosexual characters starring in Marvel comics, and as an example I'll cite a title that has already been announced as cancelled in a few months, that sells poorly, and that we've editorically abandoned and left for dead for at least the past half year, but that we publish because the writer gave us a monster hit with MARVEL ZOMBIES so we sort of own him a few pints." That's about as bad as Dan DiDio's response to have a lesbian heroine be to deliberately point her out and go, "LOOKIE FELLAS, SHE'S A LESBO!", because what lesbian doesn't just love that?

Joe Q said:
JQ: Our responsibility is to entertain and to reflect the world around us as best we can while keeping in mind that our readers come in many shapes and sizes and beliefs. What I think people seem to lose sight of is that it’s not like we didn’t publish Rawhide Kid. We went out there and we did it, we just did it in a way that we felt was most prudent with the climate of our world at the time. Perhaps some would disagree with that, but hey, that’s cool, I understand.
Ah, RAWHIDE KID, made as a bit of shock-value stuff to catch the media's attention back during those big, bold days when being an EIC was new. I'll admit making "first day" errors is human, but don't turn around and call it some triumph when really at it ended up as was "a lot of sound and thunder, signifying nothing", or however that goes.

Joe Q said:
JQ: Well, we’ve known for quite some time, we were just holding onto the information in order to make a large release but Mark had to go and leak it early. Darn you Mark Bagley!!!

Re:, "We were going to hold off on the knowledge until the last possible second, so we could charge double the cover price for Bagley's last issue and milk fans as much as possible, but now they've gotten a head's up so we'll probably just have to go with our standard money-sucker, the varient cover."

And it attempts to end on a "positive note" by reminding us that in November, Rob Liefield returns to art work. At least it's on reviving a bit of 90's cheese, which is all that Rob HIMSELF is. A living rehash of the 90's that sucked is working on a fictional rehash of the 90's that sucked. The irony drips.

But, hey, got to give Quesada credit for doing these interviews and being willing to stand in the firing line, even if it's not hard to realize he talks out of his butt sometimes. :cool:
 
No matter how many times I say that they should have several months of finished work in the can before the first issue ships, they never ever listen to me.
 
Cyclops said:
No matter how many times I say that they should have several months of finished work in the can before the first issue ships, they never ever listen to me.
Actually, Marvel DOES employ this. Joe Q in a previous interview claimed they got CW #1 delivered from McNiven around Jan. 1st or 3rd or something, so they did give them and others months in advance. It just apparently isn't enough, and Joe Q's approach of "well, such is life" is one that means he's not interested in finding one.
 
Sorta though. I mean, if they had say, five issues completely finished before the first one hit the stands they wouldn't be in this mess.
 
I wonder who finds out about Hulk and how they go about doing so.Those are some sweet ass reprints as well.#300!!!
 
And to answer GNR's question, if continuity really existed, it would be She-Hulk.
 
You know, if I wasnt so lazy id post something in rebute to Dread's post but I just think Dread needs to go out and lose his virginity or something.
 
So says the guy with quadruple Dread's post count...
 
Cyclops said:
So says the guy with quadruple Dread's post count...


If I have to explain the joke, ive failed this board on so many levels.
 
Ohhhh so that's how it is. Fall back on the "joke" excuse. :p
 
*pats Darth on the shoulder*

It's okay. I got it.
 
Damnit, the joke is ruined! I hate all of you!
 
I came here too late. So the joke never had as much impact.

I still got it though :)
 
Got the joke.

Either way, I'm really sick of CW being compared to Watchmen. We know it's not Watchmen-material or quality, and I sure as hell know Joey Q and the others like Hitch and Brevoort don't actually think so either.
 
Harlekin said:
Got the joke.

Either way, I'm really sick of CW being compared to Watchmen. We know it's not Watchmen-material or quality, and I sure as hell know Joey Q and the others like Hitch and Brevoort don't actually think so either.


But theyre not comparing the comics, theyre comparing the delays between them.
 
But they're acting like they are on the same level. They consistently cite classics such as DKR and Watchmen also being late and how we should therefore excuse CW. Uhm, no, because we all know and Marvel knows damn well that their quality isn't comparable.
 
Harlekin said:
But they're acting like they are on the same level. They consistently cite classics such as DKR and Watchmen also being late and how we should therefore excuse CW. Uhm, no, because we all know and Marvel knows damn well that their quality isn't comparable.


I guess you can see it that way but I just think theyre just providing some high profile examples to make their point. And even if the quality isnt on par, the mainstream attention and popularity of the book makes it as relevant as those classics.
 
Meh, I don't exactly agree. I also think the delay is pretty inexcusable, but that's just me.
 

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