Marvel's EIC's Responsibilities?

[DDM]

In the comic book industry, the EiC must remain true to each book's identity. Quesada has not done this at all.

[Jake V]

In the comic book industry, the EiC must remain true to each book's identity. Quesada has not done this at all.
No. In the comic book industry, the EiC must make sure that the books that get released are books that people will want to buy. Wake up.

[DDM]

No. In the comic book industry, the EiC must make sure that the books that get released are books that people will want to buy. Wake up.

That's part of his job. The other part is to make sure each book retains its separate voice. Quesada is ruining Marvel because he does not care about continuity or retaining a book's distinctive voice.

[Joe Acro]

No. In the comic book industry, the EiC must make sure that the books that get released are books that people will want to buy. Wake up.
I could've sworn that was the president's or publisher's job...

[Jake V]

That's part of his job. The other part is to make sure each book retains its separate voice. Quesada is ruining Marvel because he does not care about continuity or retaining a book's distinctive voice.
Ruining it for you maybe, but your personal likes and dislikes aren't the barometer by which objective quality is measured.

[Jake V]

I could've sworn that was the president's or publisher's job...
Nah. Buckley's job has more to with distribution than the actual content of the books.

[Alan2099]

Ruining it for you maybe, but your personal likes and dislikes aren't the barometer by which objective quality is measured.
No. They aren't. The problem is, not everybody likes the same thing, and the majority of the marvel titles right now are all focusing on the same type of feel to them.

[Jake V]

No. They aren't. The problem is, not everybody likes the same thing, and the majority of the marvel titles right now are all focusing on the same type of feel to them.
But if books with that particular feel seem to be what a majority of the audience seems to buy, can you fault Marvel for continuing to go in that direction?

[Mariah]

That's part of his job. The other part is to make sure each book retains its separate voice. Quesada is ruining Marvel because he does not care about continuity or retaining a book's distinctive voice.
As far as Quesada goes, his job is to maintain the quality of the books, and make sure that the books are something tha people want to read. Continuity heavy Harras' work was slightly worse than Bendis, but it was all about sticking with Continuity.

[Will.S]

While the continuity stuff is part of Joe's job, I think that sector falls more on Tom Brevoort/Andy Schmidt's/Axel Alonso's respective tables and with Civil War having massive continuity pileups it makes sense that they would bring in Steve Wacker since he handles 52 so well.

[The Mirrorball Man]

I think it's funny that from where I'm standing, "mainstream" superheroes comics have become much more traditional and bland in the last couple of years when you compare them to what happened in the early noughties, while fans of old fashioned capes & spandex comics think they're still not traditional enough.

[Kevinroc]

No. They aren't. The problem is, not everybody likes the same thing, and the majority of the marvel titles right now are all focusing on the same type of feel to them.

Incredible Hulk doesn't feel like Daredevil.

But the reason many titles are all focusing on the same type of feel is because they are in the middle of a crossover.

[Ryan Day]

The EiC's job is a) sell books, b) maintain and increase brand recognition, and c) whatever else his boss tells him.

Point c) is the most important one. Quesada's job is different now than it was when he started because pulling a struggling company out of bankruptcy is different from running a successful and profitable one.

"Continuity" is likely to be very low on the list of priorities, except when it's part of another priority. Some books can be sold on continuity and history, some can be sold on creators, some can be sold on being wild and crazy.

[Soundrave]

The EiC's job is a) sell books, b) maintain and increase brand recognition, and c) whatever else his boss tells him.

Point c) is the most important one. Quesada's job is different now than it was when he started because pulling a struggling company out of bankruptcy is different from running a successful and profitable one.

"Continuity" is likely to be very low on the list of priorities, except when it's part of another priority. Some books can be sold on continuity and history, some can be sold on creators, some can be sold on being wild and crazy.

And some can be sold on showing nipples.

[Beast]

In the comic book industry, the EiC must remain true to each book's identity. Quesada has not done this at all.
Where's your evidence? You're making a statement and not backing it up with any actual evidence. You know, all those bolded notes that you love to spew constantly could really help your position here. Even though everyone above me has already disputed your flawed idea of what the EIC's job is.

