Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Andrew from GHMOnline.Com sent this to me before he splits for a well-deserved vacation with the loved ones. Enjoy, Andrew, and we’ll see you back here in a few weeks. Nice one to split on... the latest edition of...
DON’T ASK
By Bill Jemas
Before we get to this Q & A Column, I should clear up a little confusion about the last one.
At the end of the last column, AICN posted a bunch of fake replies that I had written – they were the dumbest and funniest replies I could think up. In a bit of a glitch, the replies were posted in reverse order – but the joke still worked well enough.
The best part was that a few honest, angry, naïve AICN regulars replied to the fake posts with stuff that was funnier and/or remarkably more dumb than anything I could have imagined.
What mask do YOU where to cover up your true identity? Asked in the interest connected to Jungian psychology and the belief that everyone can be a hero.
Bill: I use this photo from when I was a 25-year old tax lawyer for my publicity still in the belief that inside everyone can be a suit.
Who would win in a fight? You, Paul Levitz, Jim Valentino or Mike Richardson?
Bill: Let’s go ringside and peek at the scorer’s cards
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COMIC MARKET SHARE – IN UNITS
(for June 2002, as reported by COMIC & GAMES RETAILER Magazine/includes re-orders)
MARVEL – 47%
DC – 27%
IMAGE – 8%
DARK HORSE – 3%
Mr. Jemas stated in a past column that he does not believe that new readers would be interested in past Marvel continuity, blah blah, and that said continuity would only be for fanboy completists. Or something like that.
What about everybody who just wants to know everything that has happened to characters in the past? Or the fans who've quit for some years (and you know, have lives and raise kids) but come back and want to find out what's been going on?
I hadn't read Spider-man in years before the movie got my comic addiction itching again. So now I'm reading All Things Spider (Amazing, Peter Parker, Ultimate, Tangled, Spidergirl) as well as picking up some trades (Revelations, Revenge, Essentials, Homecoming). (Boy, am I Norman'd out. I'm so glad he's dead at last in Spidergirl)
But I had to delve the internet to find the bloody dirt on the Clone Saga! I tell you, people want to know this stuff!
Bill: Kristen, you seem like a nice woman, please trust me on this one. After reading the Clone Saga, you may be so mad at Marvel that you’ll swear off of Spider-Man.. (Back when the Clone Saga first attacked, just about everybody else did.)
Re: Your Marville comic.
What good can possibly come of this?
Bill: Well, when you visit your local comic shop, you might meet a nice girl like Kristen and get married and get a life.
Are you and Joey giggling all day as you roll naked through your revenue for Origin while thinking how easy it was to give fans anything and they’d eat it up. A bloody period piece? You couldn’t have gone to a more boring time unless you began the true Origin story/prequel while Logan is in utero. Dug the art tho. Any chance for a sequel?
Bill: So Origin could not have been more boring, and you can’t wait for the sequel. Tony, you funny. But listen, in my upcoming Marville series, there is an issue called Originville and I will reveal the god’s honest true Origin of Wolverine – the story that they wouldn’t let me tell.
I am a new Comic Book retailer here in Tempe, Az (Pop Culture Paradise). I am puzzled why retailers are "angry" that Marvel doesn't do 2nd prints??? Have they already forgotten the big JOKE that nearly killed off comic collecting in the 90's....the dreaded gold & silver 2nd prints of books that already had 500k copies? Perhaps retailers are really angry at themselves for not having the ability to pick the winners BEFORE they put in their advance orders! If a book sells out, retailers who know their hobby (and put a few aways as back issue investments) will be able to make extra profit. Also, once books become hard to find and go up in value MORE people get interested in joining the hobby--thus more customers! All the "hot" comics except GI JOE & TRANSFORMERS lately have been Marvel. As a retailer and collector I feel Marvel is superior over DC. Someone took a jab at you stating John Byrne's LAB RATS sold hundreds of copies! That's not impressive....selling THOUSANDS of copies is impressive. I purchased 5 copies of Lab Rats #1 and have sold 1...some of it has to do with me being a new store, but it's obvious that Marvel books look better and sell better. I've noticed even lame characters like Thor are getting excellent artists & writers (Thor #50--the art is very good), keep up the good job MARVEL!
