Marville And The U-Decide Challenge

[@apieceofbitsandpieces342]

One has to wonder what the point of this stupid contest even was. In the end, Peter David is still highly regarded as a good writer whereas Bill Jemas is barely remember after his time at marvel.

[@djconvoy]

It was a complete dick-measuring contest. Imagine that they devoted actual resources, the time of the artists, etc. to a stupid bet to try to humiliate a freelancer. Jemas (and to a lesser extent, Joe Q) seemed to bring in a weird frat boy vibe to Marvel that took a long time to shake off. Jemas clearly had no ideas of merit, leading to this garbage you see before you.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

What @djconvoy said. That exactly.

[@ctbinary42]

The back story is so much more entertaining than the actual stinker of a comic.

[@EHH246]

One thing Bill Jemas did that was needed was add a page dedicated to recapping the ongoing story so far. Now there didn’t need to be awkward dialogue in the actual comic to catch us up to speed.

[@albion65]

It is oddly fitting that the 7th issue warned us that "Trouble" was coming.

[@RothurThePaladin]

This series was so hard to get through but in the end, I can say I want the time I wasted on this back.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I can do you one better: I want the week back that I spent listening to myself talking about this comic while piecing together the visuals. Heh. Oh wait, then this video wouldn't exist. Nevermind...

[@leroypreston2973]

With the mention of Jemas being a business man not a creator makes the writing of Marville now makes sense, that as someone who doesn't write, Jemas wouldn't know how to properly write a story, be able to do a proper parody, and using a work of fiction to present one's argument. One of the claims that Jack Kirby made towards Stan Lee was that Lee was a businessman not a creator or someone who reads stories. After witnessing the horror of Marville, I see now what a work made by a businessman who isn't a creator really looks like. I also agree with the fact that Marville presumes that the audience won't get its references, arguments and jokes, that it does talk down to the audience.

[@GroovyDude00]

It's depressing how this lead to my favorite marvel title ever at Marvel being cancelled, Captain Marvel. Genis after this was cancelled was just put on Thunderbolts, a team book, his title stripped, and killed off so unceremoniously. He's never showed up in comics since, only in small cameos. Honestly fuck Jemas.

[@victorgonzalez9605]

I always thought that the u decide contest was just a stunt to promote captain Marvel (which was a gem)

[@paulpizzlewizzle]

Peter David is the best. Really dig his X factor.

[@bewaretheconficker]

This era of Marvel Comics is indeed pretty fascinating. There's a lot of weird, terrible stuff, but also a lot of very uniquely different and great comics coming out at this time. All the Spidey titles around this time were pretty excellent around the board (Amazing, Peter Parker, Ultimate, Tangled Web). X-Force/X-Statix is an all-time favorite of mine. I read Paul Jenkins say around that period lots of creators had a ton of freedom to really just make what they wanted and marketing was told to sit back and sell those books instead of the other way around. It also explains why there wasn't really many crossovers in the early 2000s era, because nobody really wanted to write any haha.

[@damianmonke3922]

Same this era was so weird and awesome for some reason

[@edward2962]

What's interesting is that I can imagine at the time there could have been a market for a well done satirical comic from Marvel, but it looks like after the 2nd issue Jemas decided to just ponitificate.

[@redjirachi1]

Strange Brain Parts: I'm going to make a Marville video Linkara: Stay back! For the love of God stay back!

[@komickid833]

I thought the only person who remembered these stories was Linkara. This is a good addition to overlord comics

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Thank you. And, once you read this series, it's very hard to forget it. For all the wrong reasons.

[@komickid833]

Strange Brain Parts The covers the covers are what I remember the most

[@Sinai71000]

Great channel, glad to see more content like this.

[@kelvinpayne4213]

Who is the girl on all those covers?

[@MrMangaman1]

What is with those covers? Trying to give Trouble a run for it's money?

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Ha ha ha.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

@@StrangeBrainParts The covers always seemed nonsensical to me until while watching this video I finally made the (in retrospect obvious) connection that the entire purpose of the covers was to try to win the U-Decide sales contest. It's just another sign of that looking down on the audience factor you identified throughout the book.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

@None of Your Business : At first I thought the covers were *just* cheesecake. However most do obliquely tie into the contents of the issue. And I do mean *obliquely*. But, yeah...they were a tactic to attract eyes and boost sales.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

@@StrangeBrainParts It's basically Jemas saying to David "your writing doesn't matter -- I could put any half-assed garbage in a comic with Greg Land porn tracings on the cover and it would outsell your precious story, so sit down and shut up and do what you're told)."

