Comics Official Fans of Reilly Thread

[JewishHobbit]

I'd buy Scarlet Spider (provided it isn't $4 ongoing) but I still woudn't buy Spider-Man regularly unless it was a direct crossover.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I'd like that. If they split them into 2 books (which would crossover every now and then) I would TOTALLY buy both Amazing Spider-Man and (Insert Adjective Here) Scarlet Spider!

In keeping with the theme, how about something hip.... 'The Scandalous Scarlet Spider', 'The Sassy Scarlet Spider', 'The Stoopid (in a good way, like the kids say) Scarlet Spider', 'The Swingin' Scarlet Spider', 'The Sacrilegious Scarlet Spider' and finally the 'The Tweetin', Facebookin' Scarlet Spider'
t:

 

[Godzilla2014]

In keeping with the theme, how about something hip.... 'The Scandalous Scarlet Spider', 'The Sassy Scarlet Spider', 'The Stoopid (in a good way, like the kids say) Scarlet Spider', 'The Swingin' Scarlet Spider', 'The Sacrilegious Scarlet Spider' and finally the 'The Tweetin', Facebookin' Scarlet Spider'
t:

What about "The Sensational Scarlet Spider" or "The Spectacular Scarlet Spider"?

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

What about "The Sensational Scarlet Spider" or "The Spectacular Scarlet Spider"?

No, sorry. Not hip enough.

 

[Themanofbat]

I'd hate that... I like Peter Parker as an exciting Spider-Man... not a geriatric Spider-Man...

 

[Godzilla2014]

I'd hate that... I like Peter Parker as an exciting Spider-Man... not a geriatric Spider-Man...

Peter won't become an old man. He'll progress as he has for years. You know, settle down, get married, have kids, et cetera. Ben will be the perpetually single hip Scarlet Spider.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I gotta say....I'm really looking forward to these upcoming stories. Mary Jane? Chameleon? Black Cat? The Gauntlet? Ben Reilly?

I'm there.

 

[Venom160]

I'd like that. If they split them into 2 books (which would crossover every now and then) I would TOTALLY buy both Amazing Spider-Man and (Insert Adjective Here) Scarlet Spider!

same here.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

HOLY CRAP! What's gotten into Ben??

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album_view.php?gid=1163&page=2

 

[Styleshift]

I like the interaction between JJJ and Peter but I'm not liking the "hey the fan's want Ben Reily, [blackout]OMG LET'S MAKE HIM A SUPER VILLIAN" approach.[/blackout]

 

[Themanofbat]

I think we're misreading it... I think that Ben had a valid reason to beat that guy up, and that will be the guy who returns to attack Peter (thinking he is Ben)

 

[spidey-dude]

was prob a bad man and ben being a nice guy let him go - anything else is poor characterisation

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I'm sure Ben had a reason, but let's remember Ben had a very "angry" period on the road the first year (in 'Exiled' there was a flashback where he almost beat up a hotel manager who wouldn't let him stay there, until Seward paid the difference). Perhaps this is from that very dark time.

God, I'm excited for this. Unfortunately I have to hope my non comic-reading brother buys and sends me a copy, because I'm currently working in South Korea. :-(

Hey, does anyone wanna help me compile a list of the US states Ben has been to? I think Vermont (where Seward's lab is), Utah (where Kaine killed Louise Kennedy), Louisiana (he attended Mardi-gras in New Orleans) I think California or Washington (I forget for sure, but somewhere on the west coast he worked as a tele-marketer just before Janine's death was faked by Kaine in 'Redemption') and here he is in Oregon. I know I'm forgetting a few. Any continuity nuts wanna help me to map out Ben's travels?

 

[imdaly]

I was a big fan of the Clone Saga but I never actually read any of the "Lost Years" books or Peter's "Final Adventure" mini, so when I think of Portland, Oregon I think of where Peter and MJ went after Peter lost his powers and "retired". Is Ben known to have ever been to Portland, and what was it about Portland that make Peter/MJ decide to go there of all places?

I mean, I'm sure I'm wrong, but is there any chance that the person we're seeing in this prologue is actually Peter during his time in Portland and not Ben?

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I was a big fan of the Clone Saga but I never actually read any of the "Lost Years" books or Peter's "Final Adventure" mini, so when I think of Portland, Oregon I think of where Peter and MJ went after Peter lost his powers and "retired". Is Ben known to have ever been to Portland, and what was it about Portland that make Peter/MJ decide to go there of all places?

