What do you expect and want from Marvel in 2018?

[Anduinel]

I expect nothing terribly surprising of Marvel in the next year. What I want:

- for each line to have a distinct direction and individual books to play on different facets of that direction
- more mini-series starring fan-faves that can't carry a solo; and that these stories are allowed to actually "matter" to the larger MU
- the return of issue reference boxes; seriously, when did trying to sell more comics to readers become a bad thing?
- either every character follows the Wolverine rule and can be on multiple teams at once, or every character is limited to one team book and their solo
- Alpha Flight 2018

[AcesX1X]

What source can you possibly need. There has been no CB purge, you made the claim not me..

hollywood reporter made that claim, not me.

Meanwhile, the solicitations for Marvel’s March 2018 releases signals the cancelations of a number of comic series, including Gwenpool, Luke Cage, America, Generation X, Hawkeye, She-Hulk and Iceman. As has become customary, Marvel as a company has yet to comment officially on the cancelations — and declines to comment when specifically asked about them — with confirmations coming directly from the creators behind the comics on social media.

That the majority of series confirmed to be ending feature female leads or men of color didn’t escape the notice of many fans, with discussion of a boycott of the publisher soon following. This led to the unusual sight of a Marvel editor asking fans not to stop buying Marvel titles on social media:

and then they follow it up with a twitter plea from marvel editor jordan white for "patience" from the fans ..

I understand being upset about comics being cancelled--trust me, those of us working on those comics are likely AT LEAST as upset as you are, probably more upset. But that being said... please reconsider a knee-jerk "boycott".

[Digifiend]

What source can you possibly need. There has been no CB purge, you made the claim not me. For example Alonso was heavily involved in the yet to be published Avengers event and oversaw all of it. So his influence will still be felt for at least two months across the whole line. We will not see any influence of the changeover until at least March probably May.

Every political change in Marvel is accompanied by ignorance and misinformation that sticks and becomes received wisdom. The slowly forming misinformation in this one is that CB oversaw a back to basics line, and poor historians will conveniently forget that the current move to more conservative books was initiated and masterminded by Alonso.

Eventually we will get a version of events from people that were actually there in the office and we may learn about things we are ignorant to at the moment, but right now nobody is talking and we don’t really know why Alonso was let go. Best not to guess based on internet chatter.

Yeah, I think the earliest possible decisions on CB's watch are the creative team changes for Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Avengers, and Champions (all due to happen between April and June). However, if Avengers turns out to be taken over by Jason Aaron, that's been rumoured for months and would likely turn out to be an Alonso decision. It's possible that was assigned before Legacy #1 was released.

[Kintor]

Maybe you should explain what you mean by Marvel not having any plans for them. Putting them in future film and TV projects sounds an awful lot like having plans for them. I mean, why go to the trouble of giving them more publicity if you don't want to do anything more with them?

Marvel has no idea what to do with these identity politics characters, they never had a clue and they never will. This is because such characters weren't actually designed as people with realistic viewpoints and emotional range, they're just angry caricatures of certain demographics that Marvel deemed a more desirable market under their new ideology. Of course, the trouble with identity politics is that it has nowhere to go, you can't tell interesting stories with identity politic characters because there is nothing of substance behind the facade. Hence why Marvel Rising is going to fail, its leading characters are underdeveloped and completely unappealing, even to the demographics that Marvel so cravenly sought over their own fanbase.

[Venomous Mask]

Wants:

- A Carnage story, preferably around the length of Venom Inc. with the same level of quality as Family Feud and Carnage USA
- Midnight Sons imprint featuring both Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch in some capacity
- Aliens/Predator crossover
- Roderick Kingsley story
- Venom film being placed in the MCU

Expects:

Honestly, I have no idea.

[WebLurker]

Marvel has no idea what to do with these identity politics characters, they never had a clue and they never will. This is because such characters weren't actually designed as people with realistic viewpoints and emotional range, they're just angry caricatures of certain demographics that Marvel deemed a more desirable market under their new ideology.

For the sake of discussion, let's say that you're right. You're assuming that the characters cannot grow over time as new stories are put together, new writers add their own ideas into the mix, and things get refined. We've seen it happen before; characters with weak starts go on to greater things. I submit that it's too early to tell with many of these characters what their limits are and where they'll go from here, esp. since quite a few of them have found their niche in the fanbase.

For reference, are there any specific examples you have in mind of "identity politics characters." I'd have an easier time understanding your POV if there was something I could refer to.

Of course, the trouble with identity politics is that it has nowhere to go, you can't tell interesting stories with identity politic characters because there is nothing of substance behind the facade.

Why's that? A lot of classics in the sci-fi genre have been about exploring social issues through a different lens. Also see above that characters aren't locked into their factory settings.

Hence why Marvel Rising is going to fail, its leading characters are underdeveloped and completely unappealing, even to the demographics that Marvel so cravenly sought over their own fanbase.

You also assuming that the people making Marvel Rising can't shore up weaker characters and make them more rounded through the adaptation process. That does happen. It remains to be seen how well the movie is made, but we know next to nothing about it, so we really don't have any criteria to judge it by. (And if it's bad, it's a bad movie. We've been through that before and we're still okay.)

Also, I'm not sure about those characters not being liked by the Marvel fanbase; for example, Spider-Gwen and Kamala Khan are fan favorites (albeit not among the superstars). A lot of the other so-called identity politics and SJW comics and characters have also found financial and critical success. And if some of those series appeal to people outside the "fanbase," that's just good business; it increases their overall audience. Besides, you need to create new characters to keep the line healthy.

