Today, Marvel Comics announced that Axel Alonso has been appointed the new Editor-In-Chief of Marvel Comics. Alonso will be replacing Joe Quesada, who has been the Editor-In-Chief for the past 10 years. Quesada will be focusing on his Chief Creative Officer duties for Marvel and working with Marvel's film and TV projects.
Alonso has been working in the comic industry for over 15 years, and making a name for himself at Vertigo/DC Comics by editing the majority of Preacher and launching 100 Bullets prior to joining Marvel in 2000 and most recently is known for overseeing the X-Men side of the Marvel catalog, as well as the edgier, darker comics like the MAX line, The Punisher and Wolverine. Alonso also oversaw, editorially, a long run of Amazing Spider-Man, as well as the numerous Deadpool comics that have flooded the market in the past 10 years.
So what does this mean for Marvel? Will the entire line go darker/edgier, like the majority of the comics Alonso is known for editing? Probably not, as the other editors beneath Alonso like Brevoort, Steve Wacker etc., are still in place. Time will tell what this change will mean, but if anything, it's an end of an era as Quesada ends his 10 year run as Editor-In-Chief, which began with Marvel in near ruins and ends with Marvel back as the leading publisher. It's no surprise that Alonso was the one to get the nod from Quesada, as he was one of the first new editors Quesada brought in back in 2000, and has been a clear key team member for Quesada and Marvel.
This doesn't really come as a surprise, as not just a few weeks ago, while sitting at the Marvel "Fear Itself" press conference, I turned to Josh and Conor and I said, "I bet in 2011, either Axel Alonso or Tom Brevoort become the next Editor-In-Chief…" Looks like I was right, I just didn't think it would happen so soon…
Update – Tom Brevoort has also been promoted to Senior Vice President of Publishing.
Update – For a look back at Quesada's tenure as Marvel Editor-in-Chief, check out a piece that Jim Mroczkowski wrote over the summer on the occasion of Quesada's 10th anniversary.
You can also chck out the show that we did on Marvel Knights:
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Wow! I thought we’d see Brevoort get this position before Alonso mainly because of his years of being at Marvel and his obvious love for the characters and the creators at Marvel. I think either one would fit the role nicely. Congrats to Axel!
Congratulations to Axel. At first I was sad to hear Joe Quesada would no longer be Eic but it looks like he will be taking a larger role in Marvel. Also I think that its good that we have a possibly new perspective. Joe changed things up when he became Eic in my view for the better. So here to things continuing to change for the better.
A few words right now for Joe Quesada:
dan-na-na-na-na-na- dana-na-na hey hey GOODBYE:D
Out with the olde & in with the new. Glad Breevort didn’t snatch it. The guy did not have squat to offer other than his seniority. From what I’ve saw & read, Tom did not have the spine to stand up to Joey’s more outlandish & wack ideas.
@Bat4life He still works there, and he probably chose to step down on his own.
@Bat4life I realize that this may be a grenade to start a flame war or something BUT. Can i ask what you thought was so terrible about Quesada’s Tenure?
And by “this” i meant @bat4life’s comment.
Somewhere Ben Grimm and Logan stare longingly at a humidor filled with fine cigars and dare to dream…
Is it too late for Alonso to scrap The Fear Itself event?
Alons-y!
I love how announcement like this make me wonder what day to day workings of editorial are like. How much does this really change for Joe Q? How much EIC work has he really been doing since the CCO job started?how long has Axle been preparing for this position? Will i still get my CUP OF JOE’S? Does Axel get a secretary now?
Marvel comics under Quesada has been the best it’s been since the mid 80s. Hopefully they can keep it up with Alonso.
Quesada stepped down? Isn’t “Chief Creative Officer” a step up? Or is it the “If he doesn’t work on the acutal comics, it doesn’t matter at all” type thing?
@josh I know. I just puts a smile on my face to see him leave that position. He is one of the many reason why I do not read ANY Marvel comics now.
You know, I’ve always liked Axel Alonso (which, admittedly is at least parly because he works for company famous for alliteratively named characters). And if I had put money on Quesada’s replacement, it would have been him.
@Bat4life Jokes on you dude, CCO has more to say on the parts YOU actually care about. 🙂
@AmirCat Actually…I DON’T care. I’ll just be happy with DC, and when Marvel decides to shake things up bigtime (Which will NEVER happen) then I’ll give their comics a shot again.
Wasn’t Quesada a large part of the reason Marvel was able to pull itself out of the bankruptcy doldrums, through his Marvel knights work, and didn’t Marvel procure some of it’s most challenging and thoughtful writers and artists to produce some incredible runs during his tenure? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with everything he did or thought, I don’t think much at all of his writing abilities, but he also managed some incredible things before and during his time as EIC. And of course, he’s still there in a very powerful position. Still, 2011 seems about five minutes old and the news seems to be coming thick and fast. Interesting..
I think the perception of Quesada is it never seemed like he worked hard enough (or “deserved”) to get where he got 10 yrs ago when he became EIC. That said, the guy worked his butt off to make Marvel what it is today so that’s that.
With Alonso you’re getting an editor as your EIC. Not too shocking there but a good decision.
@odare77 Yes he did. However this when he STARTED.
Haters gonna hate, but I know that Joe Q helped bring Marvel out of the dark times of Mecha Armor and Rob Liefeld. Thank You Joe for 10 years of greatness.
WhaAaAat?
I didn’t know J Allard was a comic book fan.
I think Joe Q’s the best Eic marvel’s ever had, There have been more amazing stories shoved my way in the past 10 years than I ever remember as a kid. He made me care about comics again! What’s the one single best run of the Joe Q era?