[DDM]

Where's your evidence? You're making a statement and not backing it up with any actual evidence. You know, all those bolded notes that you love to spew constantly could really help your position here. Even though everyone above me has already disputed your flawed idea of what the EIC's job is.

The New Avengers has lost its identity & has a more feel of Daredevil crossed with The Defenders or Champions. All of the lower tier books such as Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, & others blur together. Since the "Other" storyline in Spider-Man, it has lost its own identity to become a weird amalgam of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing due to the horror elements introduced.

The books identities are shifting not for the better due to Quesada's influence as the broken Editor-in-Chief. A character's or team book's identity is worthless in favor for the all mighty dollar.

[Ryan Day]

The books identities are shifting not for the better due to Quesada's influence as the broken Editor-in-Chief. A character's or team book's identity is worthless in favor for the all mighty dollar.

What do you expect? Marvel is a large corporation with shareholders and wide-ranging interests. The editor in chief, whether Joe Quesada or anybody else, has to answer to his corporate bosses, and they want profits and recognition. Artistic merit may or may not enter into the process, but the dollar is top dog.

That's the reality of Marvel Comics. You can either accept it for what it is and enjoy their books in that context, or you can find something else. If you want art for art's sake, you've got to move along to Oni or Drawn & Quarterly.

[Beast]

The New Avengers has lost its identity & has a more feel of Daredevil crossed with The Defenders or Champions. All of the lower tier books such as Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, & others blur together. Since the "Other" storyline in Spider-Man, it has lost its own identity to become a weird amalgam of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing due to the horror elements introduced.

The books identities are shifting not for the better due to Quesada's influence as the broken Editor-in-Chief. A character's or team book's identity is worthless in favor for the all mighty dollar.
Mighty Avengers is coming along for those old school fans who want something more like the Classic Avengers. I don't see how you can think Ms. Marvel and Iron Man blur together. When I look at them, I see one being about Ms. Marvel and the other about Iron Man. How has Spider-Man became anything like Swamp Thing? Just because of a few horror elements that have been a part of Super Hero comics for decades now.

Regardless of your flawed opinion, sales are up and the Marvel Brand Name is the strongest it's been in around a decade. And I still don't see any evidence where the character's or team book's idenities are being compromised to increase sales. Frankly, I think your a sad jaded fanboy.

[Will.S]

The New Avengers has lost its identity & has a more feel of Daredevil crossed with The Defenders or Champions. All of the lower tier books such as Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, & others blur together. Since the "Other" storyline in Spider-Man, it has lost its own identity to become a weird amalgam of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing due to the horror elements introduced.They haven't lost their identities, they've just changed. I can tell you exactly how they feel:

New Avengers is what happens when the traditional lineup isn't there anymore dealing with both small and big threats. It's a mix of street, espionage, and superhero stuff all in one.

Ms. Marvel is a fairly traditional title done in a modern way with Carol finding herself again as well as seeing her viewpoint in the midst of change.

Iron Man has gone through massive of changes and is now being touted as a "futurist" on top of the origin retcon and the extremis powers and armor but even still it's very self contained with the MU playing around him instead of the other way around.

Spider-Man similar to Iron Man has gone through big continuity changes to make him what he is today with alot of mystery and creepyness coming back into the title. Granted, the execution is far from perfect but he's being set up with alot of changes to make way for future stories such as The Other and the unmasking.

Even with those, Joe Quesada has been trying to cater to a wide audience with what was popular in the past like Iron Fist, Mighty Avengers, Heroes for Hire, Marvel Team-Up (sadly canceled), She-Hulk and cosmic stuff like Annihilation going on. Add to that DD which is always self contained and is always excellent, T-Bolts which has been running since Kurt started the book and Fabian was passed the torch, Fantastic Four which had the amazing Waid run and I see a company that has been producing quality stuff in alot of books and genres.

They also experimented with Marvel Zombies, Marvel Westerns, Marvel Monsters, I Heart Marvel so that's worth commending.