CBR NEWS: WW Philly: "Amazing Spider-Man" Goes (Almost) Weekly, Wacker Explains

[Jonah Weiland]

A number of Spider-Man titles may be ending come fall, but "Amazing Spider-Man" picks up the slack by increasing its publication frequency to three times monthly. We spoke with Editor Stephen Wacker about the change.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=10874

[Deathstroke]

Given that I was dropping FNSM after Peter David's last issue, the cancellation doesn't really upset me.

[Joe Zool]

I'm totally LOVING these "classic" covers!

[1WEBHEAD]

I suspected this would happen.

And I couldn't be any happier that I'm a SpiderMan fan and reader.

Those classic covers are icing on the cake.

It would still be like getting SSM, ASM, and FNSM because there's going to be a Spidey comic 3 out of the 4 weeks but we won't have trouble with Newcomers asking which spiderman title is better or which on they should choose.

Good move Marvel! :)

Can't wait for One More Day!

My dream team:

Writers: Millar, Kirkman, PAD (again), and Slott.

Drawing Crew: Bagely, Hester, Finch, Garner, Quesada, McNiven, JRJR

Man, today keeps on getting better and better. . . . :D

[We R. Venom]

Wow, i'm amazed! Sorry I had to. Honestly this is a great idea. Sad to see th others go. My brother bought FNS but its all good im sure!

[Magneto Rocks]

Wow.

BIG creative decision, VERY bold news.

As for how I like it... we'll soon see!

[NickThompson]

So basically, it's buy 3 titles or 0? Looks like it will have to be 0 for me then. I want to read a Spidey book, but I can't afford to do three.

[xarathos]

Stracynski has produced some of the worst Spider-man stories I've ever had the misfortune to read.

Spider-man being beaten to death not by Doc Ock or Electro but a generic guy in the trench coat was just lame. being eaten by spiders and coming back to life in a cocoon is just sickening. I can't see a future for Spider-man at all after all that's been going on.

[1WEBHEAD]

Stracynski has produced some of the worst Spider-man stories I've ever had the misfortune to read.

Spider-man being beaten to death not by Doc Ock or Electro but a generic guy in the trench coat was just lame. being eaten by spiders and coming back to life in a cocoon is just sickening. I can't see a future for Spider-man at all after all that's been going on.

Just out of curiousity, have you read JMS's War at Home and Black in Back yet?

They're quite good and for me they have made up for JMS's . . .unpopular past decisions.:)

[torippu]

I'm actually pretty happy about this announcement. It'll also be cool to finally find out who the creative teams will be.

Dan Slott? Phil Jimenez? And was that a Steve McNiven image in one of the articles?

[CMBMOOL]

Man, that much pressure can sure get on somebody nerves. :D

[Red Lotus]

http://www.newsarama.com/heroes_philly07/Marvel/onemoreday.html

After reading this, I think MJ and May are both gone. Spider-man will still be unmasked. I think Flash, Betty and Robbie will be a big part of the cast maybe Robbie starts his own paper and gives Betty a job.

[Fatguy]

So basically, it's buy 3 titles or 0? Looks like it will have to be 0 for me then. I want to read a Spidey book, but I can't afford to do three.

Yea, not sure if thats a good idea. I remember when the 3 Superman titles where all basically one book written by different people. I hated it, and it made it so I had no Superman books at all on my pull list.

I will be on board for this because, well, I already get all 3 books anyways. But I prefer to be able to choose how many Spidey titles I will be getting, not be forced into an all or none option.

[Spider-Sense]

Best news I've heard in years!Can't wait for the new teams to be announced.
BTW,I love the OMD covers.

[Pheonix-NoRelation]

I'm dissapointed. Three Amazing Spider-Man's a month wil mean my recently renewed subscription will be over again in just a couple of months. Secondly, I like the aproach of the classic covers but I feel as though they could have been done better. And third, I'm going to miss Friendly Neighborhood SM and Sensational SM.

[Pyro]

I'm a little unsure about this. I had really been enjoying the three titles. It sounds like, by consolidating them, we won't have any sort of long-term creator consistency. I could be wrong, though.

[xarathos]

Just out of curiousity, have you read JMS's War at Home and Black in Back yet?

They're quite good and for me they have made up for JMS's . . .unpopular past decisions.:)


I tried reading War at HOme, but I just couldn't stand it anymore. The Red Scare doesn't even equal up to locking people up in the Negative Zone.

[Mister Mets]

(Almost) called the (almost) weekly.
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showpost.php?p=4839993&postcount=26

Another thing Marvel could do is cancel the other books, and make Amazing Spider-Man into a weekly series.

The way the series could work would be that each writer/ artist team does a complete story, followed by the next team. For instance- in a six month period, Millar/ Bagley may do a five issue arc, followed by 1 issue of Beland/ Phillips, followed by 1 issue of Lee Weeks, followed by 2 issues of Fraction/ Medina, followed by 3 issues of Sacasa/ Medina, followed by 4 issues of Simone/ Coipel, followed by 1 issue of Millar/Bagley, followed by 1 issue of Slott/Silvestri, followed by 4 issues of avid/Medina, followed by 3 issues of Fraction/Medina. Then the next six months can begin with a six issue Millar/Bagley arc followed by........

The writers would work together a bit to make sure they can work with the developments others make. There may be a chief architect who does more work than the others/ functions as editor. The regular writers may contribute to the work of others, developing subplots, etc.

Pros:
It's good for more than monthly artists who may be constrained by the monthly format, and can handle 16 issues an year.
It also provides many opportunities for artists who can't do a monthly book (ie- Lee Weeks) or for artists already on a monthly book, and capable of drawing even more issues (ie- Sean Phillips.)
It encourages co-operation between writers.
There's less of a wait between cliffhangers, which makes decompression more acceptable.
Because there wouldn't be 3-4 Spider-Man arcs occuring simoltaneously, Marvel would have an easier type time hyping each arc one at a time.
Marvel has the benefit of a 25th anniversary issue every six months, and a 50th anniversary once an year (note- Just because the books weekly doesn't mean it needs 52 issues an year. There could easily be annual or semiannual "breaks" allowing Marvel to adopt the season finale format for the comics, while producing as few as 30 Spider-Man issues an year.)
The format encourages experimentation, and exposes readers to new creators, and gives opportunities for new creators.
There are more opportunities to deal with events in other books.
It encourages cheaper comics, because most weekly books so far (US War Machine, 52, etc) has been at least 50 cents per issue cheaper than the monthly books.
It's also an alternative to the old monthly comic that's been done for the last sixty-five years.
The lower-selling creators (and books that would ordinarily be one-shots) would see an improvement in sales.
Readers would never have difficulty knowing when the next issue of Amazing Spider-Man is coming out.
No more crossovers.