I’m gonna go with new x-men with brand new day as my second…. But to be fair we’ve been spoiled. There were a staggering amount of character defining runs told over the past 10 years.
This makes complete sense considering all the talk when referring to Axel being lumped in with more senior members of the editorial staff ( I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve it). I think this is potentially a good change, and I’m sure both are happy in thier roles.
To anyone who thinks Quesada hasn’t been a good EIC I think might be a tad cross. Everyone who worked under him seemed to enjoy him and support his decisions very honestly, which on a staff so diverse in personality, especially one which blends creative and business minds, that’s a true accomplishment.
I can’t wait to see what Axel does with the company with Fear Itself and everything.
Finally. Over the past few years he hasn’t done anything I’ve really liked.
Did not see that coming. I’ve liked Marvel over the last 10 years and thought Quesada did a fine job (and numbers and creative talent tend to back that fact up).
Maybe, possibly, with this change, along with last year’s changes at DC, this could lead to some crossovers? Huh? Maybe? Bendis/Brubaker Daredevil/Batman? Please? Possibly?
Yeah, I won’t hold my breath, either.
I’m a little shocked. Honestly I liked JQ, he was getting started at Marvel around the time I was getting seriously into comics and I was a marvel zombie until few years ago, so I’ve seen the results of JQ’s work. I’ve not always agreed with or understood his decisions, but I’m sure he had a hand in saving Marvel over the last ten years.
Lately though I’ve been loosing interest in Marvel comics, so the change in E-I-C makes me interested to see what change will be like.
@DeadlyFoe Brian Michael Bendis run on Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man
This isn’t going to raise the price of beer, is it?
I’ve liked Marvel just fine under Joe Q with the exception of his work on OMD & OMIT
Nice pick Ron, all the best photos of Axel are from here at the Isotope. And the take-over of comics by San Franciscans continues…!
The King is dead. Long live the King!
Honestly, Joey Q always came off as smug and pompous to me. His “if you don’t like it, leave it” attitude always rubbed me the wrong way. He’s like the anti-Stan Lee. Not to mention his handy work with OMD and OMIT.
On the other hand, everything I have ever heard about Axle has been positive, so I am excited about the future of Marvel.
Part of me hopes this means we see more art from JQ but the rest of me is currently pointing and laughing and that part of me
In this comments thread, we learn that some of the iFanboy community cannot read.
Joe got a promotion guys. He’s still top Creative.
@NawidA: “Quesada will be focusing on his Chief Creative Officer duties for Marvel and working with Marvel’s film and TV projects.” The way I read this, he will have a lot less to do with the comic BOOK part of Marvel going forward.
Very interesting! Thanks for this.
Allons-y Alonso!
Should we be happy the guy responsible for the X-Books is getting a promotion?
I’m surprised Quesada gets so much hate. Just the nature of the internet I guess?
@wulfstone Yes, yes we should.
@RapidEyeMovement You, sir, rock! Simple yet appropriate reply. 😉
what I find most interesting is that this is the first Marvel EIC that was not previously a comic writer or artist. I know Alonso has an artistic background, I believe, and has been involved with some great books and stories, but I have to wonder if that will make a difference.
@Number8crunchy Oh wow! That is a very very french Canadian reference!
i wonder how this will affect Fear Itself? Because JQ seemed pretty instrumental in it’s creation from the Fraction interviews i’ve read and listened to.
Technically Joe Quesada is still the big dog, since his new role also makes him a step higher then Axel. But still, nice to see a fresh face as EIC; hopefully it’ll make Marvel a better company for 2011.
welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games.
Axel rose to the occasion.
Quesada is a comic industry hero. I hope he does as well as COO as EiC. Marvel will always be better for having him on board.
I’d be happier if this actually meant we weren’t still going to get Quesada’s half baked story ideas rammed down our throats. I’ll give the guy credit for steering Marvel out of rough patch, but he’s well past his prime IMO and while he’s a competent artist, I’ve never thought much of his abilities as a writer.
Looking forward to Jason Wood’s article explaining what this all means!
Axel has been a great editor and I’ve enjoyed most of the books he has overseen over the years. I can’t wait to see what he has in store now that Marvel has given him the keys to the Kingdom. This was the next logical step, afterall, they (i.e. Disney) promoted Joe Q to oversee everything involving film, tv, and merchandising. Marvel needed someone devoted to the comics.
@RobotZombie That comment made my day!
Awesome! Kudos to Mr. Alonzo! 2º favorite editor at marvel
I think Quesada did a lot of good in pulling Marvel out of the funk of the Bob Harras years and helped nuture a lot of good stuff during the Nu-Marvel years. That being said, I think my opinion of him would be much higher if he stepped out of the EiC chair around when Disassembled since that seems to be the point where a lot of his creative choices burned a lot of bridges with fans (Civil War, OMD, and endless crossovers to be exact.) So, him stepping down, I think, is needed to inject some new blood into the company. Hopefully, Alonso will have the sway and ability to do a good job.
A shot in the arm !
JoeQ has run his term- thanks for the knights…but perhaps this should have occurred a few years back…hop on up to yer snuggly corporate bunk.
Never heard of him. Hope this job is a good fit for him.
Good news I suppose, the stuff the JoeQ presided over has generally driven me away from Marvel.
The only reservation I have is that it’s not a big enough change, the entire editorial structure is much of a muchness, JoeQ is still involved and Alonso is obviously being promoted from within.
I’ll have to wait and see if there is any noticable change in the comics before I decide whether to start picking up more Marvel again.