Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006) - Page 12

Greg_S_H · 08-17-2007, 01:10 AM

A good comic this week is Booster Gold #1. If you liked his storyline in 52, there is no reason you won't like it here. It's even set up as a direct continuation, with the same "Week XX" banners at the top. Johns did a pretty good balance of continuing things in the DC universe in general without confusing a DC newbie such as myself. And, the art was really nice to look at. I would say it's one of the better books I've read in a while.

Greg_S_H · 12-04-2007, 03:44 PM

A pretty candid Usenet post from JMS about the whole Spider-Man "One More Day" debacle:

Quote:

Speak of the devil and he shall appear....

For whatever it's worth, the situation is not as clear cut as one
might hope. The reality of any writer workingfor any company, DC or
Marvel or Image, is that when you're handed a franchise character,
you're basically entrusted with something that the company owns, and
the company has final say in what happens to that character, because
as a writer, you're only there for a certain amount of time and then
the next guy has to come in. Spider-Man belongs to Marvel, not to me,
and at the end of the day, however much I may disagree with things,
and however much I may make it very CLEAR to all parties that I
disagree, I have to honor their position.

In the Gwen storyline, yes, I wanted it to be Peter's kids, Joe over-
rode that, which is his right as EIC. I got the flack for that
decision, but them's the breaks.

In the current storyline, there's a lot that I don't agree with, and I
made this very clear to everybody within shouting distance at Marvel,
especially Joe. I'll be honest: there was a point where I made the
decision, and told Joe, that I was going to take my name off the last
two issues of the OMD arc. Eventually Joe talked me out of that
decision because at the end of the day, I don't want to sabotage Joe
or Marvel, and I have a lot of respect for both of those. As an
executive producer as well as a writer, I've sometimes had to insist
that my writers make changes that they did not want to make, often
loudly so. They were sure I was wrong. Mostly I was right.
Sometimes I was wrong. But whoever sits in the editor's chair, or the
executive producer's chair, wears the pointy hat of authority, and as
Dave Sim once noted, you can't argue with a pointy hat.

So at the end of the day, all one can do is try to do the best one can
with the notes one is given, and try to execute them in a professional
way...because who knows, the other guy may be right. The only thing I
*can* tell you, with absolute certainty, is that what Joe does with
Spidey and all the rest of the Marvel characters, he does out of a
genuine love of the character. He's not looking to sabotage anything,
he's not looking to piss off the fans, he genuinely believes in the
rightness of his views not out of a sense of "I'm the boss" but
because he loves these characters and the Marvel universe.

And right or wrong, you have to respect that.

jms

TravisR · 12-04-2007, 04:47 PM

While I know that alot of JMS's run has beat up by fans (it's had its ups and downs but I've enjoyed it overall), what's the specific controversy surrounding One More Day? Is it just that Marvel is ripping people for a buck for no content beyond some worthless Marvel encyclopedia entries or is it that the books are months late or is it that the fans just think the story sucks?

Personally, I wish the story was better- especially the latest issue which was just a waste of pages- but I've still got high hopes for a big finish in Amazing Spider-Man (which will undoubtedly be delayed even longer than the end of December).

Russell G · 12-04-2007, 04:49 PM

I havn't been collecting Spidey, looks like I'm not missing much. PRett ycrazy that he would go on a public board like that.

TonyD · 12-04-2007, 05:47 PM

i didnt know there was a one more day debacle.

who said it was?
or what makes it one?

Andy Sheets · 12-04-2007, 06:01 PM

I'm not sure but I think the idea is that Mephisto is going to "wave a magic wand" that will make it so Peter and MJ's marriage never happened. A lot of people are saying that this is an exceptionally stupid idea for a number of reasons.

Patrick Sun · 12-04-2007, 07:35 PM

Holy retcon fever, Batman!

Greg_S_H · 12-04-2007, 08:24 PM

Yeah, it's not only the fact that the marriage is ending just because one guy has a problem with it and actually has the power to do something about it, but it's also the fact that the story has been telegraphed for months. I have known for literally months that it was going to be Mephisto coming in and making the marriage go away. It's pretty bad when your big, huge status quo changing story is playing out just like the rumors that have been out there forever. It's funny that other writers have seemingly been trying to spike the story. The guy who wrote Sensational, for one thing, had May in a coma begging Peter to let her go be with Ben, and the writer's last issue had God showing Peter how ideal his life has been (and had it ending with him and Mary Jane happy with a family).

By the way, before anyone complains that I'm spoiling the story, I have no specific knowledge about what will happen in the final chapter. I'll eat a candy bar if I'm wrong and Joe Q throws a curveball, but they have said that the free comic book day book is "important to Brand New Day." That story was not only terrible, but it showed May alive with no knowledge of Peter as Spider-Man, and had what appeared to be Mary Jane as "Jackpot." She even called Peter "tiger." This character will definitely appear in Brand New Day, and is the lamest thing to come out of the House of Ideas in as long as I can remember.

Here's what we know:

JMS conceived the Sins Past storyline with Peter as the father of the twins. A bad idea, to be sure, but his idea. Joe Q stepped in and forced it to be Norman.

JMS wanted the Other to be a huge, sprawling story, but was forced to pare it down to a rushed crossover.

The rumor--supported by his post--is that he opposes ending the marriage, and Joe Q stepped in again. As JMS says, it's an editor's right, but it hasn't been positive for the quality of the book thus far.

Joe is the one who brought Peter and Mary Jane back together after she was killed off by Howard Mackie. He made their marriage fun to read, and he also completely salvaged Aunt May. Mackie and Byrne gave May a makeover, but she was still a dingbat. JMS made her a human being. This whole storyline appears to be turning back the clock on all of this, which is a shame. He should have taken his name off the final two parts, since the whole thing basically says, "Your run might as well not have happened."

TravisR · 12-04-2007, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Sheets

I'm not sure but I think the idea is that Mephisto is going to "wave a magic wand" that will make it so Peter and MJ's marriage never happened. A lot of people are saying that this is an exceptionally stupid idea for a number of reasons.

It certainly is. It seems so stupid that I just figured that it couldn't be where they're going with the story.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H

The rumor--supported by his post--is that he opposes ending the marriage, and Joe Q stepped in again. As JMS says, it's an editor's right, but it hasn't been positive for the quality of the book thus far.

Thanks for the info, guys. I never go to comic message boards so I rarely see much feedback on comics.

I saw Quesada do a Q&A earlier this year and last year and both times he talked about how much he didn't like the Peter and MJ marriage (because it was foisted on the comic's storyline by the comic strip) and you could just hear the entire crowd mumbling "Huh?" "What?" "Why?". Like JMS said, I know that Joe Quesada isn't out to screw things up but I can't comprehend his opposition to Peter and Mary Jane's marriage. If he wants to have stories where Peter is single, tell them in Ultimate Spider-Man.

I've planned to drop Amazing Spider-Man after JMS ended his run anyway and switched over to buying Ultimate Spidey every month (instead of grabbing the trades) so I'll still get a Spider-Man fix each month.