Oh, and we got another New Joe Fridays variant cover, this time from Stuart Immonen…

Newsarama: Joe, first off, not that it was your fault, but where were ya last week man? And what happened?

Joe Quesada: I actually went on vacation last week right after Heroes Con show. We went down to Key West and the phone line in the house we rented was down. I don’t have a Blackberry (been resisting that temptation) so, I always go down there with the expectation that I can get online via a phone line. Not so easy this time. We called Bell South on the first day to come and fix it and they never showed up for the entire seven days we were down there. The funniest part was that we took a walk one evening and found that the Bell South offices were literally around the corner from where we were staying.

Anyway, the closest wireless location was at a hotel about 30 minutes away by foot. I decided to try to go cold turkey off the grid. I had a vicious case of withdrawal shakes but by day three I had no desire to get on the computer or do anything but chill by the pool. So, while I love all of you guys out there, I decided to take the time and recharge the batteries and get away from comics and yes, even New Joe Fridays, for a bit.

NRAMA: Why Key West? What's the attraction there?

JQ: I’ll be honest, I hate Florida. It’s just never appealed to me. My wife feels exactly the same way. The day my parents decided to move down there, I shook their hands and said, “Have a great time!” But, even though my parents have passed on, I still have an Aunt who lives down there and she wants to see the family every year and one of the wife’s brother and family live there as well. So, Key West offers us a decent compromise because while it’s in Florida, it has more of a tropical island feel and we get to fool ourselves that we’re somewhere else.

NRAMA: You've been there before - any favorite places, or restaurants you can recommend? You a conch fritter guy at Sloppy Joe's, or are you all about the Cuban cafes?

JQ: Unfortunately, Key West is getting way to commercial. Many of the smaller local haunts are now being replaced by Starbucks and they now have a Hard Rock. Sloppy Joe’s is still fun, they have some great cover bands that play there, but mostly we just dig hanging by the pool, doing a bit of jet skiing and parasailing.

NRAMA: Okay - let's all trade our sunscreen in for the fluorescent lighting of the office…

JQ: Yeah, lets do that because I’m putting myself to sleep so I can only imagine how the folks here must be feeling.

NRAMA: This week saw the announcement of Amazing Spider-Girl. We spoke with Tom [DeFalco] a little, but from your point what was responsible for this book coming back with a new #1 issue? How do the digests do in comparison to Marvel's other bookstore offerings?

JQ: While the trades do well, we wanted to give the Spider-Girl monthly a shot in the arm and a proper relaunch. A brand new shiny #1 and the “Amazing” moniker. The hope is to garner some new attention, exposure and readership for Spider-Girl.

NRAMA: Can someone over there please tell Tom that he can just write and not have the sword of Damocles over his head?

JQ: Tom does his best work under pressure [laughs].In all seriousness, this time there really wasn’t a sword as Tom and everyone involved knew what was happening, we just needed to keep our lips sealed about it. So, as I got email about Spider-Girl’s demise, I found I had to either say nothing or be as non-committal as possible.

“Dear, E-i-C:

You Suck! I can’t believe you’re canceling Spider-Girl again! Did I mention you suck? I’m never reading another of your $#@!tty comics again! Rot in hell $@#% face!

Tammy Smith Age 7””

“Dear, Tammy: Sorry you feel that way.

Best, $@#% face"

NRAMA: We're t-minus...well, no one wants to count how few days are left until Comic-Con International: San Diego. What's the mood like there in that regard? Everything set for the booth and presentations?

JQ: Absolutely not. While we start preparing for it months in advance, so much of our plans are in flux up till the last minute, that we’re always running behind the eight ball. Remember, we’re a small staff, so it’s a lot to do for very few people.

Also, there are just so many shows back to back, that it’s a joke. I would say that while stuff for the physical booth is pretty much locked in, other stuff like content for the panels, extracurricular activities and all the ancillary things are still being worked out feverishly. Heck, I don’t even think I have my flight yet?

