Ask Kurt Busiek

[newparisian]

We hope to be making some interesting announcements soon.

kdb

Awesome!

Via DC solicitations?

[Marvell2100]

We hope to be making some interesting announcements soon.

kdb

Looking forward to it. Will you post any info in this thread?

[Kurt Busiek]

We will make announcements when we're able to make announcements.

I don't know if I'll remember to post here in Ask Kurt Busiek specifically, but we won't by shy about getting the word out.

[Marvell2100]

We will make announcements when we're able to make announcements.

I don't know if I'll remember to post here in Ask Kurt Busiek specifically, but we won't by shy about getting the word out.

Awesomeness. Thanks very much!

Are there any new action figures, statues of Astro City characters coming out?

I'm ordering Samaritan and the Confessor.

[Kurt Busiek]

Awesomeness. Thanks very much!

Are there any new action figures, statues of Astro City characters coming out?

I'm ordering Samaritan and the Confessor.

I won't have any announcements to make until we make those announcements we hope to make soon.

But glad you're jazzed!

kdb

[Superfan90]

Hey Kurt, who would win between Thor and Silver Surfer? Between Superman and Silver Surfer?

[Vordan]

Hey Mr. Busiek,

Given the sheer amount of material that's been put out, is there any chance of collecting Astro City in on omnibus or fat tpb format?

Thank you sir

He doesn’t answer those types of questions. Doesn’t matter to him.

[newparisian]

We will make announcements when we're able to make announcements.

I don't know if I'll remember to post here in Ask Kurt Busiek specifically, but we won't by shy about getting the word out.

Thank you, looking forward to it.

[Kurt Busiek]

Hey Kurt, who would win between Thor and Silver Surfer? Between Superman and Silver Surfer?

Whoever the writer wants. We rig the fights to serve the story.

kdb

[OptimusMegatron01]

1. Do you think there will ever be a crossover between 616 and MCU? The only crossovers are 1. Young Avengers visited MCU off-panel in an issue and 2. MCU Spider-Man was seen a member of the Spider-Army in Spider-Geddon, but these are cameos.

2. Do you like Transformers? Especially the movies.

3. Do you think old universes should be revisited more? Like What If universes etc. Also, what about non-comic universes? For example, 70s Hulk TV Show, 2003 Hulk, 90s shows or EMH? Is Marvwl comics allowed to use these versions?

[Klaxton]

Mr Busiek, I read your post on continuity the previous page. What is your opinion on stories that blantantly don't agree with the previous continuity? Should they be retconned?

[Kubert]

Awesomeness. Thanks very much!

Are there any new action figures, statues of Astro City characters coming out?

I'm ordering Samaritan and the Confessor.

Action Figures are a must.

[Wall-Crawler]

Mr. Busiek, I have two questions.

1-Do you think that when writing established characters, fan backlash is killing creativity ?

People nowadays are so angry about changes made to characters that they lash out at any change made that deviates from what they think certacin character should be (myself included tbh), and I can only imagine how that might hinder an author if he pays attention to that mentality or worries about it. The stories we praise today from the 80s are runs that actually made significant changes to franchises, but nowadays that seems to get refused for the most part, at least on the online community.

2- In your experience (from yourself and colleagues), what is more valuable for an author, that the work is well received by fans or well received by critics ?

Obviously every author probably aims at succeeding in both, but I am taking examples like The Last Jedi or the recent Last of Us Part 2 where critics and fans seem to be at opposing ends.

[Kurt Busiek]

1. Do you think there will ever be a crossover between 616 and MCU?

No idea. It would probably make sense for Marvel to do some comics set in the movie continuity, to fill in gaps and such. But crossovers like that strike me as pointing out the unreality of it all.

But I'm sure there'd be readers who'd love them, and they're not going to consult me...

2. Do you like Transformers? Especially the movies.

I never read the TRANSFORMERS comics or watched the cartoons (there were cartoons, right)? I saw the first couple of movies, but thought they were kinda incoherent. The most recent one, BUMBLEBEE? That was good, I thought.

3. Do you think old universes should be revisited more? Like What If universes etc.

If a writer's got a good idea, maybe. But too much of that, and it makes the "main" characters just feel like variant versions, and no one's really "real," so a little goes a long way.

Also, what about non-comic universes? For example, 70s Hulk TV Show, 2003 Hulk, 90s shows or EMH? Is Marvwl comics allowed to use these versions?

Depends on the contracts, so I have no idea. DC managed to get the rights to do BATMAN '66, but I gather that took a while. I don't know if Marvel would be able to (or want to) get the rights to do the Bixby/Ferrigno Hulk. But, again, I'm sure there'd be readers who'd love it.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

Mr Busiek, I read your post on continuity the previous page. What is your opinion on stories that blantantly don't agree with the previous continuity? Should they be retconned?

I don't think there should be any one rule about it.

If it's a good story, and the continuity it contradicts is from a dumb story (like, say, the time Don Blake built a functioning android in an early Thor story), then maybe the old story is the one to retcon.

But when you've got 60-plus years of ongoing continuity, you're going to want to make adjustments to keep the characters feeling modern. I love the extensive history of the characters and love using it, but I don't want it to become a stranglehold that makes it hard to keep the characters fresh and exciting for a new audience.

Just to pick a small for-instance, if Peter Parker is about 29 today, then he became Spider-Man in 2006. So I don't think even a nerdy 2006 teenager wears a jacket and tie to high school (or a sweater-vest). It's continuity, but some stuff you can let go.

As long as the spirit of it is maintained, and you can use whatever's interesting in the past to tell new and modern stories, I think we can be a little flexible about handling the past.

kdb