Cons:
Writers/ artists can not be late, as it will delay the projects of others.
Out of continuity projects wouldn't be included in this, so you'd easily have more than four Spider-Man books on some month months.
It hinders creativity, as the writers have to deal with the developments of other writers far more closely than if they were all on seperate books.
Encouraging readers to buy a Spider-Man book a week (as opposed to how readers can currently just follow Amazing Spider-Man) will be hell on the wallet. It may also discourage readers from picking up arcs by creators they would ordinarily follow.
There's a longer wait between arcs by your favorite creators. If Slott/ Jiminez do a six issue arc (assuming they can create one issue a month) that means you probably won't see anything by them for another 4 1/2 months (18 issues) which also complicates their longer arcs.
It requires more lead time for creators (at least at first), since Marvel can't begin an arc until they have every issue finished. There will be an initial loss of a few months of a productivity
The need to fill X (30-52) issues an year, means that Marvel may have to settle for crappier work by crappier creators. Experiments/ new creators can easily fail. It also encourages padding, when the writers know they have to produce X issues an year, and an embarassing hole in the schedule can be resolved by turning a 5 issue arc into an 8 issue arc.
The differences between creators may be jarring, especially in TPB form. TPBs featuring the most popular creators may feature a decline in sales, if they also include the work of the less popular creators. For instance, a JMS fan will be less inclined to buy a seven issue trade with 3 issues of content by him, and 4 issues by other guys.
The architect writer will become more powerful, so if you hate that guy, you'll have more difficulty enjoying the other books than you currently do.
It's more glaringly obvious, when the co-ordination between writers fail, and one arc suddenly contradicts the developments of another.

[Nosgoth Phantom]

Not bashing anything or anyone here, but it's kind of smart of Marvel. They know most people only buy the core title of the Spidey books once a month and skip the others. They essentially made it now that if you want to keep from getting lost in the stories, you have to buy Amazing three times a month now which replaces the cost of the other two titles you skip each month. Sneaky sneaky.

[Trey]

That Black and White teaser page is Todd McFarlane!!!!!!!

[Pyro]

(Almost) called the (almost) weekly.
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showpost.php?p=4839993&postcount=26
I remember when you posted that Cyberman! Good call! :) *pats you on the back*

I'm still digesting this. It really seems like a bold new move. I'm curious to see if it'll work. I'll definitely keep reading, but I'll right now I'm thinking I'll miss permanent creative teams. However, I do have quite a list of people I'd like to see work on Spider-Man, so maybe this is the chance. This is so interesting.

[Spider-Sense]

That Black and White teaser page is Todd McFarlane!!!!!!!

I don't think so.It's probably Joe Quesada' work.

[rZi]

Im loving the old style font on the books and the preview art...OMD will make me a happy guy. As for the titles...i think i perfer 3 different titles instead of just one, i don't know i'll wait and see.

[Maestro]

Amazing Spider-Man better well be amazing if they want me to buy it in singles. I only bought Friendly and the occasional Sensational before

[Chachi]

I like the idea of just one Spidey title.

[Tater]

Amazing Spider-man will go three times a month later this year. Friendly and Sensational are being canceled. It's a good way for Marvel to make money I guess. I only read Amazing, so now I'll be buying two more books each month. But I don't mind. Amazing has been a good book, and it's always good to get more of a story.

[Trey]

I don't think so.It's probably Joe Quesada' work.

Then its not a teaser, whats it teasing? who else draws the webbing like that?

[banana91]

This seems like a pretty cool announcement and I absolutely love the covers the only thing that worries me is the $3.99 cover price. I don't really mind it too too much if its only for the One More Day Arcs but if it remains permanent it will be quite annoying. So does anyone know if the price is permanent or temporary.

[Mister Mets]

I'm dissapointed. Three Amazing Spider-Man's a month wil mean my recently renewed subscription will be over again in just a couple of months. Secondly, I like the aproach of the classic covers but I feel as though they could have been done better. And third, I'm going to miss Friendly Neighborhood SM and Sensational SM.
I'm pretty sure this book will outsell Sensational/ Friendly Neighborhood.
And there are many benefits to this, including tighter continuity.

http://www.newsarama.com/heroes_philly07/Marvel/onemoreday.html

After reading this, I think MJ and May are both gone. Spider-man will still be unmasked. I think Flash, Betty and Robbie will be a big part of the cast maybe Robbie starts his own paper and gives Betty a job.
I think it's going to be in the Free Comic Book Day continuity.
So May will stay alive.

Stracynski has produced some of the worst Spider-man stories I've ever had the misfortune to read.

Spider-man being beaten to death not by Doc Ock or Electro but a generic guy in the trench coat was just lame. being eaten by spiders and coming back to life in a cocoon is just sickening. I can't see a future for Spider-man at all after all that's been going on.
Because no series can bounce back after a bad writer?
And while I think JMS has done bad moves it's nothing compared to the guy who came before him.

So basically, it's buy 3 titles or 0? Looks like it will have to be 0 for me then. I want to read a Spidey book, but I can't afford to do three.
For the title to prosper, Marvel's gotta make sure that every new arc (and probably issue) is accessible to new readers and the readers who only buy occassional stories by creators they like/ when they have the money.

[rockgrant]

I think it's a good idea in theory, but barring nomenclature, is this really any different than having three monthly books? There can't be that many artists who can draw three books in one month, so I think you're going to see a lot of fill-ins. Also, despite what Wacker is saying, I don't think you're going to see many well-implemented subplots or lasting themes with multiple writers telling the story. I hate to be pessimistic, but I really think this will be nothing more than 3 (or more) different Spidey books which all just happen to have the same title.

