With a holiday weekend upon us, and the need to be a little more brief this week we had a choice – either we grill Joe Quesada or you the readers get to. We flipped and coin, and you won…
Q: MistaT73 03-28-2007 12:16 PM
What are the chances of Marvel ever moving to a fictional government/President? With the heavy political atmosphere around Marvel now that Civil War is over it seems (to me at least) it would be a good move. It would certainly open a lot of doors for new stories.
Joe Quesada: MistaT173, I don’t know if that’s prudent for us to do. While this kind of idea comes around from time to time, the beauty of the Marvel U is that it’s grounded in our “real” world. While this can set limitations, to some extent, it also allows us to do what we do because it establishes certain rules that we have to abide by when telling our stories. It keeps us as grounded as possible within the context of a fantasy universe. While there may be smaller exceptions from time to time, like a fictional Congressperson or what have you, for the most part the big players are the big players and the President of the U.S. should be the current President.
Newsarama: Joe, if we may interject, now that it's been a few years, wasn't a storyline being tossed around a while back about a fictional U.S. President that would be very familiar to Marvel readers?
JQ: Yup, that’s true. There was a point when we had an idea floating around to make Cap the President of the U.S. While an interesting concept, it was problematic for the exact reason I stated above.
Q: motteditor 03-28-2007 10:22 PM
Joe, Axel Alonso revealed this week that the New Warriors are "super heroes you already know, sporting new super hero identities." Can you drop any hints, so we fans can start speculating about who we may be seeing in the new title (other than Sofia, since those hints haven't really been vague).
JQ: Nope. [laughs]
Q: Dr.Finger 03-30-2007 06:12 PM
What was the toughest decision you had to make, creatively, that turned out for the better? Putting an untested creator on a high profile book? Changing a beloved character? Something where you say "I agonized over the decision, but couldn't be more happy how it turned out"
JQ: Dr.Finger, that’s a tough answer because that happens with every big decision we make. While not everyone will agree with every decision that gets made here, the one thing I will argue until I’m blue in the face is when folks imagine the process as being willy-nilly. You know, like we’re bored or how behind the scenes our true intentions are to destroy the Marvel Universe because you know we all hate comics and really can’t wait to be unemployed!
Q: motteditor 03-30-2007 06:20 PM
Good question. And to follow up, what was the best decision you considered making but didn't pull the trigger on? Something you're glad you reconsidered
JQ: There’s a decision that I agonized over and made a couple of months ago, motteditor, that hasn’t been published yet so I can’t talk about it. Ask me sometime in November and I’ll fill you in. I was dead set on this idea, but no decision here is made in a vacuum. To me the smartest way to operate in a creative environment or in any business environment is to listen to all the opinions of your top people and then come to the best, most educated decision you can make. Surrounding oneself with “yes people” is great for your ego but will insure that you don’t have your job or business for very long.
So, this particular idea was very polarizing and I literally split the editorial troops in half with respect to those that thought it was a good idea and those that didn’t. I was totally torn on this one but then weighed all the opinions and decided that not using this idea was the better play and would serve us better in the future.
Again, sorry to be so cryptic, but ask me again in the winter!
Q: know_access 03-30-2007 06:52 PM
Last week, a poster named ApacheDick asked about how dozens of villains could be killed by the Punisher in Punisher: War Journal #4 and then appear alive again in other comics. He asked rather rudely and insulted the writer (I read the issue and liked it personally). Because of the rude nature of the question, you rightfully declined to answer it. However, his question did get me pondering the same. I hope that having asked politely, you might grace us with an answer, please.
JQ: Hey, know_access, let me make something clear before I answer. My understanding is that some folks thought I was upset because the person asking the question was making fun of me somehow, that couldn’t be further from the truth. You can make fun of me all day long on this site, I’m well aware that my job and this Q&A make me a target so I’m completely cool with that. Heck, I expect it from certain folk.
So, from fat remarks to how much I suck to whatever, it’s all part of the theater that is the message boards at the end of this Q&A and I find it pretty funny. I’m a kid from NYC, you learn to take a bust in the chops and you learn to give it back.