NRAMA: What's Marvel's presence going to be like this year at the show? Along with the booth, you're doing a good number of panels, right?

JQ: Yeah. The booth should be a decent one this year. As you know, we don’t have those giant presentations anymore. As for panels, yeah, we have the usual mayhem planned, so if you’ve come to love the Marvel panels as much as we love to give them, then come on down and check them out. As always, we have some special announcements that will be made.

NRAMA: What goes into deciding what gets announced at both this show and Chicago, given that they are so close together this year?

JQ: Since the shows are so close together, a couple of things go into those decisions. San Diego is such a monster, that while we make some big announcements there, we sometimes leave the bigger ones for Chicago because most companies like to unload their big news in SD. You have everyone from comic companies to video game developers to Hollywood studios just putting information out there, and lets not forget the Eisner’s.

So, to me, San Diego becomes one big wall of white noise. This isn’t a knock on the con in any way, it’s just the way it is - the thing is huge! I’ve been to some of the Hollywood panels and there and thousands of people sitting there. Then you go to a comic’s panel and there’s currently no comparison. So, you have to pick your spot and sometimes San Diego, because of its size, doesn’t offer the best venue for big comic’s news.

Also, you have to look at the guest list. If you have a creator who’s only going to be in San Diego, then you try to cater the panel to break news while the creator is there so that they can speak to the fans directly about their new project.

NRAMA: Overall, what's your take on San Diego's "vibe?" What's its energy like compared to other shows around the country?

JQ: The energy is of course amazing and the show is run beautifully. If I had a complaint is that it’s not as personal a one-on-one experience with the fans as Chicago or Charlotte can be. It’s more of a big media show with a more diverse group of fans and creators than any place on Earth. In many ways, it’s grown beyond being a comic book convention, it’s really more of a pop culture event, a rock concert of sorts.

NRAMA: Okay, Joe, revisiting some stuff we wanted to talk about last week - some of our readers noticed your somewhat abrupt response to our question about women writers at Marvel, and to be fair that might have been due to our phrasing of the question. It’s perfectly reasonable that no women writers were present at the summit a couple of week’s back because no women writers are currently writing any Marvel series (minus Tamora Price’s upcoming White Tiger series). So perhaps the better question is, why don’t you think there are many/any women writers at Marvel, or in comics in general?

JQ: Yeah, I saw that somewhere on the ‘net there had seemed to be some sort of controversy about this. It was a simple question and I answered it very matter of fact, but I guess some folks need elaborating.

Up to today, the creators who have been involved with the summits have been writers who are working on titles that play some sort of significant role in our future plans. They’re also writers that work well in a creative room. Currently the only female writers working at Marvel that I can think of off the top of my head, are Robin Furst (Dark Tower), Tamora Pierce (White Tiger), and Tania Del Rio (Arana Special). Robin isn’t attached to anything within the Marvel Universe and Tamora and Tania are just getting started here at Marvel. Perhaps in the future one of these women or perhaps someone new will be at the summit, but for now, the current crop of female writers are still very junior to the world of Marvel.

NRAMA: Again, generally speaking, is it the subject material simply doesn’t attract many women wanting to write comics? Or is the industry still not hospitable to prospective women writers?

JQ: To think that the industry, Marvel, DC, or any publisher isn’t hospitable to female creators is ridiculous. The beauty of comics is that in a sense we creators are faceless. What I mean by this is that if this was the acting business or rock and roll, your appearance, gender, and ethnicity would have a lot to do with the kind of work and roles you get. Not so in comics, all that dictates the type of work you get is your talent. It doesn’t matter to us whether the person pitching a story is male, female, black, white, from some other country, or outer space, all we want is the most talented people on the planet.

What I can tell you is that is that when I look at the pitches and art samples that we get, 99.9% of those pitches and samples come from males. I can’t control that, that’s just the law of averages, that’s who wants to submit.

