Hello everybody and welcome to Comic-Pop, I'm Sal. And today we're going to talk about Marvel a little bit. The Hollywood Reporter came out with an article not too long ago, which highlighted all the mistakes that Marvel made over the year 2017. And I was so taken by it that I wanted to share some of the sampling with you guys, just to kind of remark on where Marvel has gone and where we hope it will end up.
And I want to get kind of some outsider opinions about like what they could do to correct some of these problems, maybe where all these problems are kind of stemming from if there is a central location. Well if you want to grab someone from the hallway. Just the comic book publishing house. So going down the list, and by the way I'm going to put a link in the description box list video for the link from Hollywood Reporter that published this finding in the first place.
Marvel had been doing this thing where when you bought a physical copy of an issue it came with a QR code that allowed you to get a download link for the digital copy of that comic. They threw that away and instead you got three comics from their digital library. But any comic? No.
Three other comics that they take out for you. Like specific comics. Yeah. Are they related to the book you read it?
I don't know, I never, I never patronize their service. Okay. So instead of getting a digital copy of the one that you bought. You get three digital copies of something else.
But you don't get a digital copy of the one you bought. No. So they give you a digital copy is probably of lesser properties that they're trying to promote. Or just older books that are just sitting in their own guys.
But it's digital so like it doesn't cost them anything. Right. Yeah, but they could probably sell that book digitally on topology. Yeah.
Or through the more gross. Where they may not sell an older book digitally. No. So we already digitized them.
You just have that. Yeah. That's an interesting. And if you want this book digitally you can buy it digitally too.
Yeah. But you already did. For me that didn't matter because I never used the codes. I didn't either.
But I do know a lot of people who did. Yes. And I think that's fair. I went full digital so I don't even bother.
That's true. It shouldn't. That's like a decision that they made like that they would make if they felt like nobody was going to come. Right.
Then it would be like well let's try to make it like meaningful like getting something else and something else and stuff. Yeah. That's what people do. Yeah.
But that's why I don't have as much of a problem with that particular blunder because I feel like there was some thought behind it. I don't know if it's a blunder. I think it's just them trying to get more of their comics read. I mean but I like that.
Yeah. I just don't know if I like how they did it. And you get an option to download any book from the library of that. Not that series of that character or that title.
From the archives. Not from that run. Not even from that year. From the archives.
That makes sense. Because you don't know what you're going to get. Yeah. But you get to choose.
You can just go back and go back. That's my fault. They just apparently get you through. Yeah.
Which is like I guess they're going to be being like in the middle of some more books because they're going to be able to buy them. Yeah. They'll let themselves get exposed to it. They'll be exposed to something they would never have bought.
Right. Exactly. Like anyway. It would be one thing if it was a publisher that was also being like and we've also paired with other publishers so that you buy a copy of our book and you get like digital copies of other publishers that are maybe not well known but it's Marvel.
Trust me. You know the books that they're putting out. No, no, no, no, no. There's quite a few that you don't.
Either like someone who's reading like let's say one of the triple-like books like Spider-Man or an event book. Like if they just bought Secret Empire and they got like three random books that were Captain America themed. Like that would make some sense but it's still kind of like it's still a deliberate change in the policy that like people didn't ask for. No, no, no, no, no.
We asked for it. So you had to wonder like what's the motivation. What's the thought of? What if it's an attempt to get you to buy like a trade?
That'd be nice. Because like that is like increasing right? Like people buying trades. People are definitely sorry.
And if I give you one piece of story you might be like oh I want to know what happened. I'm going to go buy because I already bought books. You know I physically buy books. Right.
I bought this one to get the code. I'm going to go buy the trade of that book. That's exactly the direction I think the industry is heading in or should be heading in. Like where they really take care of their trades and they really make those trades more available to as many people as possible.
It's another reason why most like small brick and mortar comic book shops are complaining about loss of revenue because they're saying like Amazon and bookstores two of them that are left are just selling books like trades and over hard covers. People don't like know to come to a conflict story. You can get trades at a conflict story. You can get trades anywhere.
Right. Right. That's the thing like they're not locked in. Yeah.
Like you were with the single issues. Exactly. But isn't it kind of weird to just the idea of selling like printed trades through digital books. Because they sell to print them.
