Never mind images of the Phoenix, hints that something is coming or Point One special issues, Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso has offered probably the most speculation-inducing comment about the House of Ideas’ big 2012 event yet in his latest CBR interview:
[T]he first phase of a publishing plan is determining what your tent-poles will be — what projects will drive people into stores and get people buzzing about the year ahead. A few weeks ago, we released a little teaser that got people buzzing… Very soon, we’re going to reveal all. Three simple words that speak to the hardcore Marvel fan and the guy or gal on the street who’s seen one or two super hero movies.
“Three simple words that speak to the hardcore Marvel fan and the guy or gal on the street who’s seen one or two super-hero movies”? What three words would fit that bill? “The Phoenix Returns,” maybe, if those super-hero movies were the X-Men ones? “The Avengers Die?” Nah, they wouldn’t go that far. But… Well, the Point One teaser story featuring Nova made a point – no pun intended – of showing that the Phoenix Force didn’t only destroy a planet, but created new life. So what if the three words end up being some variation on “Marvel Universe Reborn”?
November 21st, 2011 at 8:10 am
How many times do people need to hear Brevoort et al. say that Marvel is not doing a reboot before they accept that the company is not going to make such drastic changes solely in response to two months of order numbers whose correlation to actual sell-through (particularly last month’s) is unclear at best?
November 21st, 2011 at 8:24 am
Wondertwin Powers Activate?
November 21st, 2011 at 8:49 am
“We’re Cutting Prices!”
November 21st, 2011 at 9:06 am
This is it!
November 21st, 2011 at 9:19 am
I thought it was “It’s Coming.” Which is kind of three words (if you count the contraction as two words).
November 21st, 2011 at 10:37 am
“Made you look!” or “Got you last!”?
November 21st, 2011 at 11:22 am
Nothing to see
November 21st, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Spider-man marries Wolverine
November 21st, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Barry Convex: Except that Brevoort — with whom I disagree on a LOT of issues, but who remains the closest thing to a sober voice of reason at Marvel — is not running the show there. The bean-counters and the Mouse are, and we’ve already seen THEIR priorities. I actually agree with you about the degree to which DC’s success has been overstated, but I don’t think Marvel or Disney see it that way, not in the least because they’re run by corporate mentality, and corporate mentality is governed by quarterly success, and on that front, DC is going to trump Marvel for the first time in a long time, which I suspect has a lot of people in suits ready to respond by reflex.
November 21st, 2011 at 2:05 pm
K-Box: It has nothing to do with whether Brevoort is running the show, though he’s made clear enough that he doesn’t think that a reboot would be a good idea. The fact is that he would certainly be in a position to know, and that every time he’s been asked about it on Formspring in the past few months*, he’s said quite unambiguously that it’s not happening. So if the Phoenix event is being used as a lead-in to a reboot – and I’m pretty certain that it won’t be – either Brevoort is a liar, or Marvel has made a drastic change in course in the past few weeks purely out of (likely unjustified) panic over the October sales figures.
And I don’t believe for a second that the bean counters at Marvel are particularly concerned with DM market share, as opposed to total revenue/profit figures.
*Examples:
http://www.formspring.me/TomBrevoort/q/232620469423975091
http://www.formspring.me/TomBrevoort/q/231409044198265941
http://www.formspring.me/TomBrevoort/q/248802563304994031
http://www.formspring.me/TomBrevoort/q/240826982831489549
http://www.formspring.me/TomBrevoort/q/243864143608680791
November 21st, 2011 at 2:14 pm
“From. The. Ashes.”
Marvel relaunches their line.
November 21st, 2011 at 2:27 pm
“We give up.”
“The Marriage Lives!”
“Alan Moore returns.”
“No more 3.99.”
“We fired Bendis.”
“Bendis fired us.”
November 21st, 2011 at 4:22 pm
“COUNT ME OUT.”
November 21st, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Tent poles?
All I see in February 2012 is Venom, Rick Remender, Bendis, Rick Remender, Venom.
Why so much Venom?
The title isn’t even in their top 5 sales for the month of October. There is such a thing as giving someone too much power. Bendis notwithstanding.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Clearly, from the Feb solicits it must be: We’re Double-Shipping Everything!
November 21st, 2011 at 11:55 pm
“woah! Epic fail” …?