I Got A Letter Printed In A Comic. Now I Need Some Help.

Hi Everyone.

Today was new comic book day, for U.K. reprint comics, and I was pleased to see in the new Mighty World of Marvel #1, that a letter I wrote to Panini Comics had been printed. :)

Now, for anyone unfamiliar with what Panini prints just now, there are 7 "Collectors' Editions" that print recent Marvel comics, about a year or two after the original releases. Essential X-Men, soon to be relaunched with Marvel Now!, Avengers Assemble, printing Uncanny Avengers and Avengers Assemble, Mighty World Of Marvel, printing Guardians Of The Galaxy, Daredevil and Avengers Arena, Marvel Legends, printing Captain America, Thor and Iron Man solo issues, Wolverine And Deadpool, Incredible Hulks and Astonishing Spider-Man, currently over halfway through Superior Spider-Man, and also printing Scarlet Spider and other related things.

There's a bit of a lack of female characters being showcased, and with them getting into Marvel Now!-era, this seems like the perfect time to start printing some. One of the great things about these reprints is that unlike American comics, these are available in WH Smith, and often local newsagents and sometimes supermarkets, so the general public can be exposed to comics without having to go to specialist shops, and they're considerably cheaper, at £3.50($6.00) for 3-5 comics reprinted together. This is how I got into comics in the first place.

I'd like for Marvel female characters to start getting some more attention, and I think this could help. There's material available for them to print, but they need to know if it would be a good idea to do it.

Scott who runs this letters page has asked if this would be a good idea, so what I wondered was, is anyone interested in letting him know if it is? If enough people express interest in a particular female series being printed, or for a new Collectors Edition being created to showcase them, we may be able to bring these characters to a new audience, and hopefully make some of them more popular.

The ways you can contact them are pictured if you'd like to help. :)

Thanks for reading.

Scarlotte.

I think I've seen the Spider-Man one in my local WHSmith (which sadly I think might have closed down now), as well as a similar kind of Batman collection.

I had already started reading digitally same-day-as-print from Comixology, so I didn't buy any, and I didn't really know what they were or why they were so far behind because I'd never heard of them before. :)

That being said, there are plenty of fantastic female-led titles at Marvel right now, and giving them an even broader audience if possible is never ever a bad thing, so I think this is a really great idea.

@wardishy: Yeah, there's 2 Batman ones produced by Titan Comics at the moment. The main one is only a few months behind the original issues of Batman, Batman &... and Nightwing.

Fair enough. :) They're a nice way to catch up on a series in shorter sections without having to commit to buying a whole TPB in one go.

Thanks. I've had 13 retweets(including Kelly Sue DeConnick and G. Willow Wilson) and 1 person say they've sent an email so far, and hopefully the word can get spread even further over the next few weeks/months. :)

Had a good few people spreading the word about this via retweets. Bumping for anyone who missed this two days ago who may like to help. :)

Nice.

@dagmar_merrill: Thanks. :D

Out of curiousity, does anyone have a favourite series of the ones I mentioned, or think any in particular deserved to be highlighted?

@v_scarlotte_rose: I love the current Black widow book. Elektra is pretty great too.

The only female ongoings I've really been enjoying so far, are Black Widow & Elektra. She-Hulk is alright, but I can't stand the art.

I don't like the others.

@v_scarlotte_rose:

I wrote into The Amazing spider-man a few years ago. I told them I had ideas for upcoming Spider-man issues and they just said they can't take fan ideas. That's all I got from them about that. My letter IS in an issue, but it was from like 3 years ago.

bump

@twix_right_side:Thanks. :)

@comedy_brosusa: Yeah, I've heard that they'd maybe have to pay people for their ideas. Kind of cool that it got printed though. :)

@beaconofstrength: @dagmar_merrill: Are you pre-existing Elektra readers? I've been enjoying it as someone who hasn't read much else of her before. I hear good things about Black Widow.

No prob :)

I definitely want a lot of people to join in this

And yeah,Black Widow is just as good as Elektra. As in,both titles are amazing!

@v_scarlotte_rose: Yeah, they handle Elektra's character really well. They get the feel of the character just right.

bump

@v_scarlotte_rose:

yeah. my letter got posted but they edited out part of it when I stated my ideas. I can't really remember. it was 3 years ago and I was obsessed with the peter/MJ marriage thing so most of my story ideas were about how to fix that. but My story ideas have gotten a bit better over the years. I would like to start Independently making my own comic series soon about some of my own concepts because getting them into Marvel or DC would be really tough. They usually only take ideas from close staff members.

my advice is to try seeing if any writers will be at any comic conventions and maybe you can talk to them personally there about your ideas.