They sell to the print of the trade. Whereas with the digital book you've already digitized them. Yeah. Like don't you try to push people to buy the digital versions of it.
Yeah. Well that cost is done. Right. Well and maybe they do because it could be that like they give you the one digital issue and then they give you the option.
I don't know how to do this. Right. But it's like a vital trade. Or go to your store like whatever you want to do.
It's not going to be a taste. It's like the drug pusher. They give you a little bit. Which is exactly how kind of books sales operate.
It's also weird just in general they put these codes in the books because they're all like no we got to support local convos. That's just just let's pay lip service. I know. But like the opposite.
Yeah. And they're like but wouldn't you want to be cool if you got something digital college? Yes. Yeah.
It would be cool if we did the exact opposite. It's almost like a good news. You can't lose your computer digital. So like I'm going to recently recently.
I'm going to run that story. Let's just go. Another mistake going to this list is that the editor in chief of Marvel at the time which is Axel Lanzo said outright in an interview that artists don't sell books. No one buys a comic book because of an artist's name on the cover.
Artists don't sell books. The retailers. They don't care about that. I don't understand.
They were trying. It was an attempt to lessen the importance and value of the superstar artist. Okay. So like the superstar author?
Yeah. Yeah. So I mean arguably like the 90s like proves that is completely wrong. Don't put on his career is predicated on the antithesis of the statement.
Right. Right. But that was then. Right.
Now it's less so so I could see where he's maybe saying like in contrast to prior to. No he was saying it in a way where he was like no artists don't sell comics. Like as if to as if you try and take away. I think it was almost like.
And if you want to say that character sell comics and artists don't I would say that's probably to some extent true. That is. But if you say like characters and writers I'm going to say like no like if it's characters that's really writers that's really. Yeah.
You could say that. You know. The fact is to a lot of people it is just a character. Yeah.
I mean I have to assume that's the case but it's like or they or they're trying to value artists who like need deadlines or artists who do good work that kind of thing like because I can see publishers like the thing that matters to me when I'm trying to get these books out. It's getting someone who can get it out on schedule. I don't have to worry about it. That is how they work.
That's how they operate. They they will always always favor a creator who can produce versus a creator that is unknown or creator that might be better but takes a long they will always choose the creator to produce faster. Yeah. Which seems like very old school.
It is very old school. It is like a like 1960s like the telly was like it doesn't matter. Yeah. Yeah.
But just like I can't believe he would say that out loud in a world where there are transcripts of articles interviews where the old guard you saying that is echoing the exact same editorial that was put out of a job by the superstar artists. That sucks. If you're saying the artist can't sell books and they can't need deadlines and I'll just get a crappy artist out of care that I'm sorry you failed as an editor who failed as a project manager and just because you're trying to make your life easier by getting someone who's shitty at what they do that is not the artist problem that is your problem because there are dozens if not hundreds of artists out there who have a high quality and a decent work ethic. If you can't provide the leadership then you can't go out there and say artists don't sell books you can't sell books.
We can't sell books. You're going to tell me more about the artist don't sell books and then you're going to put out like 20 variants which are based solely on the art of the cover. Yeah. So it's not about the concept.
But here's the thing about that. You have to buy 200% more inventory of the previous issue in order to get one of those areas. Well yeah. Which is a problem for the retailers obviously but I'm just saying like fundamentally if you say an artist doesn't sell a book and then you provide like dozens of variants for.
By artists that are known in the industry then you're acknowledging the hypocrisy of your statement. Then around the same time the head of sales says a closed door meeting with retailers that readers don't want diversity or female representation in their comics and it is reflected in sales. Wow. Well they said in the closed door meeting so I didn't think anyone was going to know that's right.
Well also they're always pursuing that mythical you know. New reader. Yeah. And some of those books are producing like moon girl and Elle Dine's source of book that I expected to be canceling for issues.
Instead is one of the few books that wasn't cancelled in the Christmas purge that just took place and it's because the numbers are consistent and reliable and they're gaining foot holds in places that Marvel Comics doesn't normally get. Yeah. It's having a further effect. I mean like for the fact.
But well I think one thing that you see from that is that what people do like diversity they like to see new things but they don't necessarily not everyone wants to see a character change. No. And that you know just because I made for a girl like that doesn't mean that everyone wants to see more females superheroes is going to like. Yeah.
