Tom Brevoort is a real disappointment
Published by Avi Green on Monday, August 04, 2008 at 1:33 PM.
Brevoort, one of Marvel's leading editors, put up a post on his blog in which he answers to correspondents questions. One person's query was about Brand New Day:
A decade ago, I used to appreciate Brevoort when he was the editor of Fantastic Four and some of the Avengers-related series, but in recent years, he's really lost it as he became one of Quesada's yes-men. He's actually making things worse by addressing it at all. I may have once thought he could be an ideal choice for EIC, but after seeing him descend into this dreadful charade here, no longer.
As you said BND won't go anywhere and there is no plains for reverse it, so why using mephisto, deals and magic instead of divorcing Peter and MJ? Spider-Man always was a comic that dealt with personal problems and human tasks, that what made Spider-Man comics so unique, divorce instead of using mephisto could ha been a way to show that Peter is a human being and could face human problems like divorce. I definitively know you won't respond and will think it is offensive, but would be great to know why Mephisto instead of divorce.And Brevoort responds:
I think there are two reasons why you don’t divorce Spider-Man, one a publishing reason and one a larger marketing reason. The publishing reason is that a divorced Spider-Man really isn’t all that much better than a married Spider-Man. It’s yet one more thing that makes him old, makes him your parents rather than being you. The marketing reason is that Spider-Man is more than just a super hero, he’s Marvel’s corporate icon, so doing a story in which Spider-Man gets a divorce is tantamount to Marvel endorsing divorce. And while you might not think so, that’s still a real hot-button issue in certain circles (as I’m sure will become apparent at some point during this year’s Presidential campaign.) And that means it would have much more far-reaching consequences than just the sale of issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.Just like a politician, he avoids the deeper issues, most notably the deal made with the devil in the guise of Mephisto. Divorce is a hot-button issue, but deals with the devil aren't? I'm sorry, but he really flubs here.
A decade ago, I used to appreciate Brevoort when he was the editor of Fantastic Four and some of the Avengers-related series, but in recent years, he's really lost it as he became one of Quesada's yes-men. He's actually making things worse by addressing it at all. I may have once thought he could be an ideal choice for EIC, but after seeing him descend into this dreadful charade here, no longer.
Labels: marvel comics, Spider-Man