@comedy_brosusa: I suppose if you're own independent stuff get's noticed, they'd maybe pick you up to write some Marvel stuff in the future. Good luck with that. :D

The difference in what I'm doing here though, is that I'm just asking about them reprinting already published comics, so there isn't the issue of them taking my plotlines and such. I don't know if I've heard of people successfully asking Panini to print certain Marvel things, but Titan, who print DC reprints are currently printing some Nightwing in their main Batman comic, apparently because people asked for it, so maybe this could work. :D

@beaconofstrength: Oh, that's good to know. If I come to like her, that should make reading old stuff easier. :)

@twix_right_side: Cool. Thanks for your support. :D

Sounds like I'd maybe enjoy it. Under different circumstances I might have been buying Black Widow, but I've become a little tired of seeing her so much, and I kind of resent her being pushed so much instead of other characters. The art looks pretty good though, and it's getting good reviews, so if I had a little more money I'd maybe be getting it out of curiousity.

But who knows? If this campaign works, I could maybe read her series in a U.K. reprint in a year or two. :)

54 Retweets so far, including Kelly Sue DeConnick, G. Willow Wilson, Tom Brevoort, Cullen Bunn, Charles Soule and W. Haden Blackman. :D

@v_scarlotte_rose: In all honesty, Black Widow hasn't really been pushed. Yeah, shes in a lot of shows & movies, but shes never really pushed in the comics. Her series is probably the best and most underrated of all the female ongoings.

They're shoving Captain Marvel & Ms. Marvel down our throats much more than Black Widow.

@v_scarlotte_rose:

yeah that'd be cool if Marvel or DC would pick up my ideas. and yeah, UK should really have like a 'women of Marvel' thing exclusively for that. I got what you were saying.

@comedy_brosusa: Which characters would you write for?

Sorry, I wasn't sure if I'd been clear with what I meant. :)

I'm wondering if they'd call it "Women Of Marvel". Marvel seems quite happy to use this branding with things, but I'm kind of unsure of it. On one hand I don't think it's fair to give a gendered title when the equivalent male series is just called "Marvel Legends", but if it's to showcase female characters, "Women Of Marvel" could be an eye-catching title for people looking for such a thing.

@beaconofstrength: The films and T.V. shows are part of what I mean though, and if I've counted right, she's been in 49 more comics than Captain Marvel since Marvel Now, even with Captain Marvel having her own series. Plus it's things like her being presented as being one of the 6 "main" Avengers on the first Hickman chart, and she seems to be the go-to woman when the Avengers make guest appearances.

I don't necessarily dislike her or anything, but I just don't like that she's not got powers or a distinctive costume, but is kind of being used like the face of women in Marvel. I just think it's uneven.

Not sure what you mean about Ms. Marvel. She's not really been in anything other than her own series.

@v_scarlotte_rose: When I said Ms. Marvel is being shoved down our throat, I mean they've been trying their hardest to get her known. The same goes for Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel didn't do well the first time around, but they keep insisting on pushing her. Ms. Marvel being pushed, just to appeal to a wider audience. While she may not be in many comics, Marvel has been pushing her a lot.

Also, Black Widow has appeared,in more comics, but she doesn't really get a spotlight in them. I don't even think she's a big part in Avengers, anymore.

@v_scarlotte_rose:

ha ha. it's fine. and as for ideas, and as for which books, I've wanted to do Spider-Man for a long time. Dan Slott isn't the best writer in my opinion. And Batman. Those two would be cool.

@comedy_brosusa: They seem like good titles to have a go on. Plenty of villains to choose from. :)

@beaconofstrength: I can't say I've noticed a lot of pushing for Ms. Marvel, but I get why they might feel a need too. It seems like a brand new character could need a little extra advertising. As for Captain Marvel, historically she seems to have done O.K., considering female characters often don't sell as well for some reason. Tom Brevoort said that"As for CAPTAIN MARVEL, that’s a series and a character that we feel strongly about, so we’re going to continue to do stories about her." so if they just want to keep her in print for story or feminist purposes, I can get behind that.

I'm maybe not wording what I mean very well. I think giving characters a push is O.K., as long as it's a reasonable amount. I'm not against Black Widow being in things, but it just seems like she's getting the most attention of the female Avengers, even if she's not getting the spotlight in everything she's in.

