Pardon me.
X All New Men? Okay. That's fine. Your design professor is crying, but that's fine.
We’ve talked about this a time or two before in a broad sense, but this Marvel NOW! thing has got me at something of a personal crossroads, here, and I’d like to bend your ears to see if anyone is as far up a tree as I am on this one.
Why do you read the comics you do? Is it the characters, the writers who are writing about them, or the artists drawing the stories? Or some combination thereof?
I thought I knew. Had you asked me a couple of months ago, I’d have fired off an answer without even giving it any thought: “Oh, I’m a writer guy. I’m not one of these people who keeps buying X-Men no matter which Joseph Hazelwood is left drunkenly at the helm. I’ve read X-Men since I was a kid, but I still immediately dropped it during the [poor sap who somehow became a professional writer, perhaps by owning blackmail photos, who everyone now kicks while he’s down] era. On the other hand, every time I’d tried Moon Knight it left me cold, but I read every issue of Brian Bendis’ run and it was one of my favorite books month in and month out for that whole year. I grew up being bored to tears by the Avengers before Bendis got his grubby little mitts on them, and within a year their book was my favorite one on the stands. Bendis retold the Spider-Man origin for the 1100th time and made me say, ‘Thank you, sir; may I have another?’ In summation: writers!”
Marbles NOW!!! is making a liar out of me. There’s obviously more to it than that.
One recent example of my mental pretzel, as the time for making preorders draws near:
- Rick Remender is great. I love Rick Remender on Venom.
- Cullen Bunn is also great. The Sixth Gun is a delight.
- Rick Remender leaves Venom. I say, “Do I need to keep reading Venom now? Meh? I’m suddenly acting like Remender gave birth to this character from my childhood. Cullen Bunn… I dunno….”
- Rick Remender gets Avengers. I say, “I dunno… Rick Remender…?”
(See also: Hickman, Jonathan, uncontested talent and brilliance of.)
They hop from book I like to book I like, and suddenly I’m treating them like some chancy unknown quantity. Clearly, there’s more going on here than “I like writers.”
Poor Remender got it again from me on another book. “This just in: Brubaker is off of Captain America and Winter Soldier.” “This just in: so much for Captain America and Winter Soldier. Local man to reclaim $7.00 a month.” As if Rick Remender, John Romita, and/or Jason Latour have ever done a book I didn’t love. (Well, I suppose Latour might have. To be fair, I haven’t the first opinion about the man yet, other than “you’re not the Winter Soldier’s daddy, and you can’t tell him what to do [door slam]!”)
Some of these books have been in the same hands for so long, it’s like they’ve been grandfathered in as creator-owned. I love Kieron Gillen, but… someone else writing Iron Man? Bendis has had his hands on Avengers for almost as long as Adult Me has been reading comics; how can… why would… what if…who then…? [collapses onto fainting couch]
On the other hand, I would not be reading Batman if it weren’t for Scott Snyder. I’d have no idea what a Resurrection Man was if not for Abnett and Lanning, nor would I give a flying tinker’s dam about any Birds of Prey were it not for Duane Swierczynski.
Who knows what the real draw is in this medium? The big-league players who want to bleed you dry of every last dime even as you lie openly weeping, clutching your desiccated throat and crying to the heavens, “Why, God? I have given you everything, and this is how I am repaid? What recourse is there for me?” as your bloodied wallet falls into an open gutter provide their consumers with the very best comic book entertainment on the market at the fairest, rock-bottom prices have their own ideas about what drives their consumers. In the wake of the New 52, DC conducted a survey about its audience’s reading habits. As far as I can tell, this question– do you buy for characters, writers, artists, or some combination thereof?– was not part of that survey. I dearly wish it had been. I would love to see the breakdown among the community, and I use that word in the loosest, closest to ironic sense possible.
Let’s take it as a given that I have no clue what real comic book readers want (a very safe bet indeed; as millions were hoarding Jim Lee’s X-Men #1 with all five of its covers and buying lead-lined bomb shelters to keep them in right next to their prized Beanie Babies, I was bowing out of the comic reading biz altogether). Maybe they’re curious what Matt Fraction has up his sleeve next; maybe they just want to see Spider-Man punch a guy for the millionth time. Neither one is wrong. I’d just like to understand the end result.
