I've Engaged in Dialogue with Joe Quesada

These days, I really only have two reasons to visit myspace, and that's a lot more reasons than most people have. One reason is for their band sites, and the other is Myspace Comic Books, a page that offers tons of comic book interviews, news reports, and fairly lengthy previews.

Of all that Myspace Comic Books has to offer, I'd say my favourite column is one that offers a little bit of everything: Mycup o' Joe. Every Friday, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada sits down with Jim McLauchlin (who I think used to be the EIC of Top Cow) and unveils new preview art while discussing upcoming plans for Marvel comics. On top of that, he finishes each column by answering questions submitted by fans.

Well guess what? Last Friday he totally answered my question. You can read the entire article if you'd like, but here's the important part:

"Aaron asks:

Hey Joe,

1) I'm absolutely loving J. Michael Straczynski's The Twelve. I haven't been this excited about one of his projects since Supreme Power. However, something tells me that at this rate, by the time you guys hit issue 12, there will still be quite a lot of story left to tell. Any chance of a sequel? Or characters appearances [I could have sworn that typo wasn't there originally -A] in other titles?

2) Perhaps my favorite team of all time is X-Statix. I know that when last we saw them, they were fairly, you know, dead, but with Dead Girl making a cameo in One More Day and Doop in various things, any chance of a return?

3) I love "Brand New Day," and see why "One More Day" had to happen, but can you maybe pretty please offer a guarantee that you'll never do another "Poof! Magic!" ret-con? I say this because I love buying new comics yet am a bit anxious that in a few years there will be another event like OMD that will render my current comics null and void (like the death of Captain America never happened, or what-have-you). It would make me much happier if I knew this were a one-time thing. Thanks a lot, and Make Mine Marvel!

JQ: Aaron, thanks for playing our game!
1) Glad you're lovin' The Twelve, it's a great book! The plan has always been for any surviving members of the Twelve to branch out into the larger Marvel Universe and start appearing wherever there's a good story reason for them to do so. In terms of a sequel, that'd be up to JMS and artist Chris Weston—I know JMS conceived his story with a definitive beginning, middle and end, but that wouldn't necessarily rule out him having ideas for a follow-up when we get to that point.
2) How would that be possible? I mean, they're dead. D. E. A. D. Name one character that's come back from the dead. One.
3) Don't worry, now everyone's just a Skrull"


So there you have it. He even thanked me for playing their game! *swoons*

Okay yes I realize that a) he really only even sort of answered just one of the questions, and b) in retrospect, I'm kind of a huge kiss-ass, but still. Seeing my questions included in the article made me grin ear to ear. And whatever, his answers were humourous.

So now I have this fantasy that in a few years we'll for some reason cross paths. I'll be able to say "Hey, I was that guy who likes X-Statix on myspace" and his reply will be "yes. That exchange affected my life in some way whatsoever."


A few other notes:

1) Posts might be lacking due to the fact that I'm now out of university, trying to find a job, and can't really afford to buy my usual quota of comics each week. There's a huge pile waiting for me at Paradise Comics on which I'm eager to spend a few paychecks.

2) That being said, I'm gaining a newfound appreciation for webcomics, or "comics you generally don't have to worry about affording." I highly recommend artist Coco Wang's strips highlighting tales from the recent earthquake tragedy in China. These are some of the most powerful comics I've ever read (hint: start from strip one... that way you have the panda one to look forward to).

2a) If you'd rather read webcomics to laugh (you monster), then I suggest you check out Dumm Comics. This site is actually divided into five different strips by different cartoonists, one for each day of the week. My personal favourite by far would be Thursday's 1930 Nightmare Theatre.

3) RIP Michael Turner. I know his style has sort of polarized fans, but you can't deny that his covers looked gorgeous.



4) As part of an end-of-the-summer roundtable discussion podcast thingie for The Offline, I'm seeing all the comic book movies that come out this summer. So far, my ranking goes as follows:

Iron Man > The Incredible Hulk > Dog Shit Vomit > Wanted