However, where I come from, if you can dish but can’t take it, that’s when folks lose respect for ya.
Also, I don’t see “Quesadilla” as a racist term. It’s not like I haven’t heard it before. Heck, the first person I ever heard call me that was when I was Todd McFarlane the very first time we were introduced. It’s a play on my name, I don’t see it as anything more than that.
What got me angry at the poster and what gets me angry in general is when people ask me a question here or at a panel that insults another creator or someone I work with. There have been at least three or four occasions over the last six years where I’ve asked someone to leave a panel because they got up to the mic and instead of posing their question in a decent manner, they thought it was funnier to slag on another creator or someone on Marvel’s staff. Again, you want to say, “Hey, I don’t care for so and so’s stuff, how long is he or she on the book?” Heck, that’s a perfectly legit way to ask your question, you want to get rude, I just change the channel.
Now, as to the answer to the question, let’s go to Editor Axel Alonso.
Axel Alonso: No bodies, no certainties!
JQ: There you have it and thanks for re-asking this question with the proper tact.
Q: booston 03-31-2007 01:34 AM
What, if any, thought is given to which comics ship in a given week? The reason I ask is that on March 21, seven X-books (X-Factor, First Class, Cable & Deadpool, Exiles, X-23, X-Men, and Wisdom) flooded the market while on March 7th there was just one (Uncanny).
What was the reasoning for putting out so many of the same family of books on one day when they could have been more evenly distributed throughout the month? Do you worry that this will hurt the overall sales of the March 21st books, or do you just ship a book as soon as it's ready to go?
JQ: Well, booston, since these decisions are made by David Gabriel and our sales department, lets ask him.
David Gabriel: Hours upon hours are put into planning the schedule for every week of every month. Great consideration s put into shifting Spider-Man titles so they are not all in one week, and the same goes for X-titles, Ultimate books, Marvel Adventure titles, and now Avengers books. Keep in mind that this is all done 3-4 months prior to the on sale week. Then life takes over, books shift around for one reason or another, even by a week or two within a month, and by the time the on sale date is up, the books have often shifted in the schedule beyond anyone's control.
We do watch that the big titles don't all go into one week...Astonishing, Uncanny, X-Men, that would be a large scale disaster, or even all the Ultimate books...but it does happen from time to time as books shift around.
Q: MJF 03-31-2007 12:43 PM
While I have been loving Thunderbolts, I've been wondering where the heck all the other villains are? The last three Marvel summer events have focused on heroes fighting heroes (Avengers Disassembled, House of M, and Civil War) and World War Hulk will make it four straight summers. Any chance we'll see some good old fashioned hero fighting villain action soon? Maybe even a summer event focusing on heroes fighting villains?
Lastly, any more villain-centric comics coming out soon?
JQ: MJF, The villains have been present in all of the non-crossover issues of your favorite Marvel comics, and in addition to Thundrbolts, there's also the long-awaited Super-Villain Team-Up: M.O.D.O.K.'s 11 limited series coming your way shortly. And we'll be seeing Doctor Doom in Mighty Avengers, the Mandarin in Iron Man, the Red Skull has been all over Captain America, and the Leader in She-Hulk before too long.
Q: Kazkeun 03-31-2007 03:17 PM
Who's death do you think made the bigger impact in comics: “Death of Superman” (Superman), or “Death of the Dream” (Captain America)?
JQ: Kazkeum, there’s no question that the “Death of Superman” was bigger. First, it’s Superman. Secondly, it happened when the market was still speculator crazy so it sold considerably better.
But, if you’re looking to make some sort of meaningful caparison, something a bit more apples-to-apples, that question isn’t fair because Superman dying trumps any character in comics short of Spider-Man. I think that the interesting question to ask is which one will have more lasting meaning and impact with respect to story and overall direction of ideas and story concepts. The answer to that is unknown to me because it’s too soon after Cap’s death to really judge.