[@StrangeBrainParts]

@None of Your Business : I do agree. It seems like he truly thought it wouldn't be much of a competition.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

8:11 This was funny for some reason Maybe it was the tone in which this said said to this describe this comic and Bill Jemas' insanity

[@snakes3425]

Jemes: I've done it I've written the best comic ever, they'll have to make me President of MARVEL for this oh Bill you;re a genious Board of Directors: you're fired Jemes: WHAT HAVE I DONE????

[@jdtroup198683]

It's like the comic version of Disaster Movie. Hoping you do some Epic Comics like Power line Saga

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Yes, that is on the fabled list of future projects. I liked Doctor Zero quite a lot back in the day. I'm hoping it stands the test of time.

[@andreworders7305]

Your opening quote makes sense here

[@eyeseer1]

Bought Marville issue 7 when it was just a prolonged ad for the dissolved Epic Comics series for artists & authors which was a more interesting read than the Marville series itself.

[@pablom.g-m]

Awesome. I wondered what your take might be on this... thing.

[@TetsuDeinonychus]

Funny thing is, a Marvel parody of "Smallville" called "Marville" wouldn't be a bad idea. But instead it's just self-indulgent crap from an arrogant douchebag editor to win a stupid bet. Also, if I paid actual money for a comic book and they just had the script awkwardly printed over the artwork instead of real word balloons, I would have been pissed. Like writing Marvel demanding a refund pissed.

[@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677]

So Bill Jemas is insane then. I mean I knew something was off when I watched Linkara's review of the series but jesus...

[@johnnydropkicks]

I’d never heard of this series before watching this channel… but the covers make me think of the covers last six issues of the original Thunderbolts series; where the covers looked like all of the Maxim magazine type mags. I believe they were issues #76-81 and they looked like trash. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that those final Thunderbolts issues and Marville came out at about the same time. On a side note; what is a “thunderbolt?” I know what a lightning bolt is, but thunder is the sound that accompanies a bolt of lightning. Maybe I’m missing something. 😊

[@martyrocks2091]

I do know that Thunder bolts and lightning are very, very frightning...

[@Categoryonegames]

This was a crazy time for Marvel where they were trying to make their issue covers as 'Maxim' as possible. The White Queen stories were basically stories aimed at teenage girls but the covers for were for lonely adult men. If they had just made those aimed at teens, it could have gotten TPBs in schools and libraries. The Marvels, Trouble, White Queen, and Mystique series at that time were huge quarter books at the time and now those books all have a premium mostly for their covers and nothing else.

[@dantecrottogini529]

I never knew about this, great video

[@ConernicusRex]

You can’t say no redeemable features over a gallery of the covers which are, in fact, redeeming features.

[@the-NightStar]

They are terrible covers, with no connection to the actual content of the comics themselves and are exploitative, and sexist crap. They have no redeeming features, either.

[@ConernicusRex]

@@the-NightStar Found the guy who can’t recognize a joke when he sees it. Way to spell it out and ruin the nuance, hero. Bet you’re a fucking blast at parties.

[@mr.sand7899]

7:12 oh the days before Marvel was owned by a corperation.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

Marvel was always owned by a corporation.

[@snakes3425]

MARVEL: Hello Disney we'll take that offer just get Bill Jemes out of here

[@paulakroy2635]

11:30 bill jemas was right here. Just cause ennis’s fury is unlikable doesn’t mean he’s not well written

[@zerodreamidea]

I don't remember any of the stories for all 3 series though I'm certain I bought and read them. That one page with a block of text over the characters made me laugh! At about 13:40 or so.

[@Zartak343]

Finally someone covers this travesty of a professional comic.

[@residentgrigo4701]

Nothing new for YT: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4mqk2WQpc9-is0

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Cool beans. I wasn't even aware of that.

[@Zartak343]

resident grigo I honestly forgot about Linkara.

[@kiruppert]

Linkara is usually good, but Mar-ville is so frustratingly bad that Linkara’s review devolves into barely coherent angry shouting. It’s terrible, you should start At4W literally anywhere else.

[@the-NightStar]

@@kiruppert STRONGLY disagree. It's one of his best, and funniest reviews ever.

[@MysteriousTomJenkins]

Honestly the only good thing about this is the fact that the actual creative guy with talent won and Jemas got a reality check...maybe? That is a silver lining here, if Marville sold well then an asshole would have been rewarded but his ego destroyed him and showed he was full of shit. I guess that's why that one saying exists, don't stop your enemies from making mistakes.

[@the-NightStar]

Delusional people like Jemas never admit they are wrong. And in fact, he did apparently rant and rave about how he was a genius and that no one appreciated Mar-vell because they were all too dumb and ignorant to get it's brilliance.

[@JimmyLazerz]

Say what you will about Bill Jemas, but I thank the comic gods everyday for Megalomaniacal Spider-Man.

