Of Spoilers & Setups

Ed Brubaker (gentleman on the left in the picture to the right) put forth a Twitter tirade about his Fear Itself 7.1 story getting spoiled on comic book news websites (mostly directed at BleedingCool.com, I believe).

But he misdirects his anger...and I think even he might admit by now that he overreacted a bit.

No way to discuss this without acknowledging the spoiler, so, out of respect for his frustration, I'm putting the rest of the talk on a click-through after showing a few of Brubaker's initial tweets on this subject:

More...

UPDATE: It's With Sadness That I Point This Out

Update: On Newsarama's Twitter feed, the following was posted:

We're sorry about the batspoiler guys. Mainstream media had already gone wide w/ it & we had to have a direct hl for our synd. partners.

11:42 PM Nov 3rd via Echofon

Followed up later with:

@tonywolfness Still, next time hopefully I won't personally be out, and be able to work w/Mike on a mainstream AND spoiler-free HL -Lucas

about 6 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to tonywolfness

I don't see how needing a direct headline for syndication partners changes next time. I don't see how one benefits from alienating your direct readers to satisfy syndication partners when, eventually, you tend to lose syndication partners when you lose standing/credibility in your niche coverage area with readers. If the site keeps offending the sensibilities of its readers, they go elsewhere. If they go elsewhere, their coverage starts lacking from one cause or another (less standing with the publishers, best contributors find work at a more visible/better paying site, etc).

I, also, don't see how indicating it is a crap shoot dependent on which editor has the "keys to the car" on a given Wednesday that decides whether spoiler etiquette is followed provides real comfort to the readers, either.

/END UPDATE

From 3:00am EST on 11/4/2010

So much of my comic-book-geekdom is tied to Newsarama. It was the first comic book site I frequented. It's the only commercial comic book site I've ever written for (and, hey, they even paid me SOME of the time).

But since Matt Brady left, it has not been the same.

Michael Doran (the top dog there, as far as matters like this are concerned) put up a "story" about the developments in Batman & Robin #16 at around 9am this morning. The TITLE of the story was a big, huge, honking spoiler.

The comment thread is, no lie, about 67% (24 out of 35 posts) filled with people complaining about the fact that Newsarama posted spoilers with no warning, particularly right in the title. The first complaint was the third comment in. 

Guess when they fixed it? As of 2:43am, THEY HAVEN'T. 

Three of the better responses from readers:

First: 

Re: (Big Spoiler Article Title I'm Not Reprinting Here)

by TheTwelfthDoctor » Wed Nov 03, 2010 7:32 pm

Good thing I managed to read Batman and Robin #16 before coming here! I can't believe that after all these complaints, Newsarama still hasn't bothered to change the stupid spoiler headline. I know this site has become a complete joke compared to what it used to be, but COME ON...

Second:

Re: (Nope, Still Not Reprinting)

by Adam G » Wed Nov 03, 2010 7:50 pm

I have to say this is all messed up. I was waiting to read this issue after I read The Return Of Bruce Wayne #6. Just because the books were released out of order does not mean I have to read them out of order. I buy them the day they come out but I do have some sort of self control and can wait while avoiding spoilers.

I go to CBR, notice in the title that something happens and I stay away from the article, I come here and see the spoiler in the headline. Very poor on your part Newsarama. I used to love this site and I think by posting the spoiler in the headline was some sort of last ditch effort to keep some readers.

Sad thing is, this has probably brought the most comments this site has seen in a while and not one was from you guys saying your were sorry

Third:

Re: (Notice I've Managed Not To Spoil It)

by skywatcher » Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:00 pm

Yes, it's a sign of how far the site has fallen that no one from the staff has monitored the responses to this news item. It's a bit late to do anything about it now, but a simple admission from Mike Doran (who has been around since Newsarama's original inception) that he made a mistake with the headline might have gone some way toward healing the damage.

Poor show, Newsarama.

Yeah, pretty poor show.

Why No One Should Read Previews If They Want Surprises In Their Stories...

Another month, another set of spoilers that DC inadvertently lays on their readers...

THE FLASH: REBIRTH #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and covers by Ethan Van Sciver

Through the decades, many heroes have taken the mantle of The Flash, but they all ride the lightning that crackles in the wake of the greatest hero the DC Universe has ever known, the man who sacrificed himself to save the Multiverse: Barry Allen!

