So what's new for the Marvel Universe in 2008?

[Kirk Langstrom]

That is because some of the people in Marvel Studios realize that the heart of the Marvel characters can appeal to mass audiences if done faithfully.

Marvel Publishing has no faith in their audience, which is why they lie to them, take them for granted, and believe angering them is the best way to their wallets. Also, the people at Marvel Studios admire the past, while at the Publishing, even Tom B. is poo-pooing 70's comics (while, ironically, Joe Q resents Spidey back to 1971).

What did Tom Brevoort say about 70's comics?

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

The two books need to merge back into one. And when Steve comes back, they need to throw Bendis off the book, drop the New/Mighty and revert back to the original numbering.

Amen to that.Still waiting?So am i..

 

[Dread]

What did Tom Brevoort say about 70's comics?

http://marvel.com/blogs/Tom_Brevoort/entry/952

I was speaking to Kurt Busiek the other week—which isn't all that odd—and the conversation turned to the fact that there are now so many collections of classic comics coming out that even the crap is getting collected.

Now, don't get me wrong—I love the fact that so much of this material is readily available, and every reader makes their own evaluation of the work. By the same token, for every real classic run, stories of undeniable merit, there also seems to be a compilation of journeyman quality, or even just out-and out hackwork. This is especially true on the ESSENTIAL collections (and their differently-named counterparts uptown) where entire runs are being reprinted sequentially.

I'm a sentimental for the books of a certain period as anyone you'll find (in my case, the books of the '70s, when i started reading this stuff), but most of that sentiment is fueled by nostalgia rather than the quality of the material. I realize that a lot of these books really aren't all that objectively good. For example, with rare exception, most of the run of MARVEL TEAM-UP is unspectacular. It's fun, but not especially meaningful. And don't get me started on the misnomer of ESSENTIAL WEREWOLF BY NIGHT.

And there's nothing wrong with that. The people creating those stories were just trying to sell that month's issue and put food on the table. They had no idea there'd be book collections of this stuff decades later. It was designed to be read, enjoyed and thrown away, disposable entertainment. And these stories still have their quota of fun. But it can be sort of brain-deadening to read a whole chunk of issues back-to-back-to-back.

So read responsibly; the brain you save may be your own.

More later.

Tom B

I, on the other hand, am glad that the ESSENTIALS collections aren't being editted by some sort of "elitist/20-20 Hindsight" expert, because one man's crap is another man's retro work. People have complained about everything to come out of the Joe Q era, but the production of the affordable essentials collections (which technically started before him, but got kicked into high gear after 2000; WOLVERINE got one of the first in the late 90's) isn't one of 'em.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

http://marvel.com/blogs/Tom_Brevoort/entry/952



I, on the other hand, am glad that the ESSENTIALS collections aren't being editted by some sort of "elitist/20-20 Hindsight" expert, because one man's crap is another man's retro work. People have complained about everything to come out of the Joe Q era, but the production of the affordable essentials collections (which technically started before him, but got kicked into high gear after 2000; WOLVERINE got one of the first in the late 90's) isn't one of 'em.

I completely disagree with him about both MTU and Werewolf By Night.

 

[Dread]

I completely disagree with him about both MTU and Werewolf By Night.

Natch.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Just remember, New and Mighty Avengers are good Avengers comics to Brevoort now. Puts it all in perspective.

 

[Darthphere]

Just remember, New and Mighty Avengers are good Avengers comics to Brevoort now. Puts it all in perspective.

Well you wouldn't really expect an editor to go "Damn these books are giant, colossal pieces of ****! Thank God for that large pyacheck!"