But, let me also add, that just because there is a lack of female writers doesn’t mean that we’re going to hand out a charity gig to a female just because of her gender. That to me defeats the purpose. As a father of an only female child I would want all doors open within whatever field my daughter decides to one day choose. But I would also want her to walk through those doors on her own merits, not on the charity of others or to fill some quota, and I suspect that when she’s old enough to understand that, she’ll feel the same.

And in case anyone is wondering about the women of Marvel, here’s a list of some of the creators who work for us. Laura Martin, Christina Strain, Laurie Kronnenber, Gina Going, Debora Carita, Michelle Madsen, and June Chung all currently color for us. Colleen Doran, Amanda Conner, Frederica Manfreddi, Jo Chen, Claire Wednling, and Gurihiru also work for us as cover and or interior artists. Tania Del Rio writes and draws, and as I mentioned Robin Furst and Tamora Pierce will be writing for us.

NRAMA: Joe, also a couple of weeks ago Mike Deodato told us he’s taking over as penciler of Squadron Supreme soon. The logical follow-up to that is, what does this mean for Gary Frank, who has been the main penciler of the series since the first MAX issue?

Is he remaining at Marvel, moving on?

JQ: Gary is moving over to another title, more will be revealed later. If you’re a fan of Gary’s work as I am, you’re going to be thrilled when you hear about his next project.

NRAMA: A couple of months in, and there are still some readers who perceive the portrayal of characters on the pro-registration side of Civil War as something less than reasonable, and a little rash. Building up to Civil War it was promised that there would be no clear right or wrong and that each side would be equally represented.

Do you feel characters like Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic (for example) have been shown as acting reasonable and if so, do you think it’s just readers’ own biases that are coloring their perceptions?

JQ: There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, yes, I do believe that certain fans are going into Marvel Civil War with a bias one way or another. I’ve received emails from fans that are against registration saying that we’re portraying the pro-registration side too positively, that we’re going overboard or selling it too much. I get emails from pro-registration fans saying that we’re obviously all against registration at Marvel and that’s why we’re portraying the anti-registration side as more heroic. But, hey, this is exactly what we knew was going to happen and we’re thrilled about it because it means that fans are feeling passionately about this story.

One other very important thing to keep in mind is that there is an ebb and flow to serial storytelling. Have you ever read an issue of a comic that leaves you angry because you don’t like the way your favorite hero or heroine is acting only to find out an issue or two later that there was more to the story than met the eye, the writer was just leading you someplace you had no idea you were going? Well, Civil War is no different. You never know, the person you’re cheering for today may not be the one you’re cheering for tomorrow.

NRAMA: Joe, something that's going around the Internet - are you really going to be a guest on the Colbert Report on July 27th?

JQ: Yup, seems Marvel Civil War is everywhere these days!

NRAMA: You a fan of the show?

JQ: I’m a huge fan of the show, both Colbert and John Stewart are brilliant, I watch them both religiously. It’s the best stuff on TV. I can’t wait to be "nailed" by Colbert! Hmmm, that didn’t come out sounding right did it?

NRAMA: No, it did not…

How did that get set up, and what in the world are you going to talk about?

JQ: They contacted me directly and I believe they want to talk comics andCivil War.

NRAMA: How much will it cost us for you to wear your Newsarama t-shirt?

JQ: It’s free but I doubt anyone will see it under my “READ COMICS,” t-shirt.

NRAMA: Ever the diplomat.

Also, speaking of you and television, it was just announced that Painkiller Jane was picked up as a series on Sci Fi. Did you know this was coming?

JQ: We had an idea, yeah.

NRAMA: It looks like Jane's origin will be tweaked again. Got any insight on this - not from an insider's point of view, but why the new one they're talking about may work better as the base for an ongoing series?