Q: KidKaos 03-31-2007 05:02 PM
I've been noticing with all the talk and news stories about comics becoming more sophisticated, it's mostly DC titles that are given as examples. Even Stephen King, like most people, cites Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Sandman and Preacher as the pinnacle of adult-oriented comics. Marvel doesn't really have an equivalent. Joe, you looking to change that?
JQ: KidKaos, all of those projects you’re mentioning happened a long time ago. First, V wasn’t originally published for DC but rather by Warrior and its initial publication date was 25 years ago. Watchmen was first published 21 years ago, Sandman 19 years ago and Preacher 12 years ago. What you're talking about is a very long period in history spanning 25 years, this new Marvel regime has been here for a bit more than six years.
That said, I would argue that there are things that we’re publishing that perhaps 12, 19, heck maybe 25 years from now will be look upon as fondly by people, but I couldn’t tell you that for certain as I’m not a fortune teller. What I can tell you is that I’m proud of books like Astonishing X-Men, The Ultimates, Civil War, Dark Tower, Daredevil, Captain America, Nextwave, Ultimate Spider-Man, Eternals, etc., etc. And that’s not looking back at past projects but this year alone.
There is no question that DC had a period of some very good writing and a handful of stellar writers that would have never set foot in Marvel at the time, that’s why I was reading their stuff in that era, Marvel didn’t appeal to me at the time. But, it’s a new day and a different time and I think the level of the sophistication of what we’re doing is the strongest in the industry and with the exception of Alan Moore on your list, Gaiman and Ennis both do outstanding work for us currently.
Let the arguments ensue.
Q: invisiblist 04-01-2007 02:44 AM
I frequent a website called Okayplayer, which is diverse in it's topics but had it's beginnings as a hiphop site and message board. We have a segment of member called the Prep Time Posse (an ode to an old Batman discussion) who love to talk comics, and often have a perspective that is unique to minority comic fans, given much of the Posse is black.
This past week, someone pointed out that there aren't really any black Marvel supervillains. I had never given it much thought myself. Being white will do that, though. So my question is: What's up with that?
JQ: There aren't really any major-league black villains that I can think of, invisibilist, so I agree with you. Most of the ones I can come up with are relatively minor, and tended to fight the Falcon, the Black Panther or Luke Cage - folks like Moses Magnum, the Man-Ape, the Hypno-Hustler, Morgan, Slyde, Erik Killmonger, Calypso, Shotgun.
Of course I expect that the follow up to that would be for someone to ask, so why don’t we create some? The honest answer is that we will if that’s what the story calls for, but that goes for any gender, ethnicity, etc. Like with the creation of any character, we don’t approach such things with an eye towards filling a quota. When you do that, readers can smell it a mile away and the characters never succeed because they don’t ring true. So, while it’s an interesting thing for us to have in the back of our minds, it’s always best to let these things come out of story and a pure creative process for the health and longevity of a character.
Q: mimick 03-31-2007 09:07 PM
I was wondering if you managed to snag Brad Meltzer for 12 issues -- what book would you have him write?
JQ: Anything he wanted, mimick, anything he wanted [laughs]
Q: JollyGiant 03-29-2007 12:30 PM
With all the unregistered heroes on the run why is Daredevil only at risk when in costume? Doesn't Tony and other registered heroes know Daredevil is Matt Murdock? It seems that People have showed up on Luke Cages door step looking for him to register so why not Daredevil?
JQ: Well, Luke Cage is Luke Cage, whether in costume or no. And he was approached at his apartment to register right at the beginning of the Civil War when hostilities were beginning to break out.
On the other hand, Matt Murdock was in prison at that point, even though Daredevil was involved in the War, and Matt has been publicly exonerated by the government for any charges that were put upon him when it was believed that he was Daredevil.
That being the case, showing up at Matt Murdock's law offices to take him in for being Daredevil would be a P.R. nightmare at the very least. In a larger sense, though, Tony's not especially worried about Daredevil's degree of training or his sense of responsibility, so he's content to let the matter lie, at least while Matt puts his life back in order.
