8 Things Marvel Is Doing Wrong With Their Comic Book Universe

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to dominate the superhero genre on the big screen, the comic book universe leaves a lot to be desired. As sales plummet and retailers voice concerns that the company's decisions are hurting them, it's become clear that some changes need to be made. What exactly is Marvel doing wrong, though? Sadly, the list is a long one, and while they are getting a lot right, they're also making way too many mistakes. In fact, the state of their comics are pretty dire right now. Sure, they still have a lot of great titles on the shelves of comic book stores, but most appear to be there in an attempt to cash in on the success of the movies rather than act in the best interest of the reader. What you'll find here then is a look at the ways Marvel is pretty much ruining comic books for everyone. This is by no means an attack on the company (DC Comics is far from perfect, too), but they seriously need to turn things around and that all starts with addressing some of these problems. 8) A Lack Of A-List Talent It would be unfair to say that Marvel doesn't have a lot of very talented writers and artists, but it's impossible not to notice just how much talent they've lost in recent years to both DC Comics and companies which put a focus on creator-owned content like Image Comics. As a result, we're seeing a lot of unknowns working on various title with mixed results and the same old names outstaying their welcome on various other series and event books. It's been said that 2017 will see Marvel make a concerted effort to bring back the likes of Rick Remender and Jonathan Hickman, but whether or not they'll succeed remains to be seen. It's obviously important for the publisher to create new A-List talent, but in the meantime, they're in desperate need of writers and artists fans will gravitate towards, especially as creative teams have become a bigger draw than the characters themselves in recent years. That's particularly the case among longtime fans that Marvel's recent creative decisions have alienated. 7) Too Many New #1 Issues We recently learned that after just five issues of Rocket Raccoon, Marvel is relaunching the title as Rocket with a brand new #1. Yes, the series has a new creative team and direction, but for decades, that just marked a new story arc for a title; it didn't require a brand new series. For collectors, this trend is particularly irritating, but it also just so happens to be extremely confusing. A comic book fan - or even a complete newcomer who may have just watched Guardians of the Galaxy, for example - now faces the prospect of walking into a store and seeing several volume 1, 2, and 3s for any number of characters, leaving them with no clue as to where they should start. A new creative team should not automatically lead to a relaunch and this annoying attempt to boost sales clearly doesn't pay off for Marvel, something that figures and comments from retailers prove. Marvel has decades worth of history, and not a single title in the triple digits and only a handful in the double. That's an insult to the history of these characters and in many ways makes it feel like what's come before is worthless. 6) What's Up with The Fantastic Four? In recent months, Marvel has started putting a greater focus on the X-Men, and while the publisher has made some seriously stupid decisions in that corner of this universe (the fate of Cyclops, for example), they're still doing a lot better than the Fantastic Four. Marvel's First Family has never been a big seller, but with the right creative team, their adventures have been endlessly entertaining. While The Thing and the Human Torch are still around, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman are MIA, as are their children. And that's a real shame, as this team should be a pivotal part of any event and seeing them treated this way is extremely disappointing. The fact that they're a family is what makes the Fantastic Four so special, and their absence has left a huge hole in the Marvel Universe. It's thought that the main reason for this is because of the less than stellar relationship between Marvel and Fox, but that's changed in recent years, so their absence remains beyond confusing. Can they not have at least one title when random Inhumans which no one cares about have dozens? Apparently not, though fans remain optimistic that that could change at some point in the near future. 5) Too Much Star Wars To begin with, Marvel's Star Wars titles proved to be essential reading. Unfortunately, their success has led to the launch of multiple new comics, with random tales about characters like Chewbacca and Darth Maul filling shelves alongside titles revolving around Poe Dameron and complete unknowns such as Doctor Aphra. It's now a case of being too much of a good thing, and these stories taking place at various points in Star Wars history have mostly proven to be unsatisfying. After all, it's hard to get invested in stories which ultimately only exist for the sake of it, something emphasized by the lack of stakes they have and the way the longer running titles have begun to lose direction as Marvel is forced to focus only on certain periods and not do anything which will