The Unreachable Star

[ghostly1]

Be warned, in this article spoilers for the latest Astonishing X-Men are present. If you haven't read it, and are planning to, you may not wish to read.

Today at the Canada National Exposition in Toronto, Ontario, Joe Quesada and C.B. Cebulski. The panel was moderated by two fellows from Popimage (?) website, whose names I didn't catch.

The first question asked was about when Marvel would lower prices like DC did, to which Quesada replied that he didn't really know and used the opportunity to talk about certain types of questions he couldn't answer (such as the status of Marvel films), because they were in different divisions.

Next, someone asked a two-part question. Part one praised She-Hulk and asked whether it was officially designated as a miniseries or an ongoing, and part two asked if Quesada would make him a happy man and let him leave here with a Daredevil Sketch. Quesada responded jokingly about how if that would make him a happy man, it was pretty sad, but then said that he hadn't done personal sketches for about 8 years, because of the rise of things like ebay. In general, he didn't feel it was right to give someone a gift like that only to have them go right away and sell it.

She-Hulk, he said, after consultation with Cebulski, has been approved to at least issue 12, and may be more beyond that. He also said that something special was coming for titles like She-Hulk and District X that they felt were good and deserving of furthur attention.

The next fan brought up a long-proposed Deathlok miniseries, and asked if we would ever see it. Quesada replied that we will see it eventually, but there may be some changed.

Next up was another two part question, as someone asked whether there were any plans to bring back Agent X, and, considering UDON's decent relationship with Marvel, if there was any chance of a X-Men/Streetfighter crossover comic. Quesada said that there were no plans for Agent X in the immediate future, but like any good X-character he'll probably show up eventually. X-Men/Streetfighter has been batted about, and they've had some talks, but currently the idea is in limbo and so may or may not happen.

The next question started with a fan praising the Ultimates, but admitting that there was a certain scene in it recently that he was a little offended by... that was, of course, the famous 'Do you think this 'A' stands for France?' scene.

Quesada apologied if it offended him, but that he was the first guy at one of these panels to ever tell him that and that, although he understood the sentiment, he felt it made sense for the character. When the questioner pointed out how it was a huge panel, and given all the anti-French sentiment in the US at the time, Quesada pointed out that Millar and Hitch were British and Scottish, and that he thought that this line has become one of the most memorable lines in the last few years of comics.

The topic drifted slightly towards controversy in general, and it was revealed (by one of the moderators) that Rawhide Kid, although it wasn't universally liked, is stocked in some gay bookstores. Quesada finally ended the discussion with another apology if it offended him, and relayed that right after the issue came out, Mark Millar had a signing in Paris. "It did not go well."

Neil Gaiman came up next, but Quesada simply said he wouldn't say what his next project was.

The next question was about Jessica Jones, and whether she was going to appear in Young Avengers.

Quesada said again how much he look forward to Young Avengers, then went on to describe that the series opens with Jessica Jones at the Daily Bugle, but that as she's a compelling character, we'll tend to see a lot of her in shots at the Bugle. Instead of just J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Urich, now we'll be seeing Jessica Jones and Kat Farrell (from Deadline).

Rawhide Kid was then brought up again by the next question, who asked when the TPB would be reprinted. Quesada said again that he wasn't involved in that process, and explained that the entire TPB section at Marvel is basically two people, and he's deliberately not a part of decisions at that level.

"How many teams is Wolverine going to be on?" was the next question, which got some laughs, as did the flip response, "How many teams we got?". Quesada then answered that his involvement in teams will likely be different than we think, but went on to say that he's a popular character, and really it was the fans who made it that way, not him.

In answer to the next question about Daredevil: Father, Quesada revealed that the second issue has been complete for about a month, and it's double sized ('because I'm stupid'), and it should be in stores sometime in the next few weeks.

Next up was a question on Marvel's Imprints, MAX, and Epic. "Epic is dead," Quesada stated in no uncertain terms. With MAX, he explained that it was started so that certain stories that needed to go into that category could go into that category, and it's not something they're going to make titles for just because there's the imprint. With Supreme Power, he explained, Joe (Straczynski) wanted to, on occasion, be able to shock readers with something that wouldn't be allowed in a normal comic. There's also Doctor Spectrum in MAX, as well as Punisher. Icon and Ultimates are the same way, he explained, they're intended to be small. Icon isn't going to explode into twenty titles.

