Would you prefer is an event is told SOLELY through tie-ins?

[Joe Acro]

The only way I can think of to manage the proposed concept is to do something like Annihilation. Except you'd leave the story within the minis and not pool them together into an event mini.

[Wellman]

I sort of get where you are going but at best that would be a sort of series tie in, rather then a legit event. You could easily have the tie ins expand on what is going on aside from the outside conflict (IMO the best example would be Avengers: The Initiative Secret Invasion tie in) and the drama but if you focus solely on that stuff it isn't really an event.

I do think most tie ins should take that type of format on how they present their stories but I can't see that as a legit event if everything takes a side view of the event itself.

Yeah, too bad those are the exception instead of the rule these days.

Actually that is incorrect. Marvel has been doing inter title crossovers a lot within the last year and a half. It started as just something the X-books would do for events (with Schism being the sole exception before AvX) and has since spread to other books, such as the recent Exiled event, Venom: Circle of Four was originally supposed to be such before it was decided to just do it inbetween issues of Venom 14 and 15 and even Spider Island was in this mold save they added a bunch of unnecessary tie ins outside of Amazing Spider-man and Venom being the only books necessary.

If that is what you mean with events happening within ongoings that may or may not cross over, I can see some benefit to some of the smaller events, but the big ones like AvX or what Fear Itself was supposed to be should have their own mini for the main action and the tie ins should be supplemental but not just where story beats introduced in the mini go to be resolved all the time.

[XPac]

If the "event" hijacks a current on-going story without a good reason . . . if the "event" forces you to buy books you don't want to read just so that the titles you do read will make any sense . . . then those events should not occur.

And is there any possibility Marvel could have a whole year without any mega-event?

Crossovers between two titles for an issue or so would be okay, but these friggin' event after event after event runs are annoying.

But the thing is, the books that events often hi jack are the ones that benefit the most from events.

Events typically generate sales bumps... and for books that are struggling to get readers that's gives them a fighting chance.

Something like Avengers or X-Men or Spider-Man can opt to skil an event if the author feels like it... they can just get a seperate mini if marvel feels the need for it. FF for example didn't tie into Fear Itself. Spider-Man didn't tie into Secret Invasion. Heck, Bendis didn't even bother tying New Avengers into House of M, and that was his event.

Something like Black Panther needed all the help it could get, so you can bet it allowed itself to be hijacked whenever possible.

[Sewersaint]

Originally Posted by DanielFlat
"If the "event" hijacks a current on-going story without a good reason . . . if the "event" forces you to buy books you don't want to read just so that the titles you do read will make any sense . . . then those events should not occur.

And is there any possibility Marvel could have a whole year without any mega-event?

Crossovers between two titles for an issue or so would be okay, but these friggin' event after event after event runs are annoying."

But the thing is, the books that events often hi jack are the ones that benefit the most from events.

Events typically generate sales bumps... and for books that are struggling to get readers that's gives them a fighting chance.

Something like Avengers or X-Men or Spider-Man can opt to skil an event if the author feels like it... they can just get a seperate mini if marvel feels the need for it. FF for example didn't tie into Fear Itself. Spider-Man didn't tie into Secret Invasion. Heck, Bendis didn't even bother tying New Avengers into House of M, and that was his event.

Something like Black Panther needed all the help it could get, so you can bet it allowed itself to be hijacked whenever possible.

I agree with DanielFlat, can Marvel give us a break from the constant mega-event. Does anybody get excited when they hear the announcement of the next one?

Yes Black Panther needed help to get sales but the crossovers didn't help that. If we know tie-in comics get a boost during an event then I'm sure the bean-counters at Marvel know and would record it appropriately. It's not like Fear Itself happened and Marvel said "geez, Black Panther is doing ok, we better keep publishing it." I'm guessing it went more like "Well, Black Panther sales dropped back to (or below) pre-event numbers when the event ended, maybe we should think about cancelling it." And what kind of help did Black Panther get? David Liss(?) had created a villain in his first story arc and we got like 2 issues of Black Panther (with an assist from his wife) dealing with this new villain before suddenly it's Tie-in time. Then after Fear Itself we get some more issues that are going in a particular direction before Oops time for Spider Island, what the hell? I think events hurt Black Panther more than helped.

[Will.S]

I think that was their first ever company wide cross over, wasn't it?

I definately think there were more tie-ins there than were needed.

There definitely were but didn't Secret Wars II use the tie-ins from other books like Avengers and Fantastic Four to carry out the story?

