Well, *that* was like running a marathon.
Just got off the phone with Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and a dozen or so comics journalists. That Marvel holds the press conferences on Wednesday is unfortunate since that’s new comics day, so any journalist who’s also a retailer has problems attending, but hey, what can ya do?
I have no idea how it went, personally. I said everything that occurred to me, which probably meant I talked waaaay too much, but I figured the more I said, the more the journalists had to choose from in terms of picking quotes. Unless I put them to sleep.
Bill and Joe endeavored to push me into “putting up” something, some sort of public display, if CM doesn’t outsell the others. Nah. The McFarlane debate cured me of that kind of stunt. Nowadays, the more someone tries to push me into something, the more I dig in my heels and say “Unh unh.” It also broke me up that at one point Bill was dissing Marvel business practices of the 1980s while boasting of Marvel’s graphic novel success in bookstores…kind of ignoring the fact that book store penetration and Marvel’s entire graphic novel program were *from* the 1980s. Go figure.
Here’s the thing I’ll always wonder about, and which no one asked: Why is it that if a reader has problems understanding a story, it’s the writer’s fault? But if a retailer doesn’t understand Marvel’s reorder policies, then the retailer’s IQ is called into question?
PAD
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That reminds me of the comments that, if a movie is great, it’s because of a great director, but if it sucked, well, the writer gave them a bad script, and they did the best they could… That always ticks me off.
And Jemas The Menace is always ticking me off the way he slams his own company, his own talent, his customers, and everyone who isn’t him, basically.
Geez he annoys me.
Thanks for not getting swept into putting anything on the line Peter.
-Joe
Yay! I commented without double posting!
Anyway, here’s the Newsarama story on the press conference.
Of course I’ll read PAD’s CM, and I might look at “Ult Adventures” if it ends up free online, but about the only way I would give any time to “Marville” would be if Priest were writing it to accompany Doc Bright’s art, and I’d have some Quantum & Woody flashbacks.
-Joe
http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=001228
Bill Jemas:
Oops! Kept getting an error message when I tried to post.
Sorry about that…
Kevin Smith? Dependable? Then how come Green Arrow 14 is out this month and not 18?
I’m a Captain Marvel fan second, and a PAD fan first. I hope Captain Marvel sticks around, but if not, I will follow PAD to whatever he writes next.
From my point of view this seems a competition between two What the? of DC Uiverse against Captain Marvel. It
The saddest part of this whole thing is that Jemas has no interest in taking his book past six issues. It’s obviously a humour mag with little or no throughline, so chances are it’s going to be a bunch of one-shots focusing on different parts of the business. It’s not about crafting an interesting story for him, or long term sales. It’s about slapping a cover that the fans can’t resist on a book for six months, and then getting out before people realize he never actually did any real writing.
Hëll, this is what the Marvel of the early to mid-nineties was all about! To me, this whole contest is Bill and Joe saying, “Hey Peter, the fans are idiots…why give them quality when all they want is crap wrapped in a shiny package.” And for the most part, he’s probably right. I mean who’s buying Ultimate Batm–, uh, er…Adventures for Zimmerman’s prose. Please. Their buying it because it has Ultimate in the title…and the Ultimate line is super kewl awesome. Can’t wait to see Ultimate Leno! Maybe some of his monolgues will be updated for audiences who aren’t ninety.
I’ve never bought two of anything in my life, but I will buy two Captain Marnvel #1’s. One for me, and one for the writer’s lounge here in the studio!
Ken
The Marvel mentality is the reason that the only book I buy from them is Captain Marvel. Two years ago, I bought ten books a month from them.
The problem I feel is that Marvel just doesn’t care about the reader’s intellegence, memory, or long term investment in the books. Not to mention, I feel the art (when it can be called that) is very … unfavorable towards women.
Actually, it was your fault I got suckered into comics and into full fledge Star Trek fandom, I’ll have you know. The first Star Trek novel I read was one of yours and I loved it. Then, when I found out you wrote comics, I had to pick up an issue of PAD-factor.
After reading HULK: THE END (which was excellent, by the way), I’m gettin’ a hankerin’ for some more PAD Hulk stories.
I’m curious as to whether you would be interested in writing a Hulk ongoing again. I’m envisioning something under the new MAX or Marvel Knights banners. Or maybe even an Ultimate series.
Just a thought, but if it did happen, I’d be there for every issue.