CBR: BACC: Joe Quesada Q&A

[CBR News]

The Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, as well as the one of Big Apple Comic-Con's guests of honor, took to the stage to speak with fans about cartoons, movies, manga, motion comics and all things Marvel related.


Full article here (http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23365).

[stpatrick67]

Finally delving into the actual comics themselves, a fan wanted to know why Marvel seems to continually reinvent Doctor Strange, using as an example his recent loss of the Sorcerer Supreme moniker. "The honest answer is that Doctor Strange is one of a small handful of characters that whenever you see them guest star, you go, 'Oh! Doctor Strange! I wish he had his own series,'" Quesada answered. "Then we launch a series, and nobody buys it."
Did Joe just slam us? “Then we launch a series, and nobody buys it.” Dr Strange was featured in Strange Tales from 110-183 (73 issues), Doctor Strange Master of the Mystic Arts for 81 issues, Strange Tales volume II for 19 issues and Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme for 90 issues not to mention the many guest appearances in various Marvel titles and in three different Defenders series and various mini-series. There are obviously Dr. Strange fans out there who love the character, I think it is just the direction certain editors/writers want to take the character that the fans don’t approve of and decide to drop the title then.
Marvel's current plan for Stephen Strange--aside from the upcoming "Strange" miniseries by Mark Waid and Emma Rios--is to re-spin the character in a way that would eventually support an ongoing series. Quesada argued that Marvel still hasn't figured out the perfect recipe for the former Master of the Mystic Arts. Still, he suggested, Iron Man's current success is proof that a lesser-known character could eventually become a household name, which should provide some hope that Doctor Strange will eventually attain A-list status.

When did Iron Man become a lesser-known character? Hasn’t Iron Man always been considered an A-level character? He has had his own series and been a member of The Avengers not to mention appearances in other titles and appears constantly in Marvel Superhero franchising. What gives?
Asked why Marvel decided to renumber certain comic books such as "Daredevil" with issue #500, Quesada joked: "We're whores, quite frankly." He said that Marvel decided it would be cool to change the numbering as certain titles approached major legacy issues.
I remember that the comic companies decided to start the series over to reach out to new readers who may not be able to find or afford the first issues of their main stay superheroes. The problem was everytime they wanted to spin the character in a new direction or have a new writer come on board they wanted to start the series over again. Collecting has to do with the hunt for what will make your collection complete. If you just want to know the origin stories from the earliest issues, they are reprinted often enough to find them.

The “off the cuff” remarks that are given at conventions, make me real hesitant to attend a panel.

[Umbra]

Finally delving into the actual comics themselves, a fan wanted to know why Marvel seems to continually reinvent Doctor Strange, using as an example his recent loss of the Sorcerer Supreme moniker. "The honest answer is that Doctor Strange is one of a small handful of characters that whenever you see them guest star, you go, 'Oh! Doctor Strange! I wish he had his own series,'" Quesada answered. "Then we launch a series, and nobody buys it."
Did Joe just slam us? “Then we launch a series, and nobody buys it.” Dr Strange was featured in Strange Tales from 110-183 (73 issues), Doctor Strange Master of the Mystic Arts for 81 issues, Strange Tales volume II for 19 issues and Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme for 90 issues not to mention the many guest appearances in various Marvel titles and in three different Defenders series and various mini-series. There are obviously Dr. Strange fans out there who love the character, I think it is just the direction certain editors/writers want to take the character that the fans don’t approve of and decide to drop the title then.
Marvel's current plan for Stephen Strange--aside from the upcoming "Strange" miniseries by Mark Waid and Emma Rios--is to re-spin the character in a way that would eventually support an ongoing series. Quesada argued that Marvel still hasn't figured out the perfect recipe for the former Master of the Mystic Arts. Still, he suggested, Iron Man's current success is proof that a lesser-known character could eventually become a household name, which should provide some hope that Doctor Strange will eventually attain A-list status.

When did Iron Man become a lesser-known character? Hasn’t Iron Man always been considered an A-level character? He has had his own series and been a member of The Avengers not to mention appearances in other titles and appears constantly in Marvel Superhero franchising. What gives?
Asked why Marvel decided to renumber certain comic books such as "Daredevil" with issue #500, Quesada joked: "We're whores, quite frankly." He said that Marvel decided it would be cool to change the numbering as certain titles approached major legacy issues.
I remember that the comic companies decided to start the series over to reach out to new readers who may not be able to find or afford the first issues of their main stay superheroes. The problem was everytime they wanted to spin the character in a new direction or have a new writer come on board they wanted to start the series over again. Collecting has to do with the hunt for what will make your collection complete. If you just want to know the origin stories from the earliest issues, they are reprinted often enough to find them.

