Renew Your Vows didn't make the Top 100 in May

[Miles To Go]

Yeah, it's not looking good for RYV. It didn't even crack the top one-hundred last month. I reckon they'll reach issue twelve and maybe call it a day then as a year long maxi-series.

Let's just hope it doesn't end on a downer.

[UnknownEntity]

Yeah, it's not looking good for RYV. It didn't even crack the top one-hundred last month. I reckon they'll reach issue twelve and maybe call it a day then as a year long maxi-series.

Let's just hope it doesn't end on a downer.

Oh man, please, we cannot, we fight until the bitter end until there's no one left standing. But at least if it turns into a maxi series it will be like Vision which was the best comic of 2016. They should relaunche the title as Amazing Spider Man Family.

[Frontier]

I wonder just what went wrong with RYV. The critical and fan reception has been pretty good, but that never translated to sales despite a strong start fro the book.

Were people turned off by the X-Men crossover? Or the issues where Stegman left hurt it? Was Conway's shifting POV on the same event for the first 3 issues a turn-off for fans?

[UnknownEntity]

I wonder just what went wrong with RYV. The critical and fan reception has been pretty good, but that never translated to sales despite a strong start fro the book.

Were people turned off by the X-Men crossover? Or the issues where Stegman left hurt it? Was Conway's shifting POV on the same event for the first 3 issues a turn-off for fans?

Its sadly an effect of all Marvel comics, especially new ones or AU's. They start off good but over time they continue to drop. There is a massive dilution due to the amount of comics they release. Their negative rap also doesn't help as readers keep leaving.

The issue where Stegman left, issue 5 was actually one of the better selling issues. Issue 6 with X-Men was phenomenal but maybe it did turn people off.

[Kevinroc]

I wonder just what went wrong with RYV. The critical and fan reception has been pretty good, but that never translated to sales despite a strong start fro the book.

Were people turned off by the X-Men crossover? Or the issues where Stegman left hurt it? Was Conway's shifting POV on the same event for the first 3 issues a turn-off for fans?

AUs are a hard sell.

[Miles To Go]

I wonder just what went wrong with RYV. The critical and fan reception has been pretty good, but that never translated to sales despite a strong start fro the book.

Were people turned off by the X-Men crossover? Or the issues where Stegman left hurt it? Was Conway's shifting POV on the same event for the first 3 issues a turn-off for fans?

Some ideas

-Minimal emphasis on Peter Parker. He felt like a supporting character to Annie and MJ
-Minimal emphasis on MJ, Peter and Annie's lives at school or at work. I've been waiting ages for a little more on Annie's school mates since the third issue
-Too much with Normie Osborn, and largely nothing that advanced his plot. We're getting a focus issue on him soon
-Not enough focus on self-contained standalone escapades to make the escalating drama with Peter's depleted powers mean more in terms of stakes
-Not a clear definition of this universe's history, it was never quite clear whether it was tied to the SW RYV or not.
-As noted several times, AUs are a tough nut, and people are far too conditioned to invest in the core timelines, where change matters.

RYV needed to adapt the Spider-Girl formula in order to survive I think...build up investment through ''book length epics'' as Stan would say, and really grow an audience. It was easier in SG's day to do that, they had passion and energy to keep that book going, it's been a decade since the marriage was a thing, where as with SG, marriage fans had it good.

But above all else, Marvel were just never going to fully get behind a title that endorses a concept that they would much rather put behind them. It's forever an uphill battle to get the marriage treated with any respect.

[Miles To Go]

If sales are any indication, RYV may not be sustainable much longer...meaning people starved for the marriage fix will probably be louder than ever if it goes.

[Mister Mets]

If sales are any indication, RYV may not be sustainable much longer...meaning people starved for the marriage fix will probably be louder than ever if it goes.

If RYV isn't sustainable, that would suggest the marriage isn't marketable, and there's less reason to listen to anyone starved for the marriage.