I mean, I'm sure I'm wrong, but is there any chance that the person we're seeing in this prologue is actually Peter during his time in Portland and not Ben?

Total coincidence. I'm sure even the Spidey team has forgotten that Pete ever went to Portland. Besides, Oregon has more than one city. Ever hear of Eugene?

EDIT: Rereading my post, it seems a bit snarky. Not meant to be, obviously.

 

[Ultra Magnus]

Ain't it cool news interview with Tom D. about the clone saga, part 1
(source http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41609)

And here’s part one of a three part interview with Tom DeFalco regarding SPIDER-MAN:THE CLONE SAGA by one of our newest *********s, Mr. Matt Adler. Take it away, Matt!

Hi folks, Matt Adler here. On June 27th, I got the chance to interview one of the legends of the comic industry, “Titanic” Tom DeFalco, about his recently announced project, SPIDER-MAN: THE CLONE SAGA, along with co-writer Howard Mackie and artist Todd Nauck, which will update the story that up-ended the Spider-Man universe for a new generation, and provide a brand new, never before seen ending.

But the conversation, which lasted 3 hours, became about much more than that, and runs the length and breadth of a career that has spanned almost 40 years and has seen the comic industry at its highest heights and its lowest lows. The interview is so massive that we have opted to break it up into 3 installments, to better serve your reading pleasure and attention spans. We now present Part 1 of the Tom DeFalco interview, in which Tom speaks of how the project came to be, why “clone” isn’t a dirty word, his theory of comics, why editors have more fun than the editor-in-chief, and much more Hoo-Hah! So without further ado….

MATT ADLER (MA): To start off Tom, can you tell us how you got into this project?

TOM DEFALCO (TD): I got in kicking and screaming! (laughter) I joke that there are forces at Marvel that went out of their way to kill this project and I know that for a fact because one of them was me!

I came in later, but Howard and Ralph [Macchio, senior editor] have been chit-chatting for a while, checking in with each other every so often. I know how that is, because I often give Ralph a call just to shoot the breeze with him and assorted other people. Marc DeMatteis and I often discuss cooking recipes with each other given that we’re both freelancers sitting at home. (laughter)

Anyway, at one point, Howard was going through his old files and he found his old notebook which had the starting discussions on the Clone Saga. It basically had a rough idea of the original story. And during the course of chatting with Ralph, he mentioned that he had it, and Ralph said something like “Oh really, I’d love to see that.” And at some point Ralph spoke to Joe Quesada who apparently also expressed an interest in seeing it. And Howard said “Really? Why are you are guys interested?” And they said, “Well you know, it’s a historical document, and who knows, maybe we should put together a limited series or something.” Now, the person who said, “Maybe we should put together a limited series,” I’m not sure who that was. Could’ve been Ralph, could’ve been Joe. And you know, Howard hasn’t done comic book work in a while, certainly not for Marvel, so he thought “Hey, this could be fun!”

And somehow or another, my name came into it, and Howard said, “You know what, how about me and Tom work on this thing together?” And Ralph said “Hey, that’d be great!” You know, kind of getting the old gang back together. The next thing I know, I’m getting a call from either Howard or Ralph saying “Hey what would you think if we redid the Clone Saga?” And I said, “What are you guys, nuts?!” And they said “No, no, no… come on, this could be fun!”

Now this could be my own perception, or not, but I feel I have an image problem. Because for the last 12 years, all I’ve done for Marvel is SPIDER-GIRL, pretty much. And I think that a number of people in the industry believe that I can only do things that have webs in it. So I said, “Come on, for years I’ve been trying to convince people that SPIDER-GIRL is not about the Clone Saga,”… and Spider-Girl really isn’t about the Clone Saga, although lately we’ve been doing some clone stuff (laughs), but for about 12 years we had very little to do with it.

MA: You couldn’t even use the word “clone” for a while, right?

TD: It’s not that we couldn’t use it, it’s just that I always chose not to. To be honest, I’ve never gotten any restrictions. I know that the fans perceive that some sort of edict went down that you couldn’t mention Ben Reilly, or you couldn’t use Kaine, or you couldn’t mention clones, or something like that, but that’s never been the case.

You know, all along with SPIDER-GIRL, I have been aiming at a mass market audience. So I made certain decisions with the idea that if you’re familiar with Spider-Man lore, you will know that when we talk about Ben Reilly, that he was the clone, and you’ll know the whole Clone Saga stuff, and if you’re unfamiliar with it, you’ll just think that this is an uncle, so that it would work for both the mass market and the fan market. So I’ve always been walking a tightrope trying to appeal to both markets.