@v_scarlotte_rose: Just because she's in more things, doesn't mean she's getting attention. I still think Carol is being pushed the most. To me it seems like they're trying to force her into more and more things, for no reason, besides to be there. Fans have already addressed that they don't really enjoy her as Captain Marvel. Sure, some Carol fans like her, but sales have shown that she isn't popular with the fans. It's not that she is a woman, it's that she's kind of a boring character that doesn't have a set personality.

I don't really want to get into feminism, since that's for a different discussion, that I could go on about for a long while.

I know we went a bit off topic, but nonetheless, I hope you're able to get more comics with female leads printed. I may not be a big fan of Carol or Ms. Marvel, but the more comics that get exposure, the better. I hope you're able to achieve your goal with Panini Comics.

I've only read Journey into Mystery from those mentioned. I thought it was a very fun, interesting, and colorful book. It had a lot personality and I would recommend people to look into it.

@sagejonathan: I missed out on that series at the time. I saw somewhat mixed reviews at the time, but I'm curious to see what it's like. If this campaign doesn't work out, I'll maybe get the TPBs. :)

@pikachumonster: Thanks. :)

@beaconofstrength: We may have to agree to disagree on who's getting pushed. Carol fans seems to be in an unusual area at the moment, as sales aren't super-high, but there seems to be a lot of very dedicated ones, and new-to-comics readers. Sales are certainly lower, but I wonder how much of that is from the new name and costume.

Thanks. I appreciate the support. :)

Anyway, not much more news about this. I found out that Paninis French wing printed Fearless Defenders and the Captain Marvel/Avengers Assemble crossover, The Enemy Within, so I wonder if that makes them likely choices for the U.K. market.

Thanks to anyone who's sent emails/letters so far. :D

@v_scarlotte_rose: Brilliant of you for writing them! I'll throw some noise their way as well.

@hislolita: Excellent, thanks. :D Is there a series in particular you'd like to get some recognition this way?

Also, I just had a thought. Does anyone think the two issue story printed in Avenging Spider-Man #9-10 should be included in a Women Of Marvel(working title) series? Panini Marvel titles tend to start with a 100 page special, which can amount to 5 comics, like the recent Mighty World Of Marvel #1.

If they started with an issue with 5 reprinted issues, it could be Avenging Spider-Man #9-10, Captain Marvel #1, Journey Into Mystery #646 and Fearless Defenders #1. Then with the next issue they could go into the regular 3 issues per issue format, with "Women Of Marvel #2" printing Captain Marvel #2, Journey Into mystery #647 and Fearless Defenders #2, and so on.

Nice! Though only female led title i read is Captain Marvel

@deadgod: Thanks. Not a bad choice. :)

I think your idea would be the best way to go about it. It gets as much representation of female characters initially (generate the most interest) and then it can continue with focus of the same but with added stories of others as it progressed. As a comic fan, I would definitely sign up for these books.

Captain Marvel, first and foremost. Black Widow, Elektra, She-Hulk, Ms Marvel and the new adjectiveless X-Men book would be the others. Even X-23's cancelled book can be considered after more recognized characters get their due first.

@hislolita: Thanks. :) It seems like it would be a pretty simple schedule up to #11/#12, which would finish up the Journey Into Mystery and Fearless Defenders issues, but then when the All-New Marvel Now! stuff comes in, it becomes a little more crowded. Captain Marvel seems like the best choice to be flagship of the series, having the most post-Marvel Now! issues(currently at least), the kind of appeal that seems to create dedicated fans, #CarolCorps, and somewhat of a spin-off character in Ms. Marvel.

She-Hulk will go to the Incredible Hulks series, so that's a nice guarantee at least. If there's just one title that will handle them all, they may have to rotate titles, like do an arc of Black Widow, an arc of Elektra, back to Black Widow, etc. I suppose it could depend on how long each series lasts too though.

If there isn't a follow-up series to Avengers Undercover, which Mighty World Of Marvel will almost certainly print after Avengers Arena, Elektra could slip in there, as it traditionally prints Daredevil. By that point they'll maybe have launched a dedicated Guardians Of The Galaxy title to cover the main series, 3000, and the Rocket and Star Lord solos, so Mighty World could have some space for some women.

X-Men and Storm, could maybe end up in Essential X-Men, even though they said there were no plans to include X-Men. Things can change. With Wolverines imminent death, they may need something to fill the gap in Wolverine And Deadpool when the time comes, so X-23 could go there, if not in the dedicated female title.

If we don't get an all-female series, there's at least other opportunities to be had. :)

Edit: The new Thor will probably be in Marvel Legends when the time comes.