The “off the cuff” remarks that are given at conventions, make me real hesitant to attend a panel.

He was A-list to marvel readers. But to the greater public he was not. That is what he means, I believe.

[geordiesteve]

Regarding motion comic books, Quesada said he felt very proud of the success of "Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D." and the upcoming "Astonishing X-Men" motion comic. He informed audience members that there would be a special screening of "Astonishing X-Men" in New York City's Union Square on October 28, 2009. As far as future motion comics go, Quesada said they already have an idea for a couple of other projects.

I can imagine him being proud of the product, because as a motion comic, it looked good (due to the amazing artwork) and the voice acting sounded good, from the very short clips I've been able to watch since I don't live in the USA. It's not for me, but that's a personal thing, I just don't really like motion comics.

However, was it successful? Did it sell equally as well as the paper version? Better? Frankly I suspect we'll never know and they'll never tell, however, as I have stated previously, this experiment was ultimately flawed from the start, so the result will be flawed, since it was only released to American readers via iTunes, and the rest of the world didn't get a look in. The excuses about negotiating with other iTunes in each country is starting to sound a little thin, as weeks on, still no sign of it on UK iTunes. They want fans to have it, so....when?

Let's look at something else, the Guild, a web series, which look, you can buy in other countries straight away! They even did a musical episode and it was available all over! They succesfully negotiated with iTunes in other countries somehow, it must be some kind of miracle! Sarcasm aside, I'm willing to bet, the Astonishing X-men motion comic will also somehow struggle with being distributed around the world.

"Quesada was asked to describe the difference between Marvel Comics and rival publishers. "The way we differentiate ourselves is by not sucking," he said to laughter. On a serious note, he suggested that Marvel's greatest triumph over other companies lies in the publisher's relationship with the fan community. "We consider our fans part of the universe and we're constantly communicating with you guys," he said."

I appreciate that this was an attempt at humour but we've had this kind of response far too often. Other comic companies manage to communicate with the fan community, except, when a serious question is asked, they most often give a serious answer or if they are not able to answer it at that time they indicate that, instead of dodging questions on a regular basis. I'm not buying a lot of what you're shovelling Mr Q.

[Scavenger]

I wonder why Quesada bothers.

I mean, with experts on international commerce like geordiesteve, who is the expert on the serious businesslike ways of all industries, why does he do pannels or answer Q&A's. geordiesteve can answer for him!

[geordiesteve]

I wonder why Quesada bothers.

I mean, with experts on international commerce like geordiesteve, who is the expert on the serious businesslike ways of all industries, why does he do pannels or answer Q&A's. geordiesteve can answer for him!

Bothers with what? Jokey answers to serious questions? Or ignoring questions altogether? Take your pick. If he has no intention of answering questions, why bother going to a Q and A in the first place? So yes, perhaps he should skip a few until he can say Yes, I can talk about X book or Y book now that its further along the development path. Or, the big event will be Z etc.

I haven't said I can answer anything for him. I've made a couple of predictions and everything I've pointed out are legitimate examples and facts. If you can't face the truth, then go somewhere else and pretend everything is fine if it gets you through the day.

On Spider-Woman even if 20% of the sales total came from outside the US, that's still a heck of lot of cash to lose. So why start out on the wrong foot? If you have some facts to prove me otherwise, post them instead of sarcastic comments.

And yes, Marvel are a business at the end of the day, and as an adult who works in business, I can see it from both the fan standpoint and someone who can appreciate their need to make money. Never claimed to be an expert on "serious businesslike ways of all industries".

[deworde]

Did Joe just slam us? “Then we launch a series, and nobody buys it.” Dr Strange was featured in Strange Tales from 110-183 (73 issues), Doctor Strange Master of the Mystic Arts for 81 issues, Strange Tales volume II for 19 issues and Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme for 90 issues not to mention the many guest appearances in various Marvel titles and in three different Defenders series and various mini-series.

Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme ran during a period when DARKHAWK could run for 50 issues. The 90's were weird. And frankly, I don't think any of those series were high on Marvel's quarterly sales.


There are obviously Dr. Strange fans out there who love the character,

Isn't the whole point of JQ's argument that there are, but they're like Quasar and Captain Marvel fans, in that they're very active and vocal, and there are less than 100 of them?


I think it is just the direction certain editors/writers want to take the character that the fans don’t approve of and decide to drop the title then.