Q: Mundungus 03-30-2007 01:34 AM
If Wilson Fisk is currently permanently expelled from U.S. soil according to the recent Daredevil arc, how is he operating as the Kingpin in the recent Runaways preview? I'll assume Runaways now takes place post-Civil War, so I'm a little befuddled by this. Especially if the Hood is soon to be taking a rise to power. Did someone not give Whedon the memo?
JQ: Joss definitely got the memo, Mundungus...and read it. Runaways is post-Civil War and in continuity. We talked it all over with Brubaker (who is a gentleman, a scholar and Kristin Bell’s #1 fantasy) and he was cool with it.
Here's how it works: just because you quit something doesn't mean that you're easily extricated from it. He's in NY wrapping up some loose ends that he had to deal with. It's only temporary. You'll see a reference to current DaredevilL continuity in Runaways #26. The Runaways have been on the run during the whole "Fisk in prison" stuff and contacted him through channels set up when their parents were in charge of the LA criminal underground. A lot of this will become clearer as the story goes on, true believer.
Q: Marc_Spector 03-30-2007 09:16 AM
Joe, where was the fanfare and the "make sure you get this book" for Heroes for Hire #8? I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read it so SPOILER WARNING
You don't believe Orca's death rates with Cap's? I was devastated!
JQ: Dude, didn’t you see that Newsweek Magazine broke the news of Orca’s death!!!! Guess you missed it, huh?
Q: AzizBawany 03-30-2007 07:32 PM
With the forthcoming X-Men: Endangered species story on its way, my question is how does Marvel convince readers to care that no more mutants are being born when the characters really haven't aged that much? With mutants like Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Wolverine being relatively the same since creation from the 60s onward, what can we as readers expect to make us care about the dwindling population of mutants?
JQ: AzizBawnany, it’s quite simple. There are mutants that are dying and the number is getting smaller and smaller and the remaining characters are having their backs pushed against the wall. You’ll see more of this by year’s end.
JQ: Sure there is. But there is more thought placed behind telling the stories we need to tell. If we preserved every creator’s ideas we would have stopped publishing in 1965. These characters evolve and move in many directions, they have to or we’d have no stories to tell.
Here’s how I see it. If twenty-plus years from now the E-i-C of Marvel comes up top me and say, “I loved what you did so much back in your day that I decided not to change a thing!” I would tell him or her that that was the dumbest thing I ever heard and that they needed to get over it and move on.
And will Alan Davis/Mark Farmer being doing any more work at Marvel in the future?
AND with him doing the covers to the new Avengers book, will Arthur Adams be doing anything else at Marvel soon?
As for Art Adams, at the moment he's only doing cover work for us, but we'd love to see him do a larger project when he has the time and the interest.
Joe, going back to that delay you mentioned last week for your "One More Day" project, does that mean that Marvel won't be releasing any Spidey titles for the month of August, or will Peter David and RAS have to write some filler stories for their respected Spider-Man books?
JQ: There's still plenty of Spider books in August including
Hey Joe. As much as I love Brian Michael Bendis' take on the Avengers, especially with the first issues of this team division, I just have to say one criticism for New Avengers #28. With Spidey going "Back in Black" to reflect his new dark mindset, this character development seemed inconsistent with how Bendis portrayed Spider-Man, cracking jokes and being as loveable as he ever was. Juxtaposed with ASM #539, Spidey's breaking arms and bodies and not caring whether or not he kills someone. So what I'm trying to ask is if we'll be seeing more consistency with the character, and is this just the tip of the iceberg of Spidey's darker image?
When will we have word on the project involving Jubilee that you had mentioned earlier? Also, after being taken by S.H.I.E.L.D. in Wolverine: Origins #10... is she still in their custody?
Believe it or not my girl asked me to possibly look into getting a BOY's name from my comic book habit. The problem is I really don't know anyone's "alter ego name." She already has a middle name for her only son "Logan", so that's out. Could you help at all?
JQ: First off, investcomics, what the heck is wrong with you? [laughs] Okay, since you asked…
Let’s forget about characters and start with either Lee or Kirby, two fine names for a boy.
Then, there’s Conan, Drax, Thor, Maverick, Norrin, Morbius, Remy, Wade, Clint or Happy!
Spider-Man Action Figures