And also everyone who likes Thor the way he was is definitely going to be not happy. They're going to feel alienated because you just literally throw out the rug out from under the rug. Right. So if you prove it if the sales are not good that diversity is bad.
No you prove that changing Thor into a girl is bad. Or you're not going to. Or you're going to be the changes bad. Yeah.
Right. That is a certain number of people don't like that. Yeah. I was going to say that instead of like the conspiracy that like there's an agenda.
Yeah. If you put a room full of people together and one person has an idea the other people will look to that and be inspired by it. Yes. You see it all over Instagram you'll see an artist who like started doing a thing and then other artists will be like I saw this person doing this I'm going to give it a shot.
Yeah. Look at Inktober. Right. And where yeah.
You know like that's like started like one guy's idea and then like now it's a whole thing where all artists get together and they do this one thing that's going to happen. Right. It's just it's not like they're copying but it's like like that's a good idea and it just gets things going. More people who wanted to have big changes happen saw the door open a little bit and so they just pushed their way through.
I think I think also you're making Thor a girl wanna make a great girl and I'm gonna do all of that on one way just to pass out demand there was people who wanted to do some things. Right. Even between the readers themselves. Not from the audience.
I only do them and then now you are then all at once it's gonna cut it's gonna be a flood because if you were keeping it down. Right. Exactly. Yeah.
I'll have someone at the helm who knows how to lead and allows their creators to be creative within reason. Yes. when you give them the freedom, which you turn their back. It's essentially like Mom and Dad left.
Yeah, and it's like, don't be surprised if the house is on fire. Yeah, the way to let your children grow as people is not to just say, oh well, the house is yours. I walk in a way. You can have ice cream for dinner.
There's something in between total control. It's a gray area. It's almost like moderation is how things really flourish. It's as if it's checks and health.
Yeah, I would have thought that. During this year, they promised that they were going to fix the X-Men. So they did so by launching 17 X-Titles, one of which was X-Men Gold. Then it's kind of like harkening back to the 90s arrow of X-Men where they had teams that were designated gold was one of their new flagship X-Men titles.
And the first issue had overt hate speech embedded in the art by one of their new artists. This was not Marvel's problem. This was the artist's problem. But it is Marvel's problem.
It's where it should have caught it. You have to send your art in and it has to be checked. It has to be edited, which means that the editors they have, this ends to me, the editors they have, there aren't enough of them. And so they don't have the time to put into the books that are the rest of them.
They certainly don't have the man hour or the men's capacity. They're counting on people not inserting. Yeah, they're on the honor system. They're more or less looking like, is that what that character looks like?
Yes. OK. Right. And even then, no.
There was a Phoenix number two or whatever just came out and there's this image of Iceman and a crowd. Everyone has faces, but Iceman, who just has two dots and it's just a big circuit. It's just egregious. And it's because the arts end of time.
The art is because the art is right on the happens. Where that happens? But it's the editor's job to go back and finish this. Or you give it to an anchor.
And it goes to the face. And that's the thing it could be either one. It could be anchor in the artist. Well, either there was no face or the face was bad.
So a point is it needs to be clogged. Someone who has a couple options to fix it. So I think it is both the artists. An appropriate day to take advantage of.
It's just a fault for being an asshole. Which is weird. That's all the person who didn't. Right.
And here's the thing about this. It's a weird place to be because it's a taste beach. But it's also art is often used to put out messages. And it always has been that whether it be counterculture or whatever.
So it's weird. But this is also a business. So it's not just your personal art that you're putting out there that says something. It's just something.
No, it'd be like a graphic designer designing a new co-glable. And there's also some weird hidden, like not. Or like you were a Disney animator. And there was a castle.
You got paid for that. Who was the political message? Who was the social commentary about the dick castle? Disney said, do you think you're going too far?
Or the dick's are lones. I think it's only funny. He did it for the lones. But you know what I mean?
It's that weird thing where it's just like, that's his preface. That's what he thinks. And that's his like, you know, you can't change his ideals. Whatever you think, yay or nay to those.
But because he was paid for it. It's kind of like that's not where you do that. Do that shit on your blog. Yeah.
And he was appropriately fired for it. Yes. And they did handle it. At least they handled it immediately.
He was fired immediately. He drew it. And you know how Marvel is about when it comes to like paying artists and getting less. They're like, I mean, we have these issues.
