How does Amazing Spider-Man reclaim its mojo?

[TinkerSpider]

I don't think a success makes things worse.

I...didn't say that?

What it does is make people on top ask why aren't the other books are performing at the same level.

If Coke is dominating its market, then the question becomes why isn't Diet Coke also dominating its market? If Disney Animation films are doing well, why are the Pixar films stumbling? If Old Navy dominates its market niche, how can we revitalize Gap and Banana Republic to also dominate theirs? If Macy's men's shoe department has double the per unit sales of Macy's women's shoes, with all other things being equal, how can we bring the sales of women's shoes up? What is men's shoes doing better?

If USM is doubling the sales of our best selling product, how do we capture that market for our other books because obviously we are underserving a sizable audience?

[Garlador]

I...didn't say that?

What it does is make people on top ask why aren't the other books are performing at the same level.

If Coke is dominating its market, then the question becomes why isn't Diet Coke also dominating its market? If Disney Animation films are doing well, why are the Pixar films stumbling? If Old Navy dominates its market niche, how can we revitalize Gap and Banana Republic to also dominate theirs? If Macy's men's shoe department has double the per unit sales of Macy's women's shoes, with all other things being equal, how can we bring the sales of women's shoes up? What is men's shoes doing better?

If USM is doubling the sales of our best selling product, how do we capture that market for our other books because obviously we are underserving a sizable audience?

All true. From a game developer perspective, studios have always been quick to see what makes it big and then demanding their own competitor for marketshare. I heard “we want to be the next World of WarCraft!” “We need to be the next Call of Duty!” “We have to be the next Fortnite!” “We should be the next Minecraft!” Etc. And you have to be careful because sometimes you just can’t be; that what made those games huge was a unique blend of circumstances and not a sure-win formula. You have to really understand the audience needs and demands.

Obviously, a great number of fans still want Peter & MJ’s marriage restored (I’m among them), but “restore the marriage” isn’t the instant-win button without good storytelling and characterization backing it up. But it’s a START.

I can simply speak for myself. Would I return to ASM if the marriage was restored and support it as long as their relationship is treated with care and respect? Yes. That’s a monetary vow I’m more than willing to make.

I’m willing to bet - purely as a business decision - that there are more who would jump onto ASM with that status quo restored than would ever be rebuffed. In business, it’s all about hedging your bets, and this one just seems so very obvious to me.

[TinkerSpider]

All true. From a game developer perspective, studios have always been quick to see what makes it big and then demanding their own competitor for marketshare. I heard “we want to be the next World of WarCraft!” “We need to be the next Call of Duty!” “We have to be the next Fortnite!” “We should be the next Minecraft!” Etc. And you have to be careful because sometimes you just can’t be; that what made those games huge was a unique blend of circumstances and not a sure-win formula. You have to really understand the audience needs and demands.

Obviously, a great number of fans still want Peter & MJ’s marriage restored (I’m among them), but “restore the marriage” isn’t the instant-win button without good storytelling and characterization backing it up. But it’s a START.

I can simply speak for myself. Would I return to ASM if the marriage was restored and support it as long as their relationship is treated with care and respect? Yes. That’s a monetary vow I’m more than willing to make.

I’m willing to bet - purely as a business decision - that there are more who would jump onto ASM with that status quo restored than would ever be rebuffed. In business, it’s all about hedging your bets, and this one just seems so very obvious to me.

I absolutely agree just restoring the marriage isn't enough, and I'd also argue USM is outperforming not just because of the marriage.

There are a lot of lesssons to be taken from USM, starting with "respect the characters, repect their world, and respect the reader."

But I do think treating Peter and MJ, individually and as a couple, as characters with lives of their own and a strong, aspirational relationship built on mutual love and respect is part of the magic. And it's magic that is in distinct short supply elsewhere.

[Frontier]

Personally I'm not hardcore focused on the marriage being restored because I know that's a losing battle and ultimately I think as long as they're together it's fine...but my main priority would be better stories, better characterization, and Spider-Man being actually competent as a Superhero.

Also stop turning people into Superheroes or giving them powers. Let Peter actually have a life outside of Spider-Man.

[Vegan]

Personally I'm not hardcore focused on the marriage being restored because I know that's a losing battle and ultimately I think as long as they're together it's fine...but my main priority would be better stories, better characterization, and Spider-Man being actually competent as a Superhero.

Also stop turning people into Superheroes or giving them powers. Let Peter actually have a life outside of Spider-Man.

