Rather than approach this with a PR friendly attitude, I’m just going to come right out and say it. This weeks Cup o’ Crap Joe was a deliberate homage to Disney. It was an attempt to put a happy smile on an otherwise dark day.

Faithful readers, I’m going to be picking on Joe Quesada. This is a huge deal and higher ups stand to make tons of money off of it, Quesada is no exception. It was completely in character for him to say what he said during that interview. What you have to remember is that above all, Quesada is a corporate man for Marvel. This means that he’s got to clean up the mess that we created by freaking out over this merger. That’s right, WE, the fans.

Each and every one of us asked for this. We asked for it by trashing Disney in our message boards, social networks and comic shops. We asked for it with our Photoshopped comic book covers (some of which were brilliant by the way). We made this interview a necessity.

Guess what guys, nothing much is going to change. I believe Quesada because from an economic standpoint, it’s not good to run your business into the ground with kid friendly stuff when your audience doesn’t expect that. Marvel was built off of the campy (lest we forget the silver and gold ages), but guys like Brubaker, Fraction, and Bendis have been exploring some psychologically disturbing themes and Marvel seems to be encouraging this.

Disney isn’t going to change that. Who in their right mind would actually put The Mouse in Marvel comics? You can be sarcastic and tell me I’m full of shit if you like, but The Mouse doesn’t belong and they are aware of that.

What I saw in that interview was the real life equivalent of a dump truck of money trying to be hidden from public view. We get it, Disney will be beneficial to Marvel due to international recognition. Now, please stop talking about your 8 year old daughter’s love for the Jonas Brothers and start telling us things we need to know. You can see by scrolling through the interview that most of the questions that mattered were dodged. Promises of things to come mixed with fears of legal backlash and useless ego stroking nonsense.

The interesting thing about this transcript was Joe’s reaction to the question concerning Original Graphic Novels. He actually broke down the role the fans/market play in determining the existence of an OGN. Basically, because the price of an OGN is often higher than an issue, an issue will sell more and provide advertising revenue and profits when you buy them. That’s why there are variants and reprints. (#justsayin)

In other words, you can come up with an original story, but THE Graphic novel, as in a comic written to be a book, is pretty much useless.  Oh yea–I forgot that whole “Marvel is just as much about profits as Disney is” thing.

I wonder if Quesada can see how many fans are up in arms about this from way atop Park Ave. After reading the CBR interview, I’d be fooled into thinking he gave two shits less about anything other than saying “Disney is great, Disney is good!”  For now he can hide behind shareholders and legalities, but sooner or later he’s going to have to show us why Marvel thought this was a brilliant idea.

Richard Bashara
Rich@comicimpact.com