Anyway, I’ve always had a theory of comics which is that you always move forward. You don’t do those kinds of stories where you are trying to straighten out past continuity. The closest thing I had to that was Lyja in the Fantastic Four. And that was an idea that had actually come from Gruenwald and Macchio.

But most of the time when I take over a series, I get on from the point where it is, and then I go forward, and I spend time creating new supervillains, and new this, new that, and just always going forward. The biggest complaint with me whenever I take over a series is “Where are the classic villains?” You know, everybody gets on a book, and there’s always a couple of villains, where they come right on and do their “classic stories.” Me, I come on a book and I’m there trying to add to the legend. (laughter) Which is an old fashioned way of looking at things…but I guess I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy!

MA: Nothing wrong with that!

TD: Maybe nothing wrong with that…but try to convince editors you can still be vibrant! Anyway, they kept telling me about this Clone Saga thing, and I said “Guys, come on, why go back into the past?” And Howard had some very persuasive arguments, and then started to talk to me about the story, and the next thing I know, I got suckered into it because the more he talked, the more fun it looked like it would be. And the challenge of doing a story that could bridge 3 creative gaps really appeals to me.

MA: What creative gaps are those?

TD: Ok, here are the 3 gaps. Taking on an assignment like this is a total no-win situation, because you’ve got 3 types of people: people who read the original and loved the Clone Saga, people who read the original and hate the Clone Saga, and then you’ve got people who haven’t read it. And among the people who haven’t read it, you’ve got 2 more groups: those who haven’t read it but have already decided they hate it, and those who haven’t read it but are interested.

MA: Or are at least curious.

TD: Right. So you’ve probably got actually 5 different audiences.

MA: At least!

TD: At least! And I thought, if we could do a story that could appeal to all of those groups, do something where the people who loved it, they’ll remember why they loved it, and the people who hated it, maybe this can help change their minds. You know, I always like to do a story that is uplifting, that makes you go “Hoo-Hah!”

(laughter)

MA: I always wondered where you got that phrase, “Hoo-Hah”, from. Was it from “Scent of a Woman” where Pacino goes “Hoo-ah!”?

TD: No, I got that probably from a Warner Bros. or Disney cartoon; I think somebody got thrown off a cliff, and says something like that all the way down. (laughter) But yeah, “Hoo-hah” has always been my way of describing the kind of action I like to do.

MA: You should trademark it!

TD: Well, at one point I did; I trademarked it to come out with a line called “Hoo-Hah Comics”, and that’s still a possibility, someday I’ll become nuts and decide I want to be a publisher.

(laughter)

MA: That’s a whole other set of headaches, right?

TD: Well, you know…people, for various reasons, often ask me if I’d ever want to go back to staff work. And I kind of got into staff work kind of by accident. It was supposed to be a temporary thing that was going to last about 6 months at Marvel Comics, and instead lasted about 20 years. And I’ve said this many times; I love editing. I love the editing process, I love the give and take between the editor and the writer and the penciller and the inker and the letterer and the colorist, because I think that every phase of comics has one goal, which is to tell the story. And I just love the process.

Anyway, naturally as I moved up the ladder at Marvel, again by accident…

MA: How did that actually happen?

TD: Well, you know, I was an editor there, and at a certain point I was promoted to executive editor. And I was told at the time that, as executive editor, I would still have the Spider-Man titles, still edit that, and I would just help Shooter with other stuff. And I thought “Yeah, ok.” And then almost immediately found out that I had to give up the Spider-Man titles.

MA: Because there was just too much other work?

TD: Yeah. And I was going to now “supervise” other editors. And I thought, “Um…this isn’t quite what I signed up for.” But because we were going to do a whole line of Star Comics, and I am…I don’t how to put it. I am a flirt. I love every aspect of this medium. I love the idea of doing comics for young kids. I love all the different kinds of comics. One of the things I’m thrilled about now is that I recently got a chance to do a Western, Kid Colt, and I am soon going to do a sword and sorcery thing for Marvel.

MA: Can you say what it is?

TD: Yeah, I’m doing the Black Knight, during the days of King Arthur, and Ron Frenz is drawing.

MA: Terrific!

TD: I’d say the pages are gorgeous, but I don’t want to belittle them.

MA: You know, I have to say, I always liked the medieval Black Knight a lot more than the modern day one; just the way he was sort of a Scarlet Pimpernel type of character, right?

