Marvel Admits to Killing Characters for Money Options

[Gonzogoose]

I normally don't frequent this competing news site, but it was linked from DW and I was kind of surprised to find out what it had to say.

Basically, at the recent ComicsPro Retailer Summit, Marvel stated that because of the sales of FF media since Torch's death they are going to kill a character every quarter. One would think that's just being flippant, but they then specified "This is not a joke."

Here's a snippet of the article:

In an unprecedented move over the weekend, Marvel Comics basically admitted to killing characters for sales. Now, let’s not delude ourselves into thinking we didn’t know this already but am I the only one surprised it was finally said so plainly? And publicly?

Well, I guess publicly is sort of relative here. The bold statement was made at the recent ComicsPro retailer summit in Texas. David Gabriel, Senior Vice President of Sales at Marvel said, “As a result of the Fantastic Four sales and media coverage, Marvel is going to kill a main character every quarter.” He then made sure to say, “This is not a joke.”

Granted, the statement was meant to stay in that room, but this is the internet age and if you say something like that it’s going to be talked about. Gabriel also mentioned that this move was not about killing the characters per se but about what would come later as a result of the death. He specifically said that what happens after the “Death of Spider-Man” story happening now in the Ultimate line, would be the biggest media exposure they’ve ever had.

And here's a link to the whole thing:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/hey-thats-...les-110216.html

[ChadStrohl]

One of my favorite stories that was kicked off by a death (Jean DeWolfe)... The Sin Eater Saga in Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man.

It's tragic without being gimmicky. It's poignant without being hamfisted. It's about as dark as Spidey should go. And it played out on a small stage.

That's how you do it right.