JQ: I suspect that they’re looking at the source material and trying to get closer to that. They optioned a great property, why option it and then not use what you purchased? It’s like buying a Ferrari and then taking a hammer to the chassis and trying to make it look like a Volkswagen Beetle.

NRAMA: Are you and Jimmy involved at all with this? Have you had any contact with the producers?

JQ: Not as of yet, it’s still too early.

NRAMA: Okay, well, since you missed a week, we got to keep going and let readers have their crack at you…

[Be sure to stay “tuned” for October 2006 highlights from Marvel right after Reader Questions]

“aries_insaneus” - Any chance of giving us an up date when Bryan Singer’s Ultimate X-Men is going to be coming out and do you think you could give us some plot details or at least how many issues he is going to be writing?

JQ: Aires-insaneus, no, still nothing new to report other than we have the first script. I suspect that now that Superman Returns is out we might be able to get a bit more in gear with the project.

“Johnny Triangles” - Just wanted to know, a year or two back you mentioned how getting Essentials out in color was a big thing you wanted to get done as soon as possible, then we never heard about this initiative again. As someone who refuses to buy Essentials because they're uncolored, this has been a disappointment. Will this initiative ever be picked up again?

JQ: JT, We are currently putting out trades branded as Classics like New Mutants Classics, Excalibur Classics, Wolverine Classics, Champions Classics, and more. We're also doing the Omnibus versions like Alias, Eternals, Fantastic Four, and more coming up.

“IronWolf” - Any chance of ever getting Kevin Smith do any Marvel work again?

JQ: Hey, Iron Wolf, I would love for Kevin to come back and do some work for us here at Marvel. You know anyone who has any pull?

“Nightfly” - David Milch's Deadwood (Season 1) DVD commentary makes it apparent he's a Marvel fan. Any thoughts on approaching him to write a comic for Marvel? Perhaps a western?

JQ: Is he really?!?!? I’m a huge fan of Deadwood! It sure would be great to see him do something for us wouldn’t it!

“jccheung” - For those of us who aren't purchasing (or can't purchase) every Civil War tie-in title, perhaps you could set up a scorecard on Marvel.com showing which of the major heroes/villains are on the pro-registration side and the anti-registration side? Everybody else not listed would be considered undecided. I think that would really help us keep track of everybody's allegiances.

JQ: Hey, jccheung, how about this! Not only do we have that page but you can go there right now and updated it as soon as you open the next Civil War tie-in. It's in our Marvel Universe section, which operates similar to Wikipedia.

http://www.marvel.com/universe/Civil_War.

I want to thank the Marvel.com moderators for putting this together.

“Bearpod91” - As an artist do you think it's an okay thing to try to base your art off someone else's and just change some details on it? Or is it better to think of a picture in your head and draw that?

JQ: Bearpod, while it’s next to impossible to not be inspired by other artist, the goal is to eventually find your own voice. When I started, my work was heavily influenced by Mike Mignola, but I don’t know how much of that influence is visible today as I feel like I’ve grown into my own style. The thing to remember is this, if you end up just being a clone of another artist, you will only end up getting the types of projects that artist rejected or would never do. The artists that get the prime gigs are the ones who have an individual flair.

“Robert_Coyner” - I really enjoyed Richard K. Morgan's two Black Widow minis, and I had assumed that what happened to Fury during the second volume would explain why he has disappeared from S.H.I.E.L.D. even though smaller titles like this rarely play significant roles in the wider Marvel Universe. Anyway, there were several strands left dangling at the end of the second. Will there be a third volume? Or, if not, are there any other plans for Morgan to work on other Marvel titles?

JQ: Currently. Robert, there are no plans for a third Black Widow mini, but we are talking to Richard about more future Marvel work.

“Capt. Universe” - Will we ever see the release of the Captain Universe mini-series that was supposed to come out in March 2006?

JQ: Not immediately. While there were rudimentary plans, we decided to hold off on Captain Universe until we feel that the timing is better for a relaunch.