[Mister Mets]

I think it's a good idea in theory, but barring nomenclature, is this really any different than having three monthly books? There can't be that many artists who can draw three books in one month, so I think you're going to see a lot of fill-ins. Also, despite what Wacker is saying, I don't think you're going to see many well-implemented subplots or lasting themes with multiple writers telling the story. I hate to be pessimistic, but I really think this will be nothing more than 3 (or more) different Spidey books which all just happen to have the same title.
52 has shown how well-coordinated comic book writers can be. I think this story will at the very least have a better sense of continuity than the previous Spider-Man books.

I'd also like to note that there's no need to have three monthly creative teams. This is the perfect books for artists who can do more than one book a month (ie- Bagley, Romita Jr), artists who know they can't do a book a month (ie- Lee Weeks, Bryan Hitch, etc) and artists who have some spare time in addition to other projects (ie- Sean Phillips.) The logistics can become complex, but there's a lot Marvel can do with this.

[KOSLOX]

I kind of wish they'd have just done this with all the Avengers titles instead and had that be "Avengers: The Initiative". Week 1: NA, Week 2: MA Week 3: Initiative (Retitled to YA).

[Toku King]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not FNSM! NO!

[1WEBHEAD]

We've been talking about it here (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=178829) :)

Good news IMO.

[Shyft]

Really dont think this is a good idea. I currently pull ASM, and SSM when the fancy takes me. the reason i pull ASM is exactly because of what the interview said; the important stuff happens in it. But i dont think i can afford to pull 3 books solidly every month where before i was pulling one, occasionally two. This is a mega money-spinning move, which i honestly dont think has the readers best interests at heart.

[Tater]

Yea, I noticed that thread right after I posted my thread. I figure a mod will merge it.

[Chubber]

Then its not a teaser, whats it teasing? who else draws the webbing like that?

I thought everyone draws the webbing like that now?
I agree it looks like Quesada to me, look at the neck, was he bitten by a radioactive ostrich?

[Mister Mets]

I kind of wish they'd have just done this with all the Avengers titles instead and had that be "Avengers: The Initiative". Week 1: NA, Week 2: MA Week 3: Initiative (Retitled to YA).
They'll probably do this with the Avengers when the Mighty & New Avengers teams merge.

[SpideyZERO]

So I wll only need to pay for reservation fee of only one tiltle? Nice.

I plan to drop Spider-Man after OMD ends and get Trades instead, but now I will continue buying the issues instead

[NickThompson]

This seems like a pretty cool announcement and I absolutely love the covers the only thing that worries me is the $3.99 cover price. I don't really mind it too too much if its only for the One More Day Arcs but if it remains permanent it will be quite annoying. So does anyone know if the price is permanent or temporary.
Um.....that's odd :)

http://www.newsarama.com/heroes_philly07/Marvel/onemoreday.html - $2.99 on them (Barcode actually says $2.25, but that's probably a placeholder).

[NickThompson]

I kind of wish they'd have just done this with all the Avengers titles instead and had that be "Avengers: The Initiative". Week 1: NA, Week 2: MA Week 3: Initiative (Retitled to YA).
I don't see what that would gain though. Right now I can say to someone "Okay, if you want this read New, Mighty for this and Initiative for this". Under that system it's "Okay, if you want this you read this title on the second week of every month..." and so on.

Not very nice for people will pulllist either.

[KOSLOX]

I don't see what that would gain though. Right now I can say to someone "Okay, if you want this read New, Mighty for this and Initiative for this". Under that system it's "Okay, if you want this you read this title on the second week of every month..." and so on.

Not very nice for people will pulllist either.

Bendis, keeps saying how inter connected New and Mighty are Supposed to be that's why I think they could just collapse the Avengers all into a weekly title. Hell it could be run a lot like 52, where several stories are shown in each isssue.

But, anyway let's get back on track this is a spider-man board and I don't want to derail this into an Avengers thread.

[mushroom2703]

Hmm, Avengers is kind of different, different teams, different styles, different kind of stories. They've put alot of effor tinto making each title its own unique thing. Following the same idea as amazing is a possibility, but they'd be ditching alot of what the civil war fallout achieved.

As for the spider-man news, it doesn't affect me what so ever. I buy trades now anyway, so it still just comes down to whether the whole story is any good or not. If I have to make that decision every two months instead of 6, i'm cool with that, but I'll still only buy it if its good.

[Venom]

Wow Mark Millar wasn't kidding. He told me at his signing I went to last week that "Amazing Spider-Man" was going to start coming out three times a month, but I thought he was just teasing me.

[Mister Mets]

Bendis, keeps saying how inter connected New and Mighty are Supposed to be that's why I think they could just collapse the Avengers all into a weekly title. Hell it could be run a lot like 52, where several stories are shown in each isssue.

But, anyway let's get back on track this is a spider-man board and I don't want to derail this into an Avengers thread.
Avengers is a bit different in this case since the books focus on different teams. It makes sense for there to be four (counting Initiative and Young Avengers) Avengers titles at the moment.

But once the New & Mighty Avengers merge into one team (probably within a few years) I could see the book being weekly, or almost weekly, especially since there's a lot of material you could cover in addition to the adventures of the Avengers (solo stories, spotlight issues on villains/ former Avengers, etc.)

* Edit- And I'll go start a thread about this in the Avengers forum.

So I wll only need to pay for reservation fee of only one tiltle? Nice.

I plan to drop Spider-Man after OMD ends and get Trades instead, but now I will continue buying the issues instead
I think it becomes easier to wait for the trade, especially since we'll probably have a new one every two months. If Marvel releases the trades a month after the last issue ships, you'll have to wait a maximum of three months for ang given issue to be available in TPB form (assuming the trades collect six issues.)

[NickThompson]

Sooo, we were told the creators had Wacker's initials, right?

