The Pain of being a lifetime Marvel Fan

By Chad Eric Smith

     Ah, Marvel, where to begin? You had me hooked from the beginning- Almost 30 years ago when I first received 'hand-me-down' copies of Amazing Spiderman and Marvel Team up from my older brothers. I was fascinated by the colorful Marvel Universe: the Vision, Hawkeye, and Captain America! Sure, I read some DC, and yes they were entertaining, but Superman? Come on! He was a God! Indestructible, super fast, and only one weakness? It was like watching a Hulk Hogan wrestling match- sure, he looked like he might be in peril briefly, but you KNEW he was gonna win in the end.

     Not Marvel characters. They got their butts kicked on a regular basis. You honestly didn't know if the hero was going to win or not. The storyline in the Avengers where the Masters of Evil decimated the team is a prime example of the kind of beating Marvel’s hero take on a regular basis. The MOE destroyed Avengers mansion in the process and put Jarvis in the hospital clinging to life. And yes, I know eventually DC got with the program, but by that point I was making mine Marvel.

     Getting back to the point, Marvel- you have lost your way. Sure, I stuck with you through the years- good and bad - through your die-cut, foil-embossed, holographic, and poly-bagged with a card-included phase. Your bankruptcy concerned me. The disrespecting of Stan Lee was a bitter pill to swallow. There were many MANY bumps in the road (could you PLEASE explain the logic of the Thunderbolts 'Fight Club' phase? That was the only book I have ever ripped in half after reading). We made it through together, Marvel. I have bought your books, bought your toys, bought your movies, and done so with a smile on my face. But lately my smile has faded.

Here are but a few reasons why:

1) Merchandising- Your toy line switched from Toy Biz to Hasbro, prices went UP, quality went DOWN. A price jump of $2.50 per small figure and $5 per large figure
hurts. Now I see you are making edible action figures and Hulk scented perfume and colognes. There's licensing that makes sense, and there's licensing for licensing sake. Now where's my Wolverine musk body spray???

( click here for to order you Hulk perfume)

2) Get your friggin’ books out on time! How hard is that? I don't care if the main artist gets sick or sprains his ankle playing polo! If the book is supposed to be out on March 15th, then when I go to my comic shop on March 15th, it better BE THERE! If you can pump out the countless monthly 'CRAP' books that you do (see Mary Jane Loves Peter Parker, Franklin 'Calvin & Hobbes' Richards, Power Pack, etc.) then you can surely get the 'Most Important Event of the Year (THE CIVIL WAR) out in a TIMELY fashion. My
suggestion: Mark Bagley- a spectacular artist who can apparently draw 26+ books a month! Keep the man as a pinch hitter and use him as needed to get your books out on time! OR go back to old school tactics and have an artist draw a full arc ahead of print time, but *SIGH* that would assume you have a long term storyline planned. All I know is- at my job, if I turned in an assignment 2 months late- I would only do it ONCE.

3) For sanity's sake, if someone is DEAD, leave them dead or else don't kill them in the first place!!! If the practice was the exception, and not the RULE, it would be acceptable. There is a reason the recent show 'Daybreak' was a flop. Characters died each episode. Then they were resurrected the next episode. Then they died again. And came back. Rinse & repeat.
Sound familiar? There was no reason to become emotionally invested in the characters, because they were clearly disposable. There is no reason to care about the death of any Marvel Character, because next Summer- they'll be back! Hey Marvel, here's a radical idea- how about using real story telling techniques to make a connection between the reader and the character instead of relying on tired shortcuts and shock tactics to increase sales in the short term but hurt your sales in the long term?

To sum it up, Marvel- You have my loyalty. For now! But I am officially putting you on notice. Get your act together. Remember the fans are who keep you in business. It is your job to entertain us, so do so.