Joe Quesada: Hey, before we begin, I want to thank everyone out there for all the kind words about the “late’ Christmas tune. Also, I missed someone in the credits. Bill Rosemann was the rapper between Tom Brevoort and Mark Paniccia.

Okay, let’s go!

Newsarama: Joe, let's start off with...well...you're probably going to get all emotional, but with the date of Civil War #7 set, there aren't all too many editions of New Joe Fridays where we'll talk about Civil War...but - on that track, the date is what it is. Is that a firm one editorially? Steve McNiven's on a macrobiotic diet and is taking all kinds of supplements, with his pages being hand carried from Canada to New York?

JQ: As of this writing, we’re on schedule to deliver on the due date, and while I’m 99% sure of that, I can’t foresee acts of god. So barring an unforeseen craziness, all systems are currently go.

NRAMA: Honestly now, without saying anything about the delays, is there a feel of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on this project now?

JQ: Yes, of course there is. While Civil War has been a massive success, it’s also been an incredibly hard project to create, run and maintain. Not only does it drain on our staff, but it also drains creators as well. While we’ve loved every aspect of Civil War, we could all use the breather to be honest with you.

Also, as I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m even more excited about what happens within the Marvel Universe after Civil War than Civil War proper, it’s leaving us in some amazing places. There are books like the Bendis/Ellis/Silvestri Initiative one-shot, and the Mighty Avengers (Bendis and Cho), Omega Flight (Oeming/Kollins), New Warriors (Grevioux) and The Initiative (Slott and Caselli) that just have me jazzed beyond belief and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s going to be a wild 2007.

NRAMA: Speaking of that stuff coming post-Civil War - the announcement of the new date was the first mention of The Confession - when did that come about? Why is it needed or what purpose does it serve?

JQ: It came about during one of our summits. It started with a conversation on how there were some wonderful unforeseen character moments in the aftermath of Civil War and how we should handle them. When you plan something this massive, you obviously have to know where you’re headed and what the ending of your story is, if you don’t, you’re in big trouble. But, knowing where all roads were leading, that left us open for some pretty cool, happy accidents.

The Confession was one of those happy accidents in which some characters get to bare their soul. In particular, Cap and Iron Man do a lot of the confessing and reveal some very emotional stuff that’s been haunting them. As we began to discuss this story, Brian started to get fidgety in his seat, I know that’s code for, “this is really exciting me.” Either that or ha had to go to the bathroom. Within a few minutes, he planted his flag in the sand and said that he “had” to write this story. That’s it in a nutshell; sometimes these stories happen on the fly. I wish I could tell you that we were so brilliant that we’ve had all of this planned out for over a year. While we have with most of what’s happening after Civil War, it’s those happy surprises that really make your day.

NRAMA: Speaking of other post-Civil War books, we've talked to Dan Slott about Avengers: The Initiative a little. Now that we're closer, can you spill some more? Are the heroes we saw in Civil War #6 going to be the heroes being trained? Who's going to be leading them/training them in the first place?

JQ: Nope, the heroes you saw in Civil War #6 are going to be part of another project entirely. Avengers the Initiative will feature a mix of new and old characters, but that’s a surprise for another day.

NRAMA: Any other post-Civil War projects that you can name?

JQ: Let’s see, outside of The Confession, we have a project called Civil War: Fallen Son. It’s a five-issue series that is constructed within the five stages of grief. Grief over what? Well, you’ll have to wait and see. What I can tell you is that the series will move from character to character as they deal with a different stage of grief. All five issues are written by Jeph Loeb with a who’s who cast of stellar artists.

Issue #1 stars Wolverine (Denial), art by Leinil Yu
Issue #2 stars New and Mighty Avengers (Anger), art by Ed McGuinness
Issue #3 stars Captain America (Bargaining), art by John Romita, Jr.
Issue #4 stars Spider-Man (Depression), art by David Finch
Issue #5 stars… well that would kind of give the whole thing away. So sorry. But it deals with Acceptance and I’m also going to hold onto the artist’s name for just a bit. Sorry, I know, I suck.