Slott
Guggenheim
Wells

[killerbass]

(Almost) called the (almost) weekly.
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showpost.php?p=4839993&postcount=26

Well, except that you got the idea from me. :p

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=175752&page=4 (Scroll down a bit..)

It's all good.

--Tom

[killerbass]

Oops, now that I read it, I realize I was like a day after you...

OK, maybe you did have the idea first. :eek:

But my idea was really close to the mark.

[Michael P]

Stracynski has produced some of the worst Spider-man stories I've ever had the misfortune to read.


I wish I could say that. What candy-colored universe without Howard Mackie, Terry Kavanaugh, or Tom DeFalco do you live in?

[Mister Mets]

Well, except that you got the idea from me. :p

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=175752&page=4 (Scroll down a bit..)

It's all good.

--Tom
Er, did I?

I first posted the idea on November 14 2006 on the Bendis-boards (where I do by the name "Mister Mets")
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showpost.php?p=2394448&postcount=60

Oops, now that I read it, I realize I was like a day after you...

OK, maybe you did have the idea first. :eek:

But my idea was really close to the mark.
Great minds think alike.

[Noronha]

I definitly like this idea,i only read the books when i have all the arc completed so usually i have to wait like 4/5 months.
Now an arc can be completed in 1 month!Let´s have it i hate waiting month after month to complete an arc that drags for so long that when i star reading it i have to read the issues before just to remind me of the context!

[Magneto Rocks]

I wor what will happen with event tie-ins though.

I menan for "Civil War", for example, it wouldn't have worked to have "The War At Home" for seven weeks and then the rest after that.

How would they work a crossover situation?

[SnakeEater]

is marvel raising prices again?

[The Confessor]

I have no problem with all the books being consolidated into Amazing Spider-Man really, but I am a little sad to hear that FNSM will be no more, purely for sentimental reasons. I really liked that comic.

I love the retro-style cover artwork though. Nice touch!

I am slightly worried about the whole One More Day thing though. I hope it doesn't shake up the Spidey-verse too much. Like, so that it's really very different.

[Mister Mets]

is marvel raising prices again?
That would be a really bad move at the time. My guess is that one chapter of "One More Day" is more than 22 pages long, or they're showing the Canadian price or something mundane like that.

I wor what will happen with event tie-ins though.

I menan for "Civil War", for example, it wouldn't have worked to have "The War At Home" for seven weeks and then the rest after that.

How would they work a crossover situation?
I don't see many problems.
It's going to be the rare crossover that would have affected a Spider-Man book for several months straight with no pause for intermission, where every issue ties into major events in the crossover so it has to come out monthly at the same rate as the crossover. In that event, Marvel could just release a Spider-Man mini-series to coincide with the crossover, although this was un-necessary during Civil War.

"War at Home" could easily have been split into smaller sections.
If Amazing, FNSM and Sensational were one book, the first chapters at "War at Home" could have been followed by Sacosa's "My Science Teacher is Spider-Man" which could have followed by Peter David's Mysterio three-parter, which could have been followed by JMS's Spider-Man VS Captain America issue.....

[BizarroBeachHead]

This is almost a good idea, it's so close it's maddening.

They've taken the first step. What they need to do now is drop the price by a dollar. I guarantee you people would have no problem buying 3(or even 4) issues a month if it was a little cheaper(And that's still a good profit).

The other thing they need to do is promise small stories, three issues max, preferably singles. They'd still have all the background stuff happening to tie it all together.

Amazing Spider-man would pop like crazy if people could just get good, cheap weekly fixes.

....sort of like television....

[BizarroBeachHead]

Sooo, we were told the creators had Wacker's initials, right?

Slott
Guggenheim
Wells
That would be a great team, enough to get me buying Spider-man comics again.

[Dangerous]

Personally I'm pretty dissapointed that Marvel can never seem to keep any sister titles afloat these days for longer than a year or three.

Oh well, 3 issues of ASM a month is very cool, but how long exactly is that gonna last? I would prefer if Sensational and FNSM were to stay.

[Venom]

I am a little sad to hear that FNSM will be no more, purely for sentimental reasons. I really liked that comic.

You and me both.

[Mister Mets]

Personally I'm pretty dissapointed that Marvel can never seem to keep any sister titles afloat these days for longer than a year or three.

Oh well, 3 issues of ASM a month is very cool, but how long exactly is that gonna last? I would prefer if Sensational and FNSM were to stay.
If average sales exceed those of the average sales of Amazing/ Sensational/ FNSM, it'll stay like this for a while.

This is almost a good idea, it's so close it's maddening.

They've taken the first step. What they need to do now is drop the price by a dollar. I guarantee you people would have no problem buying 3(or even 4) issues a month if it was a little cheaper(And that's still a good profit).

The other thing they need to do is promise small stories, three issues max, preferably singles. They'd still have all the background stuff happening to tie it all together.

Amazing Spider-man would pop like crazy if people could just get good, cheap weekly fixes.

....sort of like television....
I doubt it would help much if the price were dropped to two dollars (sales would have to increase by more than 50% for Marvel/ retailers to make money.)

I also don't see the need to promising shorter stories. First there have many good 4+ part Spider-Man stories. Lee/ Romita's Doctor Octopus epic, The Death of Jean Dewolfe, Kraven's Last Hunt, JMS's first Morlun saga, Bendis's first Kingpin tale and Millar's 12-parter come to mind. It's now easier for Marvel/ fans to experience longer stories, given the decreased wait between the first & last issue and the promotional advantages when there are less major Spider-man stories told and promoted at the same time.

That said, I don't think there should be an incredible amount of longer storylines (three an year is enough) but I wouldn't want to get rid of them either.

[BizarroBeachHead]

I also don't see the need to promising shorter stories. First there have many good 4+ part Spider-Man stories. Lee/ Romita's Doctor Octopus epic, The Death of Jean Dewolfe, Kraven's Last Hunt, JMS's first Morlun saga, Bendis's first Kingpin tale and Millar's 12-parter come to mind.
I'm not disputing the validity of longer stories, but under this format I think the book would be much tighter and fluid if they kept them short and accessible stories.


It's now easier for Marvel/ fans to experience longer stories, given the decreased wait between the first & last issue and the promotional advantages when there are less major Spider-man stories told and promoted at the same time.

