Current Spider-Man Sales

[the human tortilla]

The devotion of MJ fans to hate read is unparalleled

I like how you make this about mj even tho the two books on the list were about a certain other fan favorite whose recent developments have also angered fans and whose initials start with B R

[wleakr]

I like how you make this about mj even tho the two books on the list were about a certain other fan favorite whose recent developments have also angered fans and whose initials start with B R

Fans aren’t hate buying BR. Most choose not to support his books.

[TinkerSpider]

I like how you make this about mj even tho the two books on the list were about a certain other fan favorite whose recent developments have also angered fans and whose initials start with B R

Looking at the position of Jackpot #1 and Jackpot and Black Cat on the sales charts:

It's very hard to make a correlation between MJ fans and buying. Because they're not buying that.

[Garlador]

Looking at the position of Jackpot #1 and Jackpot and Black Cat on the sales charts:

It's very hard to make a correlation between MJ fans and buying. Because they're not buying that.

I have a Mary Jane figure on the shelf with Peter directly behind me.

I ain't buying that.

I've been wanting Mary Jane to suit up as a proper superhero in the 616 since Amazing Spider-Man Annual #19 teased us with it.


As a Mary Jane fan who has long wanted her to dip her toes into the superhero lifestyle for decades since that issue, I should be the perfect target audience for this kind of book. And yet the status quo that created and surrounds it is just so unpalatable to me. 20 years ago, 10 years ago, heck, even 5 years ago I'd have been excited. But not with what this is and how it has come to be.

[JustLuke]

Fans aren’t hate buying BR. Most choose not to support his books.

I still think about how JMD said his BR mini sold really well. Really makes you wonder if maybe, just maybe BR fans would actually support the book if they liked what Marvel was doing with the character.

I have a Mary Jane figure on the shelf with Peter directly behind me.

I ain't buying that.

I've been wanting Mary Jane to suit up as a proper superhero in the 616 since Amazing Spider-Man Annual #19 teased us with it.

As a Mary Jane fan who has long wanted her to dip her toes into the superhero lifestyle for decades since that issue, I should be the perfect target audience for this kind of book. And yet the status quo that created and surrounds it is just so unpalatable to me. 20 years ago, 10 years ago, heck, even 5 years ago I'd have been excited. But not with what this is and how it has come to be.

I should love a Mary Jane book with her as a hero too. I should love a Mary Jane and Black Cat book too, hell I loved the Beyond one! But there's nothing about this current status quo I enjoy so yeah I ain't touching that stuff

[TheKryptonMan]

Looking at the position of Jackpot #1 and Jackpot and Black Cat on the sales charts:

It's very hard to make a correlation between MJ fans and buying. Because they're not buying that.

I love MJ but not the current MJ that we now see in ASM or as a superhero in her own book or with Black Cat . Just not interested at all .
I agree with Garlador if it had happened 10 years ago or after Annual #19 I could see it .
But that guy Paul is still around , makes no sense .
Vote with your wallet .

[Coop]

I also love MJ*. I don't have a big problem with her being a superhero.

But I I'll never pay money or spend time on a book pushing the Paul status quo.

*that's Mary Jane Watson-Parker.

[Daibhidh]

One of the problems I've felt with Spider-Girl, the RYV ongoing, and for that matter Spider-Gwen, is that it seems to be quite hard to make up a whole continuity in just one comic. They all felt a bit forced to me. One of the things the new Ultimate is doing is that we know that other characters are up to stuff that isn't happening in Peter's corner of Earth 6160.
(I'm aware that Marvel tried other comics set in Spider-Girl's continuity, but I don't think any of them caught on.)

[Kurus]

Spider-Girl was the perfect "protest vote" book for fans of the Peter/MJ relationship to buy, because it was there and ready at the time. Imagine if Spider-Girl sales soared when MJ died in that plane crash. Imagine if Spider-Girl sales soared again when MJ was revealed to be alive, but left Peter. Imagine if Amazing Spider-Girl sales skyrocketed after One More Day. Didn't happen, but it would have been nice!

