Hollywood Reporter says he's been replaced by C.B. Cebulski. You know, that guy that did that thing.
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Hollywood Reporter says he's been replaced by C.B. Cebulski. You know, that guy that did that thing.
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Never heard of him but maybe that's a good thing.
What guy did what thing?
As for Axel Alonso, The Hollywood Reporter piece notes slumping sales under his tenure, and that the Legacy relaunch hasn't set the world on fire, plus, Brian Michael Bendis defected to DC. The New York Times also notes the whole "Captain Hydra" storyline was so off-putting to fans that Marvel had to make a statement saying please give us a chance and let the story play out.
I've been half-aware of Cebulski over the years, mostly wondering every time I heard his name why he had a job. He's had various peripheral jobs like evaluating portfolios at conventions and doing ... something ... with outside merchandising companies. He's been in Shanghai that last few years, presumably doing ... something ... with whatever Asian companies are making Marvel toys. Or something. He's a written a few comics, but really forgettable, D-list stuff like Marvel Fairy Tales. He's had nothing but vague titles and job duties for decades, always making me wonder if he's somebody's nephew.
There's clearly something going on here, that they'd reach so far outside the publishing area -- heck, far outside the country -- to bring in such an inauspicious choice.
Make me wonder if 135 W. 50th Street has a Berganza-style problem, or something even worse.
"Quick, bring in the most harmless guy to be EIC!"
The Beat makes the case that his work outside the country, rather than being a detriment, is the reason behind the choice.
Reading The Beat piece, it makes sense to me that Marvel is finally realizing that reboots and new number one issues and line-wide crossovers like "Secret Empire" are strategies that just lead to diminishing returns, and that new approaches are needed.
This is a significant part of the article:
The basic idea was this: Marvel’s films are successful worldwide. However, as Cebulski said, “the movies hit and there’s a period where there are T-shirts and toys everywhere. After a while, it returns to a lull.” So if we follow this logic, the lull exists because there isn’t a constant influx of Marvel content in Asia to keep interest high and coffers full. There’s a movie, then nothing for three to six months. You can’t fill the void with U.S. content because for a variety of reasons, including what Cebulski describes as a fundamental difference in “storytelling structure,” it won’t sell. So you create new, original content catered to those markets instead.
Maybe a "different storytelling structure" is what's needed.
and:
“We have to remember that we are escapism as well. People go into the movies and read the comics to forget about what they’re seeing on the news sometimes. So that’s the fine line we’re always going to walk: we have to reflect what’s going on in the world, but sometimes it’s best if Marvel heroes don’t get too political or reflect the opinions or views of the people that are making them. We’re always striving to find that balance.”
Having Cebulski there doing whatever he was doing is unusually prescient for Marvel.
Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod) said:
I'm cautiously optimistic.
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