[@dxjvdjxnn]

ever thought about reviewing the whole marvel max imprint

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Yes, I have. And Starling Stories and X-Statix.

[@paulakroy2635]

@@StrangeBrainPartsany continued plans

[@FragItAll]

I stayed away from this book as I figured it was just what you described. But now my morbid curiosity wants me to find and read it. ... ... Don't worry, it will only happen if I find it in a quarter bin.😅 What's that unstable molecule book about? My first time seeing it.

[@christopherulichney]

Was the girl on the covers supposed to look like Jennifer Love Hewitt? I always thought it was a fairly good likeness,, if that is who it was supposed to be.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I genuinely don't know and saw nothing that indicated if Greg Horn was modelling the cover on any specific woman. In my mind, I thought of her as Generic Redhead #2. But, yeah, now that you mention it, I can see some Jennifer Love Hewitt.

[@andreworders7305]

Wait, so Captain Marvel got rebooted? Did it wipe the previous storylines from continuity. I’m confused.

[@GroovyDude00]

Pretty much they stopped publishing the character, he was put on a team book and killed off. He hasn't shown up since, really only in small cameos.

[@iansmart4158]

Yeah, but what's the deal with those covers? Like, WHY were they done like that, and WHO thought they were a good idea?!

[@Reach008]

...but what is the plot?!

[@llewelynshingler2173]

Starting in issue 3, Jemas unloads the worst Theological speech short of Jack Chick.

[@MTdaBlacking]

What you saw/read was what you got. Marville was basically, a series of random events with too much confidence for its value and not a lot of laughs or mind-blowing revelations. Issue 6's self-pity was basically the post-loss clarity sinking in.

[@thingsofsuch]

Halfway through and I gotta say, this has to be the ... BEST GOD DAMN FUCKING THING ON KZbin OR ANYWHERE ELSE AND THATS THE FUCKING FACT JACK.

[@pootisengage6672]

What a great video

[@randalldowling1068]

Marvel had some good energy coming from it at the time. This kept me in comics at an age I would (should?) have aged out. Oh, and Marville was probably the worst comic I've ever read.

[@Lord.Mind_Flayer]

8:40 Bill choose that format because (from what i found) he hated the art and was an ass to the artist and wanted the text like that to cover it up.

[@snakes3425]

The issue opens with a page explaining who is being satirized Hey Joker Joker: IF YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN A JOKE!!!! THERE IS NO JOKE!!!! Thank You

[@mikenayers5981]

That was Ted Turner, not Paul Levitz.

[@blackphoenix77]

Marville was absolute garbage, and that final issue promoting the Epic line was even worse: the relaunch of that line crashed and burned before it got off the ground.

[@BobbyMoore2-mp8wb]

😮😮😮

[@Brabbs]

thinking of looking at any VG relatd titles in the future? Particularly sonic the hedgehog or the bizzare brazilian megaman? Also, this is a prime example of why businessmen should be gatekept unless they have creative talent. i mean, they're BUSINESS men. they're there for money!

[@racekitty]

Linkara's videos are the best way to experience this comic and is far more entertaining.

[@d4peters86]

Agreed

[@the-NightStar]

Yeah, gonna agree there. Linkara's videos on this are some of the best he's ever made and his content is pretty top quality. This video doesn't really offer a lot of extra insight into it.

[@andreworders7305]

7:51 When the artists stopped giving a shit about this terrible comic and stopped making speech bubbles.

[@ethansloan]

Man, this comic sounds awful. Like, in every possible way.

[@r3cycledPl4stic]

Linkara does detailed reviews of each issue if your interested in just how bad it is.

[@mechmaster315]

I guess Marvel made this to troll us

[@ybbok]

#hmmm

[@Rgoid]

I’ve read worse.

[@johnstuartkeller5244]

Wo, so ... it's like Kenny Omega was in charge of Marvel.

[@Matthew-ve7uv]

Gotta be honest, reading the actual panels, it seems quite good. "What a waft of wisdom," "[I drive taxis cos] I was typecast [on a show about taxis]," it all seems pretty good. Maybe you think it was "nasty," but that hardly seems an objective point about it being unreadable. I don't necessarily mind nasty -- South Park can be nasty, but it's funny as fuck. Not saying that this is anywhere near as good as South Park; just that being nasty doesn't say anything at all about whether it's good or not.

[@Iznikroc]

@ 11:54 Exactly the same problems with SJW Marvel

[@transopticon13]

I know this is 3 years old, but I'm going to answer it anyway: The reason the lettering was like that for just that one issue was a Marvel gimmick month where the comics didn't have speech balloons. It was meant to challenge the creative teams to tell "silent" stories with just the pictures and no dialogue. Obviously Jemas missed the point, so it's just a mess of overlaid text.