Every Friday, Marvel Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso sits down with CBR to discuss the state of affairs over at the House of Ideas. Here's a few excerpts from that conversation, including what fans should expect from the
'Fired' teaser for Superior Spider-Man and his response to the initial mandate that Marvel NOW! creative teams would be on books for the long haul...only to have numerous creator changes announced this week.
On the Superior Spider-Man, 'Fired' teaser. Alonso: What I will say is that the teaser word -- "Fired" --applies directly to the new Spider-Man -- Otto Octavious -- not the "ghost" of Peter Parker who's whispering in his ear. Oh -- and readers shouldn't jump to conclusions that's a "ghost" either.
And yes, this is the status quo. When we killed Captain America and put the Winter Soldier in his red, white and blue uniform, sales were good, readers dug it, and it became a real buzz book. It got to the point that we had to ask, "Do we even need Steve Rogers?" [Laughs] Same could happen here. There's a new guy in the red-and-blue tights who's going have a lot easier time embracing the "power" than the "responsibility" -- and that's going to make for a riveting story.
On the episodic nature Amazing Spider-Man and Superior Spider-Man has adapted since issue the start of the 'Dying Wish' story arc. Alonso: We get immediate feedback on everything we do, sometimes before we've actually done it! [Laughs] In this market, fans want their comic book-reading experience to be chock-full of twists and turns and dramatic reveals they can immediately debate with their friends at the comic store. A core comic like "Amazing" -- I mean "Superior -- Spider-Man" is a lot like a must-see TV show that's become appointment viewing, so we work extra hard to keep the pedal to the metal so reader are constantly buzzing about some new development in the story.
Alonso addresses the initial Marvel NOW! mandate that creative teams would be on books for the long term, only now, we've seen a number of changes announced. Alonso: It's due to the accelerated shipping schedule. Phil(Noto) is also going to come on for an important arc (on Thunderbolts), and afterwards, maybe Steve (Dillon) will come back. It's nothing new. We build all our accelerated-shipping series with a core artist and a complementary swing artist. It's an inexact science, but we work with the writer to make it as seamless as possible. Speaking from experience, when I edited "Deadpool," Paco Medina and Carlo Barberi -- fantastic artists whose styles were complimentary -- were my rotation. It was so fluid I could sometimes split up one arc between them without the readers feeling that the "actors" had changed mid-story. While this is standard operating procedure, I do want to stress that the books are firmly in the hands of one writer, whose long-term vision for the title -- and whose involvement in the art assignments -- anchors the series. We're not playing musical chairs. We have faith in our writers.
As usual, much more with Alonso over at CBR, so click the source link below to read the full transcript. It's nice to hear clarification from Axel about the creator changers, which are probably just going to be short-term and allow the main artists to catch up with the series. No matter what though, it appears that the writers on the Marvel NOW! titles are firmly rooted in place.
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