[Tendrin]

And if some of those series appeal to people outside the "fanbase,".

For entirely too many, this is the real problem.

[9th.]

Wants:
Steve to be old again

[Kintor]

Why's that? A lot of classics in the sci-fi genre have been about exploring social issues through a different lens. Also see above that characters aren't locked into their factory settings.

Funny you should mention that, comparing the identity politics characters to something which rolled off an assembly line. It certainly seems like that to me, these characters are so poorly written and ill-conceived that they don't seem like real people at all but rather automata built to fill a quota. Heck, in the past Marvel has created robot characters with more personality and better motivations then the likes of America Chavez. Ah well, perhaps now with the latest purge of underperforming comics, Marvel might finally be putting a greater emphasis on quality characters again. Hitting the 'right' demographic boxes is no substitute for honest creativity and the sincere commitment to comic books as an art form.

[skyvolt2000]

For reference, are there any specific examples you have in mind of "identity politics characters." I'd have an easier time understanding your POV if there was something I could refer to.

In order to do that one has to READ the books. Like you I am tired of hearing generalities. Lets see some examples with books, issues, page number and quotes about the characters in question.

And for many of those guy in Marvel Rising-we are talking about more than 1 book but 100+.

Lets take Patriot since he has the least number of books.

Is his identity politics when he threw a bottle at a store setting it on fire?
Or when AI Tony saw his design for a costume and made it for him and Mockingbird helped train him.
Or when he told off Sam and convince him to get back in the CA suit for one last battle?
Or when he got scared and wanted to give up in Champions and Miles told him off?
Or when he started working with Falcon?

I do remember seeing this stuff being done with white characters. Especially named Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Logan, Nomad & Hal Jordan.

For entirely too many, this is the real problem.

It's called competition and variety. And for years the comic book industry (especially DC) pushed back when it came. Marvel or Disney says we can't do that anymore. There is too much money BEYOND that comic book store to be made.

Throwing fits over 20 out of 80 Marvel books solves what? If one is a Deadpool fans-Moon Girl is not preventing you from reading about him.

We got FF and others coming back-there is no reason for fits to be thrown.

We got a Black Panther movie coming out and NOW would be the time to comment and hype up books you read because you never know who might see that movie and wants to try a trade beyond Panther. Maybe less Marvel bashing comments to google the better it is for everybody.

[CIA]

It's called competition and variety. And for years the comic book industry (especially DC) pushed back when it came. Marvel or Disney says we can't do that anymore. There is too much money BEYOND that comic book store to be made.

Throwing fits over 20 out of 80 Marvel books solves what? If one is a Deadpool fans-Moon Girl is not preventing you from reading about him.

We got FF and others coming back-there is no reason for fits to be thrown.

We got a Black Panther movie coming out and NOW would be the time to comment and hype up books you read because you never know who might see that movie and wants to try a trade beyond Panther. Maybe less Marvel bashing comments to google the better it is for everybody.

It's funny cause Marvel Legacy has zero variety, it's either regurgitating movie or series content or just the same brand of legacy characters over and over and over.

Yes, if you enjoy movie characters like Deadpool, Moon Girl isnt preventing for you to read about him, but it you are a fan of C-List characters and under, there's nothing for you since books like Moon Girl, America and Gwenpool replaced them.

[maxhilary]

I don't know what to expect from Marvel with the new EIC and the Fox deal, so I'll just say what I want:

- The return of Uncanny X-men as the flagship X-men book, in addition to a second main X-book. And the lineups should be a mix of the popular characters and more niche fan favorites. Mix in the alumni of the original New Mutants and Generation X with the classic characters. 7 characters minimum on each book.
- A New X-men book featuring the student characters coming into their own.
- A Young Avengers book.
- At least some of the main titles should be less new reader friendly and more continuity heavy, such as Avengers. I get that the norm now is to write in arcs for trades, but can we have a long game in at least 3-4 titles?
- Redemption arc for Emma Frost.
- Keeping the diversity in their lineup of books.
- Having said that, less solo titles overall please. Not every member of the GoTG needs their own book. And if they're supposed to be minis, just say that from the start.
- Spider-marriage restored. (A guy can dream)
- No more hero vs hero stuff.
- More focus on creating compelling new villains than new heroes.

[Digifiend]

Well I certainly wasn't expecting Exiles. More surprises please.

[Smoov-E]

It's funny cause Marvel Legacy has zero variety, it's either regurgitating movie or series content or just the same brand of legacy characters over and over and over.

Yes, if you enjoy movie characters like Deadpool, Moon Girl isnt preventing for you to read about him, but it you are a fan of C-List characters and under, there's nothing for you since books like Moon Girl, America and Gwenpool replaced them.

Except Moon Girl, America and Gwenpool didn’t since they’re in the same boat as those supposed c-listers

[Marvell2100]

It's funny cause Marvel Legacy has zero variety, it's either regurgitating movie or series content or just the same brand of legacy characters over and over and over.

Yes, if you enjoy movie characters like Deadpool, Moon Girl isnt preventing for you to read about him, but it you are a fan of C-List characters and under, there's nothing for you since books like Moon Girl, America and Gwenpool replaced them.

Moon Girl, America and Gwenpool are A-B list characters?

Iron Fist, Black Bolt, Luke Cage and Thanos still have solos. I buy all of them except Thanos and I'm going back to get his series.