The Comic Book thread

[mikeszekely]

It would have been far more interesting to just have norman kill her. Recycling 20 years of peter stuck at home with aunt may isn't terribly interesting either.

If Norman killed her, that'd just be rehashing when Norman killed Gwen Stacy.

I think the best option would have been a divorce, plain and simple. Some great stories, like Spider-Man: Blue (written when Loeb was still good), have dealt with the fact that Gwen, and not MJ, was really Peter's true love, and a part of him has never gotten over her. We've also seen how much stress it is for MJ to be at home while Peter's out doing the Spider-Man thing. That marriage was doomed to fail.

As for life post-MJ, I think they've actually been pretty careful to avoid sticking him at home with Aunt May. He was sharing an apartment with a cop who's presently in jail, and his current roommate is the cop's sister, whom he got drunk and slept with during Aunt May's wedding.

Edited September 1, 2009 by mikeszekely

[eugimon]

If Normal killed her, that'd just be rehashing when Normal killed Gwen Stacy.

I think the best option would have been a divorce, plain and simple. Some great stories, like Spider-Man: Blue (written when Loeb was still good), have dealt with the fact that Gwen, and not MJ, was really Peter's true love, and a part of him has never gotten over her. We've also seen how much stress it is for MJ to be at home while Peter's out doing the Spider-Man thing. That marriage was doomed to fail.

As for life post-MJ, I think they've actually been pretty careful to avoid sticking him at home with Aunt May. He was sharing an apartment with a cop who's presently in jail, and his current roommate is the cop's sister, whom he got drunk and slept with during Aunt May's wedding.

Actually, they had a great lead in for that story... in House of M, peter's perfect world involved being married to Stacy and he had quiet a hard time dealing with it being fake when he got woke up.

But I think they already did a Peter/MJ split story a while back as well.

[mikeszekely]

Actually, they had a great lead in for that story... in House of M, peter's perfect world involved being married to Stacy and he had quiet a hard time dealing with it being fake when he got woke up.

Totally! I think I'm a minority, but I actually really liked House of M, mostly for its take on Spidey.

But I think they already did a Peter/MJ split story a while back as well.

I don't know... I recall several stories about them getting stressed, but I don't remember MJ leaving, at least not for more than an issue or two.

A previous split would have been just more grounds for a permanent divorce.

And really, with a divorce rate around 50% in the US, a Spidey-divorce could have been a great story. One of the reasons I've always liked Spider-Man more than, say, Batman, is because even though Spidey's got powers and Batman doesn't, it's always been easier for me to relate to Spidey. He's always struck me as one of the more human characters in comics.

[eugimon]

Totally! I think I'm a minority, but I actually really liked House of M, mostly for its take on Spidey.

I don't know... I recall several stories about them getting stressed, but I don't remember MJ leaving, at least not for more than an issue or two.

A previous split would have been just more grounds for a permanent divorce.

And really, with a divorce rate around 50% in the US, a Spidey-divorce could have been a great story. One of the reasons I've always liked Spider-Man more than, say, Batman, is because even though Spidey's got powers and Batman doesn't, it's always been easier for me to relate to Spidey. He's always struck me as one of the more human characters in comics.

I thought House of M was pretty good.. it was when they didn't have the balls to actually stick with the logical fallout of those events that I really decided I had had enough of mainstream comics. It was such a great premise and really shake up the marvel universe. Oh well... and I hear Steve Rogers is coming back too. whatever.

Yeah, I guess you're right, they separated but never divorced and then there was that whole thing if she had actually married the peter clone. Whatever, MJ-less spidey is more interesting but I actually really liked the complete reboot they did in the Ultimate lineup. Just having the devil reset everything seems like way too much of an "FU" to the readers.

[Twoducks]

I think I remember MJ dying in a plane crash once. Had Peter MJ-less for a time (don't know if that made for good stories); then, of course, she returned safe and sound.

[Einherjar]

In the FOX animated series,

everyone thought MJ died in one of the last seasons, but she was really stuck in a dimensional vortex by the Green Goblin. Unfortunately, we only found that out after a clone appeared, married Parker, and disintegrated right in front of him. They never managed to animate them being reunited, but it was still a tearjerker.