Following the events of FINAL CRISIS, Barry has beaten death and returned to a fast-paced world that a man out of time wouldn’t recognize. Or is it a world that is only just now catching up? All the running he’s done before was just a warmup for the high-speed race that he and every other Flash must now run, because even though one speedster might have beaten death, another has just turned up dead! From Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, the visionaries responsible for the blockbuster GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH and THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR, comes the start of an explosive and jaw-dropping epic that will reintroduce to the modern age the hero who single-handedly birthed the Silver Age of comics! DC history will be made, and the Flash legacy will be redefined!

Funny, the are advance soliciting a trade paperback focusing on a speedster character. Not a particular property that seemed to be hot previously. Not one that there is a lot of clamoring for that I'm aware of. Click this link if you want to see who I think it is.


Blackest Night:

DC Direct is proud to produce action figures for the event of the summer – the beginning of the highly anticipated “Blackest Night” storyline!

Included in this series are Earth-2 Superman, the first member of the lifeless, emotionless, Black Lanterns to be revealed; Boodikka, the veteran corpsman who was among the first to become a member of the Green Lantern Corps’ own policing unit, the Alpha Lanterns; Saint Walker, the first member of the Blue Lantern Corps, which champions hope in the universe; and Atrocitus, Abin Sur’s killer and the first to utilize the power of blood and rage to become a member of the Red Lantern Corps, which is out to destroy both the Sinestro and Green Lantern Corps!

Is it just me or do they seem to spoil Geoff's developments a lot lately?

Note: since the comments aren't viewable in the RSS feed or on the front page, I feel that it is fair for anyone leaving a comment to respond directly without further spoiler warning. If you click to the comments section because you were willing to spoil yourself on one, but not the other, you do so at your own risk.

A Bit About Spoilers...

Last time I posted some spoilers from Mr. Anonymous, I caught some shit from a few people. Some understandable (I'm still sorry to Pedro, who apparently got the spoilers against his will via the RSS feed) and some less so (some of the hate posted at the Bendis boards, where they welcome Rich Johnston with open arms (and rightly so), despite his having done the spoiler thing many times).

Mr. Anonymous still hasn't given the go ahead and I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do when he does. Some have suggested I not run it at all. A friend or two has suggested I run it with wildcards to obscure the full reveal. And, of course, there are the rabid that just want the info NOW NOW NOW.

In advance of whatever decision I make, I wanted to reiterate a few things:

• Last go 'round, I received no correspondence from Marvel or anyone associated with them asking me to pull down the spoilers and stop posting anything further. The posting process went on over a nice chunk of time, so they obviously had plenty of time to generate and e-mail me a C&D, like "marvel_b0y" supposedly received. One could imply tacit approval of my actions from their failure to communicate any problem with the matter to me.
  
• As mentioned in an earlier comment of mine, Joe Quesada bellying up to the bar with Rich Johnston, who certainly has published spoilers regarding Marvel and DC items (like the Inferno bit this week).
• More of an addition to the first bullet than a separate reason: I explicitly stated in my previous blogs that I'd immediately cease publishing the spoilers if someone from Marvel (ANYONE) asked me to. I requested to be contacted if it was a problem. I assure you they have ways of contacting me. No one did.
  

Now, I'm not saying I'll definitely be posting anything. But, if I do, just remember the above bullets while you call me a douche around the 'net. ;)

Secret Invasion: What's The Point Of Paying For It?

The humorously named "AnalSurprise" posited the most interesting complaint on the new Newsarama about $4/issue Secret Invasion, a great number of preview pages, and heavy-on-the-spoilers discussions with creators the day after the issue hits:

http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16695

Can someone tell me what is the point of *purchasing* these books anymore? I believe I will actually skip the rest of Secret Invasion and just read this column instead. Then buy the collected series as a book if it turns out it was good.

Anyone else feel way too much is being given away for free via the previews & columns like these? They're not even saving the big moments for the legitimate buyers -- every significant moment in the book is given away online for free, legally... including the last page, if you can believe that.

(To say nothing of the fact that the entire article is so obviously pandering to Bendis & Marvel, you'd think it was written by Bendis himself.)

He has a point. A lot of the pages are being shown, in addition to the web-traffic-generating, spoiler-heavy items masquerading as articles (trust me, I know about spoilers-for-ratings), and the prices are only going up.

What do you all think?

