Are Marvel comics actually the best they've ever been?

[Snoop Dogg]

this is the only period of books with tony stark: iron man, so maybe it is just the best

[Captain Craig]

Yes for the first time on some characters/teams
I return to greatness for some others.
Again, others it's been fairly standard fare, not bad just routine.
Then there are some it is down all together.

Some that had a heyday are now in limbo or support characters at best.

Your mileage may vary depending on when you started reading and being a month-in/month-out reader.

[Raye]

That is the same for any era, except maybe the veeeery early years. Marvel has so many characters at this point that it is pretty much impossible to keep them all out of limbo, so the vast majority of characters will spend some time out of print, unless they are one of the cornerstone characters, it's just the way of things, and there isn't a lot Marvel can do about it. It's not like they can realistically print hundreds of titles every month to make sure everyone gets a moment to shine. Kinda sucks if you like some of the lesser used characters but... If you are a fan of a lesser used character, treasure the appearances they do get. I am like that with Elsa Bloodstone. Love her to pieces but she is guest star fodder most of the time, and spends a lot of time in limbo.

Still, it does seem like Marvel has been trying to give some a little love when they can, with some teams of oddball characters lately.

Speaking of limboed or dead characters coming back for some time in the spotlight though, as more advance solicits for July come out, that looks like it will be an awesome month, looking forward to it. Loki, X-Statix, Valkyrie, whatever this Acts of Evil thing is, I have a good feeling about July.

[Snoop Dogg]

there's no falcon or stevil everything sucks

[Raye]

See what I said about July. If Acts of Evil has Stevil, all will be well. (well, for us. Will suck for the characters)

[krazijoe]

I guess I am in the minority as I went from 10 titles to 1 as I just read Immortal Hulk now. Everything else REALLY drove me nuts. Spider-Man, Avengers, X-Men, Even the return of the FF didn't make me stay with their book. I dropped it after 4 issues...

[Venomous Mask]

Well in terms of my favorite characters, I have to say yes.

[CaptCleghorn]

I don't think we can answer this question as yet. What the question asks is how this era compares with other eras of Marvel. And there will be and have been books in every era that are celebrated as great. Simonson's Thor, Steranko's Nick Fury, Miller's Daredevil. When a few years have passed and we can tally the books that make the grade, then we'll have an answer. But now, it's all personal opinion.

[RickWJ324]

I guess I am in the minority as I went from 10 titles to 1 as I just read Immortal Hulk now. Everything else REALLY drove me nuts. Spider-Man, Avengers, X-Men, Even the return of the FF didn't make me stay with their book. I dropped it after 4 issues...

I'm the same! I find it hard to get into nearly ANY Marvel book at this point. It's too much of a mess and everything keeps getting rebooted way to quickly but never fixing anything. I've tried with several X-Men titles and cannot get into them at all. I just stopped caring about these characters that I've loved for most of my long life. The only book I really care about is Daredevil and would be satisfied only reading that book. The new Punisher series is really good as is the Immortal Hulk.

If Marvel just published a series of "Defenders-centric" books kept mainly out of continuity with their other titles I'd be totally happy. Keep it mainly focused on Daredevil, Luke, Jessica, and Danny, and Punisher (with maybe a cameo from Spidey every now and then). To me, those characters could maintain a great "pocket universe" from the mainstream Marvel books.

[ermac]

Not really.

Jim Shooter's 80s were unarguably the best Marvel period (all-time best X-Men, Daredevil and Thor runs + strong contenders for best FF, Spider and Avengers runs).

We also had a good streak on Quesada/Bendis' 2000s.

[My Two Cents]

Jim a shooter was on a roll when he became EIC
At Marvel and than his short time at Valiant
I don,t know the real reason for his leaving
It once gone both he and Valiant (in a sense)
Came to a halt.

[Prof. Warren]

I'm the same! I find it hard to get into nearly ANY Marvel book at this point. It's too much of a mess and everything keeps getting rebooted way to quickly but never fixing anything.

All opinions aside, Marvel has never rebooted their universe, much less done it repeatedly. New #1's to mark new volumes or relaunches, yes. Reboots, no.

I honestly don't get the confusion that a new #1 on a cover instills in some people. It's just a new volume. History and continuity is still the same.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Jim a shooter was on a roll when he became EIC
At Marvel and than his short time at Valiant
I don,t know the real reason for his leaving
It once gone both he and Valiant (in a sense)
Came to a halt.

Marvel transitioned well from Shooter to Defalco I think. Don't know about Valiant. Defalco honored stare decisis where he largely consolidated and built on Shooter's legacy rather than overturn it.

Jim Shooter was divisive and polarizing. Some (Priest, Stern, Starlin and others) liked him a lot, and others (John Byrne especially) didn't, while the likes of Claremont are more mixed. There were reports that some Marvel writers cheered when they heard him getting kicked out.

The real reason for his departure was that he got into a grudge fight the Marvel President and it spilled into the papers and that got him fired.

It's a common truism that Jameson and the Daily Bugle tend to be written or cast as stand-ins for Marvel Editorials, but in my view no Marvel EIC is most like Jameson than Shooter. Not even Stan Lee (who was laissez-faire and hands off when it came to editing stuff). The same divisiveness, the same mix of insight and weirdness. He wrote a brilliant crossover like Secret Wars I and then wrote a bad sequel like Secret Wars II. This is the guy who tried to make Dazzler into Marvel's flagship character and protagonist of Marvel's first attempt at a feature film.

And of course Shooter could be hard and tough but also generous. He got royalties for Marvel's writers and editors.

[ed2962]

Jim a shooter was on a roll when he became EIC
At Marvel and than his short time at Valiant
I don,t know the real reason for his leaving
It once gone both he and Valiant (in a sense)
Came to a halt.

The rumor I heard was that in both cases it was behind the scenes power plays.

[Snoop Dogg]

Secret Wars '84 is the Marvel version of Transformers' "To Sell Toys."