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box_in_the_box (box_in_the_box) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-05-24 18:38:00

Entry tags:

char: mary jane watson, char: spider-man/peter parker, medium: newspaper comic

NuSpidey status quo: OH SHIT STAN LEE'S GOING ROGUE
Stan Lee to Marvel: "Fuck you, and fuck your retcons."

Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources >> Fan letters save Spider-Man’s marriage — in the comic strip

At the beginning of the year, the Spider-Man newspaper strip received a bit of a makeover that brought it in step with comic book continuity. Echoing “Brand New Day,” the strip reverted Peter Parker to an unmarried student living with his Aunt May. Mephisto not included, it was just an abrupt change to the status quo.

“In keeping with the new Spider-Man story line at Marvel Comics, we, too, are going back to Spidey’s roots. He’s single, and attending college. Now let the surprises begin!” the editors wrote back in January.

Well, surprise! — fans of the strip weren’t very happy with the change. The editors have decided to “bow to your letters” and return the strip to the previous set-up. Writing off the last few months as a dream, Peter Parker woke up today to find his wife, in a Dallas-style homage, getting ready to shower:

Read the entire strip — and humorous commentary — over at The Comics Curmudgeon.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

- ha.

Everyone, thank

tetsuo_great for alerting me to this. :)

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besamim
2009-05-24 10:09 pm UTC (link)

A serious reply to my very obviously tongue-in-cheek comment? Whoa.

Kidding aside, with your "willing to bankrupt their companies" turn of phrase, I think you're forgetting that the complainers about BND and Final Crisis and whatnot are not the majority of people who buy the comics. If no one were buying them the publishers would either change direction or go under. But clearly lots of people are buying them. Enough to make the EICs feel they can diss those who don't like the stories. Comic books are a business, and the publishers couldn't care less whether everyone likes their product, or most people, or half, or 40%...as long as people continue buying enough for them to make a profit.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

box_in_the_box
2009-05-24 10:28 pm UTC (link)

If everyone loves the shit out of the current state of superhero comics so goddamn much, then why were March's sales the lowest they've been in EIGHT YEARS?

And don't tell me it's exclusively the economy, either, because a 22-year-old superhero comic book starring characters nobody outside of fandom has ever heard of just spent A FULL YEAR sitting at the top of nearly every "real" book sales list.

To my mind, superhero comic books have become like the current Republican Party - there are moderates, who prefer less crossovers and sales stunts and retcons (in fandom), and less demonizing of enemies and religious extremism (in politics) ... and then, there are the die-hards, who PREFER stupid line-wide "events" and sensationalistic nonsense that "changes the characters forever" (in fandom), and who PREFER turning every debate into a holy crusade and every opponent into the antichrist (in politics).

And what's happening right now is, thanks in PART to the economy, both the GOP and the Big Two publishers are losing their moderates in DROVES, as a direct RESULT of satisfying their die-hards. Of COURSE, the REMAINING comic book readers, and the REMAINING GOP voters, are more supportive of the current state of affairs, but THEY are the REASON that their respective audience pies are SMALLER.

The people who LIKE what Quesada and DiDio have done are NOT the majority of comic book readers - rather, they are merely the majority of REMAINING comic book readers, and Marvel converted to a thrice-monthly ASM because it KNEW that a majority of readers DIDN'T want BND, so they're now relying on LESS THAN HALF their previous readers to buy ALMOST AS MANY issues, just to remain at the SAME profit level (which, by the way, they're STILL failing to do).

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-05-24 10:37 pm UTC (link)
	and your post is supposed to indicate you're a "moderate"? :/ (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

box_in_the_box
2009-05-24 10:46 pm UTC (link)

Yes, actually, because unlike a lot of fans, who buy based on favorite characters, favorite creators and favorite companies, even when those fans themselves admit that the CONTENT ITSELF is not very good, there is NO character, creator or company which results in an AUTOMATIC purchase from me.

And in that respect, I have much more in common with "civilian" readers than most of fandom does, because most of fandom operates off the notion that you have to justify NOT buying comic books, whereas the outside world is STILL indifferent enough that they need REASONS TO BUY.

With moderates, the obligation is placed on the PUBLISHERS, to SELL their works. With die-hards, the obligation is placed on THE FANS THEMSELVES, to "give this book a chance, because it DESERVES it."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-05-24 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, your calm and well-reasoned post in which every tenth word is highlighted certainly convinces me of your objective and rational viewpoint. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	box_in_the_box 2009-05-24 10:59 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, because your witty dismissal of my capitalization is somehow an effective rebuttal to the ARGUMENTS that I actually made. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Mod hat. rabican 2009-05-24 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	Box, I've asked cmdr_zoom to stop; meanwhile, please don't respond to people being rude to you by escalating the situation - drop us an e-mail. That's what we're here for! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Mod hat. box_in_the_box 2009-05-24 11:57 pm UTC (link)
	I didn't think my comments qualified as an escalation. I'm sorry. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Mod hat. rabican 2009-05-25 02:42 am UTC (link)
	It's okay, just so you know for the future. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Mod hat. rabican 2009-05-24 11:54 pm UTC (link)
	Ahem. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2009-05-24 11:44 pm UTC (link)
	I haven't fully read this whole thread, so I'm not really sure why all of the participants seem so angry, but I agree with this comment. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	besamim 2009-05-24 10:38 pm UTC (link)
	No need for all the capital letters; I can hear you just fine all the way over here. Seriously, people get so worked up over this...if you don't like a comic, read another one. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-05-24 10:46 pm UTC (link)
	I get the feeling that it's not about liking it or not, it's about whether the OP gets to be Right. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	box_in_the_box 2009-05-24 10:47 pm UTC (link)
	And since I AM right, that works out well. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Mod hat. rabican 2009-05-24 11:53 pm UTC (link)
	Let's not make it personal. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	box_in_the_box 2009-05-24 10:48 pm UTC (link)
	You asked the question. (Reply to this) (Parent)

janegray
2009-05-25 09:08 am UTC (link)

if you don't like a comic, read another one.

It's not that simple.

If you have been reading a comic for a long time, if you have been loving it for a long time, then you are emotionally invested in it. And if you are emotionally invested in something, you can't easily ditch it and move on when it goes So Bad It's Horrible, there is going to be at least some amount of regret and bitterness.

It doesn't help at all that Marvel has been extremely hostile and outright insulting to fans about this, and that their reason for making the comic go bad in the first place is ludicrous ("You want Spidey to stay married? Next you'll want him to grow old and die!", and the idea that the average comic book reader would identify perfectly with a 30-year-old immature loser who can't get any and who can't keep a job and who still lives with his aunt). That kind of attitude can easily turn regret and bitterness into anger.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	q99 2009-05-25 06:53 pm UTC (link)
	-And don't tell me it's exclusively the economy, either, because a 22-year-old superhero comic book starring characters nobody outside of fandom has ever heard of just spent A FULL YEAR sitting at the top of nearly every "real" book sales list.- What book is that, btw? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	box_in_the_box 2009-05-25 06:57 pm UTC (link)
	Watchmen. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	khamelea 2009-05-25 01:44 pm UTC (link)
	"Enough to make the EICs feel they can diss those who don't like the stories." I still think that it's an aberration that they actually act out on that capacity to the degree that they do. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	besamim 2009-05-26 12:40 pm UTC (link)
	Agreed. Whether or not they can get away with it sales-wise, it's immature of them. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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