I found a couple of Facebook pages that could be useful for keeping up with Panini Collectors' Edition news, and possibly a place to get in contact with them. :)

https://www.facebook.com/MarvelCollectorsEditions

https://www.facebook.com/PaniniComicsUK

Edit: The new Spider-Woman series will probably end up being reprinted in Astonishing Spider-Man when the time comes, so that's cool. I wonder if there'll be space for the Angela series somewhere. :)

@v_scarlotte_rose: More female lead series? Sure, as long as that means Gamora, Songbird, Valkyrie, and Angela get some love.

@ostyo: This seems to be a good time for Marvel women to be showcased, so it seems totally possible. :)

Anyway, I have no way of knowing if my campaigning/word spreading had anything to do with this person(name blanked out in case they don't want it spread around) writing in, but that's not important. It's great to see that other people are asking Panini to print Marvel women, so hopefully we'll see some results soon. Pretty cool that I got a namecheck too. :)

@v_scarlotte_rose: Well, turns out Angela is getting her own ongoing. So that must be a good sign. :D

Does anyone know any good ways to spread the word about this idea? I'm running out of people to request retweets from.

Or, can anyone think of anyone that would retweet this?

I've had 181 retweets about this thread from comic creators, bloggers, podcasters, and comic fans. I may have run out of people that I can ask for retweets so I might just finish up promoting this for now, and see what happens. There doesn't seem to be a letters page in this months Mighty World Of Marvel, so unfortunately I haven't seen any new signs of other people writing in.

Hopefully a good few people have seen this, and written letters/emails to try and get some more women into the U.K. reprint comics. Thanks to anyone who has. :)


Edit: If I've counted correctly, this thread has now been retweeted 200 times. :D

And in this months Mighty World Of Marvel, another letter was printed asking to see Captain Marvel printed in one of Paninis' Collectors Editions, and I got a namecheck. :)

All three issues of the current MWOM, have had a Captain Marvel request letter printed, which I'm hoping means that they're taking note that people want to see it printed. No official sign of it, but I'm hoping for good things soon. :D

@v_scarlotte_rose: Bump

@dagmar_merrill: Thank you. :D

Another request for female heroes has been printed in a Panini Marvel Collectors Edition, this time in Incredible Hulks #7. :)

This is the second time that the specific question of a dedicated female Collectors Edition has come up. I may be reading too much into it, but going from the original response of "is a female-centric CE a good idea?" to "It's an intriguing idea" seems like maybe it's becoming more of a possibility. I hope so anyway. :)

They've asked who else would like to see an all female series. So if anyone wants it, start typing up some emails or writing up some letters. :D

No more cheap, mass-produced Panini comics encroaching on our beleaguered comic book industry please (sorry).

@silent_bomber: They're kind of like TPBs in a way. They print the stuff a while after the originals, and they're in mainstream shops, advertising comics to people who may not think of them otherwise.

Panini reprints were a big help in getting me into comics. :)

Ororo Munroe aka Storm! :)

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Ms Marvel and Black Widow are probably my fav female ongoings right now.

@knightsofdarkness2: I don't see the appeal of Captain Marvel honestly. It should of been cancelled with this wave of cancellations. I find it to be an extremely average book, and it's doing worse than She-Hulk in sales; She-Hulk just got cancelled, too. I know Marvel wants to push her, but it's very obvious it's not working. Even Superior Foes, a miniseries about D-list villains, was able to match her last run in issue numbers. Any other character wouldn't of got a reboot. She honestly can't hold a solo.

@beaconofstrength: I'm talking about Ms. Marvel.

Superior Foes was awesome btw. Love that series, I own the first volume physically.

@beaconofstrength: It's doing slightly worse in the sales that we're allowed to see. Maybe her digital, TPB and overseas sales are higher. Captain Marvel is also $1 more per issue, which could help.

Superior Foes was apparently allowed to run longer because of dedicated fans. Presumably the Carol Corps being quite a visible group is helping. Her 100th anniversary issue is next month, so she does have some solo credibility. :)

@knightsofdarkness2: I really like Ms. Marvel too. It's cool to see her being featured in other comics so soon. :)

@jhazzroucher: With other X-Men getting solos, a Collectors' Edition with them could work, if she didn't get into a dedicated female series. :)

Anyway, I was quite pleased today to see that Panini has printed three(of five) letters that include requests to include more female heroes in the Collectors' Editions, including one for a new one dedicated to printing them, in this months Mighty World Of Marvel. :D

Every time I see a letter get printed it makes me think more that this could actually happen. An all-female Collectors' Edition, or at least some more female series printed in existing ones would be great. :D

@v_scarlotte_rose: Well, Gamora just her own ongoing announced recently. Not sure if that's a good sign or not?