Will the current direction of Amazing Spider-Man succeed?

[Mister Mets]

I asked this on another forum, but I'm curious as to what you guys think.

I understand this is equivalent to asking who you think is going to win the Super Bowl or Best Actor in 2015, but if you had to hazard a guess, where do you think the Spider-Man franchise is going to be in a decade or so?

Will Quesada have been successful in establishing Peter Parker as a never-married bachelor, or will OMD have been undone? If so, how? What type of scheduling would you expect the book(s) to have (one monthly, an almost weekly, several monthly titles, something else, etc?)

[whiteshark]

It have succeeded already.
Have not been enjoying reading so much Spider-Man stories in years.
Would not change anything,the thrice a month format is great.

I just ask for the arc of stories to keep the same artist,other than that no complaints.
So far so good.

[spiderman_rj]

I has suceeded, i have bought the comics again after 6 years hiatus, or how long it took the whole clone saga and aftwards

[classicgmer]

If Marvel is satisfied with where ASM is selling and having Peter single then to them it's going to be a success no matter what.



Now if Marvel is concerned with bringing more significant sales numbers to the book like Joe Q seemed to think the BND direction would I could see them trying a drastic retooling of the book in another 10-15 years.


Personally I think Joe Q knew that making Peter single wasn't gonna bring in hordes of new readers BUT he had to say something other than "I want Peter single" to somewhat justify the change whether he thought it was true or not.

[HULKquist]

Whither goest the movies, goest the book.
The book will always reflect the status quo in the movies, to keep it accessible. If Peter marries in the movie, he'll be married in the book.
I do think OMD will be a blemish on Joe Q's legacy, especially if the readership continues to slide.
I think in a few years, ASM will be a bi-weekly, with a satellite digital title, and that will be the format for years.

[CyberHubbs]

The numbers have improved, so there is something to that. Maybe some people can't stay away.

[oldschool]

Hard to say. The thrice-monthly format, along with the creators thus far, appear to be a success. And they have brought some folks back (while also driving others away). But, like all comics, things must change every so often to keep from going in a rut. While I don't see Peter and MJ married again anytime in the foreseeable future, I can see a different tone for the book and I can also see them as boyfriend/girlfriend again very easily. Not so sure that the movies and comics will always be necessarily reflective of each other.

[HULKquist]

Originally Posted by CyberHubbs

The numbers have improved, so there is something to that. Maybe some people can't stay away.

True. I've come back.

[olympichero62]

I think that the last decade or so has shown that Spider-Man will continue to sell generally well no matter what the story line is because people just love the character Peter Paker / Spider-Man.

I think the franchise will continue to be where it has always been no matter what. There haven't been drastic changes to the numbers no matter what storyline or movie or tv is out. The Spider-Man books will never fail, but they won't be on the New York Times best sellers list either.

[RDMacQ]

I expect that OMD will probably be undone at some point. It's too much of a black eye on the mythos and the character as a whole to just "go away." I also don't think the publishing schedule is going to stick around- a single title being published more than once a month is a nice gimmick for a little while, but I don't think it is sustainable for a long period of time. The title will probably go back to being just Amazing being published once a month, with one or two satellite titles to support it.

[froinlaven]

Originally Posted by HULKquist

Whither goest the movies, goest the book.
The book will always reflect the status quo in the movies, to keep it accessible. If Peter marries in the movie, he'll be married in the book.

Can't say I agree.

The movies follow the books, not the other way around. Peter and Mary Jane were married for years before the movies came out, and in the movies they just on again off again relationship. Yeah, I'll give you the organic webshooters, but I genuinely think that the decision was based solely on the fact that it was something new and to try out, not because they did it in the movies. Afterall, look how long it lasted.

[HULKquist]

Originally Posted by froinlaven

Can't say I agree.

The movies follow the books, not the other way around. Peter and Mary Jane were married for years before the movies came out, and in the movies they just on again off again relationship. Yeah, I'll give you the organic webshooters, but I genuinely think that the decision was based solely on the fact that it was something new and to try out, not because they did it in the movies. Afterall, look how long it lasted.

With Brevoort specifically calling out Spider-Man 2 as "Spider-Man done right" in his Manifesto, I don't know how it's really disputable.

[The Shadow]

Originally Posted by HULKquist

True. I've come back.

And we're glad

[matthewaos]

Can't really say for sure, personally I want someone to restore the continuity. And I will say that I know people who believe that they are going to undo it soon. Though I want to, but I can't believe that there are people who still believe that they are actually going to do it any time soon.
But if they can spell B-E-N R-E-I-L-L-Y on a Spider-Man comic, well, most probably somewhere down the line, they will.

[stillanerd]

I'll just state what I said on the Crawl Space: It's an interesting question to be sure, as none of us really know what the future will bring. And it also depends upon how we define success.

In terms of story, I doubt the current status quo will last precisely because One More Day and it's ramifications have to be addressed sooner or later, and the longer it doesn't, the more it becomes the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Marvel and the braintrust/webheads can't keep having it both ways by telling it's readers to accept the way things are and move forward while at the same time intentionally make references and hints towards what happened as a result of One More Day. And there are indeed too many unanswered questions that are still in doubt after almost two years, such as who is the "we" behind the psychic blindspot and why does MJ still remember? Why didn't Peter and MJ not get married and what eventually caused their break-up? What did MJ whisper to Mephisto? How was Aunt May cured of her gunshot wound? Why does Spider-Man no longer have organic webbing? etc. At the end of the day, I do believe Peter and MJ will remember what reality was before their deal with Mephisto and that they were supposed to be married, which would certainly lead to some awkwardness between them but also decide to give their relationship another try. Sort of like that episode of the 4400 in which Tom Baldwin was in an alternate pocket-universe inadvertently created by Alana, one of the 4400, in which they had a relationship and became married for eight years. When they were back in the real world, each of them still retained their memories, including their love for one another, and so they decided to pursue a relationship for real. I could see a similar outcome happen in this case with Peter and MJ.

Of course, one problem comes from maintaining reader interest over the long term. While one could argue One More Day and Brand New Day, by erasing the marriage and making Peter Parker single again, has created more "drama," it also told the reader that, no matter what happens, Peter Parker will never progress beyond a certain point. So instead of telling one continuous story of Peter Parker in which we watch him develop and "come of age" over time, it instead becomes a series of loosely connected and episodic stories, which runs counter to what Stan Lee envisioned for Marvel Comics and why Marvel's line of comic book superheroes became the popular icons they are today.

In terms of the Amazing Spider-Man three times a month format, obviously it's capable of generating more revenue than having one Amazing Spider-Man title and two or three separate sister titles, but at the cost of fewer readers actually buying the titles. Fewer customers buying more product is usually not a good long-term business strategy, especially in a business which requires not only maintaining a loyal fanbase but also attracting new readers to join that fanbase. Add to this constantly shifting creative team month after month (sometimes week after week), the demands to put out a title almost every week, readers having to technically pay three times as much per month to follow a title as opposed to regular comic books, and retailers unsure how much they have to order per week, then it certainly can be taxing over time. And if Marvel decides to increase the price of Amazing Spider-Man as they have to their other books, then how long will it be before they wind up scaling back on even releasing the comic three times a month?

So while I don't except Spider-Man's marital status to change back anytime soon, I do think Peter and MJ will be back together as a couple (2011 by the latest since that's when the 4th Spider-Man film comes out), and the question of Amazing Spider-Man being three times a month is up in the air. Perhaps Marvel hopes they can keep it up for at least 2012 which will not only include the 700th issue but also the 50th anniversary of Spider-Man as well. At least, ideally.