NRAMA: How did that one come about? Spill man, spill...

JQ: Very much the same way that The Confession came about. We had this amazingly emotional element at the end of Civil War which we thought was cool, but as we started to talk more and more about it, we started to realize the true impact and potential of it. JMS was the one who had the brilliant idea of revolving the story around the five stages of grief; his rationale gave us all the chicken skin, no one more so than Jeph. Our assumption at that point was that Joe was going to write it, but Jeph literally got on his hands and knees (a sad sight, especially since JMS is so tall to begin with), and begged Joe to let him write it. Joe magnanimously and generously saw Jeph’s passion and handed him the keys to the car.

Still, we wouldn’t have this story without Joe. Let me also say that that’s the kind of stuff that makes our team of creators so special and that’s why Joe is one of the blocks in the foundation of what we’ve built here over the years.

NRAMA: Anything else coming up in short order that will show big ripples from Civil War

JQ: Tons of amazing stories starting up in New Avengers #27, Ms. Marvel #13, Iron Man #15, She-Hulk #15, Panther #26, FF #544, all of the Spider-Man books and Thunderbolts, which by the way, we just got word is a complete and utter sell out!! That’s right, sold out! And for the Civil War and Marvel Universe completionist, you’re going to want to pick up Cap #25. It’s going to be a hallmark issue and brings to a head almost all of what Ed Brubaker has been working towards within his stories.

NRAMA: You're online, and have probably seen the theories starting up of how Civil War will end - Loki's involved, Mephisto is involved, Psycho Man, Hate Monger...as well as those that feel if Loki or any of the others are involved, that kind of reveal would be a cop out. Oh - and of course, those saying that the delays are due to an "Armageddon 2001" style re-write since people have figured it out. Thoughts?

JQ: My thoughts are that this would be quite insane of us to do. First and foremost, without revealing a thing about the ending, I absolutely guarantee, that the ending of Civil War is the ending that we came up with that fateful day that Joss joined us at our summit over a year ago. No changes whatsoever. Also, you have to use logic. We’ve been working on Civil War aftermath books for many months now, even if we were stupid enough to change the ending because someone predicted it on the Interfret, we wouldn’t be able to.

But, to that, let me add- - it is creative suicide to change the ending of a story, any story, once you’ve commenced working on it. It’s especially bad when you do it because of fan pressure or because a person guessed. So, no, that’s not happening in Civil War, so let the fans have fun trying to figure it out, it’s all good and makes the suspense that much more. [laughs].

NRAMA: Moving on, this week Sean McKeever revealed he has agreed to an exclusive contract with DC. Any thoughts on fans about his “departure” and this development in his career?

JQ: I think it’s great for Sean. Sean has done some great work for us and his shoes will be tough to fill, but obviously a DC deal is intriguing to him at this point in his career, so we want to wish him all of the best and he knows that our door is always open if he ever decides he wants to play in the Marvel sandbox again.

NRAMA: And any news you can give us on the future of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane post-McKeever? Will it continue and can you name anew writer?

JQ: News will be forthcoming.

NRAMA: Joe, last week you couldn’t talk about Namor in creative specifics yet. We understood this to be because an editor was out for the holiday. So for the third week in a row we’re going to ask if you can tell readers more about the project the image we debuted two weeks ago is attached to?

JQ: Okay, today I’ll finally spill some beans on this bad boy today.

Spinning directly out of Civil War and Wolverine, this six-issue limited series, currently entitled simply, “Sub-Mariner”, paints Namor as we’ve never seen him before: A desperate, hunted man, forced to use his brains – as well as his brawn – to solve a horrendous tragedy that has left an American city in flames and Atlantis on a direct collision course with S.H.I.E.L.D.! Written by Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson (Powerless) with art by Phil Briones (White Tiger) and cover # 1 by Michael Turner!

