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Entry #27

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An open letter to Joe Quesada (Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics)

Posted by Ross Dec. 31, 2007 @ 10:38 AM EST

Mr. Quesada,

I really respect a lot of the decisions you've made since becoming Editor-in-Chief at Marvel in 2000. I like many of the writers and artists who've arrived during your tenure. I'm glad to see the Avengers' return to prominence in the Marvel Universe. While I was initially a skeptic, the concept of the Ultimate comics has won me over. I was very happy to see you return cancelled/relaunched series to their original numbering. The Civil War was, at the least, an interesting concept, and its ongoing repercussions give it additional weight. I give you a lot of credit for rescuing Marvel from the stagnant and stale comics they were publishing for much of the 1990s.

However, I have a big problem with what you've done to Spider-Man in the "One More Day" storyline.

I've read that you have a long-running disdain for Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane. Assuming (as I do) that most of the 1990s-era Spider-Man comics are forgettable, you could argue that most "classic" Spider-Man stories took place before Peter and MJ tied the knot. And I recognize that, as a publisher, there's a fine line you must walk between continually developing characters for longtime readers like me, and keeping them accessible and iconic for new generations of fans.

But what you've done in "One More Day" is just ridiculous. I know this is comics, where death is a minor inconvenience and no plot device is too outlandish. But seriously - to build all that drama surrounding Spider-Man's unmasking in public and Aunt May's mortal injury, only to wipe it all away (and the marriage too) with a huge deux ex machina-istic wave of Mephisto's hand? We longtime readers who were interested to see how it all played out were rewarded with shoddy, cheap, gimmicky storytelling of the worst kind. Doesn't it tell you something when JMS, the writer whose historic run you're allegedly commemorating, wants his name taken off the final product?

I've been reading Marvel Comics as long as I can remember, and have a great fondness for Spider-Man in particular (my first comic was Amazing Spider-Man #250 at age five), but your amateurish "One More Day" reboot has reduced my interest in Spider-Man's ongoing adventures to almost nil. I look forward to the day when this fiasco gets retconned away - and I hope that the sales boost you get out of this stunt justifies the big middle finger you've given to us dedicated fans.

Sincerely,
Ross Snyder

Updated: 01/01/08 3:18 PM Log in to comment! | Share this!

The People Have Spoken

12 Comments

Dec. 31, 2007 | 5:49 PM Cheddar79 says:

Put the words right into my mouth, I was wondering how they were going to solve this and looks like I wasn't the only one dissapointed.

Ugh...

Dec. 31, 2007 | 7:20 PM Ross responds:

Totally disappointed. The unmasking thing fascinated me - I knew it couldn't last forever, but to deal with it this way is beyond lame.

Can't we let Aunt May die already?

Dec. 31, 2007 | 8:31 PM Cheddar79 says:

Yeah I wasn't too sure about the unmasking thing, but I can see where it will draw in readers etc.

And YES dispense of the old lady...I'm sure she's taught him enough by now. Its time to evolve the character a little.

Dec. 31, 2007 | 8:34 PM silentkat says:

Yeah The Story Line is a little messed up :P

Happy New Year!

Jan. 2, 2008 | 11:22 AM Tystarr says:

PREACH BROTHA, PREACH! Lol, the only thing that made me want to pick the book up was the art. Good thing I didn't though cause after reading how horrible the story was I think I'll just go look around for non-mainstream comics. I mean I already have hundreds upon hundreds of quality marvel comics and I can't see them doing anything bigger than Civil War. Well theres always the Xombie Comic book series. I also heard DMZ was good.

Jan. 2, 2008 | 12:39 PM Ross responds:

I've only read the first DMZ trade, but it was decent - I'll pick up vol. 2 at the very least.

Jan. 3, 2008 | 6:32 PM SkeletonKing says:

I've seen some retarded ideas from comic makers in my time (lol blue superman) but this really takes the cake. Like you I wasn't expecting Peter's unmasking to last forever or even very long, but this way out is so insanely cliche it's disgusting. Did someone dare Joe to take the biggest comic book stereotype and make it a reality?

Jan. 4, 2008 | 11:21 AM Ross responds:

Agreed... have you been reading the huge five-part Quesada interview over at comicbookresources.com, and JMS's response on Newsarama? It just gets more and more depressing. I have no choice but to buy Amazing Spider-Man #546 next week, but I'm not happy about it.

Jan. 5, 2008 | 7:53 PM SkeletonKing says:

I haven't read the interview. I'll check it out asap. I generally try to avoid reading any rambling by our pal Joe.

Jan. 6, 2008 | 3:51 PM LtMcMuffin says:

Isn't that what Marvel is all about? None of the characters (I'm looking particuarly at the X-Men) know how to stay dead... it is sort of their schtick. Either way, I've started giving up on Spider-Man... Deadpool seems to be the only Marvel character I can trust anymore.

Jan. 7, 2008 | 12:55 AM Ross responds:

We're not talking about "character XYZ was dead and they're bringing him/her back" here. We're talking about Joe Quesada selectively going back and blinking entire storylines out of existence. For example, I was really interested to see how they handled Spider-Man's identity being public... and they just say "deal with the devil" and it's back to being secret again? Huh? That's unbelievably sloppy and devoid of anything resembling interesting ideas or good writing. Why should I care about future Spider-Man storylines, if they're that willing to flip a switch and make it so they never happened?

As for Deadpool, I never got into him... the whole "smart alecky" thing feels like schtick. It seems like he's written to be "clever" and that doesn't do it for me (since stuff explicitly intended to be clever rarely is). Then again, I haven't read him since he originated in Rob Liefeld's putrid "X-Force" comics 15 years ago, and if there was a well-written Deadpool story that would change my mind, I'd certainly check it out.

Jan. 7, 2008 | 5:21 AM SkeletonKing says:

Read any Deadpool NOT by Liefeld's stupid ass and you should warm up to the character a bit more. You should know better than to trust anything by the man who did that horrible guerilla chest captain america cover.

Jan. 11, 2008 | 5:56 PM Ross responds:

Liefeld does suck badly. Maybe I never gave Deadpool a fair shake because I always associated him with his creator.

Jan. 24, 2008 | 4:16 AM SkeletonKing says:

Deadpool actually has a new series coming out by the creaters of the Wolverine Origins series if I recall correctly.

Jan. 25, 2008 | 1:16 PM Mosaab says:

OMG! JOE QUESADILLA!! NO FREAKING WAY!!

Feb. 5, 2008 | 3:02 PM Dekathos says:

In his own words, "IT'S MAGIC! I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT!"

This is not a guy who is going to admit he is wrong when the money comes flying in and it is just the latest of many ASM train wrecks. YOU CAN'T LOOK AWAY!

Feb. 12, 2008 | 12:54 AM schtic says:

Retcon, the worst thing ever invented.