“fattthing” - I'm a huge David Mack fan and buy Kabuki whenever it is released, but I was curious to whether he will be doing any projects on Marvel characters any time soon (writer, artist or both)? I thought I read somewhere that he was going to be working on Ultimate X-Men co-writing with Bendis?

JQ: There was talk about the two of them working on Ultimate X-Men, fattthing, but currently that is no longer the plan. David just submitted a pitch into us the other day, so I suspect that you’ll see some of that David Mack goodness coming your way sometime next year.

ULTIMATE POWER #1 (of 9)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils and Cover by GREG LAND
The Fantastic Four’s leader, Reed Richards, has accidentally punched a hole into an adjacent universe in a desperate bid to gain the knowledge he needs to cure his friend Ben Grimm—The Thing. But something has come through the aperture from a realm known as the Supremeverse: The Squadron Supreme! They are angry and here to arrest young Reed for high crimes against their world. You must not miss the crossover of the decade!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

ULTIMATE X-MEN #75
Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN & SEAN MCKEEVER
Pencils by BEN OLIVER
Cover by MICHAEL TURNER
“CABLE” Part 1 (of 4)
If one man is capable of disrupting the carefully controlled world of Charles Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters, it’s this one: Ultimate Cable! He comes from a tragic future to wreak havoc on mutantkind today. And his sinister secrets will shock the X-Men to their very core. It’s a huge event in Ultimate X-Men history. Get in on the ground floor. You’ve been warned. Plus: delve into the secret life of the X-Men’s rivals, Emma Frost's Academy of Tomorrow, in a special bonus story!
48 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

DR. STRANGE: THE OATH #1 (of 5)
Written by Brian Vaughan
Pencils & Cover by Marcos Martin
Doctor Stephen Strange embarks on the most important paranormal investigation of his career, as he sets out to solve an attempted murder... his own! And with his most trusted friend also at death’s door, Strange turns to an unexpected corner of the Marvel Universe to recruit a new ally. Eisner Award-winning writer Brian K. Vaughan (Runaways, Y: The Last Man) and red-hot artist Marcos Martin (Captain America, Batgirl: Year One) join forces for an adventure that will take the Sorcerer Supreme from the underworld of New York City to the deadliest dimensions on the outskirts of reality.
This limited series will firmly establish Doctor Strange in the current Marvel Universe as well as setting him up to join a surprising new team!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

THE IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #1
Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN
Pencils and Cover by PHIL HESTER
Introducing the world’s WORST superhero! When a low-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent gets a hold of Hank Pym’s new Ant-Man suit you know the Marvel Universe is in trouble. He’s not concerned with saving the world or helping others. He’s concerned with getting through the day and getting a leg up on life. He’s not going to use his powers responsibly, he’s going to use them for the betterment of himself. He’s ANT-MAN a NEW “hero” for the modern world. If you thought Robert Kirkman pushed the boundaries of what could be in a Marvel Comic with MARVEL ZOMBIES just WAIT until you see what he does in THE IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

GIANT-SIZE WOLVERINE #1
Written by DAVID LAPHAM
Art and cover by DAVID AJA
Wolverine has been injured before, but never like this. Blasted with 5,000 rounds of machine gun shells and lifted to the edge of earth’s atmosphere by a giant robot, Wolverine was 85,000 feet in the air when he finally disabled the killing machine. Now, after a horrendous descent and fiery crash into a rural Nebraska cornfield, he lies at the edge of death, lapsing in and out of a coma as his body desperately tries to heal. And that’s when things really get bad.
The men who sent the robot to destroy Wolverine have come to finish the job. The townsfolk who witnessed the crash have gathered up a mob to hunt down and destroy the alien that’s landed. And Wolverine’s fate just might rest in the hands of the strange little girl who first found him in that dark cornfield. A strange little girl with an affinity for taking care of odd creatures, and whose family holds a deep, dark secret hidden from the light of day... House of Blood and Sorrow is an all new 34-page chilling story just in time for Halloween! Written by David Lapham (Stray Bullets) and illustrated by David Aja (Daredevil, X-Men Unlimited)
This Giant Size edition also includes a special Classic tie-in to Wolverine Origins with reprints of X-Men 6 and 7 by Jim Lee, featuring Omega Red and Sabretooth!
96 PGS./ Rated T+ ...$4.99

