The Four Color Media Monitor

Joe Quesada, who started a lot of the problems leading to Marvel's downfall nearly 2 decades ago, and now holds the title of "chief creative officer", has just resurfaced to be interviewed by Newsarama about the new appointment of C.B Cebulski to EIC, and if the following is any suggestion, Quesada's continued presence at Marvel is exactly why Cebulski's new role is not reason to be euphoric. First, here's some phony info coming from Quesada:

Newsarama: Axel Alonso is out and C.B. Cebulski is in as Marvel’s Editor-In-Chief. Joe, why did this switch happen?

Joe Quesada: Axel had a tremendous tenure as Editor-In-Chief, and it’s important that we thank him for that. He led Marvel through some of the most profitable times in our history. While we’re making a change, I don’t want that to get lost in the shuffle. Change is a constant in comics, or in any creative endeavor. It was simply time for a creative change. Axel is a brilliant story editor. He’s very smart, really downright brilliant at that, and I know he’s going to do great things in whatever he chooses to do next.

Wow, now that's a laugh. Sales were already declining under Quesada, and they didn't do any better under Alonso, with the Civil War sequel and Secret Empire crossovers proving some of their weakest results yet. And as for "creative", yeah, he sure was being just that when he forcibly erased the Spider-marriage, a major point of contention for many Marvel fans. The damage Brian Bendis did is also inexcusable, and I have no interest in reading anything he brings to the table at DC either.

Now, here's the part to pay careful attention to:

I’ve already talked to some of the guys at Marvel and told them I want to shift some more of my focus so I can do a little bit more in publishing, as I want to be there to help C.B. land with both feet running and be there for him in any way he needs me to be. So yeah, it was around early October that I started to shift my focus a bit. We have a young editorial crew and these kids are super bright and eager to learn as much about Marvel and the industry as possible so I started doing a few seminars on covers, design, pacing, etc. It’s been a blast getting back in the trenches.

And again, this is valid reason not to be too optimistic about Cebulski's ascension to the role of EIC. If a publisher has influence over the editor - and I think Stan Lee certainly did when he maintained those roles at the time Jim Shooter and Tom deFalco were EIC - then we cannot be shocked if Cebulski won't have the freedom he needs to make any alterations that could provide a positive impact. Axel Alonso was basically part of Quesada's favored bunch, and that's why things were just as bad when he took over. It's very similar to how Bob Harras wound up being more than just a Dan DiDio choice for DC - he had little to say on his part, and DiDio continued to act as spokesman in many instances. But if there's one thing they have in common, it's that both apparently put up with Eddie Berganza. As a result, both are bad omens for DC, just like Quesada still is for Marvel. On which note, turning back to the main subject, he continued to say:

Also, during my tenure as Editor-in-Chief, I was amazingly fortunate that I had guys like Axel and C.B. and [editors] Tom Brevoort and Steve Wacker and Nick Lowe as part of the crew. If I couldn’t be at a convention, C.B. would be there. If I couldn’t be at a talent function, Steve Wacker would be there. I had a truly amazing staff, we were simpatico, and they always had my back. C.B. was there for me to help build our publishing division to what it became, so I want to be there for him in any capacity he needs me to be.

It's vital to remind that ultra-leftist Brevoort's still at Marvel too, Wacker may be working in their animation division, and Lowe's probably still on board to boot. These are hardly the kind of people you'd want working on their products either. And so long as they're still around, that for me is certainly reason to continue staying away, just like DiDio, Geoff Johns and Bob Harras discourage me from returning to DC. Their own influence still lurks, and doesn't help the company at all. The same should be said for Quesada's presence at Marvel.

If Quesada maintains any influence over Cebulski, which is certainly not impossible, there's no reason to be optimistic.

Update: Comics Beat wrote up some of the most ignorant, insulting sugarcoating of the topic:

...Marvel’s chief creative officer, (and former eic) Joe Quesada, as been called in, Mr. Wolf style, to smooth the transition and frame it for the news outlets. The first sign of this is an interview at Newsarama that sets up the next few months very nicely and reveals what a diplomat Quesada is, from thanking Alonso for reigning over the most profitable period in Marvel’s history (true) to setting up the CB years [...]

So they're repeating the lies first spouted by Quesada himself, and won't even mention how throwing out the Spider-marriage crippled the web-slinger's books, which certainly haven't been selling well of recent. Isn't that brilliant. And then, they say:

I’d actually already heard that Quesada stepped in just before NYCC, and helped calm the waters at a very fractious editorial retreat that devolved into shouting matches over social media and the like. Make no mistake: Quesada is a seasoned executive who knows how to keep things on an even keel. The word I’m getting is that the arrival of the Joe Q/CB duo have already stabilized poor morale. And of course retailers wanted a change, so there it is.

Oh yeah, is that hilarious. Quesada's one of the leading Marvel representatives who first took to insulting the fans and alienating them for many years, and the dummy writing this drivel has the gall to act like nothing ever happened. But then, it's just like their apologists to deny anything ever went wrong, even at DC.

Labels: bad editors, crossoverloading, dreadful artists, marvel comics, moonbat artists, msm propaganda