I've been thinking about all these sorts of "events" Marvel either has going right now (Back in Black, World War Hulk), or is getting ready to kick off (Annihilation: Conquest, Mystic Arcana, Endangered Species). In the short term, the bigger ones (WWH, ES) will probably provide a nice boost to involved titles, but those aren't really the ones I'm interested in. My main concern is those are going to screw up books I like (I'm concerned X-Factor is gonna get messed up by Endangered Species, for example).
The ones I'm actually interested in are the events dealing with parts of the Marvel U. that don't get too much use. I think that was part of the appeal of Annihilation last year, was that these characters were mostly ignored by the larger MU, and someone (His Holiness, Keith Giffen) decided to put them to use in a little event focusing on what goes on outside Earth. It did its own thing, told its own story, changed a few of the characters place in the universe, and was in general a lot of fun. Annihilation: Conquest is another attempt to do something like that, utilizing characters from last year that were on the edges of the story, and bringing in some other Outer Space Marvel characters who would like a little love. Mystic Arcana looks to be similar, only focused on the mystical/supernatural corner of the Marvel Universe. Given the fact the guys who seem to have the power at Marvel don't seem fond of magic stuff, that area doesn't feel like it's gotten much play the last few years (JMS' Spidey stories being a notable exception I suppose). Now it will, even if just for a little while, and there's no telling which character might be this year's Nova, which is an idea I find kind of exciting (though I don't know if I'll actually get into Mystic Arcana).
While there's certainly the threat of diminishing returns, I think it's a good thing for Marvel to use all the different parts of its library of characters, for more than just fodder for their Big Event. Letting those characters get a little play in a story that fits them actually seems like a good strategy.
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I think Marvel has been working hard over the past few years to revitalize some characters who had been sitting on the sidelines. Bendis loves to bring back the 70s heroes, and he's been trying to find new uses for limited run characters like the Sentry and the Hood. Plus we've got Brubaker on Iron Fist and Slott on She-Hulk (though not for much longer). I like new characters, but I enjoy it when writers can turn something weak or forgotten into a real storytelling asset.
Heh. Annihilation is actually getting almost as much play at our store as WWH.
I'm getting AWFULLY tired of big events. I don't mind the smaller cross-overs I suppose, as long as it is only for an issue or two, but I'd sure like to see a little bit of a story in my favorite books that concentrated on their OWN characters for a while.
And I'm glad that Annihilation is getting some love, it was a FAR better story than Civil War.
My favorite Marvel series of the past few years was "Alias", partly because it recontextualized old characters in really interesting ways. I think "Sandman" is probably the best example of this in comics, where Neil Gaiman basically used a lot of B-List or forgotten characters to create this massive epic.
But I don't get why these events need to be these major focal points for the whole Marvel Universe. I very much prefer writers who play with the characters in their own space, let them grow and find their own stories, then slowly let the rest of the MU in (I liked Eternals, for example). The Big Events lately seem to be geared towards forcing lots of different books to tell their own versions of the same story (eg: "how will Cloak and Dagger deal with the return of the Hulk?!"). And that's too bad.
Events like Annihilation are cool because they at least group similar characters together. You don't need Spider-Man or the X-Men out there fighting Thanos, even if he is a bigger seller. Let Nova, Quasar, and the rest do it. That's awesome. I hope Mystic Arcana takes a similar path. I'm sad b/c I'm almost sure WWH won't :(
As much as I'm afraid that Endangered Species is going to suck, I'm not too worried about X-Factor. Peter David was actually able to use Civil War to his advantage in that title, making himthe only Marvel writer to do so.
tom the bomb: Yeah, there are plenty of characters at Marvel that don't get much use, they just need the right person to bring them out and give them some play. It certainly helps if they've got a major player like Bendis in their corner.
mallet: That's the kind of news I like to hear. I haven't really heard anybody discussing either one at the store I go to, but I've been getting there kind of late the last couple weeks.
sallyp: Are you OK with it if the creative team focuses on the regualr casts' responses to the crossover-inducing event? Because I'm with you on not really wanting characters shoehorned in for a crossover, and all focus being on them.
nothing stops the blob: I think you're right about not forcing the events to touch on every single little character in the universe, especially if it's the sort of thing they would never involve themselves in.
jason: True, his Civil War tie-ins were remarkably readable. I think I'm just going to put my trust in PAD.
I'm just *tired* of all the mega-events. I took a hiatus from Marvel for awhile because of them, just before the whole Onslaught thing. Even if they are good, there are just too many, too frequently, to enjoy anymore, quality notwithstanding.
When did it all start? The ones I remember most were things like "Fall of the Mutants" in the X-Men (before they started doing annual crossover events), and the Secret Wars/COIE series.
I miss that you could read books for YEARS without feeling lost if you didn't get some title of another book for a major conclusion somewhere.
Take it and run,
earl allison: I'm inclined to blame Secret Wars (or maybe Sceret wars 2: the fact they went back to the well is probably more concerning).
One of the things I've enjoyed about Spider-Girl is that since it's off in its own universe, one controlled by one writer, there's really never the since you're missing something. If something happened in the past that's relevant, DeFalco will either recap it for you in the story, or at least give a helpful editor's note pointing you in the proper direction.
It did seem like for a couple of years there in the early 2000s books were left to their own devices. Even the Spider-Man books didn't really overlap (during the JMS/Jenkins years). I think Disassembled is what blew that to hell.
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