I’m in the same boat? Do I want them to be married? Yes, definitely. Is it a deal breaker if not? No. Is it a dealbreaker if the characterizations are bad, his supporting cast is nonexistent, the stories are repetitive, and he’s the least competent super hero on earth? Yes

[Frontier]

I’m in the same boat? Do I want them to be married? Yes, definitely. Is it a deal breaker if not? No. Is it a dealbreaker if the characterizations are bad, his supporting cast is nonexistent, the stories are repetitive, and he’s the least competent super hero on earth? Yes

Hear hear .

[Jman27]

Personally I'm not hardcore focused on the marriage being restored because I know that's a losing battle and ultimately I think as long as they're together it's fine...but my main priority would be better stories, better characterization, and Spider-Man being actually competent as a Superhero.

Also stop turning people into Superheroes or giving them powers. Let Peter actually have a life outside of Spider-Man.

hopefully a life that wont be disturb by his hero responsibilities.

[Frontier]

hopefully a life that wont be disturb by his hero responsibilities.

Or where people just do...normal people things.

[Garlador]

Or where people just do...normal people things.

I think it says something that my favorite comic issue recently is just Peter and his wife having dinner with the Osborns. "Normal people things". And it succeeds strongly due to impeccable characterization.

[Frontier]

I think it says something that my favorite comic issue recently is just Peter and his wife having dinner with the Osborns. "Normal people things". And it succeeds strongly due to impeccable characterization.

I think I said it in the discussion threads that I feel like Hickman writes better character drama than Spider-Man stuff but ideally a good Spider-Man run would balance both.

[CTTT]

I don't think a success makes things worse.

With the sales success of Ultimate Spider-Man, I think Marvel will want to keep Hickman on it.

My impression is that he's pretty expensive as a writer. This is why he left the X-Men when he realized that he wouldn't be able to do the world-building Marvel paid him to do.

This may also be why GODs is ending with #8.


It seems easy enough to showcase covers and interior scenes with MJ. It would depend on how significant she is to the story, for example- she were a deuteragonist.

I'm a little confused by your wording. You say Hickman is expensive as a writer. But then say he left X-men because he realized he wouldn't be able to do the world building Marvel paid him to do.

So, was it because world building was too much pressure for him or he wasn't paid enough?

[bob.schoonover]

I'm a little confused by your wording. You say Hickman is expensive as a writer. But then say he left X-men because he realized he wouldn't be able to do the world building Marvel paid him to do.

So, was it because world building was too much pressure for him or he wasn't paid enough?

Neither. The rest of the X-Men team didn't want to move on to the next part of his Krakoa plan as fast as he did. Since they wanted to just live in the Krakoa status quo for awhile longer (and they weren't following the world-building he wanted to do), he moved on to world-build elsewhere

[Mister Mets]

I'm a little confused by your wording. You say Hickman is expensive as a writer. But then say he left X-men because he realized he wouldn't be able to do the world building Marvel paid him to do.

So, was it because world building was too much pressure for him or he wasn't paid enough?

Hickman had different plans for the Krakoa era, but Marvel wanted to slow down because other writers enjoyed the new status quo.

https://ew.com/books/inferno-jonatha...0pop%20culture.

From the explanation I recall, he figured he was paid too much to write stories that just spun the wheels.

[GeorgiaDawg]

Hickman had different plans for the Krakoa era, but Marvel wanted to slow down because other writers enjoyed the new status quo.

https://ew.com/books/inferno-jonatha...0pop%20culture.

From the explanation I recall, he figured he was paid too much to write stories that just spun the wheels.

Not having a firm vision always leads to a story thatÂ’s the worst for it. I could never invest money in so many dangling books meant to wrap up that series. Sales over story stresses the readers, even when things seem successful. Ex multiple books by multiple authors to conclude a story

ASMÂ’s issue is a lack of character focus. I have no idea what the stakes are for Spider-Man personally. Aunt May isnÂ’t in the book, Norman is dealing with things on his own, MJ doesnÂ’t seem to be a core component, black cat was back to being a core character than not, whatÂ’s the deal with Randy, no bugle cast, no Jonah, now Peter has another new possible girlfriend. Spider-Man needs personal stakes to matter and the concepts and ideas for this run seem to be bigger than the characters which leads to a horrible foundation.

DidnÂ’t even mention that Kafka/betty/ben/Janice/Ned/Kingsley as being thrown in the mix. Is queen goblin without NormanÂ’s sins mean Kafka is just a standard bad guy with no nuance? So many ideas thrown in the mix and so little character work.

This reminds me of the MCU. MCU was great because we cared for the characters over time, now all the characters seem to just be boiled down to their powers, settings, and looks and no one caresÂ… Spider-Man and guardians being the exception because they have character arcs and personal stakes.