TD: Yeah, and we’re giving you insights into what happened before the first Stan Lee/Joe Maneely story. This is kind of like the “true origin of the Black Knight.” And it’ll be full of fun and games and that sort of stuff. And it gives me a chance to get a little poetic in my captions and do things that are actually closer to the kind of things I like to do when I’m not doing comics. I love doing SPIDER-GIRL, it’s just that SPIDER-GIRL is a specific kind of thing aimed at a specific kind of audience. And it’s good to do other things.

People forget, when I came in the industry, we were supposed to be able to do everything. You’d do a horror story, you’d do a war story, you’d do a vampire story, and then the editor would call you and say “Waitaminute, that might be a vampire war story. Lemme get back to you.” (laughter)

MA: Have you seen what Marvel is doing these days, where they do other genres, like they have the “Marvel Noir” books, but they do them in a superhero context? It’s almost like they’re admitting that there’s a section of readers that just won’t pick up a book unless it’s a superhero thing.

TD: Well, comic books are very expensive these days.

MA: Did you happen to see those comments by a Marvel executive at an investor conference that caused some controversy? When asked why Marvel’s prices were increasing, he said they wanted to see the extent to which the demand for their comics was “inelastic”, and some people interpreted that as saying they want to see how far they can push it.

TD: Well, I can tell you that my philosophy was you build your publishing program like a pyramid. At your base, you have your most popular books at your entry-level price. Then you move up and have a fancier product at a slightly higher price, and then you slowly move up the pyramid till you get to your most expensive price which in my day was the Masterworks, and today is the Omnibus.

MA: What do you think of the Omnibuses?

TD: I think they are wonderful! I look at that and I say to myself, man, I used to think I was so smart, but I never came up with something as cool as this! I thought the Masterworks were our crowning achievement, but it never occurred to me to put ALL of the Steve Ditko stuff in one book! It’s fabulous!

In our day, we were dealing with film, or black and white stats, or all sorts of other crazy, antiquated technology. So we were hampered as to the actual size we could get things to. The new generation, where it’s all digital film, you can blow it up to the size of a wall, and it’ll still work. I’m so jealous!

MA: And that’s probably one of the things that makes you want to get back into the game, right?

TD: Like I said, I love editing, and would be severely tempted if anyone offered me an editing job. But I would never, never, never want to go back and be an editor-in-chief again.

MA: What one book would you most want to edit?

TD: I haven’t thought about it that far. It’s not like I have any plans. And I don’t believe that anyone will ever offer me an editing job…because they’ll always be afraid that I want their job.

MA: I think I remember Tom Brevoort saying that being offered the Editor-in-Chief job is a no-win situation, because either you take it and you now have this job that’s a huge hassle, or you refuse it, and the guy who does eventually take it will know that you were in a position to get his job, and he’s going to see you as a threat.

TD: Perhaps…unless the guy who gets it looks at the guy who refused it and says “Boy, he’s smarter than I am! I gotta keep him around!”

(laughter)

Listen, I don’t want to in any way negate the achievements of the current editors-in-chief out there; it is a hard job. People don’t know how hard the job is. I think everybody thinks it’s a job where you get to sit around all day long and read the comics with your feet up on the desk. And if that was the job, that would be great. I just think that when I say “I’d never want to be an Editor-in-Chief again,” I’m sure that Dan DiDio and Joe Quesada are nodding their head, saying “Yep, yep. We know where he’s coming from!” But like I said, I do not for a second believe that anyone will offer me an editing job, and that’s probably the best thing for me and for them, because, y’know…I don’t know if I could take the pay cut!

(laughter)

MA: Ok. So, in regards to Marvel approaching you about the Clone Saga project…what was the proposed division of labor? Was it one guy is going to plot, and one is going to script, or was it collaborate on both, or…?

TD: Well, originally Howard said “Come on, we’ll collaborate, we’ll work together.” And during the old days in the Spider-Man office, everybody used to sit in a room and we used to throw ideas around. And that is the most fun I’ve ever had as a writer. And I thought “Ok, we’ll make it up as we go along.” And that’s kind of what Howard and I have done. The way we work is that one of us will sit down, and do a very rough scratch draft of what the next issue will be and then it comes back to the other guy who fills in more details, and makes changes, and it just keeps going back and forth, and we keep futzing with it back and forth until we both like what’s there.

MA: So do you each add bits of dialogue…?

TD: Well, we’re doing this Marvel-style [first plot, then pencils, then script]. So occasionally we put in pieces of dialogue so that you have an idea, but very rarely does that dialogue actually show up. We both approach this from the fact that comics are a visual medium, and we figure out the visual bits, and then kind of off to the side we explain whatever dialogue or whatever information needs to be conveyed by a certain scene.