interfere with what's happening on the big screen. If nothing else, it's pretty clear that they should be easing back on quantity as right now, they're printing these things faster than fans can read them. 4) Stale Creative Teams On at least a handful of Marvel titles, there are writers who have been working on them for years now. Steady sales and positive reviews may play a role in why that is (though the latter is far from a guarantee), but some heroes are in desperate need of a shake-up. Funnily enough, both versions of Spider-Man are a good example of writers outstaying their welcome. A fresh voice being brought to Miles Morales world would be no bad thing at this stage, while Brian Michael Bendis being Marvel's go-to guy for event stories led to the awful Civil War II last year. Dan Slott, meanwhile, has lorded over Amazing Spider-Man for far too long, and while Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man should provide some relief, the core series will remain unchanged, leaving the character in the same place he's been for years. Long runs are no bad thing, but they also lead to a lot of stale content, as these heroes are deprived a fresh voice with a new perspective. This is currently the case for one too many comics being sold by Marvel and they really should follow in the footsteps of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, who left Batman while at the top of their game rather than outstaying their welcome. 3) Too Many Events Events are an inevitability in comic books, especially as they often sell well regardless of the reviews. However, somewhere along the line, Marvel got into the habit of starting their next event pretty much before the current one has even finished. That leaves fans with no time to appreciate the changes that the title has led to. Take Civil War II, for example. The fallout for that begun before the main series wrapped up (something which can partially be blamed on various delays), and just as we're getting used to Doctor Doom being Iron Man and Captain Marvel dealing with the fallout of taking down Tony Stark, the heroes will be united to take on the evil Captain America. Readers are given no time to breathe, and with so many tie-ins and prequels and epilogue, the cost of keeping up with these is obscene. It also lessens their impact and makes them completely inconsequential, leaving fans with few reasons to buy them or invest in what's taking place. One event a year focusing on different characters would be good fun, but with so many for such a wide array of heroes, they're all just blurring into one another and becoming a real bore as a result. 2) A Lack Of Legacy Heroes While it would be unfair to criticize Marvel for attempting to deliver new stories, their habit of replacing characters with someone else in the mantle is a huge mistake. Not only does this devalue them by making it seem like anyone can suit up as Captain America or Iron Man, but it leaves a huge portion of fans unable to read about the heroes they grew up with or see on the big screen. Right now, The Falcon is Captain America and Steve Rogers is evil. Doctor Doom and the teenage Riri Williams are Iron Man and Tony Stark is comatose. Thor, meanwhile, is unworthy while Jane Foster takes over as God of Thunder. That barely scratches the surface, and while some interesting stories have been told with this lot, the Marvel Universe as a whole has become unrecognizable. Change is needed to keep things fresh, but in Marvel's case, it's done for the sake of it, usually so they can get some mainstream media coverage or a temporary boost in sales. So, while the company wins in the short term, the legacy of the characters and fans suffer. On the plus side, at least they're teasing the return of a more familiar Marvel Universe. 1) Cutting Corners Marvel is a business, so they obviously need and want to make money. However, between jacking up the prices of most of their comics to $3.99 and $4.99 - even $5.99 in some instances - and decreasing the quality of the paper stock they use (covers are now made from the same paper as the interiors and are practically see through), it's hard not to feel ripped off. That's especially the case when those pricey comics have no more pages than their $2.99 ones. That's annoying, but so too is their habit of enlisting a big name artist for the first arc of a new series - and there are a lot of those thanks to their constant stream of never ending relaunches - only to then drop them for someone inferior who's also obviously much cheaper. In fact, a lot of books have a revolving door of artists, something which never fails to make a series feel disjointed and significantly less enjoyable to read. While Marvel certainly has a lot of very talented writers and artists working for them, looking at how many of those have departed the company in recent years is very telling. While there were no doubt creative reasons for why they went elsewhere (Marvel seem to specialize in upsetting those who work for them), chances are that the fact they weren't being paid what they deserved for writing big selling books was also a factor. Tell us, how do you think Marvel should go about fixing these issues? And do you agree with us on all of them? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.