Someone asked about the true story behind Identity Disc coming out at the same time as Identity Crisis. Quesada told us the story's not the same as Identity Crisis, and, although nobody believes it, it really was a coincidence. The mini was originally to be titled "The Six", but because of Ultimate Six, he asked that the name be changed, and suggested Identity Disc because it was an aspect of the story. It just happened to come out at the same time as Identity Crisis. He then joked about Jeff Loeb calling it 'Identity Diss', and how it was funny that this was from the creator of "Fighting American".

The next topic up was Runaways. Cebulski took the floor here and assured us that, although Runaways would be ending with #18 (out in two weeks), it would be back, they've got the idea all ready and the creative team is the same. He said it was a testament to the readers who helped keep this title alive.

Appropriate for a Canadian audience, the next question was about Alpha Flight. The person asking was a fan of the original Byrne Alpha Flight and, noting that the current run seemed a little like 'Formerly Known as the Justice League', asked if there was a chance for a take more like Byrne's original run. Queseada said it was not to be, at least not within this book, this time around. They approved this series because they thought it would be different, rather than going the traditional route and having it be just another X-book with different people. The questioner then asked why none of the creative team was Canadian. Quesada pointed out that if he gets different pitches for a title, he doesn't ask for a photo resume and ethnic background, he'll take whichever is the best pitch. If Black Panther happens to be written by an Asian guy, there's nothing wrong with that if he's got the best pitch. Someone on the panel did joke that Lobdell accepts his pay in Canadian dollars.

Someone asked next about Brian Bendis' panel at ComicCon, about the controversy surrounding a proposed Daredevil/Batman crossover. Quesada said he has no idea if it'll get done, Marvel would be thrilled to do it. "It's about retailers and fans." Personal dislikes, he said, should have nothing to do with it. He then joked that he couldn't stand C.B. Cebulski, but they manage to work together. Still, despite the rancor directed towards him by people at DC, he doesn't wish any ill will on them, and hopes they keep their jobs forever.

A fan next asked what the story was behind Bryan Singer writing for Ultimate X-Men. Quesada said that Avi Arad put them in touch, and they came to New York and just talked. They slowly gravitated towards the idea of doing an X-Men movie in comics, and naturally, the Ultimate title seemed to be a good place to start.

Next up, Quesada was asked about NYX, and whether it would just end after 7 issues, or continue under a new creative team. Quesada revealed that the characters have become very personal to him, and he's not sure if he'd want to give them to someone else to continue. Once the 7 issues of NYX are finished, that completes the first story, and then they may wait a while and try to finish some more issues before soliciting any more, because he can't do it monthly.

Someone asked if he talked to Kevin Smith about doing a cameo in Clerks 2. Quesada said he doesn't know, usually Smith would call him and just say 'Dude...'. Although he doesn't know if he'll be in it, he says he'll definately watch it in the theatre.

Next up someone asked about Tony Bedard, as rumors were that he'd be doing a miniseries with a famous Crossgen artist. "Too soon to talk about it," Quesada said.

Has there been any talk about Sentinel Season 2? Cebulski revealed that they were talking about it, because Marvel Age has been doing well.

The next person wanted to know about Robert Kirkman, which prompted Quesada to talk a little about his upcoming "Marvel Team-Up". "It'll be his showpiece," he said, describing it as "fun" and "lighthearted". They are in discussion with him about other projects, but don't want to give him too much work. "Fandom can be cruel," he said, pointing out how some fans will get angry if suddenly out of nowhere he's writing a lot of books without years of prior experience, no matter how good he is. He also revealed that Kirkman is exclusive (for work for hire work only).

Another fan wanted to know how they decide who dies in Avengers Disassembled. Quesada joked that it came down to coin flips and all-night monopoly. Then, more seriously, explained that he and the writer just discuss the possibilities, and the reasons behind it. He told us Brian Michael Bendis "wants to kill everybody", but Quesada keeps him in check by threatening to kill off Jessica Jones in an issue of Spider-Man.

Asked if there were any long term plans for Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Quesada simply replied, "Oh, there are plans."

Skipping over a question about the Essentials (due to lack of knowledge), a question about whether Warren Ellis would be doing any creator-owned work for Marvel caused Quesada to answer with a suspicious sounding "Maybe."

