Skip to main content

Marvel Wants to Hear From YOU!

In the letter page of Amazing Spider-Man #565, Spidey editor Steve Wacker filled the page with nothing but negative letters from readers that hate Brand New Day. Who says Marvel doesn't listen to the fans? And what's more, Mr. Wacker has even asked us to write in and tell them how we feel. Can you believe that? It takes class to run nothing but angry letters and a couple of those to the right are pretty nasty.

My mother actually suggested I write to the editor and state my feelings on the molestation of Spider-Man in ASM. I'd been meaning to write them, but I just never sat down to do so. With the editor of the Spidey books kindly saying that the letter's page is "the place to vent," I think the time has finally come for me to express myself. I don't know if it will get printed since I've stopped reading ASM, but if they take my letter and many others that are outraged by BND to heart, then that's all that matters.




Dear ASM Staff,

Do you know what the worst thing you can do to a comic character is? Make the reader stop caring about him. I've been a fan of Amazing Spider-Man for years and I've always had concern over Peter and his supporting cast even though they are fictional characters. The last 6 months of ASM have been a chore to read. The only emotion I can muster up for Pete and the gang is a shrug because I've stopped caring about every single one of them.

I'm all for new characters showing up in ASM, but the new supporting cast are so soulless they may as well be coffins. And aunt May in not knowing Spider-Man's ID has reverted back to the clueness old fool she was decades ago. She's like an very old piece of furniture that has long outlived its usefulness. You have no idea how much that depresses me.

Peter himself is the biggest offender in BND. I know he's a guy that screws up, but most of Peter's mistakes in BND are ridiculously out of character. I'm a regular reader of Marvel Adventures Spider-Man and Ultimate Sider-Man and both those versions have a Peter Parker that behaves with more maturity and common sense than the one in ASM. I can relate to those versions of Peter. The one in the flagship Spidey title is a complete stranger to me and quiet frankly, he comes off as a jerk.

BND overall does not feel brand new. When Joe Quesada said they were going to move forward, I thought the book was going to do just that. ASM has instead regressed. I didn't grow up reading '60s or '70s Spidey books, but I have collected the runs from those eras through the Essential TPBs. I love old-school Spidey as much as the next guy, but come on, this isn't 1972 anymore. The stories in ASM feel like very pale imitations of Spidey eras gone by.

Carlie has had "love interest" stamped on her forehead since she appeared at the end of OMD. The question isn't "When will he she and Peter get together?" The question is "When will the writers hit the kill switch on the relationship?" Since editorial doesn't want Peter married, any type of relationship for Peter in the long term or in serious nature seems out of the question and as a result, every single one of them will fail. I have no desire to read these kind of relationships in ASM because I've read about them dozens of times in the past.

I keep hearing the word "young" or words associated with it tossed around a lot lately when it comes to ASM. I don't have a problem with Peter being young but I'm under the impression that editorial is so bent on keeping him that way that its given them tunnel vision. I've read posts on the net from Spidey fans that are in their 40s and 50s. These guys don't read Spider-Man because he's young, they read about him because he's ordinary and Peter being married never changed that or limited stories.

I know you guys are working hard and have put a lot of effort into ASM. Unfortunately, I won't be reading the book because I feel it is no longer worthy of the title name.

Reggie White Jr.


Comments

Tommy said…
I still have to craft mine out. You've already hit plenty of points in your letter, Reggie, so I'll have to make sure to cover any other ones in my own fashion.
Thanks, Tommy. Most people that don't like BND pretty much feel the same way, but I've read other letters pointing out stuff that I missed or just didn't think to say. Go get 'em Tommy!
You should mail the message to Marvel you know, they won't publish what they see in blogs.

Wisely said anyway, I hate the current supporting cast (Even Harry became boring) and I hate the new villains (except Mr. Negative and Freak).

Did any of you see what DComposer says about the current status quo on youtube? He hit a point I always wondered about: "Why put a swear if it gets censored?"
Oh I e-mailed this same letter to Marvel. If if it isn't printed, I want them to know how I feel.

The swearing in BND seems to have lessened. When it started, it seem like they were cussing just for the sake of cussing. Felt like I was reading an issue of Powers.
rjsodaro said…
Congrats Reggie. Welcome to the club (you did notice that I posted about this on SpiderFan, right?)
That I did, bob, that I did! =)

Popular posts from this blog

Super Hero Secret IDs & Their Friends

I've always felt Clark Kent has had one of the poorest disguises of all time for a secret Identity. All he does is straight up his "S" curl so it isn't visible and put on some glasses. Well, also depending on the era, Clark is either goes out of his way to be a bumbling idiot so people don't suspect he's an alien from another world, or here's the non-clumsy modern version. Personally, I like both, but if Lois is indeed a star reporter then she'd have to see through that disguise. Let's be realistic here. No one is that clumsy unless they are trying to be. I actually read a post on a message board that Lois finding out that Clark was Superman takes away from the whole dynamic. Seriously? The dynamic of making Lois look like a complete idiot who is unable to see what is right in front of her? I didn't miss that one bit. In fact, one of the few problems I had with Superman The Animated Series is that Warner Brothers didn't allow the creators t

Hooray for Reprints!

The Green Goblin has often been touted as Spider-Man's deadliest foe. He is what the Joker is to Batman. I wonder if Stan knew back when Gobby first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #14 that the Goblin would become the menace that he is to Spidey today. What makes the Goblin such an interesting foe isn't the costume. No. Much like Spider-Man, Gobby is such a great villain because the man underneath the suit is fascinating. Norman Osborn is one effed up dude to say the least. He was so annoyed with Spider Man getting in his way that he the battle between the two of them personal. He discovered Spidey's secret ID, revealed his own identity to the wall-crawler and would later go on to make Spidey's life a living nightmare. Gobby not only screws up Spidey's life, he screws up the lives of those Spidey cares about like Flash Thompson or if your name is Gwen Stacy, thinks ain't lookin' too good for you. I've read every early Spidey/Gobby story except one and it