Comments on: Obligatory Introductory Post

By: karellan

karellan — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:25:26 +0000

Captain America, Iron Man and Spider-Man may not have been in MAX titles, but Blade, Luke Cage, Thor, War Machine, and the X-Men have all had feature comics in the line, and a lot of their supporting characters appeared in those titles. That’s pretty heavy infiltration by the main universe.

On top of that, the Marvel Knights imprint, which blurs the line between MAX and the main imprint, has had pretty much ALL the main Marvel characters.

I don’t even pay much attention to the imprint unless it’s Marvel Adventures or something. The kid-specific line is at least noticeably different; when you have people getting ripped in half or raped in the 616 comics, how is the MAX imprint any different?

By: VoodooBen

VoodooBen — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:29:35 +0000

Dude, I will admit – I had no idea who you were, but I went and checked out Fraggmented. I then spent today reading you Storytelling Engines posts in full.

Amazing work. I am a convert.

By: John Seavey

John Seavey — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:21:51 +0000

Then what are you worried about?

It’s actually not Cap, Iron Man or Spidey that worry me, it’s the Punisher. See, the corollary to “Don’t use regular Marvel characters in the MAX line” is “Don’t use MAX characters in the regular Marvel line”. Again, you’ll see this over in DC; they don’t use Swamp Thing in the mainstream DC universe anymore because he’s been branded so successfully as a Vertigo character.

Once the Punisher made the transition (the very successful and logical transition, given the character’s nature) to the MAX line, he should stay there. Putting out an “adults-only” title and an “all-ages” title featuring the same character with very similar titles is a recipe for confusion, and you don’t want confusion in your branding. People should know, just from the logo, what kind of experience they’re getting from your monthly periodical.

By: Dave O'Neill

Dave O'Neill — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:31:09 +0000

I said that the “Marvel Max” line shouldn’t feature any of Marvel’s flagship characters (like Captain America, Spider-Man, or Iron Man)

—-You see, I work, in a comic book store, and I’m fairly certain I’ve never seen them.

By: John Seavey

John Seavey — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:08:34 +0000

I never said I hated the Marvel Max line, or that it should be shut down. I said I hated the name, because I do; “Marvel Max” sounds like a line of condoms, not comic books. I said that the “Marvel Max” line shouldn’t feature any of Marvel’s flagship characters (like Captain America, Spider-Man, or Iron Man), but that’s the same policy that DC follows with its Vertigo line, and they do quite well by it. (You’ll never see a Vertigo title starring Superman, for example.)

In fact, I think that Marvel should be more aggressively building their adult comics brand, because I think it’s important to have a brand identity of “comics for grown-ups”…I just think it’s equally important that this line not be the main Marvel Universe line, because the brand identity of that line is “family-friendly entertainment.”

I really have no idea how you got from my statements on the subject to that position.

By: Dave O'Neill

Dave O'Neill — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:18:22 +0000

Do you still hate the Marvel Max line? Still think it should be shut down?

By: Benjan

Benjan — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:02:12 +0000

Dude. I had no idea that they guy who wrote Storytelling engines also wrote for Feng Shui. They’re 2 of the 5 recommended resources for storytellers at my FLGClub. I actually want your opinion on an analogy a friend of mine made this week at Game Club. Fengh Shui : Exalted :: Nintendo Wii : Playstation. Basically does the same thing. Shot clock initiative, Kung Fu action, and Trees of charms or schticks, Using demons and Dragon Nests to make everything go. One is for the casual gamer who is used to the conventions cinema. One is for the hardcore gamer steeped in the conventions of gaming who like math. This having been said. Do you think its a good metaphor? If so, why is it wii sells better than PS3 but Exalted Sells better than Feng Shui?

By: MailOrderClone

MailOrderClone — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:54:19 +0000

Mr. Seavey, I think we’re going to get along just fine.

By: John Seavey

John Seavey — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:06:55 +0000

Don’t worry, Grazzt, this won’t reduce my Fraggmented posting volume. It’s still “Mondays” and “Thursdays” over there, I promise.

And mental note: People like Feng Shui.

By: ladypeyton

ladypeyton — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:46:08 +0000

“and my accidentally inflammatory “How To Save Marvel Comics””

That’s the one that said, basically, that Marvel should start marketing to kids again, right? I liked that. Made a heck of a lot of sense.

By: Lister Sage

Lister Sage — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:58:04 +0000

I can yammer about Doctor Who with the best of them. (I can actually follow a debate about “UNIT Dating”. And “Lives Before Hartnell”.

Oh, this is gonna be good.

By: supergp

supergp — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:49:02 +0000

Welcome!

By: magnuskn

magnuskn — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:08:40 +0000

Y’know, if you are a comics fan and a fan of Spiderman, why don’t you do an article on Ultimate Spiderman? MGK seems to ignore the series completely, and this is although it happens to be consistently the best Marvel comic I read every month.

By: PMMJ

PMMJ — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:56:52 +0000

Anything that increases the Feng Shui content on this blog is 100% welcome!

By: malakim2099

malakim2099 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:50:45 +0000

Woot! Feng Shui!

Welcome to the jungle, etc.