Why always NY?

[Zeu]

Which is a good reason to move a school there. Besides, Boston has a history of sharing many similar ideals to the ones the X-Men uphold.

I was joking.

Of course Boston would be a nice choice.

 

[citizenpain]

as it's been said, new york is the greatest city in the world. i love the fact that marvel is set within new york. it makes the whole marvel universe feel a lot more realistic as opposed to some made up city. i think the fact that marvel is set in ny has always been the main appeal for me as to why i prefer marvel over dc.

 

[Ben Urich]

I could see the X-Men being in Boston. Massachusetts is a blue state and the X-Men seem to be pretty left-leaning.

 

[supermarvelman]

Now I love the grand city of new york as much as the next guy but enough is enough. Its overflowing with superhero's! At least DC can make-up cities, but marvel its all new york. What I want to see are some superhero's and villans in other major cities of america & possibly europe. Some one please tell me some that are in other cities.

I would prefer that marvel never pull a DC and make up there own cities.

 

[The Fonz]

Marvel superheroes are based in New York because Marvel Comics is based in New York. It's easier to base a story in places you currently live in than places you don't live in, even if you've lived in them for years. For instance, if one writer based Punisher in Detroit, he may use the sites and background from memory. But let's say another writer took over the Punisher series but he had no clue what Detroit was like. How is he going to write about the Punisher in Detroit if he's not from there, or never been there? But everyone working in Marvel Comics is living in New York so it works well to keep it in New York.

The only other optional place other than New York is a fictional place like Gotham City where everyone could imagine how the city would look like.

 

[Zeu]

Marvel superheroes are based in New York because Marvel Comics is based in New York. It's easier to base a story in places you currently live in than places you don't live in, even if you've lived in them for years. For instance, if one writer based Punisher in Detroit, he may use the sites and background from memory. But let's say another writer took over the Punisher series but he had no clue what Detroit was like. How is he going to write about the Punisher in Detroit if he's not from there, or never been there? But everyone working in Marvel Comics is living in New York so it works well to keep it in New York.

The only other optional place other than New York is a fictional place like Gotham City where everyone could imagine how the city would look like.

Sorry, I don´t buy that.

I´ve seen writers come up with amazing stories that took place in cities like San Francisco, Dallas, LA or Chicago and the writers themselves never set foot there.

I myself have been commissioned to draw stories that take place in cities that range from NY to Seattle (with scripts that usually heavily depict historic landmarks) and I´m not even american.



These are funnybooks, people, about fictional characters that fly and throw webs out of their wrist, not accurate historic depictions of present day metropolitan landscapes.

Unless you´re gonna tell me you can point out the exact building Spider Man lives in as easily as the british can show you Sherlock Holmes´flat in Baker Street.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Don't BUY it all ya want, bub, but that's the story. Read a Marvel biography if ya don't believe. To counter DC's fake cities, they based all their heroes in NYC in th' 60s and they never left.

Now, I agree, some of th' bigger teams could be more dispersed, but th' ground heroes are fine where they are.

 

[Zeu]

Don't BUY it all ya want, bub, but that's the story. Read a Marvel biography if ya don't believe. To counter DC's fake cities, they based all their heroes in NYC in th' 60s and they never left.

Now, I agree, some of th' bigger teams could be more dispersed, but th' ground heroes are fine where they are.

Read again what i wrote: what I don´t buy is that you need to live in a city to write about that city.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Nobody said ya NEED to. And besides, it helps, especially if yer a stickler fer details. I know I have a couple stories I'd love to set in Seattle, but I dunno jack **** about it.

 

[The Fonz]

It's obvious I explained it wrong, Zeu. Here's what I meant:
It would be easy for ONE writer to set a comic in a place he or she is familiar with but because Marvel and D.C. have a system of rotating writers for their comics we have to ask this question: what about later writers? Say D.C. or Marvel wants someone new to write for a particular comic, X-Men for example. If X-Men were about a group of mutants based in Florida then you would need writers and artists personally familiar with the scenery and people of Florida in order to make it actually look like Florida. Thus, potentially fantastic gifted writers and artists are overlooked as replacements for the X-Men series solely based on their unfamiliarity with Florida, and in their place may be mediocre writers and artists picked for the task of writing about X-Men mainly because they know about Florida. If they choose the gifted writers/artists with no knowledge of Florida then readers with good knowledge of Florida are going to complain and say, "Hey, that's not what Florida is like!" (I remember reading an old Marvel comic and in the fan letter section there was a letter from a person in West Germany complaining about how Marvel based their story in West Germany but the pictures didn't look like West Germany at all.) Trust me, you'd be pissed if someone wrote about your hometown but it didn't look anything like it.

In conclusion, yes ONE writer/artist can write about any place they want to and have superheroes based there. But because Marvel and D.C. have rotating writers and artists they can't have one dude write basing a story only he has been to and giving his replacements much difficulty when it comes to adapting. Thus, there are two options:
1). New York, because all the artists and writers have been around New York. Duh!
2). Make an imaginary city where anyone can make up imaginary sites and scenery and types of people. That simple.

 

[The Fonz]

P.S. Yes, West Coast Avengers was based in Cali and around there but if you look at the old issues carefully you'll notice the scenery is redundant. The places are just general streets and beaches. I can't remember seeing any monuments or references to certain streets. Whereas NY-based Avengers have adventures on the Statue of Liberty and on the East River. In fact, a great deal of W.C.A. takes place on the compound of their headquarters.

 

[Zeu]

Do you honestly believe that everyone who ever worked on a Marvel page actually had to live in NY?

A good writer learns to write stories about PEOPLE first and landmarks last.