They're really painful. Well, then if I had two editors looking at it this time. Just a scour. They're coming up with another game.
All right, change this, change that. Yeah. I don't know. But it was so funny because in a year where Marvel had made several blunders already, then they were like, okay, don't worry.
But next time we got. Oops. First issue. And by the way, hilarious is not the bad because literally in a moment where Colossus hitting a baseball with a bat.
Then Marvel announces that they are coming out with a new initiative called Marvel Legacy. But refuses to explain what that means. Marvel Legacy was after Marvel Now 2.0. In 2005, I think, or 2010, or whatever.
It was a long time ago. Marvel had done like this new initiative called Marvel Now. And we're going to change things up. And then they made Marvel Now again.
Yeah. And it was like, can you call it any other adjective? No. Or any other kind of animal.
Like Marvel Power or Marvel Sam. Marvel Later. Yeah. Marvel again.
It's what they should have called it. The audience and the readership has been complaining about how Marvel is not getting back to its roots. And so they immediately announced Marvel Legacy. And I don't think they had a plan.
And they were just like, that's the word people are using. And we can't say Rebirth. Well, figure it out. Well, here's a great time to announce Comic Infinity.
Comic Infinity. Comic Infinity. It's coming. Yes.
It's never ending. Comic Comic Infinity. And when you're like that, what? Comic Pop Plask.
We know exactly where it's going. We know what it is. We're not going to tell you. You're going to have to wait and see.
But what we all have is a logo. We're up there. And that's it. Comic Pop.
Now, this is interesting though. Do you think that DC knew what they were doing? With DC Rebirth? When they put hints of like a logic.
Yes. So, to watch the DC Rebirth, I think that John's had a plan for what to do with Watchmen. I think that when they saw the response, they were like, stretch it. They'd make a long alternate plan where they didn't.
But they didn't divert it. And we all prayed they didn't alter it any further. Marvel continues the tradition of spoiling the end of the major event for the slice bit of ink in a major publication, which was in the New York Times. Marvel spoiled the ending of Secret Empire, which is already a much beguiled event.
It was like 12 of the longest issues of a comic ever had. Yes. 12 issues of Secret Empire, 1,000 tie-ins. They also made Captain America a Hydra Agent slash Nazi.
Everyone says that he's not a Nazi because Hydra is separate from the Nazi party, except for the fact that they were obviously intrinsically tied to the Nazis until Captain America pained one. And then they said there wasn't. So, they ended, they did this. They've been doing this since Civil War.
Since 2005, Marvel has been, for the slightest bit of ink in any legitimate publication that isn't called Wizard. They were like, oh, I will tell you what happens at the end. If you just published an article about how awesome it is, that something changed and this crazy thing happened. Spider-Man's reveal when he took a massive out of Civil War spoiled in some major publication.
And it's been doing that every year, in every event, forever. Right, but Marvel didn't just spoil it like things there. They spoiled their own books. And they can't keep on deadlines with Secret Wars.
Yes, we knew how Secret Wars ended before Secret Wars ended. Yeah, because they put books out. Because there was a delay. There was a delay, but they should have planned for that.
Yes, but what's amazing is in the New York Times article, spoiling Secret Empire, they led the article with surprising no one. Whoo! Whoo! So it's almost like- It was surprising no one was Secret Wars.
It was like, yeah, and they promised that the story would end with Sulte and Grace and they wouldn't just end with someone punching someone. Obviously at the end, Captain America comes out of nowhere and punches the evil cat. Oh, that is an angry comic book fan rating. It's like that.
Or it's someone who is just sick to death. A Marvel comic book? Hey, we got another scoop! Like, oh my god.
Like, we can't always be bumping the Cat in a Tree article just to put your stupid comic book spoiler in our major publication. It's just amazing about news. No, but the fact that the New York Times made fun of the spoiler while publishing it was delicious. So you're saying that it's not that Marvel was reacting to the backlash and trying to say, don't worry, he's good.
They definitely weren't afraid of that. Yeah, they were afraid of that. But it's also like, but they have a hit. But naturally they were like, and in our spoiler, we will also have a hit.
In our spoiler, we will also assage fears. Well, also stop telling us that we did a wrong thing by making Steve Rogers a hydrate. We didn't! You see?