Mr. Anonymous Delivers A Correction

One of the as-of-yet-not-revealed-on-page spoilers has been changed by editorial. Which one? Watch the video (it's shorter this time):

SCHWAPP!!! If I Was Played By Marvel...

SCHWAPP!!! Mr. Anonymous Revealed!

In this vlog, I finally reveal the truth behind all of the Mr. Anonymous and Marvel_b0y hoopla going around. I'm only sorry I waited this long to tell you all.

Why Provide Spoilers?

At first, I provided the spoilers given to me by Mr. Anonymous because I strongly dislike the way this Marvel_b0y viral campaign has been pulled off. It is another marketing strategy that takes things to a new level of dishonesty. When you spew as much bile and venom as this viral marketing campaign has done (opt-in or not), there will be collateral damage. The fans become yelling, screaming, stressed, and insulted pawns in your game to make a few extra bucks.

Not in this spot...

Mr. Anonymous, himself, would probably never have stepped up to give me these spoilers if not for Marvel_b0y giving out the occasionally wrong info and being a douche.

Or in this one...

Marvel has since toned it down a bit and the only one getting lumped on is Marvel_b0y himself. It has led me to sit back and rethink things.

Oh...did you think it'd be here?

For instance: I really like Bendis. The guy AND his work. I'm sure he's not digging this...unless I'm just being played like a cheap violin by Marvel, which is entirely possible. But the anecdotal evidence I'm getting from reader reactions is that the spoilers are making them more excited and look forward to buying the product.

Still checking?

Which isn't to say that justifies anything. Yet I haven't been contacted by anyone at Marvel or anyone involved with the book to ask for the spoilers to be pulled down. The e-mail has always been out there to contact me. I've received nothing.

Nope...nothing here.

On top of that, there's the demonstrated history of Rich Johnston posting spoilers of Marvel product without any cease and desist or any obvious damage to the Marvel/CBR relationship. This would pretty much counter any argument they could try to make legally if they wanted to come after me. In order to have full legal protection of an intellectual property, you have to be consistent in how you defend it. So...you can't get too far coming after a blogger for something that you were so tolerant of previously that you've had your EiC grant multi-part event interviews to a site that has run spoilers for your product in the past (and continues to do so). Rich even posted a bit of script to confirm that he actually read an Astonishing X-Men story in advance. That's right...if Marvel brings the thunder, I'll be using the "Chewbacca Rich Johnston" defense.

Ha...you checked every gap? Check back later for the spoiler.

So...to sum up...I've spit out a meandering mess here. Part about reasoning (to counter an ill-conceived viral marketing program while appearing to cause no harm to the readership) and part about having established history of spoilers on my side, as far as from a purely legal standpoint.

You Can All Have Anonymity, But There's Only One Mr. Anonymous!

OK...so I didn't feel right making you all have to wait too long for some spoiler-y goodness. If everything runs to plan, you'll see this around the start of the work day on the east coast. Everything is in white. It is a script excerpt that lays out the exact details of an earlier spoiler. Why? Because Viral_b0y is trying to insinuate that others don't know what they're talking about. Script excerpts potentially say a lot more than plain ol' spoilers.

[01:14] Mr. Anonymous: i'm looking through SI #1
[01:14] Mr. Anonymous: for anything else that might be juicy
[01:14] Schwapp Online: lol
[01:17] Mr. Anonymous: ok
[01:17] Mr. Anonymous: here's something that should get you a C&D
[01:17] Schwapp Online: LOL
[01:17] Mr. Anonymous: 1- Int. Stark's secret warehouse- Same
The dead, nude corpse of Elektra Skrull lies there. She has been cut open.
Hank Pym and Reed Richards are both working at little stations they have. Reed in the foreground is hand writing into a notebook and jotting down what he sees in his microscope.
In the foreground right, His handmade portable communication device is blinking but he has put it aside and is not paying attention to it.
It reads: Baxter building emergency
2- Tighter on Reed scribbles some notes. Making some formulas.
3- Same. Reed looks up. He figured it out.
ReED RICHARDS
I- I think I got it.

I know how they made themselves undetectable.
4- Over Hank's standing silhouette shoulder, Reed turns around and is pointing to his notes and thinking outloud. Looking at the notebook and not Hank.
ReED RICHARDS
You know what the Skrulls did? They took-
5- Over Reed's shoulder, Hank Pym is standing there with an alien weapon. He has a weapon to Reed's head. Backlit and ominous.
HaNK PYM
I do actually.

