http://www.newsarama.com/comics/the-Q-alex-alonso-marvel-110104.html
So Marvel has a new EIC. Guy has some serious cred and started in the independent world so I have high hopes. Anyway, Newsarama asked Pros to comment. Most pros offered up 1-2 sentence blurbs. For example:
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Jason Aaron:
I owe my entire career at Marvel to Axel. He brought me in, got me an exclusive, got me most all of the work I've done there. And I've loved working with him every step of the way. He's a very intelligent, very instinctive guy when it comes to telling stories, and I trust his judgment like I trust no one else's. The Axel Alonso era at Marvel will be an exciting one, of that I have no doubt. I'm just happy to be a part of it.
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How does everyone's favorite anatomically accurate artist respond?
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Rob Liefeld:
First off, congratulations and a huge round of applause to Joe Quesada, who had a phenomenal reign as E-i-C . Joe Q. exceeded any and all expectations at his post. He had a run for the ages. He could not have left bigger shoes to fill.
And congratulations to Axel Alonso on his new post as top dog. Axel is a cool guy, a natural leader and it certainly seems as if he's been working towards this for quite some time.
Axel slapped me into shape, got me on a system where I became a monthly comic book artist again. In the conversations I've had with him over the last year while he was my editor on all Deadpool projects, he has shown the gumption to slap around everyone who has grown comfortable in their current positions. He won't let anyone relax and he has a great nose for talent with guys like Rick Remender and Jason Aaron thriving under his direction.
As for how he will fare in his post as E-i-C, hopefully he learns, as Joe Q did, to govern from the middle, the middle era for Marvel being 2004-2007. The middle is where it’s at, it's where Marvel thrives. When Joe Q and Bill Jemas first launched their initiative, there was a ton of garbage, talking-head, 15-panel-a-page books. Esoteric crap that seemed to sputter and stall. Remember, the Ultimate line was launched while Bob Harras was still E-i-C, so don't bother telling me about the Ultimate line, but there was plenty of other stuff that Marvel tried that just didn't seem like a good fit. It was like being different for different's sake, definitely left of center. Then Batman Hush, with its big, splashy art and emphasis on action, sat on top of the charts for 11 months, and that to me was the most telling point of Joe's run. Would he respond? Would he push Marvel into a more commercial direction? Boy, he responded with a vengeance: Civil War, Red Hulk, Death of Captain America, New Avengers -- these books were bigger, splashier, bolder and they turned the public on. All huge hits, all big sellers. Guys like Millar and Loeb tailored their stories for the artists to supply big, exciting visuals.
Marvel needs to get back to the middle, which it has strayed from of late as the emphasis has shifted to its entertainment platforms. There's no relaxing, as over at DC, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee and Dan DiDio have proven formidable and Bob Harras knows a thing or two about selling huge quantities of books. Green Lantern and Blackest Night were visual feasts. Marvel needs to respond, get back to the middle. If Axel moves to the middle, which he's shown he's more than capable of, with the proliferation of Deadpool product as well as his re-launches of X-Force, with a ruthlessly commercial line-up, then Marvel is in good hands. The industry needs more than movie tie-in books from Marvel. Good luck to Axel and to Tom Brevoort in his new post at Marvel."
It's all about HIM. F'ing tool.
