There is nothing worse for a long-form storytelling medium like comic books to be viewed as predictable. Certainly many readers are creatures of habit and comfort, but the goal of every publisher should be to engage new readers and generate buzz about a series. Sometimes that leads to editorial mishaps, like the Spider-Man Clone Saga from the 90s, but if you combine the right idea with the right writer, sometimes risk-taking is rewarded. Critics of the Superior Spider-Mans status quo and of Dan Slotts writing, dismissed the premise as a gimmick that would kill the franchise. But the opposite has happened. Spider-Man comics havent been this financially and critically successful in years. Every month, Superior Spider-Man often makes Diamond Distributers top 10 sales chart, and the series was a high-ranking choice in numerous best comics of 2013 lists. Slott has said repetitively that this new status quo has allowed him to tell new stories with new perspectives. Now that the Superior Spider-Man is over, is there anyone out there who is still begrudging Slott for wanting to take this risk and do something different?
Mark is a professional writer living in Brooklyn and is the founder of the Chasing Amazing Blog, which documents his quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, and the Superior Spider-Talk podcast. He also pens the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comics Should Be Good blog.