While this might be true, compare it to Iron Man for example. While both occupied the same level in terms of "importance", Iron Man's runs sold a HELL of a lot better during any comparable period. And to blame "creator malfunction" would imply that there were sudden massive drop-offs, like Exiles when Claremont took over. There aren't. Doctor Strange comics just start at the low end of the pile and limp towards cancellation.


When did Iron Man become a lesser-known character? Hasn’t Iron Man always been considered an A-level character? He has had his own series and been a member of The Avengers not to mention appearances in other titles and appears constantly in Marvel Superhero franchising. What gives?


This is the issue that DC and Marvel fans perpetually misunderstanding. There is "In-Universe" A-list, which is deals with storytelling, and "Real" A-List, which deals in IP and merchandising. For example:
Green Lantern is a member of the JLA, and has saved the universe, and if you did a straw poll of non-comics readers, you'd be lucky to get 5% awareness that his powers work through his ring, not his lantern.
A lot of the time, Hulk has probably only really been B-List in terms of comics importance (compare to Wolverine or Spider-Man or Nick Fury, who turn up all over the place, crossover or no crossover). But in the outside world, everyone recognises that you won't like him when he's angry. At the same time, Peter David's run is considered fantastically important in terms of continuity, as it re-introduced the concept of a "Grey Hulk", a "Professor Hulk" and all kinds of other developments. And this has had absolutely no effect on the perception of the Hulk in the outside world. He's a scientist who turns into a big strong monster when he gets angry.
John Constantine is massively A-List in terms of the Vertigo universe, and I'm willing to bet that most of the film-going public can't even remember that Keanu Reeves played him. Certainly, the chances that when you say Sandman, they'll think of Gaiman's is LOW.


To get to the point; until Iron Man became box office gold (and who saw that coming?), Tony Stark occupied the "Hal Jordan" position; A-List to comics fans, unknown to everyone else. Look at Hawkeye for a similar example. Marvel's go-to for "rebellious, wild card A-lister", totally irrelevant to the mainstream.


Asked why Marvel decided to renumber certain comic books such as "Daredevil" with issue #500, Quesada joked: "We're whores, quite frankly." He said that Marvel decided it would be cool to change the numbering as certain titles approached major legacy issues.
I remember that the comic companies decided to start the series over to reach out to new readers who may not be able to find or afford the first issues of their main stay superheroes. The problem was everytime they wanted to spin the character in a new direction or have a new writer come on board they wanted to start the series over again. Collecting has to do with the hunt for what will make your collection complete. If you just want to know the origin stories from the earliest issues, they are reprinted often enough to find them.

Well, yes, but the idea was not to allow hard-core fans to have collections starting at issue 1, but to say to newbies "Listen, you don't have to worry about issues #1-#327 of Avengers from Volume 1. You can start with Issue #1 of Volume 2, and if you like it, then you can go back and find out some history. But this is now issue #1, to make it clear you can jump on here." Your mileage may vary, but it had NOTHING to do with collectors, because that wouldn't work. Collectors don't think "Oh well, I can just collect Volume 2, I don't need to worry about Volume 1"


The “off the cuff” remarks that are given at conventions, make me real hesitant to attend a panel.
Firstly, these aren't in any way off the cuff. Off the cuff would be someone posting a comment Quesada made to them in the bar, not the next closest thing to a press release. Secondly, everything else that's bizarre about that statement. Why would you attend a panel if not to hear this kind of stuff?

[deworde]

Let's look at something else, the Guild, a web series, which look, you can buy in other countries straight away!

Erm... The Guild is free online at http://watchtheguild.com straight away. It's actually not for sale until after its first run. It gets distributed by Microsoft's MSN network first, which gives them a lead-in time to deal with distribution rights. Spider-Woman went straight to iTunes.

Also, the Guild is much more focused on growing their product than Marvel, because it's their ONLY product and it's only on the web. Also, they sell less than this will, and they work to a much tighter profit margin. They're less likely to negotiate for a better deal because they need to get it distributed and get paid more than they need the extra money per episode.
Better comparison is Doc Horrible, which I recall took a fair while to get internationally distributed, even with lead-in time. I may be wrong.
Incidentally, if you're a Guild fan, I hope you've tried Legend of Neil, made by Sandeep Parikh (Zabu) and starring Felicia Day as a filthy fairy. Completely different character to Codex, and I think a funnier one.
However, it's about as NSFW as a series can be without actually being classed as porn. Seriously, that fairy is a naughty girl.
http://www.legendofneil.com/


On Spider-Woman even if 20% of the sales total came from outside the US, that's still a heck of lot of cash to lose. So why start out on the wrong foot? If you have some facts to prove me otherwise, post them instead of sarcastic comments.

