CBR: Axel-In-Charge - Sep 23, 2011

[CBR News]

With Marvel's latest wave of events about to wrap, Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso talks about character a the heart of "Schism," solo titles spinning from "Fear Itself" and the issue of prices and page counts.


Full article here.

[turtlefood]

"It's no secret that we have to put out books that sell -- our job security hinges on it -- but we also want to produce diverse material. I mean, if all we were looking to do was make money, we'd only back winning horses -- core titles like Avengers and X-Men -- we wouldn't even try stuff like the CrossGen initiative or, say, "DeadpoolMAX." That said, our ability to publish lower-circling titles hinges upon our ability to put together a well-balanced publishing plan, and to manage the costs of those books so they stay viable. If shaving "DeadpoolMAX" down to 20 pages allows us to keep the book afloat, and to keep two talented and worthy guys like David Lapham and Kyle Baker working, that's something we'll consider doing. It's up to readers to decide it they want to buy it."

The truth rears its head again. It's time to move on from 20 pages anger, either buy it or don'ttttttt. But notify me when they are 19 pages because i'm still curious :P

[Jackraow21]

I'm extremely interested in whatever Marvel's next big event is right now and can't wait until they start teasing it. The 'Avengers: X-Sanction' mini sounds awesome and should be a great first act for this event IMO.

And, while 'Schism' has been good so far, 'Fear Itself' has been underwhelming in my view. And 'Children's Crusade' reads like "fan-wank" to me (in that it only seems to serve to redeem the Scarlett Witch and not tell a coherent or interesting story; too mired in past continuity / minutiae for my taste and feels like a mid-90s X-title or something). I'm looking forward to getting past these events so we can get on to the next thing which sounds much more interesting to me personally.

A fractured mutantkind (with one team of X-men that is a scary group of powerhouses and the other being more of a misfit crew), the Avengers, Cable and Hope = recipe for one badass Marvel U event in my view. But I've always been a huge X-men fan, so perhaps it's just my excitement over them finally being back in the spotlight and smack dab in the middle of a big Marvel wide event. Regardless, can't wait to find out more. And also can't wait for 'X-Sanction'!

[Sabrewulf]

Im glad Nick Lowe is such a big New X-Men fan. Maybe he can explain why their title that sold well was cancelled and now they are resigned to wallpaper staus.

As for Cyclops, well done Marvel for taking yet another character and making him completely unlikeable. Iron Mans a traitor, Caps a coward and pretty incompetent and Cyclops is now threatening to kill humans. Is there any wonder I can't stand picking up most of your books. The heroes are meant to be just that.

So Is Brubaker back on Secret Avengers despite admiting it was a bad fit for him?

Alonso: The writer of any core title knows that there'll be stretches where he's doing his own thing -- which is most of the time -- and moments when he's called upon to be part of something larger. And he knows that the title he's writing will benefit from this. Sales figures show that fans look forward to the occasional "summer blockbuster" that brings all the characters together for a story with universe-wide ramifications. It's because they support these things that we give it to them.

I think DC have proven that thats the lazy way out. Wash and repeat. People are bored. Fear Itself was poor and you need to start doing your job and coming up with something more than treading water.

A few months ago I picked up 4 Marvel books and no DC books. This month 30 DC books and 3 Marvel books. If even a handfull of fans are doing the same tell me you are maximising on sales potential.

I've got the money give me something I want to buy that doesn't make me long for what a great company Marvel used to be.

[Jackraow21]

So...the answer is a heavily marketed line-wide reboot? You are ridiculous. GTFO.

[Sabrewulf]

So...the answer is a heavily marketed line-wide reboot? You are ridiculous. GTFO.

Yeah what was I thinking that would enver work. Go Marvel. Events! Events!

[Obregon Kaine]

Alonso: Hey, if a comic book doesn't hold up to expectation, that's because it wasn't an enjoyable reading experience -- doesn't matter if it's 21 pages or 23 pages. That said, it is impossible to have a one-size-fits-all mold for the entire line.