X-MEN #192
Written by MIKE CAREY
Pencils and Cover by CHRIS BACHALO
“SUPERNOVAS”
Eat your heart out, Red Baron! The X-Men take to the skies to in a dogfight against their newest foes, the Children! It’s non-stop action and suspense in this penultimate issue to Mike Carey’s first arc on X-Men. Plus, discover the secret the Children are still hiding that will turn the X-Men’s world upside down! Part 5 (of 6)!
32 PGS./Rated A ...$2.99

AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #1
Written by TOM DEFALCO
Pencils and Cover by RON FRENZ
Variant Cover by ED MCGUINNESS
“Whatever happened to the daughter of Spider-Man?”
A complete single issue story!
Ever wonder why Spider-Girl fans are the, most vocal, most active comic fans of all? Here’s your chance to finally find out! Join us for the start of our second 100 issues as May “Mayday” Parker learns that she can’t escape her great responsibilities! Featuring the original Hobgoblin, the Black Tarantula--and more!
32 PGS./All Ages ...$2.99

HELLSTORM: SON OF SATAN #1 (of 5)
Written by ALEXANDER IRVINE
Penciled by RUSSELL BRAUN
Finishes by KLAUS JANSON
Cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM
“Equinox,” Part 1 of 5
When the Son of Satan is your best option, God help you.
New Orleans. The Big Easy. The membrane between our world and the underworld has always been a little thinner here. Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the outpouring of human misery has drawn demons like sharks to a bloodbath. What better time for Damian Hellstorm --- a.k.a. The Son of Satan -- to pay a visit?
It starts with the doctor who delivers a baby that vanishes into the night. A doctor who is devoured by demons wearing New Orleans PD badges. Demons who work for someone--or something--that’s descended on the Big Easy and doesn’t’ give a damn who Hellstorm or his father is. Something that’s harvesting body parts in a furious race toward unspeakable purposes. This is The Son of Satan as you’ve never seen him before, brought to you by acclaimed novelist Alexander Irvine (The Narrows), with searing art by Russell Braun (Animal Man) and Klaus Janson.
32 PGS./Cardstock Cover/Explicit Content ...$3.99

THERE IS A STRICT NO OVERPRINT POLICY ON ALL MAX TITLES PLEASE CHECK YOUR ORDERS AND PLACE THEM BY THE FOC.

CRIMINAL #1
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Art & Wraparound Cover by SEAN PHILLIPS
This fall crime noir smacks you right in the face, as award-winning writer Ed Brubaker, whose recent hits on Daredevil, Captain America and the X-Men have made him one of the top writers in the field, joins best-selling Marvel Zombies artist Sean Phillips for CRIMINAL, a new ongoing series from Icon. Navigating through a world of smoky barrooms and double-crosses to present tales of heists, murders and cons, CRIMINAL is determined to be different than any other book on the shelves today.
In our debut issue, we meet Leo, who can plan the perfect heist... but only if he can be convinced the job is safe enough. See, Leo is not a shoot-first think-later guy; Leo is a professional. But to some criminals, even professionals, the right payout is worth almost any risk. So when an old friend and a crooked cop approach with a plan to seize millions of dollars in contraband from an evidence transport van, Leo must make tough choices, knowing there’s nothing you can trust less in this world than a cop on the take.
And as a bonus, each issue of Criminal will be packed with material, featuring a full length continuing story, as well as back-up stories and articles about the crime genre in all its forms from the pulps to the modern day.
32 PGS./No Ads/Mature Content ...$2.99

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