[01:17] Mr. Anonymous: 1- Profile, Hank holds out his Skrull weapon at arm's length and blows Reed's brains out. His head stretches violently but does not break. His eyes almost fall out of their stretched sockets.
Spx: fshammm
2- 'Camera' on the floor. Reed falls to the floor in a puddle of rubber. He's completely lost his shape. Is this what he looks like when he is dead?
3- Slightly low looking up. Hank looks down. No sign of emotion. Backlit.
4- Same. With a twinge of discomfort. He turns back to his natural form.
5- Same. And With a sigh of relief. He is free to be a Skrull again. Our first 'Skrull' the entire issue. Backlit and menacing.
6- His Skrull fingertips gently touch the forehead of his fallen comrade. The dead Elektra.
HANK PYM
As it was written.

[01:19] Schwapp Online: Sweet.
[01:21] Schwapp Online: Damn...now I have to debate which bit I run tonight versus over the weekend or Monday
[01:21] Schwapp Online: have a preference
[01:22] Mr. Anonymous: hm
[01:22] Mr. Anonymous: the script excerpt
[01:22] Mr. Anonymous: because the (possibly last Skrull reveal) thing is probably the biggest thing

Now, you just might have to wait all the way until Monday morning for that last Skrull reveal. Depends on whether I get that C&D.

Remember: I have no property in my possession that Marvel has any claim to. So, if they try to get Blogger to shut me down, they should have a helluva time trying. Marvel knows about this blog, but they're caught in a real shite position: either way they go, they probably wind up admitting that Viral_b0y is just their marketing department and they don't seem ready to do that yet.

Edit: So, post-dating the blog won't make it only appear once that time has hit. Dammit! Well, it will make for some interesting message board discussions when people argue about duplicate postings. "I had it at X:XXam!" "Nuh uh, it wasn't up until 8:28am!" ;)

Random Comic Book Thoughts

• Daniel Patrick Cassidy better be in the process of being returned to his stuck-in-a-suit, weirdness magnet beginnings. Otherwise, a comic book crime has been committed in Shadowpact. I had my own idea of how to accomplish this back in the day, over on the Newsarama boards.
  
• In discussing with some friends what villains we think could support their own series (ala Doom 2099 or Empire), we all seemed to agree that Black Adam could sustain a series (based on that wonderful mini). The dream writer team (as dual writers seems to be all the rage), would be Tomasi and Fraction. But the surprise concept brought up was Red Skull. At first, it was thought he couldn't pull off a series. I countered that, if there ever was a time, it was now. Someone challenged that he'd need a foil, to which I answered that you'd simply have to go with someone trying to bring his organization down from within, possibly taking on a legacy name. Keep Bru on to write his diabolical Skull, bring on Fraction to bring some of his Casanova craziness to the foil. I'd really love to see Marvel try something like that.
  
• Mike Choi (who was swell enough to stop by and comment on a blog I did about one of his blogs) posted an amazing...wait for it...blog about the David Mack situation. Or is it about the Mack situation? You decide. But I think he put a huge chunk of himself into that whole discussion. It's always amazing to me when comic book professionals put themselves out there like that, showing their emotional vulnerability in such a quiet and humanizing way. It's part of why the Word Balloon Bendis tapes softened me a lot on Marvel.
  
• I really wonder how many of the readers who are here for spoilers will stick around when the well runs dry? It's not keeping me up at night, but I'd be lying if I said curiosity wasn't getting the better of me.
  
• I'm glad that I've been able to run a few other people in the WGBGB feature, though I admit Mike's inclusion was a stretch. I knew there'd be a reasonable explanation or clarification, but I thought it'd make for good conversation, nonetheless.
  

SPOILERS: Anonymous...Mr. Anonymous

OK...it's hard to frame this one even with white-on-white writing as to be less obvious to the casual reader.

So, the reason that the new Spider Woman series starts "the moment Secret Invasion ends"

Let's stretch this out a bit.

Is because the Spider-Woman we know is a Skrull

Do you know that I gave him the name "Mr. Anonymous"? He's actually pleased with it, though. We're both surprised that people are carrying the rumors all across the 'net while still referring to him as "Mr. Anonymous". But hey...it's cool.

the "real" Spider Woman comes back to earth during Secret Invasion

It's, also, nice to see that most people are crediting where they pulled the spoilers from. I appreciate it, though I'm not sure it makes a huge difference to Mr. A.