Cop-out.


I'm not paying $4 for a 20-21 page book.

The majority of DC's books are $3 and the DC relaunch has been too good for me to pay $4 for a Marvel book. Image keeps most of their books at $3 too and they have some outstanding books too.

And Marvel has all of their main books at $4 and I have decided not to buy them any more.

[Sighphi]

"It's no secret that we have to put out books that sell -- our job security hinges on it -- but we also want to produce diverse material. I mean, if all we were looking to do was make money, we'd only back winning horses -- core titles like Avengers and X-Men -- we wouldn't even try stuff like the CrossGen initiative or, say, "DeadpoolMAX." That said, our ability to publish lower-circling titles hinges upon our ability to put together a well-balanced publishing plan, and to manage the costs of those books so they stay viable. If shaving "DeadpoolMAX" down to 20 pages allows us to keep the book afloat, and to keep two talented and worthy guys like David Lapham and Kyle Baker working, that's something we'll consider doing. It's up to readers to decide it they want to buy it."

The truth rears its head again. It's time to move on from 20 pages anger, either buy it or don'ttttttt. But notify me when they are 19 pages because i'm still curious :P

That "truth" was the same "truth" they gave us for the rise to 3.99,
It was to save 2.99 books.

And what happened to the page number being arbitrary?
Apparently they are definitely not.

[rogerio]

A.W.E.S.O.M.E. artwork by Butch Guice!

[Sabrewulf]

Alonso: Hey, if a comic book doesn't hold up to expectation, that's because it wasn't an enjoyable reading experience -- doesn't matter if it's 21 pages or 23 pages. That said, it is impossible to have a one-size-fits-all mold for the entire line.


Cop-out.


I'm not paying $4 for a 20-21 page book.

The majority of DC's books are $3 and the DC relaunch has been too good for me to pay $4 for a Marvel book. Image keeps most of their books at $3 too and they have some outstanding books too.

And Marvel has all of their main books at $4 and I have decided not to buy them any more.

See this is the thing. Marvel raised the price because they could. No other reason no matter what anyone says. See then there wasn't much competition. DC dropping their prices didnt do much for the stale books on offer.

Now is a different matter. I also don't think the DC thing is a flash in the pan. Im going to picking up 20 DC books where as before I got none. No matter what DC sales figures arent going to srop back to what they were before.

Plus this wouldnt have worked half as well if their books had been $3.99.

I give it until January before Marvel drop their books to $2.99. Im tired of paying for what I assume is overinflated wages for architects and exclusives.

Right now there's a hell of a lot of writers at Marvel that I wish weren't on exclusives and would go write some actually good comics over at DC which just seemed to be short about 10 good writers to make their relaunch perfect. Gage, Van Lente, Slott, Remender, Aaron, PAD, Kyle and Yost, Carey. Leave Marvel to Bendis and Fraction. You can do better.

[Jackraow21]

Yeah what was I thinking that would enver work. Go Marvel. Events! Events!

If they do that everyone will just scream that they're copying DC (including you, no doubt). Plus, much like events, it'll just provide a short-term bump and then sales will level off again. I really don't think DC's reboot is going to bring in new readers for the long haul. They may pick up some casually interested folks (especially with Jim Lee on Justice League), but I don't think it's going to dramatically change the industry or bump readership back up to early 90s levels.

DC's reboot is a gimmick, and not one that I'd like to see Marvel employ. Instead they should focus on making their events better and their stories accessible without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

As for Iron Man being a traitor and Cap being a coward and all that...I just have to laugh, man. Relax and stop taking this stuff so seriously. If you don't like the way they were handled in a particular event or comic then ignore it. It's not like they reference it in every comic, so forget about it and move on. Cap is still being Cap in his current monthly series, and so is Iron Man. That's the beauty of ongoing serials. Everything reverts to status quo eventually, so if you don't like a particular change that's okay. It'll go back to the way it was soon enough. Hell, not only is Steve back, but he's in his classic costume and just as preachy and condescending as ever. He's back to form, buddy.

