Because they are.

It’s called “separate revenue streams.”

They seem related, but much like DC and Vertigo, they’re obviously considered completely different entitities by the editorial staff.

It was like Bendis had a vendetta against anyone with a modicom of power. The most powerful in Marvel suddenly went “smuck” and the world went to the toilet. It’s like Marvel liked Miller’s Dark Knight so much they decided to do the whole world like that. Bummer. I used to like Iron Man a lot and now the only way to salvage the suit IMHO is to put somebody else in it.

Still, I’m kinda okay with most of what has been done with Spiderman. The unmasking didn’t bother me, but it does raise the question of how they’re gonna go from there. How would they re-mask him anyway? Only way I see how is if a sane Scarlet Witch did it.

BTW, I don’t really count X-Men in my views of main Marvel since I feel that X-books often get treated as “another” dimention entirely anyways.

What, the company-wide battlefest between its theoretical “heroes”, culminating in the death of one of its major characters, that wasn’t bleak already? Jesus, Matthew… who hurt you? ;-)

I’m not the biggest Python fan in the world, but for my money, “The Argument Clinic” is one of the finest works of comedy ever performed. I am PROUD to type up a blatant half-assed rip-off instead of doing my job! EXCELSIOR!!!

So, what’s the Beyonder?”
“It’s right there in the comic books. You tell me.”
“The Beyonder is a representation of an entire dimension!”
“No he isn’t.”
“Yes he is.”
“No he isn’t. Think more along the lines of a Cosmic Cube.”
“Okay…ah…he’s a Cosmic Cube!”
“No he isn’t.”
“Er…but you said…”
“No I didn’t.”
“Yes you did!”
“No, I did not. Try again.”
“Well, maybe he’s part…of…a larger…species?”
“Like a race of Beyonders?”
“Yes! A whole race of Beyonders!”
“So that’s where he comes from, eh?”
“Yes. Yes it is.”
“No it isn’t.”
“Arrg!!!”
“Look, the Beyonder kind of sucks anyway…”
“True, but…”
“So what’s the coolest thing to be in the Marvel Universe?”
“Songbird’s thong?”
“Second coolest.”
“A mutant?”
“Bingo.”
“So…the Beyonder is a…mutant?”
“No he isn’t.”
“But you just said…”
“Never mind what I just said. He isn’t human.”
“So…he’s an…In-human?”
“No he…wait…yes. Yes he is.”
“So it’s settled then?”
“No it isn’t.”
“Dammit. Well, what’s the deal with Hawkman?”
“It’s right there in the comic books. You tell me.”
“ARRRRRRGH!!!”

(Apologies to Monty Python.)

Do you have a copy of Ethel The Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying On Krypton?

Marvel right now is being driven by writers who want to tell stories that haven’t been told before. Sometimes, that means good stories, sometimes bad. But the problem is, there’s a mentality that says that because a story hasn’t been told, it HAS to be done! Things like resurrecting Bucky, having Scarlet Witch lose her mind and rewrite reality, the silly underlying premise of Civil War, and returning Wolverine’s memories are being done NOT because they’re stories that someone has been dying to tell, but because they’re uncharted territory. And since Joe’s editorial model doesn’t discern any difference between GOOD attention and BAD attention, the fact that these stories cause a fuss in the world (especially the ones that get mainstream media attention) means that they MUST be good. Of course, five years from now, there’s going to be a new system, and a whole new series of retcons that don’t truly make sense to repair what are percieved as “problems” in the stories being done today.

I’m still waiting for Spider-Man’s secret identity to return. I believe it will, and I’m wondering if it will be sooner rather than later.

(Apologies to Monty Python.)

Short term, this might result in increased sales, but long term, I think Marvel’s going to need to restore some of these characters (Tony Stark, Beyonder, etc.) back to their former selves, or they might start losing their casual and hardcore readers.