Emma Frost and a…Chihuahua?!
In MyCup o’ Joe Week 20, Joe Quesada, Marvel’s EIC, shows off his lovely San Diego Comic Con experience with photos. Within the interview, some guy Andrew asks why Marvel characters don’t have pets and why Emma isn’t carrying a chihuahua around!
Andrew asks:
Why don’t any of the characters in the Marvel U. own a pet? I know that they’re busy fighting Skrulls, but can the Inhumans really be the only team with a dog? Why not give Emma Frost a little Chihuahua to carry around, or Spider-Man a mangy cat? And no, Beast doesn’t count as a pet!
When people discuss the “best” superhero story EVER, the debate is usually between Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, both DC books. If you were to throw a Marvel storyline or two into the fray, what would it/they be?
JQ: Andrew, you have a point there, but let me add that Ka-Zar does have a cat. That said, I’ll leave it open to the fans: What kind of pets would you suggest for some of our heroes?
I think that there have been many great Marvel storylines throughout the decades, but I have a very different perspective on this. I think that part of the reason Watchmen and Dark Knight are standouts is because they were published at this juncture in the history of comics where the writing took a big leap in seriousness, tone and overall quality. This isn’t a knock on creators from the past, as there would never have been a Watchmen or Dark Knight if there hadn’t have been all the comic stories and creators that came before. It’s simply the evolution of the medium.
Watchmen and Dark Knight took these fantasy characters and added a level of realism never seen before within the medium of comics. But to me, that’s also a generational perspective, because in many ways, when Stan, Jack, Steve, and so on created the Marvel U, there was an element of realism that was brought into comics that had never been seen prior to that, and a jump in the overall quality of the books being produced. Simply put, evolution once again.
Every generation in comics has had its creative leaps, so if you ask me to find those moments within the context of Marvel, I would say that the Marvel equivalent of Watchmen and Dark Knight would have to be FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and AMAZING FANTASY #15, as these were the books that reinvented and reinvigorated an entire industry. To me, they have had as much, if not more, of an impact on the comics industry as Watchmen and Dark Knight. This doesn’t mean that there haven’t been hallmark stories at Marvel or stories that have moved the industry forward, it’s just that if you’re asking me to point to the single most seminal moment in Marvel creative history, I think you have to go back to the beginning.
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