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| Great as they are, they could be greater. |
Dear Marvel,
Sorry, I already admitted that DC was my favourite, but if
it’s any consolation, you’re what got me started on comics. I remember buying
an issue of Wolverine when I was
nine, and feeling like I was holding pure gold- and this was the notorious 90s.
The first graphic novel I ever read was the first volume of Ultimate Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider Vol. 1: Life After Death.
So yes, while DC is my favourite, I have a deep love for Marvel’s work.
That said, there are some things I really hope to see from
you. Call it my wishlist, if you will, I did the same thing with DC yesterday,
but if my favourite publisher has things I think they could do better, so do
you.
Lower the prices
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| One day, I'll have enough money for either this or the Inhumanity Hardcover. |
$US4.99 is too much for a portion of a story. $20.00 is too
much for a trade paperback that only contains five issues. To illustrate my
point, a DC TPB, relatively new, costs around 17-19 dollars. It contains six
issues, on average and often some preliminary sketches along with full-page
variant covers. The best-value trade paperback I ever bought had to be Superman Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and
the Men of Steel. It contained 8 issues, back-up stories and sketches with
commentary from the creators.
In a Marvel trade, however, I get five issues (one or two of
which are sometimes taken from another series… infinite comics Guardians of the Galaxy… urgh!), and
some variant covers, usually 2-4 covers a page. Yes, I know, you’ve put in all
that stuff with the AR app- but an electronic addition that rarely works doesn’t
justify the pricetag. Lower the price, plain and simple.
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| Oh, Great, I thought to myself. There goes my favourite Marvel book... |
Stop the guest-stars
thing.
I’m glad Wolverine’s dead; at least for a little while. He’s
appeared in way too many books that weren’t his to appear in and when it’s
happened, you could often count that particular title as dead to rights.
So here’s my suggestion; don’t bring us a new Wolverine. I
would be just as irritated, possibly more, if you started having Thor, Captain
America, or (and I’m gonna go underline this one) Iron Man appearing in
every book as a way to temporarily inflate sales. It doesn’t fix anything and
tends to disappoint readers.
Care about your non-cinema
properties
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| I know this makes Kevin Feige cry, but seriously? |
I don’t think you cancelled Fantastic Four to spite FOX- that’s ridiculous. I think you
cancelled it because you don’t care about it anymore. You can’t make highly
lucrative movies based on the characters, so there seems to be little point in
continuing the series. And sure, dwindling sales make cancelling a title a
little easier too; you have something to blame other than the fact that, face
it, your focus isn’t so much on the comics these days.
I mean, how else could you justify having, by my count, nine
titles with the word “Avengers” in it since the beginning of Marvel NOW!? I
know, X-Men have just as many, but the concept of the X-franchise lends itself
to multiple books. All of these Avengers teams- that aren’t even in different
locations- are there for one reason, and one only: Avengers is making money in Hollywood.
It’s time to care about all of your titles. Care only about
your movie properties and you’ll alienate a large portion of your fanbase.
Diversify your
creative teams
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| Looking diverse is different to being diverse. |
Yay, a black Captain America!
Yipee, a female Thor!
Both books are written by white males!... wait…
You really want to reach non-whites and non-males? Hire more
of them! It’s that simple. I’m not even gonna write anything more on that.
Stop sexualising
characters
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| Sad part is: this is the covered-up version of this character. |
Read my open letter to DC here. That gives the sum of it,
but if you want specifically Marvel examples, that Milo Manara cover for
Spider-Woman was kinda disgusting. The costumes for Magick and Emma Frost in Uncannny X-Men aren’t exactly hallmarks
for gender equality and there should NEVER have been the swimsuit covers.
And, yes, you sexualise men too- Chris Hemsworth’s abs have
nothing to do with Thor’s story, nor does Captain America need to be shirtless
at any time. This is not to say that the sexualisation of women is therefore
okay just because men are sexualised. Actually, it means the exact opposite.
Stop sexualising people and just write compelling characters, dammit!
So there you go; here’s to what’s hopefully a great 2015,
and all the best, Marvel!
Sincerely,
Tom
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