CBR: COMMENTARY TRACK: Steve Wacker on "Avenging Spider-Man" #1

[CBR News]

In our latest edition of THE COMMENTARY TRACK, Editor Stephen Wacker joins us for some insight into the key scenes of the first issue of Zeb Wells and Joe Madureira's "Avenging Spider-Man."


Full article here.

[Ari Gold]

This sucks.

Kidding, didn't read it all the way through, but seems like some pretty cool insight.

[pressdarlings]

I cannot wait for this. Joe Madureira's pencils on Uncanny X-Men years ago is what sealed the deal on that book for me. Particularly the issue that solely focused on Spidey and Marrow. This looks amazing.

[DocSpin]

Don't get too used to Madureira on the book-- we will see maybe 3 issues and then a fill-in arc and then he will probably be gone. None of the former big names can do/want to do the monthly grind anymore. But they get big bucks from the publishers on their notoriety. Nonetheless the companies sell comics on their names and expect fans to buy-in for the duration. Bait and switch. This will continue until the fans become more discerning about what they buy into and demand to know how long the artist's run will last. Marvel is just being dodgey on how long Mad will actually stay.

[Joe Franklin]

Joe Mad is awesome!

This being said, his uninked pencils suck in comparison to his inked stuff.

Where's his battle Chasers inker Tom McWeeny when you need him?

[Scavenger]

It looks like my previous comment in this thread was deleted, but as I was commenting about my belief in the shortness of the comic and Stephen Wacker took issue with my comments, I shall repeat what I posted in the other thread here as well.

When I got home I counted up the pages and I was wrong, it is 22 pages long, 24 with the title pages.

Likely the nature of the story and layout made it feel shorter in my memory, but that's an issue with modern comic storytelling, as opposed to the comic having fewer pages or being padded. I apologize.

[CyberHubbs]

Don't get too used to Madureira on the book-- we will see maybe 3 issues and then a fill-in arc and then he will probably be gone. None of the former big names can do/want to do the monthly grind anymore. But they get big bucks from the publishers on their notoriety. Nonetheless the companies sell comics on their names and expect fans to buy-in for the duration. Bait and switch. This will continue until the fans become more discerning about what they buy into and demand to know how long the artist's run will last. Marvel is just being dodgey on how long Mad will actually stay.

Wacker has stated 3-issue arc, fill-in, and then Mad is back later in the year. 8-9 issues out of Mad a year, he predicts.

Also, Mad has a job outside of comics. So this is a treat for his fans.

[prismablue]

It's a bummer that Mad's only doing 3 issues, but it looks great.

[Global Honored]

This book seems to be getting a lot of healthy buzz and good reviews. I shall be picking it up to see what it's all about. Joe Mad's preview art looks fabulous inked or not.

[Genki Sudo]

Also, Mad has a job outside of comics. So this is a treat for his fans.

And it's welcomed

[Shinnos]

It looks like my previous comment in this thread was deleted, but as I was commenting about my belief in the shortness of the comic and Stephen Wacker took issue with my comments, I shall repeat what I posted in the other thread here as well.

When I got home I counted up the pages and I was wrong, it is 22 pages long, 24 with the title pages.

Likely the nature of the story and layout made it feel shorter in my memory, but that's an issue with modern comic storytelling, as opposed to the comic having fewer pages or being padded. I apologize.

I didn't see your previous comment, but I'm thanks for clarifying the page count on this book, as I was wondering with that double-page title page, how many actual story pages were included.

To be honest, this book sounds great. I loved Zeb Wells' Spider-man stories during Brand New Day and Joe Mad's Uncanny X-men was when I started to properly get into buying and reading comics, so the creative team gets a definite thumbs up from me.

BUT I still have an issue with Marvel's $3.99 price point, which prevents me from picking up a lot of their titles that I would otherwise be interested in. And when DC is offering 20 pages of story for $2.99, I just don't feel I should be supporting a company that is charging me an extra dollar for either the same amount or only slightly more, content. (I picked up the recent Wolverine & The X-men #1 because it was $3.99 for 28 story pages, but if the next issue drops down in page size I won't be picking it up).

And all this about being able to download the digital issue for free, as a way of making $3.99 seem like value for money... well if I buy the physical copy of the book, it's probably because i want to read the physical copy of the book. I don't really have any interest of then reading a digital copy of the same book, so that's a mute point for me personally.

Still, that's a gripe at Marvel in general. I'm sure Editorial have nothing to do with the pricing point, and I'll probably pick this up eventually in trade as it does look and sound great!

[wiski]

It's a bummer that Mad's only doing 3 issues, but it looks great.

3 issues at first, more issues later, as stated in the article.

[pedroparkero]

I hope the next artist has the 90s feel like Joe Mad.

Its a good art alternative for those who dont like the art direction of ASM(which i dont)

Its nice to see Steve taking the responsibility if the book is late...given his reputation. most likely Avenging will be on time everytime.

[AnarCHris]

I really wish Joe Mad's pencils were inked for this series. "Avenging Spidey" looks a ton better than "Ultimates 3", but like mentioned aboved, it's not quite on the same level as "Battle Chasers" yet. That being said, it should make one hell of a nice hardcover next year.

[Memphis Raines]

This sucks.

Kidding, didn't read it all the way through, but seems like some pretty cool insight.

How could you not? It only takes about 3 minutes tops to read...