I’d disagree on this point. Someone may like the marriage, but only want to read the adventures of Peter Parker, not his daughter. Peter and MJ were supporting character’s in that run, not main like during the marriage years.

[Celgress]

I also love MJ*. I don't have a big problem with her being a superhero.

But I I'll never pay money or spend time on a book pushing the Paul status quo....

My stance exactly. Superhero MJ with this dreadful status quo I say hell no.

[Celgress]

What are you talking about. The post I was responding to was regarding ASM. The previous poster assumes Mj fans are still hate buying ASM and I don’t believe that and made my comment. You and everyone else already know why USM is outselling ASM. Don’t be acting different now

All I can say is every 616 Spidey fan I know in RL has transferred their dollars to the new USM series or bought both it and Amazing, myself included (I don't buy Amazing any longer). On the flipside, no one I know MJ fan or otherwise has any interest in the Jackpot book. I feel sorry for the Jackpot behind-the-scenes team they've been dealt a shitty hand.

[WebLurker]

Anecdotal, but the majority of my community says the time skip was the primary reason they lost interest. And it was for me too, though I still feel it had merit. A lot of the appeal was lost for very little in return and the RYV universe felt undercooked as they rushed so quickly ahead.

Kinda got the impression that creative disagreements with Gerry Conway and the editors lead to him leaving and that didn't help; the last arc of the pre-time skip seemed to lose a lot of steam. (Thought the specifics were that Conway wanted the Spiders to team up with the Fantastic Four and editorial mandated it be the X-Men. Frankly, I find the F4 to be the weak link in Marvel, so I can't say I disagree with the editors, but I don't think switching creatives did the series any good). Actually thought the Houser issues were pretty good if we accept the time skip as a given (Spider-Man and Wolverine's differing opinions on being cloned is a favorite scene of mine and I loved the X-23 cameo). But, yeah, I'll admit that I think the original status quo worked better overall.

Beyond that, another reason many are saying USM is succeeding for them (and with the marriage) is because it’s still primarily a Peter Parker-led story. Not a team book. Not him retired. He’s front and center with his supporting cast doing the support roles they were created to fulfill and elevating the titular hero. I can see and read the difference and I appreciate it.

I didn't mind the family sharing the spotlight, but I will concede that it was a very different status quo than one that's closer to "what if OMD never happened?" Heck, I was against the movement championing Spider-Girl before the USM reveal because it was Mayday series that happened to have a married Peter, not a married Spider-Man comic (basically similar reasons to what you described).

I still think about how JMD said his BR mini sold really well. Really makes you wonder if maybe, just maybe BR fans would actually support the book if they liked what Marvel was doing with the character.

That's the double-edged sword; don't like what they're doing and don't buy, you're voting against the character you like. Buy the thing and you're voting in favor of the status quo you object to.

On the flipside, no one I know MJ fan or otherwise has any interest in the Jackpot book. I feel sorry for the Jackpot behind-the-scenes team they've been dealt a shitty hand.

All the OMD books kinda suffer from that; irregardless of their actual merits in and of themselves, they're shacked to an unpopular retcon that frequently comes up in debate (and now have to compete with a well-received anti-OMD series) and, unfortunately, are the easiest targets for fan ire over the retcon whether or not they support it themselves.

[Frontier]

At this point hero MJ is an even bigger than the execution because there's so little normalcy to Spider-Man any more. Nobody cares about civilians or people having real, non-Superhero, lives.

[Kevinroc]

I still maintain that using the Spider-Verse to explore a world where MJ got bit and it’s about her, and her civilian boyfriend Peter, has loads of potential.

That’s what the Multiverse is supposed to be used for. Exploring who these characters are in different situations.

[Frontier]

I still maintain that using the Spider-Verse to explore a world where MJ got bit and it’s about her, and her civilian boyfriend Peter, has loads of potential.

That’s what the Multiverse is supposed to be used for. Exploring who these characters are in different situations.

Or do some kind of Spinneret solo.

But either way, 616 MJ never needed to become a Superhero.