Okay, everybody. Unclench [laughs]

NRAMA: We skipped reader questions last week Joe, so we have some ground to make up. Be prepared for a few this week…

RQ: “Phoenix2389” - I just wanted to know if Marvel are going update and republish their list of mutants that survived M-Day with their powers? I find it hard to find an officially list that hasn't been tampered with by fans. (Like Wikipedia's list) Is it possible to get another list published like the one that came out after X-Men: The 198 Files?

JQ: Thanks for asking, Phoenix. We don’t have any plan in motion for a Marvel-generated list beyond the X-Men: The 198 Files. There are several reputable fan-sites run that will be able to help you out if you have character-specific questions (like www.uncannyxmen.net)

RQ: “farmboyz” - When DC announced Batwoman was going to be a lesbian, you commented that Marvel was introducing a new gay character, Freedom Ring, and did not feel the need to publicize the sexuality of this character. Considering what happened to the character (crippling injury, followed by death), I suspect you chose not to publicize the character in order to avoid drawing attention to yet another example of Marvel's terrible treatment of gay and lesbian characters. My question is this: what are you doing as a publisher to promote positive representations of gay and lesbian characters as competent role models in the books published by Marvel?

JQ: farmboyz, while I respect your question, I’m disheartened by the tone and accusation contained within. Regardless, the following is an answer I gave to internet reporter, Joe Palmer, it’s an interview that didn’t see the light of day as due to my schedule at the time, I wasn’t going to be able to get it to him for the due date of his article. Regardless, I sent it off to him anyway in case he wanted to use it somewhere down the road. Last I spoke to Joe he had posted it on his blog. Here’s a portion from that interview which I believe may address your concerns. Please note, that these questions came to me after Young Avengers/Runaways #2 hit the stands several months ago.

“Joe Plamer: Some gay fans, bloggers, and commentators are expressing concern over the treatment (i.e: torture, death, and maiming) of some of Marvel’s LGBT characters. (The list of characters includes Northstar, Freedom Ring, Jarvis from the Ultimates, Wiccan, Hulkling, Xavin, and Karolina Dean). Can you understand how these events taken together can be interpreted negatively?

Joe Quesada: Freedom Ring is Robert Kirkman's creation and he had the story arc planned from the very beginning. When Robert told us he was creating a gay lead for Marvel Team-Up all we said was, "sounds like it’ll make for a good story, have fun." When he then told us that unfortunately part of Freedom Ring’s story arc was that he was going to die in the end, all we said was, "sounds like it’ll make for a good story, have fun."

With respect to Northstar, it is a simple comic book cliché, characters are good guys and gals and sometimes they go bad only to become good again, hey, sometimes the villains become good guys too. Comic's history is littered with stories like this and all we're trying to do is something cool with Northstar who, as a character, had been out of the limelight for some time.

As for the Young Avengers, while in fact three characters are captured at the end of this issue and they happen to be gay, another character was killed and yet another dismembered, which strikes me as a far worse fate than being captured by the bad guy. To be honest, no one, even the writer, noticed that the three characters captured were the "gay" characters until a reader pointed it out to us, because that's simply not how we think. I guess what is striking me as weird is that what we should be looking at (and somehow missing) is that this is a comic book that features three gay lead characters. Also, and by virtue of that, the odds of something happening to those gay characters goes up exponentially as we do have to put our heroes in peril in order to have a story. So, while we honestly don't look at our characters in any way other than what's going to make for a thrilling, touching story, it seems that some small portion of the outside world still looks at our books and characters and wants to segregate them.

Let me put this out there using myself as an example. As someone of Hispanic ethnicity, I’ve always felt that there should be more Hispanic characters in comics, especially with the booming Hispanic population here in America.

