In a lengthy interview with
Comic Book Resources, former Marvel Comics Editor-on-Chief Joe Quesada has talked in detail about the decision to reveal major spoilers such as the recent deaths of Johnny Storm and Ultimate Spider-Man to the press before the comic books themselves go on sale, as well as the surprising news that he was recently asked by US President Barack Obama to do a special piece of artwork! Be sure to click on the link below to head on over to the site to read much, much more.
On The Necessity Of Revealing Spoilers To The Mainstream Press And How It Eventually Benefits The Industry: Yes, it's very necessary. We've spoken about this before here on CBR, but let's go through it again. There is no question that there is no good way to do this. Whether we hold on to the press or break it in the news, someone is going to lose out -- but here is how we have to make that Solomon-like decision. Our goal is to get people into comic shops to buy as many comics as possible. It's important to the lifeblood of our industry. That's it, nothing more, nothing less. So, let's say we go to a major news outlet, let's call them BIG NATIONAL PAPER. We say to BIG NATIONAL PAPER, "we have this very cool story that we think you guys might find intriguing." Now, let's say BIG NATIONAL PAPER agrees and thinks it will make for some cool news. Hey, that's great for everyone! The first thing BIG NATIONAL PAPER is going to want is to be the exclusive news outlet that breaks the story. Okay, cool we can make that work, now we're left with two choices.
-BIG NATIONAL PAPER can break the news during solicitation cycle -- that means letting them break it a day or two before the retailer catalog hits the street. Okay, let's look at that. The news hits, and because the mainstream audience doesn't know that the catalog and this news is hitting three months before the book ships, comic shops will fill up with new customers looking for a book that doesn't exist yet. Now we have disappointed would-be customers in comic shops and frustrated retailers who wish they had the book, then and there, to sell. Sure, we can cross our fingers and hope that the article tells people that it won't be released for three months, but then how many of the people that read the story will remember to go to a comic shop three months later? I would venture on 10% or less. Oh, and don't hold your breath on a follow up story three months later, you're already old news. It broke on a national outlet which means very few will want to report it again later, they're on to the next big thing. And also in this method, the news gets spoiled for comic readers three months in advance.
-BIG NATIONAL PAPER is interested and want the news exclusively. Thinking about scenario #1, we decide to keep the info a secret and give BIG NATIONAL PAPER the ability to break the story, but breaking it the day before or the day the title ships so that retailers have the books in hand. Yes, the story will be spoiled for some, but let's face it, a story this big combined with the Internet is going to get spoiled for some anyway. At least in this scenario, if we do our job right and have plenty of extra copies for retailers to reorder, the odds are better that more people walk away satisfied and the industry is healthier as a whole.
Now mind you, scenario #2 isn't perfect either, but we have found through experience of doing this kind of thing, that it has worked better than the alternative. I know it frustrates some fans, but it's the best way to do it for the long-term growth of our industry. Also, it's not like we do this all the time and spoil dozens of stories a year to the mainstream news. I'll bet dollars to donuts that the average fan has their favorite stories spoiled many more times by posts on the Internet or gossip columns than by what Marvel ever does in the mainstream press.
On Being Commissioned By President Barack Obama To Come Up With A Special Piece Of Artwork: Sometime in mid-February, I was contacted by someone from the White House asking if I had time to chat with one of the President's aides. When we finally connected I was floored to find out that the President wanted to commission me to do a piece of artwork. While I'd love to go into detail as to what it was, I don't feel that it's proper for me to do so at this point, as it was a request that came personally from Barack Obama -- not as President but as citizen. In other words, the piece had nothing to do with politics and was to be a gift. Needless to say, while a fun piece to do conceptually, I was a nervous wreck. I must have submitted about a half dozen sketches, and nearly lost it with anxiety waiting for final approval knowing that the POTUS was reviewing them.
And here is a first look at his Fantastic Four 50th Anniversary piece.
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