Essentials No Longer Essential

The Essential line is apparently not the way Nu Marvel wants to present their characters to the general public. Is there another reason why new volumes of the books are no longer being solicited? I understand the line was beset by deadline problems, but it seems like new volumes featuring Sgt. Fury and a slew of others were hinted at, if not promised, for 2002. Well, the year's solicitations are pretty much gone and there haven't been any new volumes besides the Daredevil one. There was a Tomb of Dracula one solicited, but that was cancelled before the sales figures even came in. Joe Q was apparently shocked when he saw how high those figures were. I'm not surprised that he was surprised. The guy doesn't seem to find merit in anything written before Dark Knight Returns.

Bring back the Essentials, Marvel. Do we really have to do a letter writing campaign to get something that was already promised?

Windbag,

Well I for one am hoping they continue to issue them. For me they have proved an invaluable means by which to sample comics published nearly 15 years before my birth. Also I found it fascinating reading the Fantastic Four essentials watching Lee and Kirby refine the concepts underpinning it as time went on, (on a side note I thought the art when he was been inked by Joe Sinnot was the high point so far). Also it allowed me to 'catch' up on the continuity and background for groups like the X-men and Avengers.

I would love to have read the Tomb of Dracula Essential as I know the series was highly regarded in it's day. I would also love to read some of the Master of Kung Fu back issues in this format. It helped show younger readers and ones like me who came in a bit after these books the diversity of material Marvel has published.

Also, unlike DC's archives (which are I must admit gorgeous) the Essentials were affordable for all ages.

Finally, the Essentials must still sell pretty well as my local comics shop here in London is always putting new ones up on his most prominent display. A strong argument (along with the afore-mentioned advance orders on that proposed Tomb of Dracula book) for keeping the line.

Marcus 'We seem to have lost, we have not lost.To refuse to fight would have been to lose, to fight is to win, we have kept faith with the past and handed a tradition to the future.'

Patrick Henry Pearse (1879-1916)

I was born well after these books first came out, but would love to read how Stan Lee first wrote Spider-man, FF, Hulk etc. And be able to understand what Stan's vision for them was.

So come on Jemas and Quesada, prove you guys care about Marvel and readers and print these already.

<< So come on Jemas and Quesada, prove you guys care about Marvel...>>

Come back in a year and see if Jemas or Quesada are still here.

Any bets?

On at least one? That's a pretty reasonable assumption. But both? Who knows? If Daredevil or Hulk bomb, Jemas might be out, and if he goes who knows who we'll end up with.

I'm thinking Jemas has the better chances of sticking around than Quesada. Not that I know anything. It just seems like it would be easier to ditch an EIC than...whatever Jemas is

I think you might be right, quick money making VIP usually do so at the company expenses. At the first mistake JQ is a goner.

Not necessarily

I think it was more like five. And the whole Heroes Reborn was a commercial success if not a critical one. And Harras ran the show when Marvel tried yet another rehash called Ultimate Marvel. I think the guy did pretty well. Of course, some people think Joe Q's doing well. That don't mean he'll make it thru another year as EIC.

The company's problems when Harras was in charge largely related to financial issues over which he had no conceivable influence. And Marvel's owners at that time were fairly clueless about the creative side of the business.

Has an Essential Daredevil been solicited...??