Now, by hoping for that I’m asking for everything that comes with that hope. Super hero characters, Marvel characters, by their very definition, have a lot of crap that gets dumped on them only to hopefully someday triumph over all of it. They have to be put through their paces, especially at Marvel where our characters all have feet of clay. And yes, sometimes they die, sometimes they’re hurt and sometimes they’re villains. So, for me to desire inclusion but then to hope that my inclusion is treated differently than everyone else’s is then asking for the kind of segregation that I’m fighting against.

We don’t preach hatred or ignorance at Marvel, we never have. Our mandate has always been very simple, we tell the stories of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things under extraordinary circumstances and yes, most times they triumph, but sometimes even the villain has his day.

So, as more and more gay characters enter the Marvel Universe, what I can assure you is that more and more stuff will happen to them as it does to all of our characters and isn’t that what we all want in then end?”

Now, let me add to this that we also didn’t publicize the gay characters that were created for and appeared in Runaways or New Avengers nor the interracial marriage between Luke and Jessica or the creation of the Santerians to name few, these are things that just happen in our books that we don’t look at as out of the ordinary, just like Freedom Ring.

So, if you want to use the death of a gay character as proof of Marvel’s “terrible” treatment of gay characters, then I suggest you need to read more of our books, we’d be happy to take your money [laughs]

RQ: “Moshikal” - Matt Fraction recently mentioned in an interview that he is writing a Spider-Man special with, as he said "Salvador Freakin' Amazing Larocca" providing the art. Can you tell us more about it?

JQ: Look for it this summer, Moshikal!

RQ: “Scratchy” - I've read that Mr. Oeming has finished the first arc of Omega Flight and that Mr. Kolins has done all the art for issue #1 and maybe #2 as well. Any chance of art being shown soon? Maybe of Sasquatch or Talisman?

Plus, is it true that Guardian may not be Mac Hudson?

JQ: Scratchy, you’ll have to wait and read the book for the answer to the latter part of your question, but as for your request for art, how’s this!!!

RQ: “ApacheDick” - Years ago, according to people whom I forget, it was said a sequel to the 'What if?' Western Punisher tale "A Man Called Frank" was completed by Chuck Dixon and the late great John Buscema. Is it true this was finished, and if so, any chance of getting it published?

JQ: Hey, ApacheDick, here’s a little insider knowledge for you.

There was a time, during the 90’s salad days, when one of Marvel’s editors was giving out Punisher stories like they were going out of style. There’s a loose estimate that there was approximately $150,000 worth of Punisher inventory stories sitting in a drawer which would never see the light of day. Much of this was never logged in or cataloged; it just existed in a flat file. Now mind you, this was all before the bankruptcy and several buildings ago, so by the time I came on board, much of that art was either gone, had disappeared, or was (I suspect) returned to the artists. Honestly, I have no idea because the old art return logs were sketchy at best, if kept at all. I suspect that his story by Chuck and John was amongst the stuff in that fabled drawer full of Punisher stuff. As to whether it was finished or not, I have no idea but it’s something that I’m sure Chuck has a better recollection of.

The funny thing about this is that Executive Editor Axel Alonso had heard about this story and was asking about it a couple of years ago. He was looking to release it if it was finished. But as I said, no one working here today has any idea where it is or if it was completed.

RQ: “thelaststand” - Can you tell us any more about the upcoming X-Event in summer 2007? It's got me really interested.

JQ: No story details for you, thelaststand. But we will say this… We’ve been planning it out with the writers for months. In fact, we’ve got an X-Summit next week to hammer out the details. Who’s going to be there? Glad you asked. Uncanny X-Men writer Ed Brubaker, X-Men writer Mike Carey, X-Factor writer Peter David, New X-Men writers Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, publisher Dan Buckley, executive editor Axel Alonso, editors Andy Schmidt and Nick Lowe, assistant editors Sean Ryan and Daniel Ketchum, and myself. Oh, and there’ll be a secret special guest. It’s going to be fun, we’ll talk X-Men, crossovers, eat, drink and be merry.

My prediction: Peter David dancing on a table.

