Marvel writer runs

[CTTT]

This could apply to DC as well, but why are the writer runs so short? It usually ends between 45-50. Peter David had an acclaimed run on TIH for 11 years. Chris Claremont was on the X-Men book for 17. So, why do they not give writers room to breathe?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

This could apply to DC as well, but why are the writer runs so short? It usually ends between 45-50. Peter David had an acclaimed run on TIH for 11 years. Chris Claremont was on the X-Men book for 17. So, why do they not give writers room to breathe?

Well if you look at the last decade you had Slott on Spider-Man for a near decade, Hickman having a mega-run from Fantastic Four to Avengers for 5 years and now another one with X-Men. Jason Aaron also wrote Thor for a long time. So you do have writers getting room to breathe.

As for why writers don't get too many long runs:
-- Writer's own life issues. Some writers maybe don't want to be on one title for too long or have too many stories on one title. Sometimes writers just have some stories, they tell it and step away.
-- Sales is another thing.
-- Editor-Publication-Marketing issues, i.e. over time the longer a writer stays on one title the harder it gets to promote a new story as "New!Fresh!Cool!" and so on, and in the age of TPBs, where they promote different periods as (this writer's run) and so on. So eventually editors and others will tend to feel a need to gently nudge the creative team towards the door.

[hairys]

There are many factors but probably the biggest one is that the writers themselves don't want to go 100+ issues anymore. Once a writer gets past 50, then they're obviously someone with at least a modicum of talent and at least a small audience that likes them. They have standing in the industry, in other words. And so what do you do? You go make creator-owned works so that you can make more money and potentially seed something that Netflix or Hollywood wants.

If Chris Claremont were starting out today, I'd very much doubt he'd go 17 years on a book.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

If Chris Claremont were starting out today, I'd very much doubt he'd go 17 years on a book.

Especially when you consider how Claremont was treated at the end of it all. He was unceremoniously removed and they didn't even give an editorial thank you and acknowledgement in the letters' pages which was standard for exiting writers at the time.

[Grapeweasel]

They keep asking for raises.....

[Rincewind]

There are a few reasons I can think of.

1. Editorial interference. Many runs were cut short when the writer was fired or quit out of frustration. Stern's Avengers and Byrne's FF ended this way.
2. Go out on a high note. When a writer finishes their big story, it may be tempting to do a mic drop. Simonson's Thor is an epic run that overhauls the character and builds up an anniversary issue that caps his run perfectly. Some runs like Wolfman's Titans and Gruenwald's Captain America had acclaim, but the final years are not highly regarded.
3. Finish before getting pushed out. There are plenty of examples where a writer is fired or the title is cancelled before they can finish the writer's plan. Hickman's Secret Warriors cut planned story arcs to ensure the ending was told while the series still had a green light.
4. Want to do other titles. There's only so many titles someone can write. They may have to give up a title to focus on the others. Kurt Busiek's Iron Man run ended in part because he was doing multiple titles at the time. Dan Slott wanted to do his "Reckoning War" story for years, but it was put on hold while he was writing Spider-Man. After he left, he's now getting to the story in Fantastic Four. .
5. The story ended. Some titles are for a specific story, and when the story ended, the title/run ended. Bendis's Dark Avengers and Gillen's Journey Into Mystery came to their natural conclusion.

[Noek]

Most likely the book just doesn't keep what Marvel wants for sales.

[your_name_here]

Was the last longest run Bendis on USM or Avengers?
Or Slott on Spider-Man.