But the thing is, the books that events often hi jack are the ones that benefit the most from events.

Events typically generate sales bumps... and for books that are struggling to get readers that's gives them a fighting chance.

Something like Avengers or X-Men or Spider-Man can opt to skil an event if the author feels like it... they can just get a seperate mini if marvel feels the need for it. FF for example didn't tie into Fear Itself. Spider-Man didn't tie into Secret Invasion. Heck, Bendis didn't even bother tying New Avengers into House of M, and that was his event.

Something like Black Panther needed all the help it could get, so you can bet it allowed itself to be hijacked whenever possible.

This was true for a while but Fear Itself definitely succumbed to the law of diminishing returns given that the tie-ins didn't get significant bumps outside of maybe the Avengers related books which is why I think they dialed down the tie-ins for AvX. I'm not 100% sure how a title like Black Panther sold with the Fear Itself/Spider-Island tie-ins but I can't imagine them being too impressive.

[XPac]

There definitely were but didn't Secret Wars II use the tie-ins from other books like Avengers and Fantastic Four to carry out the story?


This was true for a while but Fear Itself definitely succumbed to the law of diminishing returns given that the tie-ins didn't get significant bumps outside of maybe the Avengers related books which is why I think they dialed down the tie-ins for AvX. I'm not 100% sure how a title like Black Panther sold with the Fear Itself/Spider-Island tie-ins but I can't imagine them being too impressive.

AxX definately bucks the trends. Really the only books it ties into are Avengers and X-Men. Neither of which particularly benefit from the event. If fact, given that people atypically end up buying more books and spending more money in events, this particular event may end up hurting the lower selling books a bit. Ah well.

[jackolover]

I just read Siege without reading the main book or the prelude either, and you know what struck me? I read everybody elses perspective on this, except Norman Osborns. That's what you miss if you leave out the main book. It's like reading the Dark Reign, and Osborn is not included - it just doesn't work. Norman Osborn was such a big part of the Dark Reign and the story of the Attack of Asgard, that it felt hollow not allowing Norman's story from the main book to give us all his emotions and his decisions as he makes them. There were some interesting precursors, to the Avengers Academy, Luke Cage saying before the fight he'd walk in the park if they survived, Loki saying he had a plan for his end game when he gets killed, (so I am still suspicious that kid Loki is just a faint), and Quicksilver being on the edge of discovering Wanda when he visited the Gypsy's of Wandagore, and was called back to the fight. Osborn and Hill still think that all the super people and monsters are going to cause the end of the Earth when some being confronts the mutants and tears the Planet apart.

It is worth reading an Event without the main book, because you have less distraction and you notice more of what's going on in the periphery than what you thought. But the main book for Siege at least, had the benefit of Osborns perspective, as he descended into madness.

[Chiasm]

So you'd like a crossover that basically amounts to the "Zeppo" episode of Buffy, where the big story is never shown and all we see are side adventures of minor characters?

That actually was my first ever episode of Buffy and it hooked me. I think it would make an interesting perspective from a comic book sense wise. Then again what does the Buffy creator, Joss Whedon, know. He hasn't done anything even remotely successful when it comes to comic books or movies.

[skyvolt2000]

But the thing is, the books that events often hi jack are the ones that benefit the most from events.

Events typically generate sales bumps... and for books that are struggling to get readers that's gives them a fighting chance.

Depends on the book in question. Some books that got hijacked by big events never got to complete the intended story. Because they didn't like the roster if it was a team book. See Dwayne McDuffie's JLA and Teen Titans 2006-10. There was a plan for JLA with the big three leaving and eventually returning. Never got to see it with fans going ape on the roster.

If you want to do a event via a regular series. Let 1 creative team do all the books involved and the regular team for the book work on the aftermath issues. If you are doing a new series form that event-do a one shot (with that 1 creative team) before the series starts up.

[Imraith Nimphais]

I would actually prefer it if the Event story was kept to its own separate book. So that...
1: It does not derail wotever ongoing plot that is being written in the "parent/secondary" titles.
2: It would be quite easy to ignore it entirely if it's not a well-written/well-illustrated event. (And people would not have to drop their beloved titles for the duration of the event itself).

Of course...this is only my wish. Unfortunately, it does not mesh with Marvel's plans at all...which is to flood the market with as many books/titles as part of the event so that they can fleece you dear people of as much as your hard-earned cash as they possibly can. (Quality story/writing/art be bloody damned!)