RQ: “mattguthrie” - Is it at all possible to give us any more info on the return of Exodus (Mr. Carey himself has admitted that he is returning), and the team he will be leading? Or any extra info on the big X-event of '07? Please let it be the return of Maggot…

JQ: Exodus returns in this month’s X-Men Annual, mattguthrie, and he’s leading a small band of Acolytes. I don’t want to give away too much, but suffice to say, big things are in the works…

RQ: “blackshafen” - When does Marvel plan to bring Magneto back and is he in something we know about such as the X-Men crossover or Civil War: The Return? How is Magneto reacting to the events of House of M and Civil War?

JQ: You’ll be seeing Magneto in 2007, blackshafen. How? Sorry, you’ll have to wait for that!

RQ: “IronWolf” - I've been Loving Mike McKone on Fantastic Four. Are there any other Marvel books Mike will be working on any time soon?

JQ: Currently, IronWolf, there are no plans we can reveal at the moment

RQ: “hendrijr” - Hey Joe, got a question for you about another Joe. Haven't heard or seen much of Joe Mads upcoming Marvel work yet-and he was announced like two years ago. Any chance we can see some of said artwork soon?

JQ: Mmmm, more like a year and a half, hendrijr. Joe is feverishly working on The Ultimates but at his and Jeph Loeb’s request, we’re not revealing much of it just yet. Don’t worry, it’s coming and it looks amazing!

RQ: “Peter Porker 01- You've been Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics since 2000. In 1999 the first year of Amazing Spidey's relaunch ended with MJ having a tragic death. Peter tried to overcome her death and a year later he was ready for a new 'single' life with a whole new supporting cast. One year and a half after her death she comes back and they have the perfect separation. And that was your third year as an Editor-in-Chief. Why haven't you kept him single this time and according to your sayings he has to be now ???

JQ: Hey, Peter Porker, when I took over, I had already inherited that storyline along with the fact that they had plans to bring her back, so all that stuff was already set in motion. That ship had long since sailed. Also, according to then Spidey Editor Ralph Macchio, she was only out of the books for a little more than half a year. My memory is fuzzy, but that sounds right to me because I became E-i-C in September of 2000 and JMS took over Spidey in April of 2001.

Anyway, as I’ve said in the past, a single Peter is much harder thing to accomplish than a separation/divorce or a death because both of those options leave us in a worse place than a married Peter does, so if that’s the case, why bother? I’ve gone on about this at length, you can find most of my feelings on the matter in previous Joe Fridays.

RQ: “The 'Nam” - Now that Whedon and Cassaday are almost finished, any hints as to who will be taking over for them? Or is that not final?

JQ: All of these announcements will come soon enough, The Nam. What I can tell you is that the creators taking over have been selected.

RQ: And while we're on the subject, when will we see Whedon's Runaways?

JQ: Joss’ Runaways is scheduled for April, but look soon for preview pages…

RQ: It's also been a while since we last heard of any new Millar project. He's teased a few projects, like a new one with Bryan Hitch, and another one involving Howard Chaykin. Anything you can give us?

JQ: Nope, not yet, but don’t worry, Mark’s not shy. I’m sure he’ll be out there hawkin’ his new stuff soon enough in some elaborate marketing scam [laughs]!

RQ: One more question about some projects” - when will we see these?” - JMS' Golden Age-hero book, BKV's Wolverine book, Loeb/Turner's Ultimate Wolverine mini, MAX Foolkiller mini, JMS' Thor, and Guggenheim's Punisher one-shot.

JQ: JMS' Golden Age-hero book - Late this year

BKV's Wolverine book - Ditto

Loeb/Turner's Ultimate Wolverine - Ditto, again

MAX Foolkiller mini - It’s being worked on but we don’t have a ship date yet.

JMS' Thor - Summer

Guggenheim's Punisher one-shot - Summer/Fall.

RQ: “MAK15” - In the most recent issue of Wizard Magazine (#184) it is said that something Venom related happens to the Mighty Avengers in 2007, and that it deals with Eddie Brock. Could you tell us more?

