On January 4th 2011, Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Joe Quesada stepped down from the post he had held since 2000. Although he will still maintain his role with the company as Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, his departure from E.I.C. marks the end of an era. The 2000s was a decade in which the Marvel brand saw vast expansion in both traditional comics as well as various other sources of media. In recent years Quesada has come under fire from fans for his many controversial decisions regarding some of the House of Ideas' most sacred properties. This list however, is not about any of the negative things Joe had a hand in, but highlighting the positive things he had direct or indirect influence over.
10. Restoring the "Original" Numbering
In an effort to artificially boost sales numbers, Marvel's then E.I.C. Bob Harras cancelled and restarted all of Marvel's titles that were either not X-Men related or under the 100 issue mark. It was a band-aid that did not address the real problem of that era: the stories were awful. Years of bad storylines like "The Clone Saga" and "Heroes Reborn" had scared away once loyal Marvel readers and the false excitement of a #1 issue was not going to bring them back. When Quesada took over at the beginning of the decade, one of the first steps he took was to reinstate the original numbering that many of the classic titles had lost due to this ill-conceived publicity stunt. This was not the biggest move per say, but an act of good faith that went a long way with me as a reader.
9. The Civil War
No, not the yankees and rebels. I'm talking registered and unregistered heroes! After the 90s, The Big M took a few years break from "event" stories that encompassed the entire Marvel U. The success of the "House of M" storyline emboldened the publisher to push forward with another universe-wide story focusing on the attempt to have heroes register with the United States government and the division in the super hero community caused by this. Civil War set in motion events like the "Death of Captain America" and "One More Day," a Spider-Man storyline that retconned the past 30 years of Spider-Man's history. While these 2 events may not have been great achievements under Joe Q's watch, the Civil War in itself was a solid and imaginative storyline that was an example of how good a crossover could be.
8. Marvel Knights Imprint
Introduced as a line of books that dealt with more mature themes than the regular Marvel Universe, Marvel Knights was the first attempt to contend with DC's wildly popular Vertigo line. In years to come the Marvel MAX imprint would take the place of Knights and present even darker, grittier stories, but the Knights line was the first to handle traditional properties in a slightly more adult manner. Two of the most successful books to come out of this line would be The Punisher, with the creative team of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, fresh off their award winning run on Preacher, and Daredevil, featuring filmmaker Kevin Smith as writer and Quesada himself providing top-notch art. Smith's run on the title was highly regarded among fans and critics and helped legitimize comics as a form of entertainment that could attract top level creative talent. In the years that followed many other creators from film and tv took shots at writing comics, but it all started with Smith's take on a blind lawyer in Hell's Kitchen.
7. Avengers Disassemble/New Avengers
For years Marvel had longed to make The Avengers a flagship title much like DC's Justice League of America. It took the total dismantling of the team by Brian Micheal Bendis and David Finch to make this happen. A new team featuring some of Marvel's most recognized characters was "assembled" following a violent break-up of the old team. A twisted plot that would take years to reveal itself to be the seeds of Secret Invasion helped finally place Marvel's mightiest team at the front of reader's pull lists.
6. John Romita Jr. and J. Michael Straczynski's run of Amazing Spider-Man
Peter Parker had fallen on some tough times. The late 90s saw the departure of many of the signature creators that had made Spider-Man one of the most popular characters of the decade. Silly story lines featuring the faked death of Aunt May and the aforementioned "Clone Saga" had soured many hard core fans of the title. In June of 2001 the creative team of Straczynski and Romita Jr. would give Amazing Spider-Man the shot of adrenaline it so desperately needed. With a slightly different take on Mr. Parker's spider-like powers and the introduction of new villains, this once stale franchise was once again fresh and exciting.
5. Grant Morrison and New X-Men
Yes, I'll say it, Grant Morrison's work on New X-Men was great. With the release of the X-Men film, Marvel felt pressure to deliver a book that resembled the slick dressed, science fiction based heroes of the silver screen. And what better individual to call on then the unconventional author of WE3. The success of New X-Men cemented Morrison's status as a creator who's name alone could boost the sales of a title. The introduction of Beast's second mutation, the addition of Emma Frost to the team and the (wait for it) death of Jean Grey are events that still shape today's X-books.
4. Emphasizing the Trade Paperback
Some say that putting a system in place to release almost every storyline from Marvel's collection of titles was a misstep. But the sales figures would suggest that it helped grow the influence and reach of all comics. With the availability of more stories in non-traditional comic outlets the causal fan could easily be turned into the consistent fan. The sales numbers don't lie.
3. The Ultimate Universe
The comics bubble of the 1990s had burst, and facing financial and creative bankruptcy bold action was needed. Introduced in 2000, The Ultimate imprint was launched to the hopes of securing new, young readers by updating and reinventing many of the properties that had been created in the 1960s and 70s. The Ultimate U. would also serve as the launching pad for great creators such as Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar and Byran Hitch, who all would have large contributions to the publisher over the decade.
2. The Origin of Wolverine
It was long thought of as "the story that could never be told". The origin of Wolverine had been kept in the dark since the characters creation, mainly because it was widely believed that the mystery was much more appealing then the actual story could ever be. One of Quesada's main messages as E.I.C. was to be bold and I can think of no other move that was bolder then green lighting the telling of this tale. Wolverine: Origin was a hit with fans and critics alike and proved once and for all that there is no story in comics that "can not be told".
1. X-Men: The Movie
After the creative exodus of the early 90s, Marvel was faced with the difficult problem of maintaining it's fanbase. Even the most successful properties like the "X" titles felt the decline in sales. Ill fated attempts at re-energizing this brand included X-Treme X-Men, the Onslaught Saga, and many other odd ideas. What the X franchise needed was a return to the roots of what made it appealing to so many people. Ironically, it took a feature film to light the way.
Marvel had a less then impressive track record with translating their properties to live action. From the 70's Spider-Man TV series to Dolph Lundgren in The Punisher, it seemed that these heroes were meant to stay in the comic shops. But 1998's Blade proved this theory wrong and director Bryan Singer saw this as a sign that given the right focus, a superhero story could work. X-Men: The Movie focused heavily on the theme of a discriminated group and the different ways individuals of this group handle it. With parallels to Martin Luthor King and Malcolm X, this version of X-Men also highlighted the science fictional elements of the story. Excellent casting, acting and believable effects all contributed to a movie that not only appealed to the hardcore fan but the mainstream as well. With the influx of new and returning fans linked to the success of the film, Marvel took advantage changing creative teams and directions on not just the X-Men, but many of their monthly titles. While Joe Quesada certainly did not have a huge hand in the production of the X-Men movie, he took full advantage of the renew interest in Marvel's rich portfolio of properties.
And easily finishing in last place…