The Other. That's precisely what I DON'T want to see happen here or any variation of it. If I'm going to be forced into buying three books worth of comics a month, every issue better be worth it.

As for the lower costs. If the angle they're shooting for is forcing all Spider-man fans to buy three books a month instead of one or two, then a slightly lower price would certainly help persuade people to try it. 3 comics at $2 a pop is still twice as much as 1 comic at $3 a pop.

[kidvictory]

I'm pretty cool with this. We're getting a weekly fill of spidey continuing the same story . . . that's amazing (no pun intended) I just wonder how long it will last.

I will miss other creator's takes on spidey - but this could really work out for the best. Currently we get a weekly spidey story but it's a different title each week and probably hard to remember and appreciate everything that happened one month earlier...

This way the usual 6 month arc will be told in under two months. I'm curious how an artist will be able to keep up this schedule and they must have to work waaay in advance. It'll be an interesting ride while it lasts.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g106/underdog53/EVE-WOTI-banner-2small.jpg

[Skagop]

Hey first post but longtime reader. I absolutely love the idea of making Amazing weekly. It essentially cuts the fat from the Spider-Man line. I love the art in Sensational and (sometimes) the writing in Friendly Neighborhood, but by having Amazing as the only title, it will focus the series and provide a more logical connection between stories.

[Mister Mets]

I'm not disputing the validity of longer stories, but under this format I think the book would be much tighter and fluid if they kept them short and accessible stories.

The Other. That's precisely what I DON'T want to see happen here or any variation of it. If I'm going to be forced into buying three books worth of comics a month, every issue better be worth it.

As for the lower costs. If the angle they're shooting for is forcing all Spider-man fans to buy three books a month instead of one or two, then a slightly lower price would certainly help persuade people to try it. 3 comics at $2 a pop is still twice as much as 1 comic at $3 a pop.

Every issue of a good story is worth it no matter how many issues long the story is. Given how much money Marvel's asking from fans, every issue has to be amazing. I didn't wish to suggest that any longer stories would be like "The Other." No matter how long a story is, it should still have one writer from beginning to end. I don't see how longer stories makes the continuity less tight (though I could understand how it eventually makes the later chapters less accessible.)

I don't think Marvel's forcing fans to buy three issues every month. Fans could always just pick amongst the creators they like, and choose to follow only those creators. Plus, fans have historically bought more than one Spider-Man title (hell, this is amongst other things, away to boost average sales of the Spider-Man line.)

I'd love to see the book going at a cheaper price, but I'm not sure if it's in Marvel's interests to do that. I think nine dollars a month isn't going to be an incredible price for most fans.

I'm pretty cool with this. We're getting a weekly fill of spidey continuing the same story . . . that's amazing (no pun intended) I just wonder how long it will last.

I will miss other creator's takes on spidey - but this could really work out for the best. Currently we get a weekly spidey story but it's a different title each week and probably hard to remember and appreciate everything that happened one month earlier...

This way the usual 6 month arc will be told in under two months. I'm curious how an artist will be able to keep up this schedule and they must have to work waaay in advance. It'll be an interesting ride while it lasts.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g106/underdog53/EVE-WOTI-banner-2small.jpg
You're going to get several takes on Spider-Man, as this series will have 4 artists and 3 writers (plus, it's not the only Spider-Man book.)

Regarding scheduling, the writers/ artists just have to work in advance for a few months to get the appropriate head start, but that's it. That's easier to do now that the current teams are leaving the franchise, meaning no one had to work double duty, delivering the last Spider-Man stories before "One More Day" in addition to the script of the third part of a six part story (as the art for the last issue has to be finished before the first issue comes out).

Hey first post but longtime reader. I absolutely love the idea of making Amazing weekly. It essentially cuts the fat from the Spider-Man line. I love the art in Sensational and (sometimes) the writing in Friendly Neighborhood, but by having Amazing as the only title, it will focus the series and provide a more logical connection between stories.
Welcome to the board.
And yea- you're right.

[BizarroBeachHead]

Every issue of a good story is worth it no matter how many issues long the story is. Given how much money Marvel's asking from fans, every issue has to be amazing. I didn't wish to suggest that any longer stories would be like "The Other." No matter how long a story is, it should still have one writer from beginning to end. I don't see how longer stories makes the continuity less tight (though I could understand how it eventually makes the later chapters less accessible.)Admittedly, shorter stories is something I'd want regardless of the number of issues coming out a month, so that's largely a personal thing on my part. However, I do think it would make the reading smoother, particularly with the book jumping around between creators, if the stories weren't dragged out.

I don't think Marvel's forcing fans to buy three issues every month. Fans could always just pick amongst the creators they like, and choose to follow only those creators. Plus, fans have historically bought more than one Spider-Man title (hell, this is amongst other things, away to boost average sales of the Spider-Man line.)

The thing is, that's what fans were doing before. With this new decision, Marvel has openly admitted that it wasn't working(not for their sales, not for the fans, not for anybody). This is what was said in the interview:

At the same time the subplots will be in the background of every issue, so it's not as if they're traditional arcs that'll give anyone a chance to jump off. I want to make that decision as difficult and as painful as possible.

They are being pretty upfront about getting people to buy every issue, preventing people from following their preferred creators.


I'd love to see the book going at a cheaper price, but I'm not sure if it's in Marvel's interests to do that. I think nine dollars a month isn't going to be an incredible price for most fans.Well, you are right about that, generally spidey fans do buy multiple titles and truthfully, nine dollars a month isn't a big deal. But again, Marvel isn't satisfied with nine dollars a month from most fans, that's what they're getting now. They're shooting for a larger audience, and a cheaper price would grease those people's wallets.

Ultimately, what's really going to be the largest factor for me is the creators they get, though I am optimistic about new editorial control. I haven't been the biggest fan of the books under Axel Alonso.

[Chris Nowlin]

They are being pretty upfront about getting people to buy every issue, preventing people from following their preferred creators.

That sounded like it was said with tongue in cheek to me. Like he was making fun of marketing strategies rather than discussing them

[Reggie]

I love it how marvel keeps trying new stuff. So I am all pro for this one series deal. Really love it!

