That appear to be the credos that Joe Quesada lived by during his tenure as Marvel's editor-in-chief, anyway. Taking over following the Carl Icahn debacle and credited with being the one to drag the company out of the black, almost every controversy listed here that happened after 1999 was down to Quesada. He was the driving force behind the Ultimate line, the brainiac behind the attacks on DC Comics, the one who insisted Spider-Man be torn from his loving wife because it "aged" the character (who had been around for nearly fifty years at that point). During his time at the top he also brought in Marvel's MAX line for mature readers, with titles containing so much sex, swearing and violence that the Comics Code Authority wouldn't even know where to start. Eventually, Marvel stopped carrying the CCA's previously-mandatory seal on any of their comics. He initiated the schedule which sees the company engage in at least one major crossover event every year, something which has fatigued both readers and their wallets. Of all the controversies Quesada presided over during his time in charge, though, One More Day has to be the biggest. Fans were outraged by the changes made to Spider-Man, and even more so that they seemed to come entirely based on one man's personal preference. Quesada didn't like Peter and MJ as a couple. So he used his power to magic it away, strong-arming writer J Michael Straczynski into penning a story he is publicly on record as hating, and since then has been booed off stage at almost every public appearance he makes.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