Jim Mroczkowski loves the thought of Marbles NOW!!! as a protest movement his grandfather spearheaded as a boy.
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Part of it for me is cost also. I was looking at jumping on some of these X books when Marvel Now! happens. Holy Moly, not only are they $3.99 but come out twice a month? So basically it’s $8.00 a month for one title. I think I will stick to my $2.99 DC books that come out once a month.
There is a definite balance between want and can afford in my budget when this type of mass redo happens.
This is what turns me off about Marvel NOW. I’ll read all the #1’s just to get a sense and then trade wait the good ones. $8 a month for even 5 books is way too much on a monthly budget.
That’s my plan also. I figure I would just wait for the trades to come out. I’m trying to keep half of my budget free per month so I can afford to buy different trade paper backs if I want to.
This is a big issue for me as well. I can’t afford multiple comics shipping twice a month at $3.99 each. My monthly entertainment budget won’t allow it.
Cost is the killer for me. Double-shipping is great if you can afford it, but I’m trade-waiting when NOW kicks off.
Double shipping is driving me away from Marvel. The best part about Marvel Now is it’s giving me clear points to drop a book and not buy again until the release schedule/price are radically altered.
Yep – double shipping is killing me too and driving me from Marvel. For every title Marvel regularly double ships, I drop one of their other titles to keep my monthly spend roughly flat. I’m dropping three titles for sure just between now and November.
I agree with all the above comments – Marvel could be in for a wake up call
I think a lot of people are of like mind and are viewing the Marvel NOW! thing as the perfect jumping OFF point
Double shipping – $3.99 – shuffling creative teams and the uncertainty of the post-AVX world are turning a lot of people off
Myself included
My pull list is starting to fill with DC and Image books these days. I’d rather wait 2 months for continuity with the existing creative team on a book I know will be great (guess which book I’m talking about) rather than get 2 books with fill in creators, rushed art and story lines.
That said if Hickman double shipped the phone book I’d line up to buy it
The best thing about tradewaiting the new books is that the trades will come out quickly 😀
A very interesting article, and I must admit I’ve some of the same reservations concerning Iron-Man, Cap, and Winter Soldier.
For me it is writer, character and then art. But I too have trouble looking at the shuffling, Iron Man I could care less about, but Gillen I love. So I am gonna try it.
Agreed. I dropped the both avengers titles a while back, but I am going to on them as soon as Hickman’s first issue comes out. I agree with the shuffle in principle, but as you say, it’s hard to know where to go. I used to read Fraction’s Iron man (and good it was, too), so I tried his X-Men and thought it was dire. I think a big part of the uncertainty around the shuffling is wondering whether a good writer on one book can be good on another, very different book.
You raise an interesting point, as usual. I am not really sure if I strictly follow eithe characters or certain creators. I think it’s more of a case by ase basis. I have been reading Iron Man for close to 30 years now. Tha is a book that I can’t really see myself ever not reading. I love the character and will basically buy tha book no matter who is on it. But I also love Batman and have jumped on and off the book several times over the years. If a creator is doing something I like, I stay with it. If they aren’t, I don’t.
I alo follow certain creators, but there are limits to where I will follow them. I love Peter David. I have never read a book by him I did not enjoy. But sometimes he does a book I just have o interest in. I absolutely enjoy his stuff on X-Factor, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Young Justice, Captain Marvel, etc. but I didn’t rea his TMNT book. Would I have likedc it? Probably. Why didn’t I read it? I am not really sure.
I wouldnt say I so much follow creators or characters, so much as I have certain creators and characters that are “on my radar.” if I see a new Peter David book on the market, I will take it under consideration and think more about whether to buy it r not than I will a book featuring a creator I don’t really follow. But I am not definitely going to buy it, even though he s one of my favorite writers.
It has to be some combination.
I try to try as many #1s as come out regardless of characters just to get a sense of how a series will shake out. Cases in point: I’ve never liked Aquaman, Punisher, Hawkeye or Wonder Woman but the recent relaunches of those titles made me a fan. Now I can go back and read some of the earlier stuff with those characters after getting an appreciation for them from great writers.
