Preview: Jackpot #1

[Kurus]

Why wait until then?

Why can't cynics and detractors here be open-minded enough to give it a shot now?

Why would i pay money for a book I know I won't like?

[Majesty]

Why wait until then?

Why can't cynics and detractors here be open-minded enough to give it a shot now?

Because that particular section of the fandom would rather punish her for Paul and MJ being a thing, rather than seeing if she can do something with it or tell a great and more fun, cohesive story.

Essentially "No matter how much we've talked about lack of cohesive storytelling in the past. At the end of the day I really don't care how great she writes it. It ain't my ship. So, I won't support it."

Because ultimately, unless MJ is with Peter, they want Jackpot to fail, no matter how great she may write it. Because they hope making sure that story does not succeed that it will send some message to MARVEL that they'll never support anything Mary Jane related unless she's tied to/in a relationship with Peter.

It's their prerogative of course, but that's what it boils down to at it's simplest.

[MisterTorgo]

Because that particular section of the fandom would rather punish her for Paul and MJ being a thing, rather than seeing if she can do something with it or tell a great and more fun, cohesive story.

Essentially "No matter how much we've talked about lack of cohesive storytelling in the past. At the end of the day I really don't care how great she writes it. It ain't my ship. So, I won't support it."

Because ultimately, unless MJ is with Peter, they want Jackpot to fail, no matter how great she may write it. Because they hope making sure that story does not succeed that it will send some message to MARVEL that they'll never support anything Mary Jane related unless she's tied to/in a relationship with Peter.

It's their prerogative of course, but that's what it boils down to at it's simplest.

Seriously, why would anyone pay for something they've already said they don't want to support? Several folks here have expressed no ill will and some outright support for Celeste's work, why assume that anyone here wants to "punish" her?

There are a lot of great, fun and cohesive stories out there right now and I think it's safe to say no one is reading all of them. It's Marvel's job to earn my dollars, not mine to give my dollars to them and they haven't with this premise. As Kurus said, "Why would i pay money for a book I know I won't like?" when there are books out there that I would more likely enjoy in their entirety than something that I know contains elements with which I disagree? Why shouldn't I want to send a message to Marvel about their current edicts in what is, likely, the most effective, non-harmful, non-confrontational way by not buying what they're selling?

[wleakr]

Because the specific circumstances surrounding this run and this one shot, while entirely out of Bronfman's control and shouldn't be held against her personally, have generally poisoned the well for the time being.

After all, we have to vote with our wallets, right?

I agree - that is how all should vote.

I'm just playing off the words that Garlador used. If circumstances are "favorable" in the future, it is suggested that detractors give a potential future book based on that condition a try.

I see no difference between that hypothetical future and now. There are cynics/detractors now and there will be cynics/detractors then.

[Mercwmouth12]

I agree - that is how all should vote.

I'm just playing off the words that Garlador used. If circumstances are "favorable" in the future, it is suggested that detractors give a potential future book based on that condition a try.

I see no difference between that hypothetical future and now. There are cynics/detractors now and there will be cynics/detractors then.

Not really. if you look at speculators that control the ebb and flow of some books. Look at for example Spider-boy and Superior. Superior doesn't have a strong standing and is falling down the charts and money is king here and kind of like Avengers Inc the demand for it isn't there and same with Spider-boy. It had a good opening market sprint but after a "decent" first issue fling issue 2 fell a significant margin in the select few stores that are tracked with the limited amount of data and based off common market analysis could be in the same boat soon. With Jackpot it could work if it had a better premise and removed a key story beat. You can only do so much with character name alone and variants. Work to make the book sell well would actually need to be applied and sometimes it's not the fault of the writer but extenuating circumstances

[Hurricane Billy]

Because that particular section of the fandom would rather punish her for Paul and MJ being a thing, rather than seeing if she can do something with it or tell a great and more fun, cohesive story.

Essentially "No matter how much we've talked about lack of cohesive storytelling in the past. At the end of the day I really don't care how great she writes it. It ain't my ship. So, I won't support it."

