Once again the Executive Editor of Marvel Comics talks with Jef about all things Marvel, from how he’s still not able to talk about the Marvel/Disney deal to what we can look forward to in 2010.
Jef- Hey Tom! Thanks for talking to us again.
TB- Sure, my pleasure.
Jef- So it seems like since the last time we talked things have only gotten crazier over there. With more books on the market then any other publisher, it’s easy to get lost in it all, what books does the Marvel reader need to be watching out for right now?
TB- Is that really true? I would think that DC, with all of its imprints, has more releases per month than we do. Maybe not more releases that people care about, though. It goes without saying that SIEGE will be a big deal, but it’d also be worth paying attention to things like FALL OF THE HULKS and DOOMWAR. And I think ULTIMATE ENEMY is going to surprise some people as well.
Jef- You may have a point there, I wasn’t thinking about all the imprints like Wildstorm. But to be sure you guys have more stuff out then the core books published under the “DC” Label. In any case this has been a really huge year for Marvel, not just for your books, but for the brand. What’s to come in 2010?
TB- More of the same, but with a move away from line-wide event storytelling and more into focusing on each book or family of books as a distinct entity. We’ll still be doing huge storylines, but they’ll be more likely to be contained to a particular publishing family than to expand out crazily over the whole of the publishing line.
Jef- Sounds exciting. Now this whole Disney thing, We know you can’t Talk about it, but if I don’t ask, I’ll get letters…
TB- Because it’s still a pending situation, I can’t actually say anything about it at all. The SEC has strict guidelines when it comes to mergers and acquisitions.
Jef- This will probably fall right in line with that last one, but just in case, what kind of impact, if any, do you think it will have, or even maybe has already had, on the work done behind the books?
TB- Sorry, can’t conjecture about that yet.
Jef- Fair enough, now let me ask you this, does Bendis ever run out of ideas? This guy is non stop!
TB- He’s the hardest-working man in comics, and the writer who most earns his accolades through blood, sweat and tears.
Jef- He pretty much has got to be as much as he does, he’s everywhere. Does he ever bring you something that is just really crazy and can’t be done?
TB- All the time. And often, we talk through what he wants to go, and find a way to do it nonetheless, even if it’s in a modified form.
Jef- So… What’s coming up after Siege? What kind of ramifications are we going to see from this?
TB- Can’t say too much just yet, but we have teased the banner name of what’s coming next: THE HEROIC AGE.
Jef- Now that sounds cool! The promo’s for Siege say this event is 7 years in the making, I assume this is the blockbuster event us fans have all been waiting for?
TB- Hopefully so. I suppose it depends just exactly what you’ve been waiting for. But it is a point that we’ve been driving towards for a very long time, and as has happened each time we’ve done one of these massive events in the past, it’s going to alter the landscape of the Marvel Universe in such a way as we’ll be reflecting it for months and months to come.
Jef- Sounds like the big event to me.What should we watch out for during this event?
TB- There are three key casualties, at least one of which I suspect will take people by surprise.
Jef- Three? Great forums everywhere are lighting up as we speak. What’s it like to be working at Marvel through some of the biggest events to ever take place in comics?
TB- I’ve now been at Marvel just shy of twenty years, so I’ve been through it all, ups and downs alike. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the ups are better.
Jef- Can you take us through a normal day at the office?
TB- There’s no such thing as a normal day–every day is different, and each week has its own problems and concerns. But typically, on any given day, it’s likely that I’ll be reading and commenting on scripts and plot outlines, both for the titles I directly edit and for those produced by the other editors in my group (Bill Rosemann, Steve Wacker and Ralph Macchio), I’ll be looking at artwork as it arrives in pencil, ink and colored forms and commenting on that as well, as necessary. I’ll be proofreading lettered pages, which is where I tend to do most of my fine-tuning on a given story. I’ll be calling or e-mailing with a variety of creators, some to check in on, some to urge to turn in work, some to hire for new assignments, etc. I’ll go to a variety of meetings, involving advance planning or scheduling, or specific issues or new initiatives that need to be dealt with. And I’ll be coming up with ideas for new projects, or new directions our existing stories could take the characters in.
Jef- Very cool Tom, twenty years is fantastic, and it sounds like you guys keep incredibly busy. Thanks for taking time to talk to us during the holidays, I know how crazy it must be.
TB- Sure thing! NC