It all comes into play for me as a complete package. For me its Character > Writer > Artist=Overall Presentation. I compare it to food at a restaurant. There are certain things on a menu i’ll always go towards or avoid (the character), then there are cooking styles that i prefer (writing) and then there is the actual presentation/taste that keeps me coming back (art).
There have been books that i’ve dropped because i loved the character, but didn’t care for the new creative team, and there have been books where i have skipped because i loved the creators, but really didn’t like the characters.
For me to try a book I need two out of three (writer, artist, concept/character.
I’m gonna try All New x-men because I like the x-men and Immomen
I’m gonna try Captain America because I like Remender and Romita Jr.
Not going near Ironman, as the solo adventures of the character doesn’t interest me, nor does Greg Land.
For me it’s based on character–if I read that character as a kid. For example: Daredevil, Conan, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Planet of the Apes, Micronauts etc
Otherwise, it’s based on the writing first.
I’ve liked all of Gray/Palmiotti, Mark Waid & Scott Snyder’s work (not Gates of gotham so much). Jeff Lemire has been a disappointment so far–not bad, just disappointing.
—-> SIDE BAR: Believe it or not, last weekend I read –for the first time– Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns & Year One, and Moore’s The Killing Joke,. Hey, I just never read Batman in the 80’s and stopped reading completely from 1989 to 2011. I can finally understand how much Miller transformed comics with his work on Daredevil (which read some in the 80s) and Batman.
——-
The Marvel relaunch is intriguing, I’ll definitley try Hulk, Thor and Remender’s Cap (never been much for team books) soley because of the writers–not the characters.
Art IS important ….but I won’t buy a book more than once just for the art. I traded in the first 6 issues of Daniel’s Detective Comics–not because the art was bad (it was quite good), but I hated the writing.
Growing up, it was all about the characters. I would buy any series that had Nightcrawler in it. Now that I’m 29, I get more comics based on the creative teams that are involved. Although, it has to be a combination of everything involved when dealing with established characters / creators. I will always gravitate toward X-Men titles and give their # 1 issues a try. They were the first comics that I enjoyed as a kid. I will no longer collect an X-Men title simply because of the title and characters. If the comic sucks, I’ll drop them! I tried First X-Men and X-Men: Forever but both were crap.
There are other reasons why people would try out a comic as well, like a reboot. I’ve never read a Wonder Woman comic until the New 52 reboot. Brian Azzarello is a fantastic writer. I’ve always wanted to try a Wonder Woman comic and this was my chance. I’m now hooked on that book. If for some reason Brian leaves the book then I’ll give the new writer a try and drop / stay with the book accordingly.
Although, trying something completely new from a writer that you’ve never heard of can be fun. A good example of this for me was Skull kickers from Image. I looked at the comic and laughed at the name. The interior art looked good. I like DnD and the comic has an axe wielding dwarf and a gun totting bald guy. So let’s give this comic by this Jim Z-guy a try. To my great enjoyment, it was a fun comic and is now on my regularly pulled list.
Writer AND character. For example, love Jonathan Hickman on Fantastic Four but probably won’t read Hickman on Avengers because the Avengers don’t interest me. Yet I won’t read Matt Fraction on Fantastic Four or any other book because I think he makes Jeph Loeb look like Shakespeare. Art is important but will rarely break a title for me. It will however elevate a great title to legendary.
So far the only relaunch title I am definitely buying is Jason Aaron’s Thor.
This is the chicken and the egg question of comics.
My reading habits these days? Creators > characters.
A year after they come out, the trades for this will be in the 50% off bins at comic conventions, just like Fear Itself is today.
This is surprisingly similar to an article by Corey Blake on the Robot 6 blog on comicbookresources posted in the last few days that was based off something Kurt Busiek has been talking about. I think there’s really something in the air at the moment about this.
I think it’s something a lot of us are contemplating with the latest upheaval, and a lot of us are using it as an opportunity to drop books rather than pick up new ones. I really find that a jadedness has set into readers minds with the big two and the only place we’re happy with is Image and other creator owned comics.