[iron mind]

This page count thing just goes in circles.

If you want to shave Deadpool MAX down to 20 pages...go ahead, but shave the price down to $2.99. I'd still happily buy it. If you want to cut the pages and keep the price though, I'll stop. I don't see how that keeps the book afloat as I'm sure I'm not alone in this sentiment.

[Sabrewulf]

If they do that everyone will just scream that they're copying DC (including you, no doubt). Plus, much like events, it'll just provide a short-term bump and then sales will level off again. I really don't think DC's reboot is going to bring in new readers for the long haul. They may pick up some casually interested folks (especially with Jim Lee on Justice League), but I don't think it's going to dramatically change the industry or bump readership back up to early 90s levels.

DC's reboot is a gimmick, and not one that I'd like to see Marvel employ. Instead they should focus on making their events better and their stories accessible without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

As for Iron Man being a traitor and Cap being a coward and all that...I just have to laugh, man. Relax and stop taking this stuff so seriously. If you don't like the way they were handled in a particular event or comic then ignore it. It's not like they reference it in every comic, so forget about it and move on. Cap is still being Cap in his current monthly series, and so is Iron Man. That's the beauty of ongoing serials. Everything reverts to status quo eventually, so if you don't like a particular change that's okay. It'll go back to the way it was soon enough. Hell, not only is Steve back, but he's in his classic costume and just as preachy and condescending as ever. He's back to form, buddy.

I think your wrong about DC, I think a new bar as been set.

I wouldnt want Marvel to do a reboot.But I wouldnt hate a relaunch and a focus on individual titles. Before that happened though they would have to rethink their creative teams, editorial teams and most likely who is running things.

I don;t mean to be argumentative here. I get what your saying about Cap and Iron Man. Still I would never pick up a Fraction book again. The guy can write obviusly but his plotting is uninteresting. Sa,e goes for Cap. I get Brubaker is a great writer. He worked well at DC but I've always seen Marvel books as more fun. Brubaker like Hickman and possibly Aaron are good writers but they lack the fun and imagination I expect from Mavel.

Honestly I dont not buy MArvel books to make a point. Id rather buy Marvel books than DC but right now given the choice Im enjoying DC's books a hell of a lot more than Marvels.

Tell me what at Marvel can compete with Action Comics, Batwoman, Batman, Justice League, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman or even Aquman. Hell it look slikely that Animal Man will outsell Avengers. The quality just isnt there and If im being honest the creators just seem bored of the editorial forced direction.

On the DC board there is something like 50 pages dedicated to Starfires sluttiness. For good or bad. I bet this thread only reaches 6 pages. Marvel are shedding readers because they are losing interest in the characters.

[Jackraow21]

I don't like Fraction either, so I don't read him. But I think Marvel has a lot of quality of stuff out right now too, and more on the horizon. The X-line in particular looks very promising after 'Schism.'

As for the DC reboot, give it a few months. Aquaman and Animal Man won't outsell the Avengers for long. Neither will Wonder Woman, Batwoman or Green Lantern (without some sort of perpetual event like Darkest Night, Brightest Day, etc.). People like reboots and new things, especially with big names attached. That's why the Ultimate line was so hot for years. These days the bumps are smaller and tend to last for shorter durations, so pretty soon DC will be looking at what they can do next to get that bump. Just like Marvel does.

[Matt Spatola]

Yeah he just danced around that page count question didn't he? So what we know is that books need to 'make money' and if dropping the page counts means they 'make money' then that's something they will do. Ok in the example of Deadpool MAX like he used, but how about for Captain America? Or Uncanny X? Or some of the other titles?

He also used the usual it depends on the script excuse, saying that some scripts come in at different lengths, from 20-23 pages. Maybe. But not to the degree we are seeing now.

He really didn't help anything with the way he addressed the question.