Stan Lee would have never, EVER dissed fans for giving their opinion of a character or storyline. Wacker and Brevoort - get a clue. Other than extreme fanboys who must buy EVERYTHING, your readers dictate what sells by BUYING. If 70% of the readers don’t like what you’re writing, the book will be cancelled, unless of course it’s one of the big 10 (Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Wonderwoman, Iron-Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Avengers and JLA), then the creators will get the boot. That’s how it’s always been.

Change everything you want. That’s fine. But never suggest the fans are stupid or unwanted. You known “you can stop reading now” is something your bosses NEVER want. If half your fanbase took that to heart, you’d be out of work.
'

I am with you 100% on this statement. If I had ever spoken like the way Wacker did to my clients or customers I would have been out of a job so fast my head would have spun. What a pig. I just started adding the Spidey trades to my pull list. But I think that I will drop them. I'm not giving my money to someone who has that kind of attitude.

I win half. The Peter/Mary Jane thing is still a complete regression, and now the whole thing, even if in the short run is entertaining, is now developmentally stunted. This will be fixed eventually, but I have no interest in the meantime.

Does this include Mephisto?

It illustrated for me that people running the show at Marvel want Spider-Man to be what they grew up reading in 1968. (And the same is true for people at DC– thanks for bringing back Barry Allen, there). I have to say that I don’t mind that necessarily. I just wish they’d have the guts to admit that every so often.

I thought they did in that interview where Joe Q said 'And Harry is back as Peters friend... How cool is that?'

I don't think that was in the books during my life time, so I'm not sure where the selling point there was meant to be...

But Ben, Mark is in SUPPORT of the move to bring Spider-Man “back to basics,” not criticizing it.

Any criticism he is expressing is at how fans have carried themselves, not the change itself.

So naming examples of other “back to basics” comics is not disagreeing with him.

Yeah, but what I'm saying is he's complaining about fans whinging about the change, and yet today's professionals are quite happy to undo the changes they don't like.
Just struck me as odd that he used the comparison of him in the 80's complaining about Byrne's retcon - when he had a very successful series that was all about changing Byrne's run (and several other successful series are about undoing that as well)...
So he may be making fun of his 80's self, but I'm assuming he must still think that he was right - and that there's the chance the fans of today are as well.

For a fun side story though, I picked up the second BND trade at the shop for a flick through, just because all this was fresh in my mind, and it opened up to Bachelo art... then I flicked back and it was Jimenz... and so I was sold...
And after reading it, I'll probably pick up the first one for a see, and the third one, and if they are of the same level of quality, I'm probably in on this...

PS- Ripping on Erik Larsen? He did more for Spider-man than you failures can even dream about. Pathetic.

I could not believe that. It's a character that's been dead since 1973. Her death is the most important event that defined Spider-Man (and indeed Marvel) since then. Why is that conversation even happening, much less being put to a vote?

It illustrated for me that people running the show at Marvel want Spider-Man to be what they grew up reading in 1968. (And the same is true for people at DC-- thanks for bringing back Barry Allen, there). I have to say that I don't mind that necessarily. I just wish they'd have the guts to admit that every so often.

It also gives me hope that when they're retired, another generation will come in and bring back the marriage or something else from 1987 or 1992 that we liked.

Sadly, they're too busy trying to come up with the "next big thing" that they forget to come up with a plan that's called a plot. This comic book revolution that they think is happening at Marvel is all in their heads and you would think there wouldn't be any room for that with the size of their egos that they keep showing us in these interviews

Stan Lee would have never, EVER dissed fans for giving their opinion of a character or storyline. Wacker and Brevoort - get a clue. Other than extreme fanboys who must buy EVERYTHING, your readers dictate what sells by BUYING. If 70% of the readers don’t like what you’re writing, the book will be cancelled, unless of course it’s one of the big 10 (Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Wonderwoman, Iron-Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Avengers and JLA), then the creators will get the boot. That’s how it’s always been.

Change everything you want. That’s fine. But never suggest the fans are stupid or unwanted. You known “you can stop reading now” is something your bosses NEVER want. If half your fanbase took that to heart, you’d be out of work."

Exactly. Give the man a cigar! He gets it!

And that's the why comics don't sell as well today, they're making money only because of the higher price point but make no mistake, less people are reading comics today than ever. Because these are the thought processes of those running the industry today, garnering the worst circulation figures in the history of the medium. They look down on their readership, are so inflated by ego they think they're invincible, they can say whatever they want to the people who buy their work. It's condescending and without cause because the work they're producting really and truly sucks. So where this ego comes from is beyond us all but again, this is why they are literally running the medium into the ground

Does this guy actually listen to himself speak?

Make no mistake, the people running the industry today are 'fans', 'fans' from WAY back. Many of them grew up on a very healthy diet of Unmarried Spider-Man.

Why do many creators SO dislike married Peter Parker?

a) They are fans who want things to stay like they were whenever they personally liked it best --which was unmarried, when THEY were reading Spider-Man.

b) If Spider-Man remains in a non-developing circle, a mandate that states 'he must never get married', then essentially, he is staying the same forever, prohibiting growth, change and development. Hence, by never allowing him to marry, those creators are basically stating Parker must remain THE SAME -- forecer, just as resistant to change as the fans they condemn.

c) Who says the creators running the industry really do know what's best? Just because someone has a job in a particular industry, doesn't mean they're right for that job. And today, the industry is literally INFESTED with people who really, should find another job. Proof of that is in the sales figures and those who claim comics are selling better now than ever show how long they've been reading comics when they make that statement. Comics are making more money only because the price is higher. Actual copy sales are the lowest in the entire history of the medium. And for 2008, comics are in a 7 month sales decline. That says a whole lot about what the creators in the industry know, cause they're running the show.

d) If these creators really did know what was good for the industry, they wouldn't have such a difficult time attracting new readers. Attracting new readers isn't as difficult as some make it sound. All you have to do is produce really good material, the rest will take care of itself. If its good, one person recommends it to another and so on. Word of mouth spreads and sales improve. If sales aren't improving, its probably because the material isn't as good as these creators like to believe it is. Then again, what creator will ever admit, 'Yeah, my work really does suck.'

So Wacker, just because the creators think something is best, doesn't mean it is. And those fans you say, the ones who like things to always stay the same? Kettle meet pot, pot meet kettle. But all that aside, I grew up on single Peter Parker for a very long time, I bought the issue he got married in right off the stands and you know what? I liked married Peter Parker better. Why? Because the character wasn't staying the same anymore.

He changed. And all you creators can't deal with the fact that he changed. You want him to remain the same, forever.

e) People can say the industry is dying, internet and computer games inhibit sales -- BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.

Until then, they should quit with the lame wannabe comedy act and work at making Spider-Man good again. I tried to read a couple of the newest issues, and this book is just awful.

That deal with the Devil hasn't worked out well.

And NOBODY believes Marvel could just survive on the subscription sales. That's just horsespit.