JQ: Umm, something Venom related happens? Sorry to be vague, Mak15, but we’re talking about a story line that happens in the second arc of a book that doesn’t ship for months.

RQ: “ireact” - While "Civil War" has been written well overall, there seem to be some troubling continuity gaffes. In the "Civil War" event, different comics depict the same events in contradictory ways. Sue either storms out of the Baxter Building in the FF title, but in CW, she leaves Reed a note after a final night of passion. Spider-Man is told Area 42 isn't temporary in AMAZING, then he's told it is temporary in CW. The Punisher walks in on Cap making a deal with two villains and shoots the bad guys in PWJ, but according to CW, the bad guys suddenly show up in the midst of a meeting and the Punisher opens fire. And then there's the inconsistently depicted Area 42, a dirt-floored hellhole according to Paul Jenkins' "Frontlines", yet a gleaming and polished facility with AMAZING. Mistakes are inevitable -- but what's going on when the writers are meant to be scripting the same scene and the individual depictions don't match?

JQ: As with all things Civil War, ireact, Tom Brevoort likes to jump into the fray, so without further or due, the “Rapping,” T-Voort.

Tom Brevoort: In most of these cases, these aren't continuity mistakes, but a necessary duplication of certain story points in different books so that each one can be read individually. And it's no different than working out how Captain America can be facing certain death in his own book, but hanging around with the Avengers in New Avengers seemingly at the same time - one story, one scene, one event happens before the other.

We've covered the Sue sequence of events a few times already, but just to reiterate it: in Civil War #4, Sue is present for the battle in which Goliath gets killed. Then, in FF, she and Reed have a blow-out argument after she helps Wildstreak to escape and she storms off - and Ben says, "she's laving, huh?" Then, towards the end of Civil War #4, we read her final note to Reed and see her and Johnny leave the Baxter Building while Ben watches.

The Punisher War Journal scene aligns pretty precisely with the scene in Civil War #6, with the additional sequences taking place in-between panels in Civil War #6. We've got a limited amount of space in the core book, but if you look at that scene, while the Punisher is walking with Spider-Man on the previous page, he's not in the scene when Diamondback brings the villains in.

The dirt floors in Front Line had more to do with the fact that Steve hadn't drawn the prison yet in the main book, and so to some extent Ramon Bachs had to determine his own interpretation. As it turned out, the place was actually designed by Ron Garney in Amazing, because he needed it before Steve was going to be able to get to that issue, and so we then provided Steve with the appropriate reference.

The only item on your list that's a genuine mistake is the turn-around on Iron Man's take on the prison being temporary or permanent between Amazing and Civil War, and that was simply a miscommunication between JMS and Mark. And even within that, from a story point of view I can rationalize Iron Man telling Spidey that the prison is a permanent measure in order to try to scare him back away from doing what he's thinking of doing.

RQ: “Spidey616” - Just wondering when we will ever see Speedball's former cellmate Hickey again. Paul Jenkins was on the message boards a couple of days ago to address the issue:

“The cellmate is a guy named Hickey. I did with him exactly what I set out to do.

“Back when I wrote Inhumans with Jae Lee, we intentionally had Black Bolt stand around looking out of a window for about five or six issues, while war raged outside. After a time, people began to ask, "When is he going to do something?" and it was at that moment I knew people were interested in Black Bolt again. The anticipation helped to build the character, so that when he *did* something, it had meaning.

“Hickey is a little bit like that -- obviously, we didn't explain who he is in this series. That's because he is intended for a following series of some kind. I know who he is, and I have a plan for him. We'll just have to see who gets to reveal his real identity.”

JQ: Yes.

RQ: “griffinlad” - With Robbie Baldwin assuming the name of Penance, where does this leave the "Generation X" Penance, shown in a recent issue of Wizard as part of the Loners lineup?