The only thing that I would miss is really long runs by a fixed team of artists.. wouldnt it become harder for artists to create long, epic, superstories like this?

And maybe the downside of forcing readers to buy 3 comics a month. That might finish off some readers.. Though I already buy all three series, so no prob for me there.

[BizarroBeachHead]

That sounded like it was said with tongue in cheek to me. Like he was making fun of marketing strategies rather than discussing them

Yeah, I don't mean to imply there's a sinister motive in play here(no more than standard capitalism...:) ) but they are doing this because when given the option, there is a portion of the fan base that only buys the main title and ignores the ancillary titles. Under this format, the idea is that the fans will buy the equivalent of the ancillary titles and still feel like it's important. More fans buying more comics. I think it's a good idea, but it's going to take some skill to pull off.


The only thing that I would miss is really long runs by a fixed team of artists.. wouldnt it become harder for artists to create long, epic, superstories like this? They still can. Television does it all the time. The writers and the editor come up with a broad layout of events or stories. Then the writers individually write their "episodes" and the editor coordinates where and how it all fits. It's going to require some hard work by Stephen Whacker, that's for sure.

[mosnab]

I'm actually pretty excited for this as well. I'm someone who buys all three books anyways now, so the spending aspect won't really affect me. I like the idea of all of Spidey's stories taking place in one place/one title. You won't have to wonder "where does this take place?", since it will be one ongoing story in the Amazing title. Kind of following the life of Peter Parker in one place. I know it might not be that popular with others, but I wouldn't mind seeing the same type of thing in some of the other worlds (like X-Men). It would be nice having a streamlined list of comics to buy - one for Spidey, one for X-men, one for Avengers, etc. It would have to work a little differently for the other areas most likely, as things like New X-Men (and maybe Astonishing), and Avengers: Initiative are more of their "own thing". Anyways, on the Spidey side of things, I'm happy to see it happen. I've always thought that if I had to cut back to only one comic, it would be Amazing, to get the "main story" of Spidey. I hope this idea continues.

[Skagop]

I just hope the price increase to $3.99 on Amazing isn't permanent. That will be too much to handle, but I will still buy it.

[rZi]

I just hope the price increase to $3.99 on Amazing isn't permanent. That will be too much to handle, but I will still buy it.

If your refering to the cover art by Joe Q in an interview he said that price was only put there as a joke, that isn't the actual price.

[Mister Mets]

Admittedly, shorter stories is something I'd want regardless of the number of issues coming out a month, so that's largely a personal thing on my part. However, I do think it would make the reading smoother, particularly with the book jumping around between creators, if the stories weren't dragged out.


The thing is, that's what fans were doing before. With this new decision, Marvel has openly admitted that it wasn't working(not for their sales, not for the fans, not for anybody). This is what was said in the interview:



They are being pretty upfront about getting people to buy every issue, preventing people from following their preferred creators.

Well, you are right about that, generally spidey fans do buy multiple titles and truthfully, nine dollars a month isn't a big deal. But again, Marvel isn't satisfied with nine dollars a month from most fans, that's what they're getting now. They're shooting for a larger audience, and a cheaper price would grease those people's wallets.

Ultimately, what's really going to be the largest factor for me is the creators they get, though I am optimistic about new editorial control. I haven't been the biggest fan of the books under Axel Alonso.
I don't see it being impossible to but only the issues by writers you like, especially given how internet summaries can just fill you in to what you missed. While Wacker & co will do what they can to get fans to pay nine bucks a month every month, I don't see it really being essential. Although it'll be good for Marvel, if the average fan enjoys buying every issue.

I love it how marvel keeps trying new stuff. So I am all pro for this one series deal. Really love it!

The only thing that I would miss is really long runs by a fixed team of artists.. wouldnt it become harder for artists to create long, epic, superstories like this?

And maybe the downside of forcing readers to buy 3 comics a month. That might finish off some readers.. Though I already buy all three series, so no prob for me there.
I think it may be easier in some regards to do long epic superstories.

If I was a Spider-Man writer, and do a mystery involving a new villain (ie- The Black Goblin) I'd have to write more filler stories in between the various Black Goblin tales. With the weekly model, I could just write three straight Black Goblin stories, knowing that other writers will put their stories in between, so it doesn't seem like Spider-Man just has one enemy in my book.

With this model, there's less of a need to do "filler"/ change of pace stories in addition to your long epic superstory, so you'll only those if you really want to.

[xarathos]

This is how it ended.

This shows how bad Spidey has it. The powers that be had no confidence in the book and sales continued to go down no matter how many lame gimmicks JMS or Millar did. JMS book wasn't affected by poor David's and Sarcasa's books shot right down because people wanted to read Spider-man, not magic guy in SPider-man's suit.

I don't know why AMazing is selling so much better. Maybe because of New Avengers and all its hype. I just don't see it. It's all hype. JMS spent five years before subjecting people to this strange set of 'changes' that really wasn't Spider-man at all. Practically no cast. Spider-man became just as much about Iron Man or whatever happened in New Avengers.

This is just a sad ploy to raise sales on a burnt out book.

If you don't know what I'm getting at, you probably will withing six months of this three Amazings a month thing.

[BizarroBeachHead]

This is how it ended.

This shows how bad Spidey has it. The powers that be had no confidence in the book and sales continued to go down no matter how many lame gimmicks JMS or Millar did. JMS book wasn't affected by poor David's and Sarcasa's books shot right down because people wanted to read Spider-man, not magic guy in SPider-man's suit.

I don't know why AMazing is selling so much better. Maybe because of New Avengers and all its hype. I just don't see it. It's all hype. JMS spent five years before subjecting people to this strange set of 'changes' that really wasn't Spider-man at all. Practically no cast. Spider-man became just as much about Iron Man or whatever happened in New Avengers.

This is just a sad ploy to raise sales on a burnt out book.