The Marvel Now creative team round robin is aggravating my feelings of disassociation from the titles I’ve been following. I’m probably not going to check out certain new teams & titles even though I like the creators and the characters. For instance, I like Hickman’s Fantastic Four, but I’m not excited by him on Avengers. Nor do I want to check out Fraction’s Fantastic Four. I liked Brubaker’s Captain America and I’m intrigued by Remender/Romita on Cap, but I’m hesitant to commit to a now standard double shipping policy. Plus I’m expecting that Romita will rotate arcs with another unnamed artist or off the book altogether. That’s just a few examples and I feel some of the same irritations with DC, too.
What bothers me at root, is what I think of as the corporate nature of periodical comics from Marvel and DC. Corporate in the sense of many hands and minds contributing to the finished product the same way that tv shows and big Hollywood movies are made. Big two comics can often have that same kind of bland predictable storytelling. Not all of them do, but alot of them do.
I need help i was getting avengers,new avengers and uncanny x-men,but i need to drop some i was thinking id replace hickmans avengers or all new x-men with uncany avengers the problem is I like the 3 writers and the characters but never paid mind of artist befor any one have an idea because i know i can’t drop avengers and keep new avengers even though its my favorite of the two.
You raise a really good point. I sometimes follow creators and sometimes characters, and maybe this musical chairs is supposed to make me suddenly like everything, but the actual result is that I’m not sure I’m getting anything! Granted that I’d already dropped most of the books in this shuffle anyway. . .
The only thing I am 100% sure of is that I really dislike the heavy artist rotation (especially on Marvel titles). It diminishes my excitement for any new creative team announcement.
I don’t disagree that a stable writer-artist team is generally preferable. But I have a few thoughts:
-Of the books I read, Marvel has done a pretty solid job maintaining some stylistic consistency within the rotations.
-I think there’s a collective false memory among many fans that back in the day every book featured long, uninterrupted runs by writers and artists. Of course we remember the long classic runs, but even into the 90s fill-in artists that popped up on a pretty regular basis.
-And beyond fill-in artists, have we forgotten about inventory stories?! Not only did you have to deal with a potentially worse artist, you could have had an entire issue divert away from an in-progress story arc! Can you imagine the collective shit that would be lost by fans if that happened now?
Yeah, I’m old enough to remember the olden days. Inventory fill-ins were often dreadful.
But there is a good reason if we remember the long classic runs. They were long. And classic.
I do realize that with the level of today’s art detail a 12-issue-per-year (and good) artist is almost impossible to find (and double shipping is making thing way worse) but I’d like to see stable artists at least within arcs.
That said I do agree that Marvel somehow manages some degree of consistency and I still find their stuff very enjoyable. Proof is that it dominates my US comics pull-list.
Everyone needs to relax. It can all be answered in few simple equations.
Loved Character/Concept+Average or Better Creators=Read
Loved Creators+Average or Better Character/Concept=Read
If Bellow Average is substituted anywhere in the equations automatically don’t read it.
Boom! Just fixed all the comic consumer problems. You’re welcome.
Also don’t forget to apply the “Size of Wallet” principle to the equations above.
I don’t think there’s a simple formula. I wouldn’t bother with an Avengers book if not for Hickman. I’m not bothering with Captain America, despite my love of Rick Remeneder. It’s all of the factors with different levels of importance depending upon the particular writer/artist/character. I would read anything Darwyn Cooke draws, even if it was Rob Liefield writing Deadpool (well…)
I obviously was over simplifying to prove a point. We take it too seriously, reading comics is supposed to be fun and its not too hard to make choices on what to buy. We buy what we like and can afford.
Obviously you don’t like Captain America enough or you would give it a try if you love Remender. I think Bunn is about average and Venom is Average so I’m giving it a try but might drop it.
I’ll still try Maleev, Morrison or Remender even if the concept or character seems lame to me but for the most part that formula is how I buy comics. Ohh… There is no character or concept out their worthy of me buying anything Rob Liefield writes or draws :-).
This gave me something to think about.
I think I can generally pin down why I read a book. I come for the writer, but stay for the artist. No matter how much I like a writer, if the art doesn’t keep up, neither do I. Names like Remender, Hickman and Aaron are what pull me to the books, makes me give them a shot because I know that I enjoy the work they’ve done in the past, but if I stop enjoying the art (Aaron’s Hulk), I end up dropping off. Sure, I know that the story is still probably really interesting, but …I just can’t.
