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> Even considering factors completely out of Priest's control (such as publicity), he was ultimately a significant factor in why BP wasn't a blockbuster book. Many people, it seems, couldn't get into the complicated plotting and storylines and off-kilter narrative techniques (the actual narration and time distortion, among other things); he was given lots of leeway to continue on the book despite bad numbers for so long, which showed the people at Marvel really believed that he was doing what was best with the character at the time and that he should not be punished for it (despite having a small audience). But eventually (and understandably, considering Marvel's usual practices) they wouldn't take the financial burden of supporting such a low-selling book anymore, so they cut it off. > > It makes perfect sense that when they eventually brought it back, they felt the need to go in a different direction in order to try and capture an audience the Priest was unable to (but that the character himself might still be capable of). There is no ill-will towards Priest in this particular case, only sound business sense. > > As to whether Mr. Hudlin was the ideal candidate for the gig or whether this particular direction was the exact right way to go, that's open for debate (I would say no to both, probably). But they're just trying to do everything they can (publicity, more crossovers, a "Hollywood" writer, etc) to ensure that this attempt at a BP book attracts and keeps more readers than the last. You can't fault Quesada for trying. Fault him for how he did it, if anything  > Actually, I'm not sure who came up with this "non-stop_crossover/tie-in" tactic that Marvel is currently practicing with Hudlin's BP, but this is EXACTLY what Priest needs if/when he decides to do another comic title (featuring an obscure character). I don't think PriestPanther was ever given a true crossover where events in his book directly affected another popular title in such a way that other readers were actually "forced" to buy a few issues of PriestPanther. Priest was given characters to showcase and include in Panther, but that tactic never translated into sales. I would almost guarantee that with a dedicated artist and a true push by Marvel (congruent to Hudlin's crossovers, that truly puts Priest's next character in the thick of things with the rest of the Marvel U for more than 2 or 3 issue) I know Priest's next project would do very well.
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> Actually, I'm not sure who came up with this "non-stop_crossover/tie-in" tactic that Marvel is currently practicing with Hudlin's BP, but this is EXACTLY what Priest needs if/when he decides to do another comic title (featuring an obscure character).
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> I don't think PriestPanther was ever given a true crossover where events in his book directly affected another popular title in such a way that other readers were actually "forced" to buy a few issues of PriestPanther. Priest was given characters to showcase and include in Panther, but that tactic never translated into sales.
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> I would almost guarantee that with a dedicated artist and a true push by Marvel (congruent to Hudlin's crossovers, that truly puts Priest's
next character in the thick of things with the rest of the Marvel U for more than 2 or 3 issue) I know Priest's next project would do very well.
You know I don't really disagree with you. The thing is, from Marvel's standpoint, they have to assume that any number of things contributed to the low sales of the last BP book. And in order to justify a new try, the character himself couldn't be one of those things. That leaves the writer, the art (Romita was the early fix for that, and I DID enjoy that aspect of the new book hugely), the tone/direction, the publicity, and the tie-ins to more "important" Marvel comics (and perhaps other factors). Marvel really can't be faulted for trying to fix all of those things at once to try and prevent a repeat of Priest's numbers.
But I agree, with similar editorial and marketing pushes, Priest would deliver probably just as many books sold (and for my money, deliver a better artistic product by far). I just can't fault Marvel for wanting to try out new routes for success for a character that has had trouble in the past. I don't like the direction or writer they chose, but I'm not hung up simply on the fact that they picked someone OTHER than Priest.
Check it out: Shu and I (and FLCL)
teamed up!