Just wait! Yeah, I'm damn sure. Now, do you think, though, that Marvel's position is somewhat justified since it's insane that people thought, apparently, that he was going to be like, actually evil? Always me, even.
Like, when anyone who reads comics should know that obviously he wasn't. Yes. So this to me is another example of Marvel not respecting their creators? Big time.
Because it's a bit of a matter of obviously any different than what it was supposed to be. But not just that, but like, who gave the interview? Was it an extensor? I doubt it.
I don't remember. I don't think so. Like, and if it wasn't, or he was told he had to do it, you know? Yeah, I could see Marvel just being like, okay, we'll take a last few panels of his book.
We'll release those images to New York Times and a statement from one of our people from PR. Right, and then him being like, yeah, hey, this is my story, show this book! In addition to this, Marvel also releases a host of holographic covers from the 90s that don't really even work, and they undersell. Launching Marvel Legacy, they released a spectrum of lenticular covers, all of which depicted a classic Marvel moment, a Marvel cover.
And then when you turned it, it transformed into a version of that cover, but now using our now characters. Except they worked online when they were like, you know, animated and they're like, look, see? And it's like, they go in another one. Yeah, when you say, yeah, if it works fine.
When you saw them in person, you just saw both covers at the same time. And you're like, I can't. Yeah, and surprising no one. The idea of using a gimmick from 25 years ago, it didn't increase sales.
What's amazing is, Marvel didn't have to reach back far than 20 years to learn the holographic covers. Don't sell. They just had to look at DC when they made futures and all of those holographic covers. I see them in dollar bins every time I go to convicts.
But that's also because futures had sucked. It did suck. But those holographic covers did also stupid. Yeah, they did not have them.
But DC also recently did them. Yes. And they worked. And they worked.
And people wanted them. Yes. Why? And I think it's only because I do not think special covers sell.
I think it's just because people wanted the content between the covers. And the fact is with Marvel legacy, they were like, what's happening? I don't even understand. Like, I don't even know what I'm going to get with this horrible cover.
During the New York Comic Con, Marvel announces a collaboration with a military contractor. And Marvel had announced, made an announcement at your comic con that they were partnering with Northrop. Roman? Roman.
Yeah. To do, yeah, to do course promotion. What? They were going to license other characters and their brands to this, to this weapons manufacturer.
It was a military contractor. Why? And they released a special comic at your comic con, a tie in comic that depicted representatives from the, from like not real, but fictitious representatives from the company. They dissolved the partnership within a few hours of announcing it.
Of course they did. Of course they did. That's bizarre. Boys in charge.
Right? Have you ever wanted to drop a bomb that looks like a hammer? Yeah. Like the only other one in the Hulk's fist?
Yeah, that's, that's, if you're going to do that, okay, first of all, don't announce it. Of course they'll announce it. Because like, that's just, if you're just making money from this company, you just take the money. Yeah.
You take the money. Don't say anything. No. Second, what are you doing?
Are you going to let them like, when that company goes to the government to sell the weapons, they'll even go to the put like Spider-Man on their own point? I don't know. I don't know. What?
If they start making like spy planes, they can put like, it's called a WATU. Yeah. They never go that deep. They call it a vision because they can go into the movie.
Well, our market researchers show that the US military has numerous comic book fans in it. And I think that's what really boosted our sales and we sprinkled Marvel characters into our literature. Yeah. Like, here's the thing.
I'm trying to figure out anything. Why would they do that? A lot of people that work in the government are nerds like you. I mean, that's probably true, I guess.
We wanted to work with Marvel. Just buy the comic and don't tie it to your job. Well, that's just, yeah, don't, if you're going to do that, just be quiet. Yes.
Because no one would have known or cared if you hadn't said it. Right. Now that said, possibly Northrop Grumman said, as part of the deal, and you have to make a announcement. And you have to make an announcement.
And then we'll get us publicity. Yes. Oh, yeah. No, it was money was spent.
People were fired. I saw Iron Man 2. I saw that trade show where they showed all the robots. Yeah.
All the hammerbacks. I love that hammer. That took up something. Yeah.
So that happened in the same year. Bendiss leaves Marvel after 1999 for almost 20 years of Marvel. He leaves at the same time he entered in chief, leaves on ceremoniously. And the new editor in chief in almost the same sentence was outed as an identity of a personator.
