I didn't attend the event but thanks to the wonder of the internet, I was able to hear what was said concerning Spider-Man.
Among the interesting things that were said in this piece:
"The Spider-Man deal with Mephisto was looked upon as a “DC move” by some fans. There was a mixed reaction to a fan who hated One More Day but likes Brand New Day, with about a 50/50 split of cheering and leering."
Yes, the devil deal was very much a DC move. Congrats, Joe Q, you can no longer ride DC for pulling stupid, world-altering stunts because you've just jumped into the pool with the competition.
This one really stuck out to me:
"Spider-Man’s status quo was mentioned as something that really bugged one fan. He said that now Peter Parker “can’t” get married, and that completely limits his future. He also feels that the last 20 years was erased. Over the next year - by issue #600, McCann said, readers will know how all of Peter Parker’s past fit in without Peter and Mary Jane being married. The fan asked why they didn’t just keep the unmarried, younger Spider-Man to the Marvel Adventures and Ultimate Spider-Man titles. Brevoort said that the thinking was that Spider-Man was and will be again the greatest youth property. People forget now, the editor added, because he’s been older for the last 20 years, that virtually all of the other interpretations (movies, tv shows, etc.) use a younger Spider-Man, and that’s the way he’s seen to the general public.
A fan countered, noting that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko graduated Peter from High School in #28, but Tom countered with “Steve Ditko said ‘We never should have graduated Peter from High School’” and explained they did that they only did so because they thought it was a fad and wanted to tell as many stories with the character as they could before Spider-Man disappeared."
Yes, because we all know Spider-Man was over the hill when he was married. Marriage is an evil force in the Spider books and it must be done away with to make the lead character YOUNG, YOUNG! And you just gotta love that "youth property" line. Sometimes I wonder if these guys come up with their own words of if someone at Marvel types up everything and puts it on cards for them. Kids aren't reading comic books, adults are. Most kid's knowledge of Spidey comes from the movies, cartoons, or toys. The comics themselves? No way. This isn't the '60s anymore, Marvel. Comics stopped being a hobby dominated by kids a looooooong time ago. Marvel acts like being older or even seeming older is a bad thing. Wake up, Marvel, there are men in their 40s and 50s that read Spider-Man. They don't do it because of his age, they do it because Spider-Man is ordinary.
As much as I respect Steve Ditko and everything he did on Spider-Man, I don't agree with him for wanting to keep Peter in high school. One of the things I really loved about reading those old Essential Amazing Spider-Man comics was seeing Peter grow and it was things like graduation that helped set Marvel apart from DC. This is a company that has always prided itself on realism and now they are throwing it all away so they can tell some badly written fan fiction about Spider-Man.
The way Amazing Spider-Man is being written now, I see no point in caring about the main character or the supporting cast. One, the main character is being written as a rookie-idiot who has no common sense. Two, the supporting cast has regressed to what they once were before they were developed (Just look at Jameson and aunt May). And three, the kill switch will be hit on any and all of Peter's relationships with the opposite sex because, hey, Marvel can't go anywhere with him that cuts the writers off from exploring other relationships with countless other women out there. So you see where this is going, right? Or perhaps I should say isn't going. Basically, Marvel wants to tell the same old stories where Peter's relationships always fail because he's, well, you know. (Rhymes with "does whatever a spider can.") Hey, I enjoyed reading those older stories, but let's be realistic here, you can't keep singing the same old song again and again. I've always thought a writers job was to build on the legacy of what has already come before, not tell a poor man's version of said legacy.
Spider-Man was once a train moving full speed ahead. Now its a paradigm prison and Joe Q is the jailer.
Among the interesting things that were said in this piece:
"The Spider-Man deal with Mephisto was looked upon as a “DC move” by some fans. There was a mixed reaction to a fan who hated One More Day but likes Brand New Day, with about a 50/50 split of cheering and leering."
Yes, the devil deal was very much a DC move. Congrats, Joe Q, you can no longer ride DC for pulling stupid, world-altering stunts because you've just jumped into the pool with the competition.
This one really stuck out to me:
"Spider-Man’s status quo was mentioned as something that really bugged one fan. He said that now Peter Parker “can’t” get married, and that completely limits his future. He also feels that the last 20 years was erased. Over the next year - by issue #600, McCann said, readers will know how all of Peter Parker’s past fit in without Peter and Mary Jane being married. The fan asked why they didn’t just keep the unmarried, younger Spider-Man to the Marvel Adventures and Ultimate Spider-Man titles. Brevoort said that the thinking was that Spider-Man was and will be again the greatest youth property. People forget now, the editor added, because he’s been older for the last 20 years, that virtually all of the other interpretations (movies, tv shows, etc.) use a younger Spider-Man, and that’s the way he’s seen to the general public.
A fan countered, noting that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko graduated Peter from High School in #28, but Tom countered with “Steve Ditko said ‘We never should have graduated Peter from High School’” and explained they did that they only did so because they thought it was a fad and wanted to tell as many stories with the character as they could before Spider-Man disappeared."
Yes, because we all know Spider-Man was over the hill when he was married. Marriage is an evil force in the Spider books and it must be done away with to make the lead character YOUNG, YOUNG! And you just gotta love that "youth property" line. Sometimes I wonder if these guys come up with their own words of if someone at Marvel types up everything and puts it on cards for them. Kids aren't reading comic books, adults are. Most kid's knowledge of Spidey comes from the movies, cartoons, or toys. The comics themselves? No way. This isn't the '60s anymore, Marvel. Comics stopped being a hobby dominated by kids a looooooong time ago. Marvel acts like being older or even seeming older is a bad thing. Wake up, Marvel, there are men in their 40s and 50s that read Spider-Man. They don't do it because of his age, they do it because Spider-Man is ordinary.
As much as I respect Steve Ditko and everything he did on Spider-Man, I don't agree with him for wanting to keep Peter in high school. One of the things I really loved about reading those old Essential Amazing Spider-Man comics was seeing Peter grow and it was things like graduation that helped set Marvel apart from DC. This is a company that has always prided itself on realism and now they are throwing it all away so they can tell some badly written fan fiction about Spider-Man.
The way Amazing Spider-Man is being written now, I see no point in caring about the main character or the supporting cast. One, the main character is being written as a rookie-idiot who has no common sense. Two, the supporting cast has regressed to what they once were before they were developed (Just look at Jameson and aunt May). And three, the kill switch will be hit on any and all of Peter's relationships with the opposite sex because, hey, Marvel can't go anywhere with him that cuts the writers off from exploring other relationships with countless other women out there. So you see where this is going, right? Or perhaps I should say isn't going. Basically, Marvel wants to tell the same old stories where Peter's relationships always fail because he's, well, you know. (Rhymes with "does whatever a spider can.") Hey, I enjoyed reading those older stories, but let's be realistic here, you can't keep singing the same old song again and again. I've always thought a writers job was to build on the legacy of what has already come before, not tell a poor man's version of said legacy.
Spider-Man was once a train moving full speed ahead. Now its a paradigm prison and Joe Q is the jailer.
Comments
I think Spider-Man should be married to Gwen, but her death made one of the greatest comic stories ever.
Spider-Man was created originally to appeal to all ages, I believe that a married Peter would appeal to all ages, all they needed to do was cutting down the following:
Booze
Nudity
M.J being a model, she should've quitted modelling and acting like Stan did her in his daily comic strip.
MJ was a psychology major before the '98 reboot but like all interesting character changes, it was tossed out the window and she was a model again.
Heck, Peter himself could be a subject of study, not that he'd like that. :P