Quesada was then asked if he'd be writing a book for Icon like Ash, but Quesada explained that he felt it would be a conflict of interest, since he'd be working for Marvel and then making his own money off something Marvel produced. If he was ever to do anything like that it would be something where he came up with an idea and gave it to another creative team.

Someone asked if they were doing anything to try and get Joss Whedon to stay with Astonishing past #12, and Quesada joked that they tried to kidnap him yesterday, but it didn't work out. He then described Whedon as "incredibly busy", but that he certainly hopes he'll be able to stay on.

Someone asked if Greg Land would be doing any series for Marvel, so Quesada talked a little about the upcoming Phoenix miniseries, drawn by Land. Describing it as the "Final, I swear" story of the Phoenix, written by Greg Pak, he thought that Greg Land would be the perfect artist to draw Jean and, of course, Emma.

Next up someone asked about various gimmicks like renumbering and alternate covers. Quesada pointed out that while he's personally against variant covers, retailers and fans seem to want it, so he doesn't really argue anymore. It's more profitable to do them than to not do them, and they have to stay competetive. Renumberings are sometimes used to indicate a major overhaul of a title, and sometimes for fun they'll revert them for the #500, for example.

The next question asked about a rumored Ghost Rider project written by Garth Ennis. Quesada professed ignorance of any such project, but when the fan said Ennis announced it on the internet, simply said, that while he couldn't confirm or deny, 2005 would make him a very happy fan.

What's Gabriel del Otto's next project after Secret War? Apparently, according to Joe Quesada, he has a prior committment to do 2 issues for a European publisher, and they haven't planned that far ahead.

The next question was the inevitable question about the Dead Means Dead policy, especially given recent Astonishing X-Men #4, which returned Colossus from the dead. Quesada explained that if a writer wants to return a character from the dead, he has to come up with a good explanation of both how the character is still alive, and why he should be brought back. Whedon, Quesada explained, "nailed it." "You really have to think outside the box," he said, pointing out that he'd reject if someone wanted to bring back a character by saying "It's a clone." "My left toe could think of that." Also, unless a writer has a clear plan for it, including the why and the how, no dead character will be revived unless they've been dead for a decent amount of time. A writer can't kill off a character and then bring them back 6 issues later. Of course, he explained, this only applies to the meaningful, Gwen Stacy sort of deaths, rather than when a supervillain falls off a building into water and people assume he must be dead.

This brought up more questions on the topic, as someone asked about Magneto, and someone else mentioned Psylocke. He mentioned that
Magneto's return had been in the plans for a while, all the way back
to when he first died under Lobdell. Psylocke was not, in his opinion "a classic death", although he didn't elaborate what this meant regarding whether she'd eventually be brought back. The discussion ended with a joke that Captain Marvel (the original) would be back next week.

Next up, someone praised Brian Michael Bendis' issue of Ultimate X-Men which involved Wolverine killing a young mutant because his power was too dangerous. Quesada agreed, saying he thought it was one of Bendis' best issues.

As to Doctor Strange, Quesada only said "It's JMS and Brandon Peterson, it's going to be good."

Next up, someone asked about how a writer would go about trying to break into the business, since they can't very easily show up to cons with portfolios. Quesada talked about Marvel.com, and how they actually have implemented an open submission policy. You have to print out and sign a form for legal reasons, just in case they have a similar idea in the pipe, although they won't steal your idea. He promised that every proposal will get read and responded to. Cebulski then said that there were a lot of new talent, somewhere between 24 and 26 people who they've discovered through this open submission policy, who will be the next Bendises.

The final question that got through went back to the topic of Varient covers, and whether sales for them falsely represented the interest in a title. "Absolutely," Quesada said, and pointed out that it also hurts lower tiered books, because fans may buy multiple copies of the same book instead of trying out something new. He then went on to talk about how most readers are in fact, collectors, even if they're only collecting out of love, or a need for completeness, and that some of these people enjoy alternate covers. There are big marketing meetings to decide what titles get alternate covers and when, but really, nobody knows the best way to go about it because everybody on the retailer end (and reader end) wants something different.

With that, the panel closed.
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Peter Dimitriadis
Webmaster, The Unreachable Star
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