BILL: We've sampled over 12 million comics and have reached over 20 million more on-line with dotcomics.

RICHARD: Yes, but has that activity worked? How have you measured success?

BILL: We are measuring the success in terms of significant increases in readership. Can't give you more info than what is already been public, but you can see the increases in Marvel's regular SEC reports.

RICHARD: Currently CrossGen seem to have a more experimental and wider-reaching media management, with many tricks seemingly leant from abroad. A defined strategy, prominent sponsorships, deals with other media, as well as their titles being far more suited for the bookstore market as opposed to the direct sales market in terms of content and price point. With CrossGen sales increasing at a far higher percentage than Marvel, any ideas there you believe you can appropriate?

BILL: Somebody's been drinking the Kool-Aid - and they drank it all up.

RICHARD: The question, Bill? Remember what it was? Before, you've said that you'll steal ideas from other companies if they're good ideas. Have CrossGen had any ideas worth stealing?

BILL: Well, the Kool-Aid thing seems to work pretty well.

RICHARD: Okay, fine. George Clooney was up to play Nick Fury in a movie. His participation in the project would have moved the film into production. His people pulled him off the film after they read the Fury series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, part of the MAX line. How did that 'mature readers' exploration of a children's comic character help Marvel's impression?

BILL: I don't know that he ever saw the comic, which was a very good book by the way, but it would be cool if George Clooney played Nick Fury.

RICHARD: And if FURY put George Clooney's people off his role in a movie? Was it still a worthwhile book to publish in the long term?

BILL: It's always worthwhile to publish very good books.

ULTIMATE X-MEN HARDCOVER – SIGNED VERSION

RICHARD: And to lose a movie deal in the process? Right, next card, I don't know why I bother, I really don't. Okay. There seems a pool of untapped talent at Marvel at the moment. Specifically, what are known as the old-school. Walt Simonson, Roger Stern, Peter David, Christopher Priest, Tom DeFalco, people who not only know the characters inside out, but know how to tell good stories, get attention and sell the books off the rack. They, however, seem sidelined onto minor characters or ignored altogether. Is this a good way to treat such a resource? Just because people are older, have done it before and are seen as 'the past', is there any reason not to suppose they can't do it again on prominent titles and characters given the chance? Just like Chris Claremont on X-treme X-Men, there does seem to be a loyal and exclusive fan base devoted to John Byrne's work - considering their dedication in their number, would you reckon an Essential X-Men 0 featuring the Hidden Years material would be a solid seller?

BILL: Marvel does not have a black list - anybody - from Peter David to Paul Levitz - anybody can write for Marvel if they can write a great book. But nobody is going to mail in a bad script with a good name on top and get it published.

RICHARD: Marv Wolfman says he's been told by Marvel that they won't publish any of his work. Is he lying?

BILL: Marv Wolfman's most recent work for Marvel was not very good at all, and I am not lying.

RICHARD: The question again, okay, someone else. Joe Quesada says that, despite Peter David writing a critically successful book and a title that's put on thousands of sales, he'll fire David if he criticises Marvel in print again. Is Joe lying?

BILL: We'll have to wait and see won't we. Either way firing and blacklisting are very different things.

Continued here...