If you don't know what I'm getting at, you probably will withing six months of this three Amazings a month thing.
...I think I agree with some of what you had to say, but here's why it's not just a sad ploy to raise sales: All new creative teams. New writers, new artists, and most importantly, new editor. If they were switching to the new format but keeping the same people working on it, then yeah, I would consider it a cheap ploy and I wouldn't really be interested. However, there's new blood working on these books, so my interest is piqued.

[Mister Mets]

This is how it ended.

This shows how bad Spidey has it. The powers that be had no confidence in the book and sales continued to go down no matter how many lame gimmicks JMS or Millar did. JMS book wasn't affected by poor David's and Sarcasa's books shot right down because people wanted to read Spider-man, not magic guy in SPider-man's suit.

I don't know why AMazing is selling so much better. Maybe because of New Avengers and all its hype. I just don't see it. It's all hype. JMS spent five years before subjecting people to this strange set of 'changes' that really wasn't Spider-man at all. Practically no cast. Spider-man became just as much about Iron Man or whatever happened in New Avengers.

This is just a sad ploy to raise sales on a burnt out book.

If you don't know what I'm getting at, you probably will withing six months of this three Amazings a month thing.
Sales under JMS went up, but I do agree that Spider-Man sales are pretty poor relative to the rest of the market, although that's for a variety of reasons (including renewed interest in the Avengers franchise, DC's weeklys, etc.)

The (almost) weekly schedule is pretty obviously meant to boost the average Spider-Man sales, but so what? The decision to make Amazing Spider-Man a title in the first place was motivated by sales. The new schedule does have storytelling advantages, including avoiding the continuity confusion when major events happen in Amazing Spider-Man & are reflected in the side titles.

It's also the best possible time to do something like this, as they're overhauling most (if not all) of the creative teams. So the new guys have as much potential as any previous new guys. And they also have the complete freedom to ignore any developments they didn't like.

[Mister Mets]

I think the success of "The Other" may have been the deciding factor in this decision.

The storyline was a hit, with all three stories in the Top Ten, and proved that Spider-Man fans will pay nine bucks a month if the major developments occur in three books.

Currently Sensational/ FNSM aren't selling too well, and one reason may be that the readers know that the major developments are happening in Amazing Spider-Man (or the upcoming "One More Day" crossover.)

[BizarroBeachHead]

I think the success of "The Other" may have been the deciding factor in this decision.

The storyline was a hit, with all three stories in the Top Ten, and proved that Spider-Man fans will pay nine bucks a month if the major developments occur in three books.

Currently Sensational/ FNSM aren't selling too well, and one reason may be that the readers know that the major developments are happening in Amazing Spider-Man (or the upcoming "One More Day" crossover.)

That's a good point, and that's also what worries me. The Other, while it may have been a sales success, was atrocious. It hearkened back to the worst aspects of the 90's(the lowest point in Spidey's run).

Fortunately, Marvel DOES seemed to have learned from the mess that was The Other by keeping the creative teams separate to tell their own stories(none of this Mary Jane broke her arm, no wait she didn't business).

However, I worry about this confidence that the "fans will buy anything as long as they feel it's important" attitude(Let's not even speak of the fans who are already jaded by the amount of times Pete's had a "mega important life changing" event).

What really bothers me, and I know this isn't a concern for everyone, is that that mentality(fans will buy it because it's important) coupled with the writer getting three books a month instead of just one to tell his story could easily lead to padding the stories, especially when their fans talk like this(taken from your prediction thread (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=4993243#post4993243) on the same subject):

Additionally, with the knowledge that the next issue is only 7 days away, the expectations you have for each issue will lower as will your disappointment.

A bad issue is a bad issue is a bad issue, no matter how fast it comes out(read: The Other).

Anyway, I should specify that this is not necessarily what I think will happen. This is just me at my most pessimistic.

[Pyro]

I'm really worried that having a variety of writers and artists won't allow for Spider-Man to have a consistent direction or feel anymore. I liked how each title had it's own flavor, but I'm not sure I would like a book where the flavor changes each month. I'm worried that it'll be up to the editors to plan the stories and keep things straight... I don't trust a lot of Marvel's editors.

Will it be one planned storyline executed by different creative teams, or will the different teams be telling separate stories that have no bearing on each other that I can skip if I'm not interested in them?

[Dr. Chaos]

people wanted to read Spider-man, not magic guy in SPider-man's suit.
I remember reading about that story, it honestly sounded pretty ****ed up. One of the things I thought they would never do is try to make Peter's abilities/origins magical and or spirtual in nature.

I just got back into Spider-Man recently with Amazing #541 but does he still have the ridiculous claws?

In any case, I'm more than up for three titles a month, I just hope Marvel's as up to it as they think they are and don't end up abandoning it a year or two from now, which is what I'm suspecting to happen.

[Mister Mets]

I remember reading about that story, it honestly sounded pretty ****ed up. One of the things I thought they would never do is try to make Peter's abilities/origins magical and or spirtual in nature.

I just got back into Spider-Man recently with Amazing #541 but does he still have the ridiculous claws?

In any case, I'm more than up for three titles a month, I just hope Marvel's as up to it as they think they are and don't end up abandoning it a year or two from now, which is what I'm suspecting to happen.
Marvel will keep the new format as long as it makes them money. The good news is that Amazing Spider-Man won't even have to sell as well as it is right now under JMS in order for this to be a success (Marvel would rather have one book sell 75,000 copies three times a month than one book selling 100,000 copies a month and two selling 50,000 copies.)


I'm really worried that having a variety of writers and artists won't allow for Spider-Man to have a consistent direction or feel anymore. I liked how each title had it's own flavor, but I'm not sure I would like a book where the flavor changes each month. I'm worried that it'll be up to the editors to plan the stories and keep things straight... I don't trust a lot of Marvel's editors.

Will it be one planned storyline executed by different creative teams, or will the different teams be telling separate stories that have no bearing on each other that I can skip if I'm not interested in them?
This assumes that every creative team would have a consistent "flavor" which I doubt would happen any way. For example likely Spider-Man writer Dan Slott can do humorous stories well, but caught the attention of the comics companies with a dark Batman mini series. The new format would free writers from having to provide a consistent type of story.
The only consistent flavor I would care for is stories that are consistently entertaining, enjoyable and interesting.

