Marvel could learn something from Stan Lee!!

[The Sword Is Drawn]

Unless I'm mistaken, Marvel is still publishing fewer books than at this time last year.

Fewer ongoing titles, yes. But more overall issues of each across the year. Nt really any change.

[nosocialize100]

I miss the days when Marvel acted like they liked their fans... It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, talk about how loyal the fans are, and the fans will be more loyal.

Instead of just telling us that we're anonymous nobodies who just want them to fail... That self-fulfilling prophecy doesn't work out well for them...

Steve Jobs famously said, "the customer doesn't know what they want. Show them." I think that's what Marvel is doing these days.

[finfangfool]

I've had around 20 titles I've really enjoyed (like top 5 on my pull-list enjoyed) get cancelled in the last 3 or 4 years, so while I may just be unlucky I'd rather they keep publishing as many titles as they like so long as the ones I'm enjoying a lot (right now Avengers Academy, Thunderbolts, and Scarlet Spider are top 7 or 8 for me, and none are blockbuster sellers) stay uncancelled. I'll even take a name change with a cheap "Avengers" them on my Thunderbolts, as well as the inclusion of a group of characters I have zero or less than zero interest in for half the book as long as it continues with the part I enjoy (and when I think back to the days of the Busiek 'bolts, I remember that I had zero interest in the Masters of Evil and hated any and all Zemos and have done a 180 on both since).

[RDMacQ]

Steve Jobs famously said, "the customer doesn't know what they want. Show them." I think that's what Marvel is doing these days.

It doesn't mean that one has to be a dick about it, though.

[nosocialize100]

It doesn't mean that one has to be a dick about it, though.

How are they being dicks about it? I'm not saying you're wrong just curious.

[David Walton]

If that Bullpen Bulletin is from the mid to late 70s, I understand it was a horrible time for comics quality. Marvel increased prices, cut the page count but numbered the ads to make it seem as though they hadn't, and switched to piss poor paper grade. I wasn't around then, but I recall reading this in one of Gerard Jones' book on the history of comics.

I think Marvel's found a pretty healthy balance between franchises that can sell pretty much any book attached to them and lower selling cult favorites.