I know this is off topic but which Marvel titles are going to be shipping twice a month?
For the books that do double-ship, it’s not an “all-the time” thing. I think Marvel aims for 16-20 issues per year, so it’s not easy to say which books will always double-ship.
Now go uncross your eyes.
Brubaker said part of his Superhero burnout was Marvel wanted Cap to have 16 a year. This is pre Marvel Now!
I just answered this creator or character question elswhere, so I’ll post it here too.
My answer: both, or neither. I follow both creators and characters to a degree, but I don’t literally follow either everywhere for the most part. Of course, what’s important is that the book is good. So, we give credit to the people making the book. But if, say, two good teams happen to be on one book back-to-back, I’m technically following the character. Some jump off the book when the creator they follow leaves, I like to take a look at what the next team will do with the characters. And the characters I like are why I’m sticking around to try the next run. So, bit of both.
Characters or creators is an old question you see brought up in regards to comics a lot. For me, the question is “Read good comics that you like?”, and the answer is “yes I do.”
Robert Kirkman is obviously the man, Invincible being one of my favorite books. But I’m not gonna pick up a book just because it says Robert Kirkman on it. I didn’t dig Astounding Wolfman, or various things, but I have loved much of his work. I guess by following him, you could say I’ll at least look at the 6-page preview for anything else he launches. But I’m not literally following him.
For a series with a rotating cast of writers, let’s take Witchblade. I follow the character of Witchblade’s wielder, Sara Pezzini, to a degree. For example Ron Marz recently had a long run, and when he left Tim Seeley came on. Since I like what both of them have done with it, the creator change didn’t stop me from sticking around. Plus I was already a fan of Tim’s. But if a writer I’m not into or have heard of is on Witchblade, I will still check out a preview just because it says Witchblade on the cover, much like how I’ll check out a preview just because it says Robert Kirkman on the cover.
Long story short, Kirkman should write some Witchblade sometime.
Thanks. Thought I heard there was a few titles going to regularly double ship.
there is one avengers is bie weekly i hear and i understand your problem it allows seems x-men and avengers double ship i get avengers,new avengers,uncanny x-men and wolverin and the x-men and they double ship alot.
It is difficult to find that calming balance of ‘this feels right’ in comics, sometimes you get a great partnership in writer & artist which just works perfectly (Vaughan/Guerra on Y the last man, Azzarello/Risso on 100 Bullets, Bendis/Maleev on Daredevil & so on), But then you can just like a certain writer & everything they do can work perfectly for you, but then you can love a writer on one title but find another doesn’t work (Fraction on Iron Man I love but his X-Men I didn’t, the same with his Punisher I didn’t care for but I am enjoying his new Hawkeye) so it is hard to find that perfect balance.
Artists are a very different breed you can love their style & ability, but if they’re working with a poor writer or just a terrible series/set of characters are you still going to get because it looks good but reads terrible!
Me & my stupid delusional self will be trying the first issue of Uncanny Avengers, because I am quite intrigued about Remender & Cassaday combination, & he hasn’t let me down yet but also Jonathan Hickman on his two Avenger titles even thou I have never bought or owned anything Avenger related, but I will prevail other than that the rest just don’t quite appeal as of yet, I will just have to wait & see!
It’s this dirty trick Marvel has figured out. We as a collective group have declared we read books for the creators and not the characters. Marvel called our bluff and realized that was only half true. So they decided to go round robin style and have all of their top tier writers switch books. That way if you loved a character because of that writers work, you get stuck on that character once they leave, while you can follow the creator to whatever new book their working on, and you’ll get addicted to that one, so after five years you’re reading every book Marvel puts out and they’re putting them out five times a year. That’s me and Matt Fraction right there. Discovered him when he was writing Iron Man, so when he made the jump over to Thor I followed (yeah I liked Fraction’s Thor, shoot me), and now that he’s leaving I’m still going to keep reading Thor because Jason Aaron is coming, and I loved Wolverine and the X-Men. All the while, I’m going to pick up Fantastic Four. If I didn’t hate Greg Land with all my jaded heart I’d be picking Iron Man up too. Those bastards.