From my understanding, it'll work as follows.
Each creative team does their own story from beginning to end. Subplots of theirs may be furthered in the stories of other creators.

[Sonicjuce]

From my understanding, it'll work as follows.
Each creative team does their own story from beginning to end. Subplots of theirs may be furthered in the stories of other creators.
So will it be one issue is one guys story, then we have two issues of other peoples stories then a return to his?

This all sounds very foolish to me. I won't nay say to horribly bad until it actually gets under way. I would have preferred ASM going Bi-monthly with the same creative team like it did under Michelinie and McFarlane, but tri monthly with different teams seems pointless. It's like keeping the same three titles only putting ASM on the cover. All seems like a ploy to sell more issues which most likely will hurt the title in the end.

[Chris Nowlin]

So will it be one issue is one guys story, then we have two issues of other peoples stories then a return to his?


I think it will be one guy until his story finishes. Then the next guy. So 4 issues by some writer, then maybe 4 issues by another or some such.

[paulski]

So will it be one issue is one guys story, then we have two issues of other peoples stories then a return to his?

This all sounds very foolish to me. I won't nay say to horribly bad until it actually gets under way. I would have preferred ASM going Bi-monthly with the same creative team like it did under Michelinie and McFarlane, but tri monthly with different teams seems pointless. It's like keeping the same three titles only putting ASM on the cover. All seems like a ploy to sell more issues which most likely will hurt the title in the end.
It's actually 'bi-weekly' but, yeah, I agree with you completely. It's a short-term dollar grab that I expect will end up hurting ASM's average sales. When it does revert back to monthly - and it will (even with Wacker editing, Marvel aren't capable of coordinating this for too long) - they'll be selling even less units than they are now. And part of the reason for that is those that'll jump off the book because they can't afford 3 ASM's per month.

The other reason sales will drop after the first 6 months is that the talent pool isn't there - mostly on the art side - to keep delivering books that readers are willing to fork out for. Once the novelty wears off and the likes of Jimenez or Weiringo have to take a break, watch sales fall.

And nice to be able to post something like this on a quality forum and not have to worry about it being deleted within a day or two by a mod with friends in high places who might not appreciate a dose of reality. Don't ask...

[Sonicjuce]

I think it will be one guy until his story finishes. Then the next guy. So 4 issues by some writer, then maybe 4 issues by another or some such.

I recall the article saying it won't switch artists on a story though. If this were the case then wouldn't it be hit with delays like no other? Atleast one would think.
What I want to avoid is some one having to write or draw part three of someone else's story.

[Chris Nowlin]

I recall the article saying it won't switch artists on a story though. If this were the case then wouldn't it be hit with delays like no other? Atleast one would think.

Not necessarily. Not if they're prepared. Say artist is doing 3-part arc. That should take him 3 months. Which is fine if he's the third one to go.

If you have say 4 rotating artists, it should work out just like a monthly book (presuming they're all artists who can put out a book monthly)

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Eventually I can see it going.... about near a year before it really hurts Marvel and they realize that Amazing Spiderman can't really function like Action Comics Weekly.

If they wanted to do the 52 concept...why not do it with a new title and use the Marvel heroes and villains ?

[Mister Mets]

Eventually I can see it going.... about near a year before it really hurts Marvel and they realize that Amazing Spiderman can't really function like Action Comics Weekly.

If they wanted to do the 52 concept...why not do it with a new title and use the Marvel heroes and villains ?

There have been plans to do this with Spider-Man for years. It just never worked out before.


So will it be one issue is one guys story, then we have two issues of other peoples stories then a return to his?

This all sounds very foolish to me. I won't nay say to horribly bad until it actually gets under way. I would have preferred ASM going Bi-monthly with the same creative team like it did under Michelinie and McFarlane, but tri monthly with different teams seems pointless. It's like keeping the same three titles only putting ASM on the cover. All seems like a ploy to sell more issues which most likely will hurt the title in the end.
Amazing Spider-Man only went bimonthly with Macfarlane/ Micheline during the summer, so it was 15 issues an year not 24.

[Reggie]

Well, there's one other thing I thought of that may be a plus to this: they can push out more TPB's this way and sell complete stories by the different writers/artists..

[Crimson]

Well, there's one other thing I thought of that may be a plus to this: they can push out more TPB's this way and sell complete stories by the different writers/artists..

Yup, they could end up with a new TPB coming out every other month... let's face it, 6 TPBs of one of your top titles coming out a year is good money.

[Mister Mets]

Well, there's one other thing I thought of that may be a plus to this: they can push out more TPB's this way and sell complete stories by the different writers/artists..
I could see this harming sales of the singles, when readers become aware that the wait for a new TPB becomes significantly less (ie- once readers realize that any given single will be collected within three months.) But the TPBs will likely sell well.

I'm already planning on picking up the series that way.

[Joe Zool]

Is it just me or does this image (taken from the latest LitG) look a little...Ben Reilly-esque? It's either a random sketch done for fun or possibly a clue to what happens post-"Brand New Day." If Bianchi IS doing this, who will he be paired up with?

http://images.comicbookresources.com/litg/2007/0723/Bianchi-Spider-Man.jpg

[Sonicjuce]

I'm still at a loss for how this will work. It's going to have 4 artists and 3 writers. Supposedly we will get an arc under the same creative team, i.e. same artist/writer. Will this mean we will have one week a story by a creative team, then the next another creative team and so on?

Under that idea with three writers why even do this? If it went a different creative team every week then whats the difference. It won't attract new readers. People will just glance at the cover and see who's writing. That is about the same as what goes on now.

If they did it one run by the same creative team for three weeks it would work, considering all story arcs are three issues, we wouldn't see another writer for 3 months, and an artist every 4?

I don't see this working for a lot of reasons. For one an artist would sign on and he wouldn't see work for 4 months. Then he would. How would delays work out? An artist would suddenly be in crunch time, especially if in the lapse in time they were still doing other monthlies. Then all the sudden they have to get work out. I see so many problems with this.

I could keep going with more issues/questions but I'll refrain cause if I get too long people won't bother to read this.