JQ: I guess you can consider Generation X’s Penance as “Ultimate” Penance [laughs]

However, the mutant formerly known as Penance will definitely strike in the pages of Loners, the Runaways spin-off mini which launches in April. So what do writer C.B. Cebulski and artist Karl Moline have planned for the crimson clawed cutie? And what’s her new name? That’s still a secret – but check out that sweet Pretty In Pink-inspired cover by Jason Pearson!”

RQ: “Morbius” - Mr. Q, why has Marvel made it so hard for readers to actually read certain of your classic storylines? A good example is Daredevil: Born Again, which you yourself cited as the best story Marvel has ever published. This is a story I greatly want to read, and yet I'm going through hell trying to get a copy since the trade has been out of print for so long. So my question is why would Marvel let it be so difficult for their stories to be read?

JQ: Hey, Morbius, let me be perfectly clear, we in no way want to make it hard for our readers to get any of our books. Yes, sometimes things go out of print and we have to print up some more, sorry, it happens. But we love taking your hard earned sheckles, so with that in mind, look for an all new printing of Daredevil Born Again in 2007 [laughs]

RQ: “weaselwelch” - First off from one Jan 12th birthday man to another Happy Birthday (or belated if this question isn't asked).

JQ: Many thanks, weaselwelch, and a happy birthday to you!

RQ: I know you don't use those editorial boxes anymore. You know the ones that would say "last issue" or "issue #200". I would like to know why they aren't used. I think they would be especially helpful to new readers when trying to track down issues they have missed. They especially could have been used in a lot of the CW tie-ins. Like in ASM #537. For some it would clarify what part takes place during or after CW #5 and #6.

JQ: The footnote boxes were very important to our business when our business was primarily on the newsstand and stories were much more of a continuous soap opera and not constructed in story arcs. But, while they may have been informative back in the day, I find them annoying during the course of a story today. They became a sort of tradition in Marvel comics, but to me they take you out of the story.

Imagine if you will, you’re watching your favorite weekly TV show and as your enthralled in the middle of a scene suddenly they pause the action and a voice over announcer’s comes on saying, “for more info on the background behind this scene, make sure to pick up the Season 3 DVD set, disc 4, chapter 11.”

I would be first, infuriated, and secondly infuriated again because it takes me out of the scene. Now, imagine that happening in the middle of your favorite movie. So, while we haven’t banned them altogether, we encourage our editors and writers that, when possible, if you need a footnote, add the asterisk and then place the footnote in the letter’s page.

Also, all of our books come with a handy dandy recap page that should give you all the info you need. And the final thing to consider is that the footnotes would be redundant and kind of annoying in the trade paperback of the story.

RQ: “cuckoo” - Joe in the latest Marvel Previews it was stated that Marvel would reveal the solicits for upcoming titles that were classified. It was also said that Marvel would reveal several new titles also. Will this now happen in February?

JQ: Okay, cuckoo, here’s the skinny, you sitting down? You got a pen and paper handy? Okay, here we go.

For every copy of Civil War #7 a store orders, they will receive that many copies of the Initiative Edition of Previews, chock full of DE-classified solicits and the first look at all of the covers we’ve been hiding. Well… almost. We still have a trick or two up our sleeves…

Thank you and good night!

NRAMA: Whoa, waitaminute Joe, that is enough Q&A; for one week, but speaking of solicitations, the April 2007 edition come out next week and as per new tradition, can we close the week out by having you give readers a look at some various intriguing titles coming out in April?

JQ: Sure thing!

[and readers don't forget to come back Sunday, 1/14 when we'll take a preview look at Marvel's post-Civil War titles for April 2007]...

MIGHTY AVENGERS #2
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils and Cover by FRANK CHO
ULTRON IS BACK and, yes, now he's a she. What?? Ultron's a girl?? It’s Ultron as only Frank Cho can bring it. And the Mighty Avengers haven't had a moment to get to know each other before they are thrown into one of the most epic adventures in the history of the Avengers.
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

And as always, more Marvel news and artwork can always be found on Marvel.com.

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