You might have figured that out already.

Marvel_b0y's been a little quieter than you'd expect. He's ignoring all the viral marketing comments. Ignoring the comments section...even ones from Mr. Anonymous himself. And all he provides is a bad teaser pick of another WHO DO YOU TRUST? Greg Horn painting?

But it leads to some details I'll reveal tomorrow that I bet you never guessed.

Sheesh...I tell ya...some people...what? Oh yeah...highlight all the gaps between the paragraphs to get your Skrull reveal of the day. Special goodness tomorrow.

*SPOILERS* How I Know Marvel_b0y Is Viral Marketing (aka More Mr. Anonymous)

Update: People are linking to this blog to say that Mr. Anonymous says Marvel_b0y is viral marketing. He says no such thing. I believe that his information reinforces my stance that Marvel_b0y is a plant, but it isn't meant to represent his opinion at all.


So...Marvel_b0y is back for all of an hour and my source hits me back up again.

[01:01] Mr. Anonymous: he's back?
[01:06] SchwappOnline: Apparently so. But now he doesn't allow anonymous comments. Which is why I think even more that this is a Marvel run viral marketing campaign.
[01:07] SchwappOnline: You have to sign in with a Microsoft ID...making you a lot more trackable, IMO.
[01:07] Mr. Anonymous: yeah
[01:08] Mr. Anonymous: i apparently had one without knowing it
[01:09] SchwappOnline: don't we all?
[01:09] Mr. Anonymous: I guess if you have an Xbox, you automatically get one
[01:10] Mr. Anonymous: i'll keep that in mind and refrain from posting there again
[01:11] SchwappOnline: No hurt feelings if you decide to try to find a way to get comments in over there, but I'm still here when you need me
[01:11] Mr. Anonymous: i dont want to feed his ego
[01:11] Mr. Anonymous: or give marvel my IP
[01:11] Mr. Anonymous: depending on whether it's viral marketing or not
[01:12] Mr. Anonymous: here's the thing
[01:12] Mr. Anonymous: the 70's heroes aren't coming back
[01:12] SchwappOnline: LOL...really???
[01:12] SchwappOnline: that's just an April Fool's Joke?
[01:13] Mr. Anonymous: I guess
[01:13] Mr. Anonymous: it's misinformation
[01:13] Mr. Anonymous: marvel certainly wants the readers to think that the 70's heroes are back
[01:14] SchwappOnline: I hate to ask again...but...may I?
[01:14] Mr. Anonymous: Secret Invasion #1 opens with a Skrull ship crashing in the Savage Land
[01:14] Mr. Anonymous: yeah, these are more spoilers for #1
[01:14] SchwappOnline: so...I can go with the SI 1 spoilers and the 70s aren't returning?
[01:15] Mr. Anonymous: oh yes
[01:15] Mr. Anonymous: anything to discredit m_b
[01:15] Mr. Anonymous: assuming he's real
[01:15] SchwappOnline: gotcha
[01:16] Mr. Anonymous: so the skrull ship crashes in the savage land
[01:16] Mr. Anonymous: both teams of Avengers rush to get there
[01:16] Mr. Anonymous: Luke's team steals a Quinjet
[01:16] Mr. Anonymous: Tony's team follows
[01:16] Mr. Anonymous: so by the end of the issue, they've surrounded the ship
[01:17] Mr. Anonymous: they accuse eachother of being Skrulls
[01:17] Mr. Anonymous: meanwhile, Skrull-Jarvis uploads the computer virus
[01:18] Mr. Anonymous: and Iron Man has a seizure
[01:18] Mr. Anonymous: Luke Cage opens up the door to the ship
[01:18] Mr. Anonymous: and all the heroes stand in awe of...
[01:18] Mr. Anonymous: Page 33- 35
Double page spread
1- Wide across both pages. And 3/4's down. Close to full figure.
Out of the hatch comes an amazing group of marvel heroes circa the 1970's. In the glory of their Retro costume designs and younger days.
They come out, not to attack, but looking around. Wincing at the sunlight. Not sure where they are or how they got here.
Original Phoenix, Spidey with web pits, Iron Man with the nose armor, Luke Cage in satin shirt and tiara, original Ms. Marvel, Jewel, original Vision, classic Hawkeye, blue furry Beast, Sue Storm, original Wonder-man design, Mockingbird. Captain America, evil Emma Frost, and Wolverine in the Hulk 181 costume.