Bill: Welcome to the comic biz and thanks for the kind words. You’re opinions on Marvel, by the way, are perfectly consistent those of most retailers. There are of course a few guys out there who enjoy typing up nasty stuff about Marvel and me. (It’ makes the big fellers happy, and I don’t begrudge them a little joy).
Jemas, I wonder. How does it feel being Joe Q's bitch?
Bill: Dear Mr. Singh
Cough.
So Ron Zimmerman and Duncan Fegrado launch a new Ultimate title [Ultimate Adventures] as part as your Captain Marvel challenge. Wasn’t the rule supposed the be that there would only be 4 Ultimate titles at a time and they’d be used for big events, like when movies were being made of characters, etc. What gives with breaking the format?
Bill: Good question, I hope these are good answers. There will still be only four Ultimates books per month – because the Teamup series has ended.
As Ultimate Adventures you are correct; this is inconsistent with the Ultimates plan. But, Adventures is about a teenage super-hero on a learning curve so the characters will blend easily into the Ultimates Universe, and the stories are very accessible to new readers.
I can’t believe that you are all actually going through with this Captain Marvel contest. The pie in the face and dunk tank are secondary to the fact that you’re relaunching a title, and creating 2 others for the sake of a joke. If the highest selling of the 3 only cracks the top 150 in Diamond does it get to stay? If all 3 break top 10, do they get to continue.
Bill: You wise beyond your years, this competition is wrong-headed and should be cancelled. By the way, I happen to own some swamp (er. Estuary) in Jersey if you’re interested . . . .
So who’s going to ghost write your comic for you?
Bill: Great Caesar.
So what does Bill Jemas do when he’s not running Marvel? What’s in your CD player? Did you see Scooby Doo or Star Wars? Last good book other than a Marvel comic, graphic novels or trade that you read?
Bill: I play with my kids.
Rock & Roll, Audio books,
Took the kids to both movies (by the way liked them both better than any of the Pokemon films).
Greg Rucca’s Queen & Country comics, and Greg Baer’s Darwin’s Radio novel.
Thanks for asking.
What's the deal with this Hardcover stuff? First DC did it to Superman for all Seasons and then Dark Victory, now Marvel's doing it with Daredevil: Yellow, Ultimate Spider-Man, Origin, and eventually, I assume, Spider-Man: Blue. I understand the desire, both of collectors and creators, to present a polished, pretty product, but what about people like me? The reader on a budget. I really want to read Loeb's take on DD's early years, but I honestly can't afford to pay TWICE what it would cost in Trade Paperback Form. I want something I can put on the bookshelf or coffee table, but $30 is more than the last Harry Potter book cost, and it had over 800 pages. I'm much more interested in the quality of the story rather than the quality of the paper or cover. Will you be releasing softcover versions of these titles, or am I just out of luck?
Bill: When you were counting the Harry Potter pages, did you notice that none of them were printed in color on glossy paper?
Anyhoo. Here’s the good news, the current hardcover have been selling very well, which means that Marvel has more flexibility with respect to price and formats. Specifically, (a) right now Marvel is dropping deluxe hardcover prices by $5 (prices vary based on page count, but a book that would have been $29.95 will now be $24.95; (b) starting later this year, hardcover books that have “sold out” will be introduced in a $19.95 format (same content as the deluxe line, with considerably less expensive binding techniques); (c) in time, most of our hard covers will find their way back to paperback.
You guys might have already thought of this by now, but I had an idea... Lot's of big time writers, from Brad Metzer to Michael Chabon, seem to be interested in comics lately. I believe I heard that Stephen King was going to retire from writing novels. Wouldn't this be a good time to approach him about writing a comic book? He loves them, and he's written for Marvel before. Maybe you could at least get a mini-series out of him.
Bill: Mr. King, are you out there?
Disclaimer:
Bill Jemas would like to remind everyone that he will kick butt in the ‘You Decide’ contest and you can help by pre-ordering any and all of the 3 variant covers of his Marville #1
Ron Zimmerman takes a moment to tell you all to check out his column, ‘Stupid Opinions About Stuff’ and to pre-order his entry into the great Captain Marvel debate, Ultimate Adventures. Buy 2 for every one of Bill’s variants that you pass up.
Peter David wouldn’t stoop to this level, but we imagine he’d ask you all to pre-order the all new Captain Marvel #1 (maybe the one with the spiffy Alex Ross cover).
[All three of these titles are available for pre-order in the current Diamond Catalogue]