What? So he used to write, like, okay, so Bendiss leaves. Yeah. I know.
I think they came courting. Yeah. But I was second at the Bendiss. There was blood in the water.
Yes. And they made God bleed. There will be blood in the water. And then the sharks will come.
Thanks with that. You really mixed your medical words there. You know, I always believe that Bendiss had his eyes on the editor in chief position and they didn't want to give it to him. And so he's like, oh, what am I doing?
What am I doing here? I don't have to be under chief here. I've been under chief over there. Well, no, you can't.
No, you can't. But I work out your own money. And he was also, after Marvel Cinematic broke with Marvel Studios and became, like, directly connected with Disney. They didn't report to Marvel Comics anymore.
Bendiss and the comic brain trust was out. So like, Bendiss used to get a check for every Marvel movie because he would punch up scripts and come up with ideas. Gone. He has not had a hand at any Marvel movie since the comparison.
But Judge John's is one of the main guys over at the DC cinematic universe. And boy, Bendiss would love to be a bunch of flashbacks and flash scripts. So yeah, in that same time, the editor in chief who's been, who's a rich docket of great decisions, leaves probably fired. The new editor in chief, C.B.
was a talent scout for Marvel for a long time. And then, not within the week of his hiring, it was revealed that he was pretending to be a Japanese writer who was working for Marvel. Marvel wanted to put out a comic written by an authentic Japanese person. I think it was, I think it was Menger or not, but like they wanted it.
The guy was writing it wanted to be able to lend like authenticity to what he was writing. So he came up with this like, so he came up with a fake name and used his extensive, like understanding the world's Japanese culture to approximate this persona he had. The real problem is, it wasn't just that he made up a fake pretending to be a Japanese writer and wrote under the pseudonym and also gave interviews under the pseudonym. And when people asked if he, if C.B.
supposed to be was this guy, other people in the company were like, of course he was. I interviewed him. Like I had lunch with him not the other day. Oh, no, it was a turns out he was just a Japanese interpreter that worked for the company.
And he just didn't know who he was. There by revealing that some people within Marvel are just like, are just racist and don't know the difference. I saw Japanese guy walking around, so I had to assume that was him. Now that's another part.
So in addition to that, that's hilarious and blundertastic. But it also is a policy that you cannot, if you're editing a book, write a book. That's a book or any book. I believe you can't write the book.
That would make sense. But the fact is he was. But I'm not that guy. That's the other guy.
That's some fake guy made up. This is like that scene in Mrs. Downfire. Yeah, when he's like an ACP artist, he's a brazine.
No, when the court official comes to his house and he's trying to be... Oh, he puts the cake in his face. Yes, he's both. That's how meaning is best of going in his office.
Or not. Or he's gets a friend again. He really does. He might have actually gone that route.
It would have been embarrassing. So he was pretending to be someone else. It had a different name. Yes.
Use that to justify or excuse cheating on the rule of not editing your book. Yes. That's amazing. Because my name is this, but the person's name who wrote this book is this other thing.
See, I have, okay, I just blip personality disorder. So for me, those actually are too totally different. I don't know what they say to the person to you, but mentally it's too totally different. You know how method acting, you actually live the role that you were for.
She doesn't split. I just decided that I would go around and incorporate Japanese things in my life and then I would be a Japanese person. And then I would be like Daniel Tate Lewis. Yeah.
You won't dare you express it to me. Look, for example, the writer hates Broccoli. I, Stevie Socky, take it off. Can you see the difference there?
There's only different people. And by the way, if one or the other had occurred, it wouldn't be nearly as bad. It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing.
But in comparison to the years worth of mistakes, it is a catastrophe. In addition to this, Jim Starlin, creator of Thanos, he constantly writes Thanos books because he's the steward of Thanos. I create a Thanos, only I know what Thanos is thinking to do. He's like the Silver Surfer book.
Yes. Except he also created Thanos. Oh, it's weird. Yeah, it's weird.
But Starlin was approved to do a three book mini series about Thanos. They're also doing another Thanos book and that Thanos book plot wise looks exactly like Jim Starlin's Thanos book. That has already been approved by Tom Brevoord and pages were being drawn for it. When he saw it, he was like, hey, that's the exact same book I'm doing.
Why are we putting up two books that look exactly the same? Until finally, Starlin was like, you're just lying to me. I quit. And I have all myself any marble ties.