[01:19] Mr. Anonymous: Classic LukE Cage
Sweet Christmas!!
Classic Ms. MARVEL
Is this it??

Did we make it back to earth?
Classic Beast
Oh my stars and garters!!
Classic Spidey
Yeah, I was just about to say that... cuz...

I know who I am...
2- Wide across the bottom of the spread. The New Avengers have backed up to gather with the Mighty Avengers. United in their mouth opened shock.
The modern, darker, dirty versions of all the characters stare at their more innocent version of themselves in shock.
Classic SpiDEY
(off panel))
But who are you guys supposed to be exactly?

[01:20] SchwappOnline: Oh...so then the 70s characters do sort of return...but they could all be fakes meant to create doubt.
[01:20] Mr. Anonymous: yeah
[01:20] Mr. Anonymous: of the 70's heroes, the only one I think is real is Mockingbird
[01:21] Mr. Anonymous: the rest I'm 90% sure are really Skrulls
[01:21] Mr. Anonymous: for example, the "evil" Emma Frost
[01:22] Mr. Anonymous: she HAS to be a Skrull because Ellis is using her in his Astonishing X-Men run
[01:22] Mr. Anonymous: It's all a swerve

So...it seems like Marvel_b0y is just playing up the stuff Marvel wants you to think and get excited about in anticipation of Secret Invasion #1. Otherwise, he'd put it into a little more perspective than that.

Of course, Marvel_b0y could be legit and Mr. Anonymous could just be feeding me stuff to make people doubt him. Either way, Marvel winds up having engaged in dishonest viral marketing. But I'm partial to my source, whether I sink or swim. ;)

Marvel_b0y Is Back...Now Without Anonymous Comments

So, gang, does this make it more or less likely that Marvel_b0y is just viral marketing?

I'm banking on MORE, personally.

*SPOILERS* Updated: Mr. Anonymous Steps Up With Corrections

The anonymous commenter that dropped spoilers on the Marvel_b0y LJ right before implosion contacted me to make slight corrections on what I was given by friends last night. He doesn't want to be known as the man who ruined Secret Invasion, so he wants to filter this through me.

***Disclaimer: I make no claim as to the veracity of these spoilers or the mysterious spoiler being in a position to know any of this.***

Concerning "Skrull Jarvis has something that makes all Iron Man shit not work" it's really a skrull computer virus that makes everything with the Stark name on it not work. This includes satellites, missile silos, power plants, Tony's Iron Man armor, the Initiative, and most of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's this same computer virus that opens up the Raft so the prisoners (including Doctor Doom) can escape, not Skrulls themsevles.

It's made very clear the Susan Storm skrull that opens the portal to the negative zone is not the same sort of sleeper agent Skrull that has been replacing heroes. It's a member of a group of tourists visiting the Baxter building that breaks away from the tour, shape-shifts into Susan Storm, and infiltrates Reed's lab.

The Baxter Building doesn't exactly get "sent into the negative zone", it implodes into the portal within the building. The script describes it like this:

Page 32-

Two half page panels.

1- Ext. Manhattan- day

Its the Baxter building. Its gorgeous. Light gleams off the side. Except that it looks like someone took a bite out of the top of it. Negative zone is eating the building.

The building, the air, everything in its way. An unearthly crackle around the edge of where the building is falling apart.

2- Same, but half the building has been eaten by the negative zone and is imploding on itself. And its not stopping.

That's all I wanted to clear up.

So...that's what's up for now. It remains to be seen if we'll get anymore info or updates. ;)

Update: Mr. Anonymous has sent the following historical tidbits regarding OMD and other Marvel Universe realities:

it was torture when OMD was coming out

because I knew all that stuff about 6 months prior to their first issue
for a while, Gwen Stacy was definitely coming back
but they settled on Harry Osborn
brought back by mephisto
originally, it was Loki that was supposed to change reality
but since Loki was MIA, they went with Mephisto
here's a bit I heard:
Quesada was the ONLY one in Marvel editorial that wanted to undo the marriage
EVERYONE else was dead set against it
but he pulled rank and made it happen
he's also the only reason that Black Panther is still being published
It's pretty disappointing to hear that
because I kinda liked him prior to all that

Oh...and there's this about HULK (spoiler itself in white text):

I was told the ending of World War Hulk about a month before the first issue
and by the last issue, they changed it
it was supposed to be a Gamma bomb that took him out
have they revealed who the red Hulk is?
I haven't been keeping up on that book
It's Thunderbolt Ross

That's all for now, "true believers", but he has more. It's all too far out to feel confident that Marvel won't change it midstream like the Hulk ending.