MA: Have you gotten a complete issue from Todd yet to dialogue?

TD: Not yet. We’re still getting pages in for the first issue. In the meantime, we’ve got the first 3 plots, and we’re working on the draft for the 4th.

 

[Ultra Magnus]

(Here's the rest, it was longer than 20000 characters)

MA: Ah. So in other words, once all the plots are done, then you move to the actual dialogue.

TD: Well, we’ll probably do it somewhere along the way. I think the first issue goes on sale in, what, September?

MA: Right, it’s still kind of a ways away.

TD: Yeah, so…y’know, Howard and I are the kind of guys that believe that the books have to come out on a regular basis. And we will be up on top of everything. And I shouldn’t just say Howard and I; Howard, Todd, and I.

MA: Right, right. And he’s a professional…he did, what, 50 issues of YOUNG JUSTICE straight, I think?

TD: Oh yeah. Todd is older than his years. (laughter) And it’s good that we have a responsible adult on the team. Which is Todd. (laughter)

MA: Now, what’s been yours and Howard’s reaction to the pages as they come in?

TD: I think some of them already appeared on the net…y’know, it’s terrific stuff! Are you kidding me?! We’re hoping that Todd doesn’t get offered one of the regular Spider-Man books before this is done! Or when they do offer him one of the regular ones, they’ll schedule it for after this is over!

MA: Well, he’s already made all the headlines with his Obama issue.

TD: And rightly so! Listen, Todd Nauck does great stuff! Anybody wants to see the proof, pick up THE AMERICAN DREAM limited series.

MA: Or his work with you on Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man.

TD: Right.

MA: Now, had you seen his work before you first teamed with him on AMERICAN DREAM?

TD: I’d seen bits and pieces over the years. And before AMERICAN DREAM, we just started talking and realized that we were right in tune with the kind of comics we liked and the kind of fun stuff that we wanted to project.

MA: Have you read his creator-owned series WILDGUARD?

TD: Yeah, I think it’s terrific! Todd, Howard, and I – and a number of us, certainly Ron Frenz and Pat Olliffe, the whole crew, we believe that comics should be ultimately uplifting and something that takes you away from the traumas of the day. A lot of comics are just too dark. And today, the world is just too dark, grim, and depressing, and I don’t want to pay my money to get depressed. Just turn on the TV, or just wait till the bills come in! I have more than enough to depress me. So I look to comics as a way to lighten the load, not add to the load.

MA: You know, Todd’s first work on Spider-Man was right after the Clone Saga ended, filling in for Mike Wieringo on SENSATONAL SPIDER-MAN. So he’s sort of come full circle.

TD: Might be full circle for all of us, in various degrees. (laughter) Who knows what the future brings?

MA: That’s it for today, folks. Be sure to join us back here next time for Part 2 of the Tom DeFalco interview.

 

[Alastor]

Man, its a good time to be Spider-man fan! Amazing has been great, despite what the whiners say, and now new comics starring Ben, I'm just on Spider overload. I hope the Clone Saga mini paves the way for his eventual return, b/c in the modern Marvel Universe there is plenty of room for two Spider-Men.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Today. Is. THE. DAY!

Post your thoughts here! (Unfortunately I will not get my copy for a month or so, since I'm currently working in Korea and have to wait for it to be sent to me )

 

[spidey-dude]

wha? day for what? what comes out today im confused?? Im very ill at the mo so cant get to my lcs for a while

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

wha? day for what? what comes out today im confused?? Im very ill at the mo so cant get to my lcs for a while

This.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR29BBpz8T4

 

[spidey-dude]

ah right didnt realise that was this soon - I will use a way to read it that most will disaprove of as I am too unwell to leave my bed at the mo so wont be able to buy it for a while

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

ah right didnt realise that was this soon - I will use a way to read it that most will disaprove of as I am too unwell to leave my bed at the mo so wont be able to buy it for a while

Can't you get a girlfriend or friend or brother to pick it up for you? Nothing like a good comic to cheer you up when you are sick and stuck in bed.

 

[spidey-dude]

dont know if what I have is contageous yet havnt got test results back - and the closest comic shop is bout 20 - 30 min drive away so dont think anyone would be up for doing that for me

and your right comics are good I read long halloween and dark victory yesterday and today

 

[Themanofbat]

ASM Annual #36 came out today with some Ben Reilly goodness...

I liked it. I liked it a LOT.