First he said, like, no, they're not the same. Then he said, no, okay, well, they are kind of the same, but they're going to be very different. And then he was like, oh, yeah, no. Oops.
What is it better? Yeah, but who cares? And it was like, that's like a script writer selling the same script to two different production houses. Yes.
Except that it's the same production house. Yeah. And then he said, oh, you think that they were ever going to release both of them. Yes, I do think that.
Really? Right. But like, well, because here's that if pages weren't drawn, if money wasn't spent, because marble loves to not spend money, you can just look at their glass door if you were the company, and that will be enough for you to know how little they like to spend money. From what I understand, it was more like he was more like one who was the structure of Starlin's story, but the dialogue was different.
It was just like, why are we using two very similar stories? That is a good thing. That is a good thing. Well, he's going to be coming up in a movie and we want to sell books before him.
That's a really good example of them not respecting their creators, but they're not respecting their audience because they're like, you're dumb. You'll just buy two Thanos books that are exactly the same. No, one even noticed. Why did you do it too late?
I really got your money. See, my interpretation of that is that I don't know this because I read them, but like only one of them is better than the other. Or what's going to be like more like movie Thanos. Yes.
And it was not Starlin's story. But Starlin wants to write this book. So like, go ahead, you can write your book and it'll be over here. Yeah.
But then we'll have this other book and there's the one that will promote along with the movie. Yeah. So is that the non-Starlin's story coming out? I think it's cancelled.
Really? I think it's cancelled anyway. Well, I think the one he left is supposed to be three books, like three original graphic novels that were like part of its trilogy. And they work on, they finished the first one that's coming out.
Okay. But the next two will never come out. The Starlin one. The Starlin one.
Oh, but the non-Starlin one. Oh, no, that's coming out. Yeah. I can't wait to read them.
Yeah. By the way, I also forgot to mention that during Secret Empire, Marvel asked comic book retailers to dress their stores to look like they were in Hydra. We're going all in. And you only sell Marvel books, right?
Yeah. And also, you also totally buy the story that Hydres know affiliation with the Nazi party, right? So could you do this for me? Or could you reduce the amount of books I have to get from variants?
No. Then no, I can't. Yeah. And most of them didn't.
Most of them did not participate. Along with the set dressing for the store itself, we're going to be sending you guys uniform. Exactly. Exactly.
You work there? And Arm Bands. We also have a small video that has to play in the background, and you have to repeat the rhetoric. It's on your own time whenever you want before bed, when you wake up in the morning like a grocery teeth.
It's like Hydra actually took over. You figured it out. Oh, no! It's almost indistinguishable from what would happen if I did it.
Yeah. Like how weird it. Yeah. You're right.
You're right. Yeah. Exactly. Remember when I said methodactics?
Yeah. And that's just the sampling of most of the things. These are the biggest things that took place in 2017. I think we have, and I think we're more speaking rhetorically, but can we find a root cause?
Are these all like, are these always silly incidents? Is it a bad year? I thought it was, can we find the hard to forgive them? Some of them were definitely related.
I mean, most of these I think are direct results of a lack of the firing of the editor in chief. Yes. Clearly. Yeah.
They shouldn't have lost Bendis, but they did. Yeah. And you know what? Like maybe it's good in the long run because Bendis' old blood brings new people in.
But like, you don't need to lose Bendis. They get new people to start writing books. Yeah. Losing editor in chief is an obvious direct result, especially because he didn't give a very, like, he didn't leave with a smile on his face.
You know, it was, he was like, he was just gone. We don't even know what he's doing right now. Like he showed up to work in like the door was locked. Right.
But everyone's still there. And they're all, like, like, he's a work in the book. There's a box. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. They were just on the floor. Yeah. But you're not stuck here?
No. But the new editor in chief, Sobolsky I remember hearing people know any of the new who he was. And I was like, No, he's the town's gonna work for him for like 10, 20 years. But he had a, uh, a deal.
So wait a minute. Did they also fire him or is still there? No. He still got a lot of people to fire the writer.
They didn't fire him. Like how can you survive that? Yeah, that's the thing is that's like for me that is so embarrassing. Now I did the audience.
But also to the company. Yeah, but the company clearly doesn't care because they fucking promoted him. him. So like obviously they don't care.