Frankly, 10%'s probably optimistic, all things considered. Consider that the UK gadget uptake lags a hell of a long way behind the US (take the newspaper industry for example, UK's probably won't take the big hurt we're seeing in the US for at least another 3-4 years). And remember, each distributor is costing you money, so you're making less profit/sale in the smaller markets. They might well be better off waiting for Astonishing, which will have a much larger international fanbase.


I'm not saying Marvel's definitely not dropping the ball on this, they probably are, but it's entirely possible they're better off spending that time elsewhere; getting Astonishing internationally distributed for example.

[geordiesteve]

Incidentally, if you're a Guild fan, I hope you've tried Legend of Neil, made by Sandeep Parikh (Zabu) and starring Felicia Day as a filthy fairy.


Yep, big fan of The Guild and Legend of Neil. Felicia Day is hilarious in both.


Frankly, 10%'s probably optimistic, all things considered. Consider that the UK gadget uptake lags a hell of a long way behind the US (take the newspaper industry for example, UK's probably won't take the big hurt we're seeing in the US for at least another 3-4 years). And remember, each distributor is costing you money, so you're making less profit/sale in the smaller markets. They might well be better off waiting for Astonishing, which will have a much larger international fanbase.

I'm not saying Marvel's definitely not dropping the ball on this, they probably are, but it's entirely possible they're better off spending that time elsewhere; getting Astonishing internationally distributed for example.

We're not that far behind on gadgets to be honest, and we've just seen one of London's biggest newspapers go to a free daily, which was a major shock. It's definitely happening here faster than you realise.

Yeah, you could be right on the percentage but I think it might be higher than you think if you combine all the different countries. The thing is, when Marvel treats the rest of the world like an ugly stepchild, it doesn't speak well for them in the long run. There are literally hundreds of other countries out there, but a blinkered view of comics distribution, and in this case online comics, isn't good for business.

Also, when a top selling book in the charts is maybe 150K copies (when it was a lot more in the recent past) they should be doing their all to get more readers on board, not just selling to the same people and trying to squeeze them for more money. I don't think they (or DC for that matter) are getting enough new readers on board every year, and the transfer from films and TV to comics is just not happening like some people hoped for. So, they should be embracing the international audiences more, creating more books to appeal to a wider international audience (i.e. less superhero books and more in other genres as superhero comics are not the top selling genre in most other countries) that would appeal. For example, I know crime and noir books are very big in Europe, and ok so its not technically a Marvel book, but let's pretend for a second it was, so if Criminal were pushed by Marvel direct, I think it would sell very well.

I think the motion comic distribution plan is one small indicative thing that if they continue as they are, the numbers will continue to come down even further over the next few years. I think they need to change their plan. Not the stories, not the creators, or the writers, artists, or even who is in charge, just how they look at the world. Comics to the rest of the world outside the US doesn't mean American comics. I don't think they get that.

Dozens of countries produce their own comics. Someone posted on here a while back from Spain I think it was or France, where the latest trade or collection of Asterix came out and it had a run of 2 or 3 million copies. This was in the last couple of years too, not the 1990s. When someone like Bryan TaIbot puts out his new book, Grandville, he said he is selling it initially to 8 countries, and the US is just one of them. Small fish, big fish, to be sure, but he's starting out with the right approach.

[deworde]

We're not that far behind on gadgets to be honest
I'm talking about widespread adoption, not what's available. There's nothing over here as destructive as what's happening to the US press.


Dozens of countries produce their own comics. Someone posted on here a while back from Spain I think it was or France, where the latest trade or collection of Asterix came out and it had a run of 2 or 3 million copies. This was in the last couple of years too, not the 1990s. When someone like Bryan TaIbot puts out his new book, Grandville, he said he is selling it initially to 8 countries, and the US is just one of them. Small fish, big fish, to be sure, but he's starting out with the right approach.

This all seems to be about something completely separate to Marvel's Motion Comics. Remember, Marvel does sell internationally. I've picked up Amazing Spider-Man comics in newsagents worldwide. Online comics are a completely seperate issue as well, and a far more complicated one.
And as regards the past, I think there's a terrible tendency to look at the 90's sales and think that was a healthy industry. Sales overall aren't dropping for Marvel, they're just not soaring back up to the ludicrous boom period. There also seems to be a crazy expectation that all film-goers love the characters and will pick up the comics. A £7.00 film ticket will not automatically translate into a monthly subscription to a £3.00 book if for no other reason that 3 issues of the book will be less content for more money.
Finally, comparing Asterix to a serial comic is madness. Asterix is completely different to anything Marvel puts out in type, tone and business model. You might as well say that Marvel should be more like Penny Arcade.