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Fan Q&A
2006-11-07 08:54:08

The new Thunderbolts roster? Not quite...

Answers to some questions and topics posted yesterday:

>What do you think of the current system by which people are able to submit to Marvel? Do you think the system works as a means of finding new talent? What would you do to improve it? Similarly, what, from your personal experiences with dealing with new and up & coming talent, would you recommend to new talent if they want to get and keep working in your department?>

It all depends on what discipline you're speaking of. I think artists generally have it pretty good when it comes to submitting work, in that you can tell in an instant whether a given artist has it or not. For writers, as always, it's a tougher road--but those who really want it and who possess the talent to do the job will find their way in. The thing to realize and understand is that, even though we're always on the lookout for new talent, bringing new guys into the industry really isn't a job requirement--if I get all of my books out on time and they sell nicely, nobody's going to give me any grief at all if I didn't bring somebody new into the field that year. What I tell everybody who's trying to break in is that you need three elements: talent, perseverence and luck. Without all three, your odds are pretty slim.

>What do you do for fun to take your mind off of your work? The rest of us read comics. What do you do when you need to veg out?>

I read crazy internet message boards. And read a lot of comics.

>OK, obviously without spoiling anything, can you talk about what your doing to make sure the upcoming changes in Thunderbolts don't result in what happened to the faux Exiles in your recent Marvel simulation. >

No, I can't, not yet. All you've heard at this point at most are unsubstantiated rumors. Until the point at which we actually announce what it is that we're doing, I'm not going to be able to tell you anything substantial. So you're just going have to wait another few weeks, until we're ready to talk about it. (But I will tell you that the cast of characters seen at the end of CIVIL WAR #4 is not precisely the cast that'll be in the series.)

> I wanted to see if the editorial staff at Marvel has discussed the idea of super beings coming to Canada or running to other countries looking for asylum or refuge status? >

Well, we know that the Thing is going to be leaving the country (which you'll see more of in FF #541). And we have tossed around notions like this one. However, the problem is really that any characters who run away to Canada to avoid the draft tend to come across as less than heroic. For instance, would you have the same respect for Captain America if he fled across the border rather than confronting the problem head on?

>How important is eyeflow to a comic's page design? By eyeflow, I mean that the elements on the page flow from left to right and up to down. This used to be a given in comics, but I've seen pages lately that force the reader to move his/her eyes in different directions to follow the story, and I wonder if the concept had been devalued.>

It's incredibly important, especially when you're trying to get new readers into comics. But it's a skill that some artists are better at than others.

More later.

Tom B

I have two questions about Spider-Man: The Other, parts of which you played editor and consultant on.

1) What was wrong with Peter during the first half of the story? (Was it something to do with the missile in the previous storyline?)

2) How did Morlun come back from the dead? Is he properly dead now?

Posted by Fetsur on 2006-09-26 20:04:58

good questions
And here's one for your list. What is the single biggest mistake that you see being consistently made in comics?

Posted by bigdaddyhub2 on 2006-09-26 22:53:01

What's the biggest mistake you've made during your however-many-years-long tenure as editor? (Growing pains from the start of your career don't count, unless they're particularly interesting.)

Posted by Fetsur on 2006-09-27 14:59:18

this is a kinda odd question
i'm writing a report for my school's paper, and i was just wondering if you could answer these questions for not only my report but for me as a fan! ^_^

1.Why do you like working with comics?
2. What aspect of Marvel comics do you like most?

thank you so much for your time!

Posted by mattalik on 2007-01-28 16:36:14

Array

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About this blog:
Ramblings and musings from the mind of Tom Brevoort. "It won’t be clean. It won’t be fun. It mostly won’t be coherent."

About the author:
Tom Brevoort is Executive Editor for Marvel Comics, and oversees such titles as New Avengers, Civil War, and Fantastic Four.


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