[BeyondTheGrave]

The house of M side stories were better than the main story to me. Which is sad. Looking back I used to buy about 6+ series but now its down to about 4. The decisions that the higher ups make to be trendy or original are just stupid.

Ultimatum is proof of it.

I maybe this reboot of the ultimate universe could be good. But they need to bring back most of the heroes some magical way .

[Einherjar]

I maybe this reboot of the ultimate universe could be good. But they need to bring back most of the heroes some magical way

I really hope they don't, because I thought Marvel wanted to get away from mystical elements when they started the Ultimate Universe.

[eugimon]

Disney is buying Marvel Comics!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...sc=fb&cc=fp

[David Hingtgen]

My first impression:

All merchandise pricing is going to go up.

[azrael]

Unfortunately, all the existing licenses remain with their current parties.

What I'm seeing most fans on the 'Net fail to remember is Disney owns Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Miramax Films.

[kanedaestes]

While everyone seems to be focusing on the films or Universal Studios Islands of Adventures, I know most of the people I know are concerned about the comics. I mean can I now pick up a MAX titled Punisher comic at disney? Or even better yet could I pick up at Punisher Figure at disney? A lot of people worry about the controlling aspects of disney. The Weinsteins left for that reason, and then Disney took their studio from them. Miramax is named after their parents. Pixar tried leaving too but Disney wouldn't allow it. Not everyone wants to fall under the umbrella of the mouse. I am sure Marvel had a good reason (to them anyway) for selling to them but I don't entirely trust this deal, and how it will affect all Marvel products.

[TheLoneWolf]

Like azrael said, Disney also owns Miramax Films, a studio that has cranked out several family-unfriendly films. I don't see Disney meddling with Marvel's comic book writers and editors. I think Disney just wants Marvel's extremely lucrative film & merchandising rights.

[mikeszekely]

I am sure Marvel had a good reason (to them anyway)

Yeah. A four billion dollar reason.

[EXO]

I hope they add Wolverine in the Small World Tour... that was getting boring as heck.

[azrael]

I don't see Disney meddling with Marvel's comic book writers and editors. I think Disney just wants Marvel's extremely lucrative film & merchandising rights.

Yeah. Unless Disney becomes extremely heavy handed and peeved with Joe Quesada, I doubt they will get involved with the comics. And on the flip side, The Incredibles will definitely join Marvel's printing line once the license with BOOM! Studios ends.

[-Snowblind-]

Yeah. Unless Disney becomes extremely heavy handed and peeved with Joe Quesada, I doubt they will get involved with the comics. And on the flip side, The Incredibles will definitely join Marvel's printing line once the license with BOOM! Studios ends.

Well, odds are pretty good that there'll be a full on Disney imprint under Marvel, so we'll probably see a few more Disney properties pop up in comic form again.

In the short term it's going to be business as usual. It's the long term Disney creative control creep that I'm worried about. I think Marvel Studios will see the most Disney involvement early on. More family friendly, more mainstream.

[Einherjar]

Yeah. Unless Disney becomes extremely heavy handed and peeved with Joe Quesada, I doubt they will get involved with the comics. And on the flip side, The Incredibles will definitely join Marvel's printing line once the license with BOOM! Studios ends.

You think the Gargoyles comic series could come back as well?

[mikeszekely]

You think the Gargoyles comic series could come back as well?

That would totally make my night.

[azrael]

You think the Gargoyles comic series could come back as well?

That would be up to Marvel. IIRC, a few articles I've read have had Pixar meet with Marvel and as they said, "their eyes lit up". There's definitely an opportunity for Marvel to bring many Disney properties to printed media. It's just a matter of when. The issue is, Disney licensed out a few of their works to other places. Those licenses have to expire for Marvel to put them to use and vice versa. So it's just a matter of finding out who's got what and when they can get it all back.

[Einherjar]

That would be up to Marvel. IIRC, a few articles I've read have had Pixar meet with Marvel and as they said, "their eyes lit up". There's definitely an opportunity for Marvel to bring many Disney properties to printed media. It's just a matter of when. The issue is, Disney licensed out a few of their works to other places. Those licenses have to expire for Marvel to put them to use and vice versa. So it's just a matter of finding out who's got what and when they can get it all back.

I heard the license to the Gargoyles comic book series was not renewed last year by the most recent holders because it was getting too expensive.