Haha, I’m not sure there’s anything “dirty” about this (and I think you’re being facetious anyway). Marvel’s just trying to put out books featuring characters fans like by creators fans like.
If that’s a trick, it’s the oldest trick in the book.
@KenOchalek
CAN. YOU. JUST. STOP. BEING. SO. REASONABLE. ?!!?!!!1!!?!!!
RIGHT. NOW?
this is the internet after all 🙂
Will be getting:
-Avengers
-New Avengers
-Uncanny Avengers
-Indestructable hulk
Maybe:
-Captain America
-Deadpool
No:
-Fantastic Four
-FF
-Thor
-All new x-men
-x-men legacy
I am definitely a Character Guy. It seems because of this I have a lot less angst about things then others, juding from the article and some of the comments. I also personally think that it depends on what age you are. I think younger people or newer people to the comics scene are more likely to be character guys. If you are more older and have been in the scene for too long, then you become a creator guy.
It always has to be a varying combination of character, concept, writing and art.
At base level concept is more important than character. For instance, I’m way more interested in reading a medieval-fantasy-super-hero book like Demon Knights than any new title starring a long running/popular character (any Batman book, or whatever). The former instantly feels more fresh and interesting to me.
Loyalty to characters comes later, once I’m into a book and the writer has made me care about them (examples include PAD’s X-Factor, DnA’s cosmic Marvel stuff). That loyalty is fleeting though because these characters are so malleable and a new creative team can completely change what you liked about them.
I can only separate writing and art so much because they work in concert to tell the story. For me though, the art has become more important. I won’t buy a book if I don’t like the art no matter what else it has going for it. But if I love the art it’s easier to forgive other failings.
People have already complained about the double shipping in this thread and that’s a factor that will drive me away from a lot of these Marvel Now books. I’ve been at least a month behind on my comics for a while now (and haven’t been on this site much as a result). I’m finally catching up and hope to be current by the end of the month so I can choose some titles to drop. The frequently shipping Marvel books will be the easiest to drop.
I read 5 issues of Daredevil in a row. It’s a comic that’s well written, well drawn, with a good concept for a character I typically like. But after catching up I was bored with it. It’s getting dropped. I’m at the point where following a story once a month is plenty.
Character and creator are pretty much equal in getting me to try something. I’ll try anything Batman or Spider-Man are starring in; I’ll try anything Cooke or Remender or Hickman, etc. write. The same is not true of artists, at least in a positive sense; I will avoid certain artists’ comics like they carry the plague, but extremely rarely will an artist alone convince me to try one. There are a couple artists who are an exception to the rule.
Bendis has got to be the easiest transition for all the writers. Just find the comparison from the Avengers to the X-Men and you can see why they choose him. Iceman will be the Spider-Man of the group, Cyclops with be the Captain America, etc.
I’m definitely deciding on these purchases by the creators. Shame that Immonen and Ribic are paired up with writers I could care less about so I’ll never read them in the first place. But books like Hickman’s Avengers and Indestructible Hulk have a great mix of creators to make me buy them. Deadpool is someone I wanna read again and hopefully Posehn delivers.
Who wrote this article? I’m surprised he’s actually questionging Remender on an Avengers title. Has he read Uncanny X-Force, (which I don’t have to even debate at just how good it is) or Secret Avengers. X-Force just simply killed it. He had so many questioning two characters on that book. Fantomex and Deadpool. I myself was psyched that Fantomex was on the book. I liked the story “Planet X” by Morrison on it, but I could see doubters when it came to him. I think it’s safe to say he surprised, not only the readers who liked Fantomex, but the readers that were making a ruckus about him being on the team. The other characters was Deadpool. I had some doubts, but after seeing how well Spider-man was written into being a team member in the Avengers, I didn’t really think Deadpool would be a problem. Remender did the right thing with DP. He didn’t break the 4th wall. Deadpool and Spider-man have a lot in common in terms of being comic relief. Remender didn’t over do it in this aspect. In fact, even tho DP is as popular as he is now, and can be called mainstream, he was more of a cult character when Kelly was writing him. What Remender has done with DP tho, is he’s made him the BADASS that Kelly had made him. Way writes him good, but he doesn’t make him the threat in the eyes of other characters that Kelly wrote him. Remender has done that with flying colors. Secret Avengers is a great book as well. It shows me that he can write non-mutants. Uncanny X-Men is a combo of both mutants and non-mutants. What I didn’t know is that the titles are going to be bi-weekly. Is this all the titles? This should get readers more into the books quicker, and have questions answered much more faster then it has taken DC to do with their 52 revamp.