*SPOILERS* Updated: The Comment That Toppled Viral "Marvel_b0y"

Many people have come to the conclusion that Marvel_b0y was nothing but a viral marketing campaign. I won't go into a lot of the different ways people have come to this conclusion. Only one is really important:

As soon as any seriously spoil-y spoilers appeared (from an anonymous commenter instead of the blog author), the LiveJournal got deleted.

Right after pledging to be around for a long time. I completely missed the comment that appeared, but CBR poster diana_fan pointed it out to me after the fact.

And what were those comments? According to a friend who saw them before the blog imploded:

• Skrull Hank Pym shoots Reed
• Skrull Captain Marvel blows open Thunderbolts Mountain
• Skrull Jarvis has something that makes all Iron Man shit not work
• Skrull posing as Sue Richards (but not Sue herself) goes into the Baxter Building and sends it in the Negative Zone
• Skrull busts open the Raft and the villains escape including Dr. Doom
• Last page is the Skrull armada landing on Earth

Now, I don't work at Marvel and never have. I'm not in possession of any of Marvel's products. I'm just reporting information culled from what was likely their viral marketing blog that they lost control of. I welcome a cease & desist PDF, but I really don't know what grounds it would stand on. But if anyone officially contacts me regarding it, I'll pull it down. That will stand to confirm that the whole Marvel_b0y thing was a stupid viral marketing campaign, of course.

Update: I hear that Marvel is going out of their mind to take down spoilers revealed in the last comment before deletion of the Marvel_b0y LJ, but I haven't heard so much as a boo from them. I stand by my word: anyone official asks me to pull it down and away it will go.

Who Is THE PAINTED DOLL?!?!?

I don't know how many of you might recall this, but...as Civil War was unfolding...an apparent mole at Marvel was revealing many secrets of the mini-series before they hit the stands.

Its Spider-Man that gets unmasked in Civil War. He does it willingly on live TV. Thor comes back as a clone/cyborg created by Richards and Stark and Sue leaves the FF with Black Panther and Storm filling in for her and a mortally wounded Human Torch. And Namor's still a prick.

Discuss amongest yourselves.

The Painted Doll | 04.24.06 - 5:34 pm

No one realized how spot-on this guy was. He clarified later that the mortally wounded was based on Torch's injury in the first issue, which Marvel apparently went in a different direction with.

He has more along the way, though, in a post directed at Rich Johnston (on 09-26-2006) in his LitG forum:

What's up with the lack of Spoilers? Civil War is in full force and you aren't dropping hints on anything.

Like, who's gonna be on the new Fantastic Four?

Will Tony and Reed be able to control their Clone Thor?

Is it true that the Winter Soldier will be wearing Cap's costume when this is all said and done?

What's up with the mutants leaving the mansion, and how does the world's first mutant play into that?

Who is Hulk bringing back with him when he comes back in World War Hulk?

Is everyone's favorite scottish writer really taking over after whedon leaves the house that Xavier built?

And most importantly, how much is Marvel paying you to keep your mouth shut? Inquiring minds want to know.

He hits Blog@Newsarama to drop a hint:

Tigra’s a double agent. Wait, I mean….Spider-man unmasks on TV. No, what I meant to say is that Punisher kills two v-, no, no, actually Cap is really le-, ah forget it.

Comment by The Painted Doll — December 13, 2006

In January 2007, he shares the following on a CBR thread:

That Amazon review is bogus.

Cap gives up in issue 7. During the big super hero slugfest (which ends in the streets of NY), civilians jump to Iron Man's defense, making Cap realize the error of his ways. CW ends with his ass in jail. As for what makes them kiss and make up.....go reread the end of Watchmen for your answer to that question.

Toddles.

So...the question remains...who is THE PAINTED DOLL? A Marvel staffer? A Marvel writer? Rich Johnston, alluding to being paid off in some manner for not reporting it himself, but still getting the info out there? All one knows for sure is that this person had amazing resources or contact within Marvel editorial and appears to have been a fan of Alan Moore/Promethea.

Maybe they are still out there?