Because ultimately, unless MJ is with Peter, they want Jackpot to fail, no matter how great she may write it. Because they hope making sure that story does not succeed that it will send some message to MARVEL that they'll never support anything Mary Jane related unless she's tied to/in a relationship with Peter.

It's their prerogative of course, but that's what it boils down to at it's simplest.

None of that is Bronfman's fault and I want her to have more shots down the line when Wells and Lowe are long gone. This has nothing to do with "punishing" her.

Also, come on now, let's not act like this is just about mere shipping preferences when Paul happens to be someone who a) committed a global genocide and seems to either be lying about the guilt he feels over it or happens to be a sociopath, b) basically gaslit his way into dating MJ in the first place and c) invented the tech that is suddenly giving her powers. Not to mention that it was Felicia who wound up making the suit and talked MJ into becoming a superhero full time IIRC.

If Marvel want to pivot to Mary Jane Watson being a new superhero, I'm generally game for giving that idea a chance- and whether she's dating Peter or not. After all, I quite liked seeing her as Spinneret over in the Renew Your Vows books! It's not my preferred take on the character, as I'm more inclined to prefer seeing MJ as the crazily brave and scrappy civilian who leaps out into danger with a baseball bat, a pistol or a hijacked gas truck to aid superheroes on a whim, but I have no issues with her going full time into the superhero field.

I'm not however interested in supporting a broader writing office trying to capitalize on that idea during an entire run that has repeatedly stripped Mary Jane of her agency and tried to gaslight its readers into thinking that all of this woeful character writing and soulless corporate soap opera drama is actually highlighting MJ as an example of girl power. I find it insulting to her legacy as a character and I find it insulting to the readers.

[Vortex85]

2 things:

1) Not a fan of turning MJ into a superhero. The Jackpot name and powerset sucks too (random powers are boring). That's not her. She is a superhero to me without the costume and powers.
2) Seeing MJ and Paul together is just cringe.

So yeah, not interested in picking this up whatsoever.

[TinkerSpider]

I agree - that is how all should vote.

I'm just playing off the words that Garlador used. If circumstances are "favorable" in the future, it is suggested that detractors give a potential future book based on that condition a try.

I see no difference between that hypothetical future and now. There are cynics/detractors now and there will be cynics/detractors then.

“So when did you stop beating your spouse?”

Same energy.

[Coop]

Because that particular section of the fandom would rather punish her for Paul and MJ being a thing, rather than seeing if she can do something with it or tell a great and more fun, cohesive story.

Essentially "No matter how much we've talked about lack of cohesive storytelling in the past. At the end of the day I really don't care how great she writes it. It ain't my ship. So, I won't support it."

Because ultimately, unless MJ is with Peter, they want Jackpot to fail, no matter how great she may write it. Because they hope making sure that story does not succeed that it will send some message to MARVEL that they'll never support anything Mary Jane related unless she's tied to/in a relationship with Peter.

It's their prerogative of course, but that's what it boils down to at it's simplest.

Not true. If there was a solo Jackpot series that wasn't a part of the Lowe/Wells/Paul situation I would be more inclined to pick it up.

I'm not punishing anyone. I'm just not interested in parting with my hard earned money for books using that character and this awful status quo with him and MJ.

I can get a burrito or a beer for the price of this book and I'd rather have either. It's not my responsibility to donate money to any creators. They put out a product and each consumer is allowed, guilt free, to decide if that product looks like something they want to buy.

I looked at the preview and it's not something I want to buy.

It's no different than ordering at a restaurant. I don't like mushrooms. If a dish has mushrooms on it, I'm not gonna order it unless there's a special case or someone I trust implicitly makes a compelling case for it. And nothing about this preview makes a case for this being a special book.

Perhaps energy would be better spent getting past this undeniably divisive status quo rather than trying to guilt or shame people into supporting something they don't like because it has MJ in it.