[protostar8]

For anyone that hasn't read the news statement posted at Toyark yet, it looks like Hasbro will likely get screwed in 2017 when their contract is up with Marvel. Maybe by then, they can convince Disney that Mattel has no business making kick-ass comic toys and hopefully Disney will help Hasbro with it's new TV channel project.

[EXO]

There have been a number of developments since the initial press release about Disney’s acquisition of Marvel went out. Disney held a conference call with investors that just finished to discuss the deal and while much of it was focused on the financial aspect of the deal – with regards to both current and future opportunities – there were a number of comments concerning publishing and Marvel’s film slate that are of interest. The bullet points are:

Existing licensing and distribution deals should remain where they are.

Disney believes there’s real opportunity with the Marvel catalog of characters and will work on where those opportunities are greatest and how best to leverage them across the existing Marvel and Disney infrastructure.

Disney executives went to great lengths during the call to make the point that they don’t pretend to be more expert than Marvel is in handling their characters, citing the hands-off relationship Disney has had with Pixar since the acquisition of that studio. Disney said Marvel manages the properties from a business perspective very intelligently and trusts them to make the right decisions for these products for a long time to come.

Disney said the deal was attractive not just because they’re buying great characters, stories and brand, but about working with people who know these characters best and how best to work with them in other media.

Again, referencing the Pixar deal, Disney finds working as one company with Marvel removes friction and creates value that’s very compelling. Licensing offers very attractive opportunities, but nothing is better than being one. International expansion of Marvel properties through Disney was cited as a potential growth area.

Cable channel Disney XD is currently running about 20 hours a week of Marvel content and Disney has been looking to license more Marvel content and this deal gives them that opportunity as well as the opportunity to expose these characters internationally.<.li>

With regards to video game publishing, Disney praised Marvel’s licensing agreements with some of the best video game producers and publishers in the business and said moving forward they will consider what’s best for each individual property as each licensing deal comes up for renewal and that there would likely be a blend of licensed and self-produced/self-distributed titles.

With respect to Paramount’s distribution deal with Marvel and the Iron Man franchise, Disney has every intention to respect the deal that’s in place, but noted that it’s in their best interest, overtime, to become the sole distributor of Marvel films.

Will Disney3D be used for Marvel movies? That will be determined by those who are in charge of producing Marvel’s theatrical films.

When asked if there was potential for cross-polination between Marvel and Pixar, Disney said that Pixar’s John Lasseter has met with key Marvel creative executives recently and the group got “pretty excited, very fast.” Disney will look at all opportunities and thinks there are some exciting product that could come from this sort of partnership.

Disney said this deal is expected to benefit Marvel’s retail efforts, being able to leverage Disney’s shelf space and relationships with major chains and distributors.

The deal began when Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger reached out to Marvel Chief Executive Ike Perlmutter earlier this year. Again, Disney noted that they believe in the creative team at Marvel and see no reason to upset that applecart.

Disney has not made any real estate decisions and sees no reason to move Marvel Studios from their headquarters in Manhattan Beach, California. No mention of Marvel Publishing’s offices in New York City was made.

In addition, Marvel Editor-In-Chief twittering this morning and has made some comments on the deal:

“G' morning, Marvel U! Welcome to this moment in history. Everyone relax, this is incredible news and all is well in the Marvel U.”

“Everybody take a deep breath, all your favorite comics remain unchanged and Tom Brevoort remains grouchy.”

“If you're familiar with the Disney/Pixar relationship, then you'll understand why this is a new dawn for Marvel and the comics industry.”

Developing…

[eriku]

Yeah, we should all just relax. As long as nobody makes a fuss we'll all be able to coast into this new dawn of corporate oligarchy as quickly and painlessly as possible.

[azrael]

Yeah, we should all just relax. As long as nobody makes a fuss we'll all be able to coast into this new dawn of corporate oligarchy as quickly and painlessly as possible.

I expect zero fuss about the comics/printed media. If Disney stuck their hands in the Marvel cookie jar, the comic nerds and then some would raise hell about it. Although this does give Quesada more weight when he makes editorial comments like "it's magic". Of course, fans can now say he can stick Tinkerbell's magic wand up where the sun don't shine or what kind of magic pixie dust has he been sniffin'.

I don't expect any problems for at least 10-15 years when expiring licensing agreements start coming into play.