The author’s name is both at the top and the bottom of the article.
WOW! Sorry for jumping to conclusions. I re-read the article and even tho he was questionging Remender on the Avengers he did also say that he hasn’t read a Remender title he didn’t love. Sorry bout that. Anyway. This article wasn’t just about Marvel (Marbles) Now. Love the Marbles bit. Being the fanboy I am, but not a nerd or dork (I get pussy and get into a lot of street fights, even tho I’m over 30) Plus I spell bad. **COMMENT MODERATED** Even with all the heavy heavy reading I do with comics, magazines, novels, and internet bullshit. What ever. What I am tho, is a member of other comic book social networks. Comicvine is one of them. Just today they had post asking the same question just brought up today. Do you buy books for Characters or Writers. Obviously it was more in point of being an open question, this article here was brought but up with the Marvel shake up in mind. Being the age I am, when I got into comics it was because of characters. I grew up watching Spider-man fight every weekday on fox, and then I watched him with his amazing friends/Hulk hour on Saturday. I was introduced to the X-Men thru a Spider-man and his amazing friends bi-episode guest appearance. There I was introduced to Cyclops and Night Crawler. I loved Night Crawler because he had a tail. This is how I met Wolverine for the first time also, even tho he had an Aussie accent. Really, he did. After that Fox would play thos really really really old Marvel short cartoons taken pretty much direct from comics featuring Captain America, Iron Man, Namor, The android Human Torch (Human ?) and a………..are you ready…………..a flying Hulk. What ever. I got into comics for charaters. I won’t spend the next 15 minutes on how my first books were trades and were Dark Knight Returns, Year One, Killing Joke, Days of the Future Past, and the Dark Phoenix saga. What I will say is that those are sitll the legends they were when they came out. Timeless peices. What happened tho was when I would go to the comic store and see all these titles of characters I didn’t know. I was scared to buy them because I didn’t know who they were. I would read about them as quests in Spider-man or X-men until I met other readers who would refer titles to me and tell me everything they knew about the unknown characters. After a few years, and many titles later, I weaned out the bad books from the good. I bought some of the events that happened and learned of other characters. After a couple years and Wizard magazine (pre-internet) I read about writers. I took some advice and now I buy more or less because of writers, and I’m happy when they get onto titles I’m familiar with. Thanks to wiki and comicvine tho, I’ve read up on pretty much every character ever created, and even if I read a title or not I know about any and everybody that is in any issue that has a history.
Creators or Characters or Story.
When I was reading Preacher or Whedon’s Astonishing I was hungry for more of that story. Even though I like everything Joss Whedon and Garth Ennis do I’m never confident that they can wow me again. Yet they always manage to.
I’ve never had favorite characters. Just favorite stories. I never understood the people who buy out all the Batman or Star Wars books each month. I was buying four DC books that I’d never consider buying before the relaunch. Animal Man sounded stupid, Batwoman is jut a derivative of Batman and who goes around saying there a fan of Wonder Woman. Yet solid creative teams had we loving those stories. Those creative teams don’t automatically get my money when they move to their next project, but they definitely get my strong consideration.
I feel like for me its a combining of the three, i stay for a book if the writing is good, i stay for the character i grew up with or have learn to like and for some good art as the cherry on top but with that said writers have turned me off to a book,look i do not mean to piss off people but i do not like Rick Remender i don’t get the appeal and yes im still reading x-force and i read all of venom the reason is because i like the characters more than i like Rick so its a strange situation when it comes to comics especially when your an adult because as a kid a wouldn’t give a crap who the writer was but now that’s a deciding factor because these characters matter to me,with that said will i read uncanny avengers? sure i’ll give it a shot and when Remender does something that makes me so mad that i drop the book so be it(like make someone a lmd or a frigging Frankenstein monster) but i will still give him the benefit of the doubt