And when those landmarks come into play, well, any good artist learns to draw from reference from a very early stage.

 

[The Fonz]

Zeu, I thought I explained myself clearly the last two times but I want to make this clear for the last time. If you still don't understand what I'm trying to say then I'm going to quit and consider trying to explain this to you as a hopeless cause.

*Ahem*
Marvel has rotating writers for each comic. In order for a new writer to make a story believable he must have an understanding of the scenery. Thus, New York is chosen because everybody working for Marvel has been around New York since it's the base of operation. Other realistic places aren't chosen because not all the writers have been to these places. X-Men is not based in Boston because not every writer has been to Boston. But every Marvel writer has been in New York. So New York is chosen because everyone from the writer to the letter to the editor has been to New York and understands the territory. That's why New York is almost always chosen.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Not everybody who works for Marvel has necessarily been to New York. Carlos Pacheco, Salvador Larroca, Grant Morrison, and lots of other creators live outside of New York and even the US and turn their work in via the Internet or the mail or whatever. It's not like they have to actually go into the Marvel building, write or draw their pages, and then go back home every day. A lot of work is done through correspondence. I don't think that's the reason Marvel uses New York.

Also, DC's comics have creator changes as much as Marvel's, and their fictional cities stay pretty consistent despite the fact that it's impossible for any creators to live in them in reality. Keystone, Metropolis, Coast City, Central City, Smallville, and most of the other fictional cities in the DC universe have recurring landmarks throughout their appearances.

Basically, I think the reason Marvel's heroes are mostly based in New York is because back in the '60s, when most of the writers and artists did actually work out of the Marvel offices, Stan Lee liked writing about New York and the early artists liked to draw by looking out their windows for references. It was convenient to set everything in New York back then because everyone was there anyway. Things have changed since then, though.

 

[jaydawg]

I think the Avengers should just have bases in every major city, where the team in each city consists of 4 to 5 people. Since the F4 aren't even patroling heroes, I wouldnt worry about them. Same goes for the X-men. They've been a much more global team since Morrison anyways.

NY would have:
Cap (Leader)
Spidey
Human Torch
Rogue
Wolverine
She-Hulk
Dr.Strange
Moon Knight

SF:
Iron Man (Leader)
Spider-woman II (Arcahne)
Antman (Pym)
Wasp
Wonder Man
Iceman
US Agent
Hawkeye

Houston:
Thor (leader)
Hercules
Firestar
Nova
War Machine

Miami:
Namor
Stingray
Black Knight
Sersi
Falcon
Iron Fist
Luke Cage

 

[Zeu]

Not everybody who works for Marvel has necessarily been to New York. Carlos Pacheco, Salvador Larroca, Grant Morrison, and lots of other creators live outside of New York and even the US and turn their work in via the Internet or the mail or whatever. It's not like they have to actually go into the Marvel building, write or draw their pages, and then go back home every day. A lot of work is done through correspondence. I don't think that's the reason Marvel uses New York.



Also, DC's comics have creator changes as much as Marvel's, and their fictional cities stay pretty consistent despite the fact that it's impossible for any creators to live in them in reality. Keystone, Metropolis, Coast City, Central City, Smallville, and most of the other fictional cities in the DC universe have recurring landmarks throughout their appearances.



Basically, I think the reason Marvel's heroes are mostly based in New York is because back in the '60s, when most of the writers and artists did actually work out of the Marvel offices, Stan Lee liked writing about New York and the early artists liked to draw by looking out their windows for references. It was convenient to set everything in New York back then because everyone was there anyway. Things have changed since then, though.

Exactly.

I´ve never set foot on the US and have no problem whatsoever in turning out pages that take place in Central Park,the 5th avenue or Penn State, if the script demands it.

 

[Anubis]

I agree with Corp. That whole, they live in New York thing might have been true in the 60's, but a lot, if not most of the people working today don't. Bendis lives in freakin Oregon or something.

And as far as the DC fictional cities, I like them. Gives them a chance to Tailor the hero to they're city. Perfect example of this is James Robinson's Starman. I fell in love with Opal. I would have loved to have lived there. The art, the small shops and architecture. Plus, when a problem occurs, you can believe that the one or two heroes that work out of that city would have to handle it. Most characters should show up to a crime and find Spidey, Daredevil, and the New Warriors already there. Realistic my dimpled black ass.

 

[Zeu]

Yeah, Opal is sweet, would love to live there as well.

The large majority of creative teams these days work all over the country, from San Francisco to Tampa.
A writer in Chicago sends the script via internet to a penciller in Dallas who pencils and scans the page, uploads to a ftp so an inker in Dubai can digitally ink it in Photoshop and send it to a colorist in Germany.

It doesn´t matter if the story itself takes place in NY or friggin Asgard, the page WILL turn out looking like it takes place in NY or Asgard.

You dont´have to have actually walked down the Champs Elisées to be able to write and draw a story that takes place in the Champs Elisées.

 

[Anubis]

If one thing comes out of Civil War, I really hope they move more characters out of the city. Seriously, it's time to move on.

 

[3dman27]

which marvel superhero would be good for orlando fla?[i live in nearby titusville]

 

[Zeu]

Nova.

 

[FunBobPants]

Excalibur: UK
The X-Men were based in Australia for a while.
Hulk: New Mexico
There are Avengers teams all over the US

 

[Zeu]

X-Men.
In Australia..................

I don´t think so.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

which marvel superhero would be good for orlando fla?[i live in nearby titusville]

The Young Avengers should set up shop there. Then they could hang out at the theme parks on their weekends.

 

[Ben Urich]

**** Orlando. I'm sick of this place.