[BeyondTheGrave]

I really hope they don't, because I thought Marvel wanted to get away from mystical elements when they started the Ultimate Universe.

but they killed spider-man by trapping him in a magical creature from dr. strange's house

I don't think Disney will screw with the comic side of marvel too much. They may step in and improve story-lines and writing.

I really want to see a comic movie by pixar.

The only problem i have is that I hope they don't allow Randy Newman to do any music for Marvel's movies.

[Valkyrie addict]

Hello, I'm not an avid comic book reader, I can counts all the comic books I've read on my life with one hand, I hear about this whole Final Crisis stuff and gave it a go and I just gotta say that it's the biggest clusterf*ck mess I've ever read, I mean, damn!!

could someone please explained what was the whole deal of it?? and I don't get it, DC is rebooting their whole universe or what? and of course

is batman really dead or what? cause I didn't understand why was he at the end in that cave in the ¿past? ??? really

someone please explain or at least tell me it didn't made any f*cking sense to the rest of the world too, best explanation I could find was this

Final Crisis explained by a 5 year old funny cause it's true

Edited November 4, 2009 by Valkyrie addict

[Keith]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Q_ZKOcwbE

[Penguin]

Hello, I'm not an avid comic book reader, I can counts all the comic books I've read on my life with one hand, I hear about this whole Final Crisis stuff and gave it a go and I just gotta say that it's the biggest clusterf*ck mess I've ever read, I mean, damn!!

could someone please explained what was the whole deal of it?? and I don't get it, DC is rebooting their whole universe or what? and of course

is batman really dead or what? cause I didn't understand why was he at the end in that cave in the ¿past? ??? really

someone please explain or at least tell me it didn't made any f*cking sense to the rest of the world too, best explanation I could find was this

Final Crisis explained by a 5 year old funny cause it's true

Well, I understood it, but maybe I just read too many comics. The whole event was very clumsily handled. IMHO, it went from potential to zero pretty fast. Rather than take the approach that they did with other "Crisis" events, DC didn't run the storyline into any of the other books. It ran as a stand-alone story so there was zero effect on the running books. There were several side-stories released under the "Final Crisis" banner, but most had little to nothing to do with the real events unfolding.

Final Crisis is based on so many threads from past events and stories that it's almost impenetrable to a casual reader. It would take at least a page to lay it all out and where it came from, but I don't think anyone's interested in reading all that (or me in typing it, either). Suffice to say that with one or two exceptions the story does make sense, but you have to know a whole bunch of DC history to grasp it all.

In the end, with the exception of Batman's "death", the whole event was zero sum. No effect on continuity. Few to no lasting repercussions. As far as Batman's "death" is concerned,

Darkseid's omega sanction is supposed to cause a "living death", so the idea is that Bruce has been displaced in time but isn't really dead. Don't know how that related to the skeleton they buried, the skull of which Black Hand is currently using as a talisman in the whole "Blackest Night" storyline.

It has allowed them to shake up Batman stories with Dick Grayson as Batman, Bruce's son Damian (by Talia al Ghul) as Robin, and the most recent Robin Tim Drake now wearing the "Red Robin" mantle out to prove that Bruce isn't really dead.

Aside from that, Final Crisis was kind of a wash, for me at least.

[Valkyrie addict]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Q_ZKOcwbE

HAHAHAHA!! brilliant :lol:

thanks Penguin, I guess my expectation were to high since I all I kept hearing about final crisis is how an amazing story it was and how the writer/graphic artists was so awesome and blah blah and then I find myself with a whole mess, the plot itself I got it, but all the stuff that happened in the middle seems irrelevant

I mean, I can summarize the importance in final crisis in one sentence: darkseid is brought back by his followers and enslave the world while superman gets taken to the future and on his return he saves the multiverse. THAT'S IT, was the whole mess in between really necessary or relevant at all??

anyway, thanks!

[Golden Arms]

@ Ghost Train. Cannot stop laughing! Brilliant! :lol:

I don't know about that. Marvel's comic book world as gone to hell with DC's. Forever time travelling, forever alternative universes, forever rebooting, forever bringing back the dead... The latest in the NEW 52 left me very... meh, I mean Robin is gone, again, and becomes... Redbird because a RedRobin still exists...

