Editorials: Marvel Now!

I'm sure most of you have heard about the "reboot" of three of Marvel's franchises. Well, more like a reboot of two franchises, with a third series mixing the two together.

And they aren't really reboots, rather they're just renumbering the issues starting in October. Personally I'm looking forward to this. It's been a few years since I last followed any Marvel series, and this makes a good jumping on point for me. I've been wanting to get back into the X-Men and Avengers, but haven't had a chance to break into the currently running series.

With this new move by Marvel, they'll be providing a starting point for new readers, a cunning move considering the success of their movies this blockbuster season. Interest in their franchises is rising, or I assume that it is, and they need to find ways to capitalize on this for their comic series.

While this isn't actually a reboot, they'll have the advantage the New 52 had, with the new numbering providing the starting point, AND Marvel will be able to leave the sacred continuity untouched. Whether this will work out I do not know. I almost think that a proper reboot would be needed to properly incite new readers to pick up their series.

On the other hand it isn't entirely crucial. Marvel's characters are strong enough that we don't need to know everything that's happened to them in the past fifty years. Shows like Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes are enjoyable despite the characters having a breadth of past that are not entirely addressed. What Marvel needs for these stories to succeed, what all comic companies need, is to focus on telling good, contained stories. Forget trying to make a multi-series epic, just focus on well written stories anyone can follow.

I for one am looking forward to October. I love most of Marvel's characters, but all the books I read on a monthly basis are entirely published by DC. I'd love to be able to start getting to know old friends again, so hopefully the first new issues will be as easy to get into as DC's New 52 have been.