[Mister Mets]

Some ideas

-Minimal emphasis on Peter Parker. He felt like a supporting character to Annie and MJ
-Minimal emphasis on MJ, Peter and Annie's lives at school or at work. I've been waiting ages for a little more on Annie's school mates since the third issue
-Too much with Normie Osborn, and largely nothing that advanced his plot. We're getting a focus issue on him soon
-Not enough focus on self-contained standalone escapades to make the escalating drama with Peter's depleted powers mean more in terms of stakes
-Not a clear definition of this universe's history, it was never quite clear whether it was tied to the SW RYV or not.
-As noted several times, AUs are a tough nut, and people are far too conditioned to invest in the core timelines, where change matters.

RYV needed to adapt the Spider-Girl formula in order to survive I think...build up investment through ''book length epics'' as Stan would say, and really grow an audience. It was easier in SG's day to do that, they had passion and energy to keep that book going, it's been a decade since the marriage was a thing, where as with SG, marriage fans had it good.

But above all else, Marvel were just never going to fully get behind a title that endorses a concept that they would much rather put behind them. It's forever an uphill battle to get the marriage treated with any respect.

Marvel's lack of support isn't really an explanation about why sales are declining. That comes from people who read the title, and opted not to continue with it.

[Miles To Go]

If RYV isn't sustainable, that would suggest the marriage isn't marketable, and there's less reason to listen to anyone starved for the marriage.

The marriage IS marketable when handled by A-list talent and promoted heavily. RYV as it currently stands is not marketed properly.

[Frontier]

Marvel's lack of support isn't really an explanation about why sales are declining. That comes from people who read the title, and opted not to continue with it.

Well, I think that goes into a debate of how much the publisher is responsible for a title's cancellation and how much is it on the readers.

[Mister Mets]

The marriage IS marketable when handled by A-list talent and promoted heavily. RYV as it currently stands is not marketed properly.

What was the problem with the talent? And how did marketing fail a series that debuted well?

[blackspidey2099]

The marriage IS marketable when handled by A-list talent and promoted heavily. RYV as it currently stands is not marketed properly.

I think Conway and Stegman constitute as A-Listers, and Marvel rarely heavily promotes any books other than events. In fact, I think the book actually has received quite a bit of attention due to the controversy around OMD and the marriage in general. I'm not saying the marriage is unpopular, but it does seem that its importance is overestimated by the number of extremely vocal supporters it has. I will concede that the facts that the book is in an AU, Peter has a child, and there is a whole family of crimefighters may have further reduced the audience for the book.

Even if Marvel does cancel RYV, I hope they will at least try out an AU with Peter married to MJ, no kids or any super-family aspects, but Peter balancing his married life with superheroics and his job. I don't want them to give up on telling stories featuring a married Peter.

[Miles To Go]

Even if Marvel does cancel RYV, I hope they will at least try out an AU with Peter married to MJ, no kids or any super-family aspects, but Peter balancing his married life with superheroics and his job. I don't want them to give up on telling stories featuring a married Peter.

Oh I agree, but Marvel have a weird track record with attempts at that.

Barely a year after BND started up, they ran a series of short MC-Two based stories in the Amazing Spider-Man Family title, an anthology magazine containing reprints and even stories set in the post-OMD universe. The shorts were about Peter doing his usual thing as Spidey while he and MJ [no powers] raised an infant Mayday. They were very good for what they were, but they were not permitted a full ongoing devoted to them, probably so as not to give the BND era any damaging competition by readily supplying readers with a married Spider-Man so swiftly after disposing of it in the main canon. Also keep in mind MC-Two has most of the original history intact up until the end of the nineties, so it could have been considered a direct threat at the time. RYV not so much because it's timeline has taken several liberties as it is.

[WeirdSpider]

If RYV isn't sustainable, that would suggest the marriage isn't marketable, and there's less reason to listen to anyone starved for the marriage.

Given that the marriage lasted for over 20 years before Marvel retcon it suggest to me that the marriage is marketable.

The problem is that Renew Your Vows is an alternate universe, and no matter how well an AU is written it will never sell as well as the real thing.