Nobody twisted anyone's arm to write what everyone knew would be an extremely controversial and divisive story. That was a conscious decision made by adults. Likely the controversy and divisiveness is what motivated them to do it because they thought they could make money off of it.

But when you divide you subtract that's just math

[wleakr]

So when did you stop beating your spouse?

Same energy.

That’s an interesting comment to make to get your point across.

[Tuck]

The book's going to sell anyway. None of this matters.

The only real indication of whether or not Jackpot is working for readers at large will only be seen if there's a notable decline in sales from the beginning to the end of the Black Cat team up (which will also sell, at least at first).

People should buy things they're interested (and can afford) and not buy things they're not interested in. It's not complicated. And if something a person isn't interested in does turn out to be something they would actually enjoy, they tend to find out through buzz and people with similar tastes to them praising the story.

[Frontier]

The book's going to sell anyway. None of this matters.

The only real indication of whether or not Jackpot is working for readers at large will only be seen if there's a notable decline in sales from the beginning to the end of the Black Cat team up (which will also sell, at least at first).

People should buy things they're interested (and can afford) and not buy things they're not interested in. It's not complicated. And if something a person isn't interested in does turn out to be something they would actually enjoy, they tend to find out through buzz and people with similar tastes to them praising the story.

And Marvel will probably arbitrarily inflate interest like they've done before.

[Kevinroc]

The book's going to sell anyway. None of this matters.

The only real indication of whether or not Jackpot is working for readers at large will only be seen if there's a notable decline in sales from the beginning to the end of the Black Cat team up (which will also sell, at least at first).

People should buy things they're interested (and can afford) and not buy things they're not interested in. It's not complicated. And if something a person isn't interested in does turn out to be something they would actually enjoy, they tend to find out through buzz and people with similar tastes to them praising the story.

This is basically what I think about this whole thing.

[SplinteringHeart]

There is a running theme here, a position taken..that's driving such cynicism for this title and probably the MJ/BC team up to come:

A "hatred" for Paul, an unacceptance for MJ to be a superhero, an insistence she should be married to Peter/Spidey.....

Some of this is ironic coming from people who are such fans of MJ..

Paul at the moment is just a background character, he's had his time I believe, he's not coming to the fore again...disagree with me of course, but I'm saying why continue to get so het up about this character..?

There have been many words about returning the marriage, I'm in favour of that (although I'm happy for Felicia to be in contention).....but look, I can't say I've heard anyone who supports the marriage talk about more than that MJ should be Pete's wife, and/or mother to his children...what I'm getting at is, is that it for MJ? That age old stereo-typical dynamic...wifey, mummy, supportive rock to Peter, the main protagonist..?

Like it or not (before you've seen it all), buy it or not(yes your prerogative), Jackpot showcases MJ, and so will the BC team up...it's what Marvel are doing with MJ, she's not just in the background...

I will be buying the one shot and team up..I like MJ, and Felicia...1

[Triniking1234]

I was familiar with her work from My Little Pony (and the excuse to read these comics to my unicorn-loving kid). I think she did a good job on those books.

"Jackpot" is a strange beast, because it's something I would have fully supported at another time, with a different status quo. As is, I'm not shy about my distaste for what they've been doing with Mary Jane and Peter in ASM. Anyone who frequents these boards knows it. As such, I don't want a talent like Bronfman to fail, but I also don't want this status quo to be supported or dragged out any longer. I was "done" with it ages ago and my patience has long since drained away.

Jackpot could be a success - a Spider-Man adjacent book, starring his most popular love interest, now with powers, and a shiny #1 - it's all an on-paper recipe for success. However, it's a status quo and set-up that so severely has poisoned my interest that I, a guy with a Mary Jane action figure on my computer desk, have zero interests in checking it out and would rather read almost anything else. It's just not what I want for her, it's not the book I want to support, and it's not the kind of story I want Bronfman given to write.

Ultimately, I only hope that Bronfman gets the chance to write a book under more favorable circumstances, and that cynics and detractors here are open-minded enough to give it a shot when that happens.

So they're trying to pull another Spider-Gwen off? Damn.