I disagree about DC. The new 52 has turned out some really great books. I enjoy most of what they've decided to do. I suggest you give some of the books another chance. I think you can find several that peak your interest.

Grant Morrison is writing Superman. Wonderwoman is great, So is Batman. Both of which are must reads. Green Lantern has consistently been a geat read since Geoff Johns started writing. He turned Sinestro from a guy with a goofy head into one of comics most complex and interesting characters. They also just introduced Earth 2.

When the new 52 first launched, there were subtle hints to a yet to be told big storyline that was carryover from Flashoint. I bet in about a year we will get this story.

I also highly recommend the first 11 issues of Batman. The court of OWLS is must read!

Robin is still the books, It's just Bruces's son. They haven't ignored the continuity with characters. All of the other robins have kinda grown up and are doing their own thing,which they were doing before the relauch. Alot of it ties back to the battle of the cowl, After Bruce had died.

Dick is Nightwing

Jason Todd is Redhood

Tim Drake is red robin

Damien is Robin

marvel on the other hand continues to be a mess. The only book I consistently read from them is Uncanny X-force. It too is a must read. They plan to reset their books at the conclusion of AvX. I don't the whispers of their upcoming plans post AvX. They plan to tie the Avengers and X titles more closely together. They also plan to have the creative teams switch books. So Bendis will be writing X-men characters. We will see how this pans out, but I'm not optimistic.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Golden Arms

[BeyondTheGrave]

I disagree about DC. The new 52 has turned out some really great books. I enjoy most of what they've decided to do. I suggest you give some of the books another chance. I think you can find several that peak your interest.

Grant Morrison is writing Superman. Wonderwoman is great, So is Batman. Both of which are must reads. Green Lantern has consistently been a geat read since Geoff Johns started writing. He turned Sinestro from a guy with a goofy head into one of comics most complex and interesting characters. They also just introduced Earth 2.

When the new 52 first launched, there were subtle hints to a yet to be told big storyline that was carryover from Flashoint. I bet in about a year we will get this story.

I also highly recommend the first 11 issues of Batman. The court of OWLS is must read!

Robin is still the books, It's just Bruces's son. They haven't ignored the continuity with characters. All of the other robins have kinda grown up and are doing their own thing,which they were doing before the relauch. Alot of it ties back to the battle of the cowl, After Bruce had died.

Dick is Nightwing

Jason Todd is Redhood

Tim Drake is red robin

Damien is Robin

marvel on the other hand continues to be a mess. The only book I consistently read from them is Uncanny X-force. It too is a must read. They plan to reset their books at the conclusion of AvX. I don't the whispers of their upcoming plans post AvX. They plan to tie the Avengers and X titles more closely together. They also plan to have the creative teams switch books. So Bendis will be writing X-men characters. We will see how this pans out, but I'm not optimistic.

except dc screwed up batman already:

All i pick up is Ironman and the Ultimates.

The did make a version of the phoenix saga that can be easily followed tho.

Edited August 4, 2012 by BeyondTheGrave

[Golden Arms]

BTG,

that isn't incorrect,

Tim Drake is currently red robin. He is also the defacto leader of the the Teen Titans. In that same issue, or the one afterwards, Damien goes on to challenge the previous Robins. Namely Tim since they were fighting back and forth in that same issue you highlighted.

Not all of the books with the New 52 got a fresh relauch. The green lantern Books and Most of the Batman titles continuity before Flashpoint was perserved.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Not what dc says

I Knew just about everyone got a reboot excpet batman due to all the history. Although Barbara Gordon did get hosed.

[Golden Arms]

Tomato,

tomato.

In Issue 10 Tim states that Damien is tarnishing the Robin Legacy. Why would Tim care about the Legacy if he had no part in it? In that same issue Bruce admonishes both Damien and Tim for arguing about their times as being Robin. Bruce states that as Robins they all had their strenghts and weakness. He also states that they all share a bond (red and green uniform of service) that should unite them, even Jason. Maybe someone should've told Lobdell to read Batman and Robin issues 9-10. Part of story of these two issues was for Bruce to get the family together and cherish their memories.

We'll have to wait and see what happens in Teen titans 0. Which makes no since, because at the beginning of Teen Titans, its assumed that Red Robin has gotten alot of his stuff from Batman.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Golden Arms