Thursday, February 24, 2011

Never, Ever Let Bendis Navigate For Your Vacaton

Well, we already knew that Bendis is...geographically challenged...when it comes his Avengers writing.

It hasn't gotten any better:

Really?

Just for the record, Area 51 is NOT in Roswell, New Mexico. Area 51 is next to Groom Lake, in Nevada, almost 800 miles away from Roswell.

Hey, he's only off by 2 states, right? And give him credit, he's only off by one entire time zone!!

Of course, looking that up before writing it would have been out of the question. Or having the editor, you know, edit it? As if!

Confusing Roswell and Area 51? Marvel must be seriously short on nerds right now. It's a good thing these guys weren't writing the X-Files, is all I'm sayin'...

From Avengers #10.

15 comments:

Tim Knight said...

Yet another reason reinforcing my decision to drop this title (too many issues with people just standing around talking to each other rather than actually doing anything being the main reason!)

Matt said...

I waved this off as an attempt to be clever, but I think that just might be my innate No-Prize ability.

I... I just don't know with Bendis anymore.

Unknown said...

Of all people to get it wrong, Tony "used to make weapons and have most of his adventures at the equivalent of Area 51" Stark.

This is why having someone who clearly doesn't even like Marvel superheroes write them for so long has done irretrievable damage to their sales.

Martin Gray said...

I admit my ignorance, I thought the two were one, too.

snell said...

Ah, but at least you have the excuse of not being a native to America...

Siskoid said...

Martin, you erroneously THOUGHT, Bendis erroneously KNEW.

And that makes all the difference.

Steve said...

I'm not native to America either, so if I was being paid to write a comic set there I'd research stuff. Doesn't take long to look up something as famous as Area 51.

Martin Gray said...

Hey, you just made Linkarama!

snell said...

Hey, you just made Linkarama!

Next stop, world domination.

Stephen Wacker said...

First of all, that is a funny mistake and I'm 100% behind any efforts to point out errors that appear in a Brevoort book.

However as answer to a couple of you, is it possible it was just an innocent mistake and not a reason to fire several people?

Newspapers devote inches everyday to correcting similar errors...but I'm not sure it'd be wise to fire everyone involved every single day.

Maybe..just maybe...humans make mistakes and it'd be worth just trying to catch them and working to make sure it doesn't happen again...though it inevitably will.

Stephen Wacker

snell said...

Actually, Stephen, I'm pretty sure that no one here called for anyone to be fired (let alone several people). Let me check...nope, not a word about that.

Stephen Wacker said...

I think it's a logical inference if someone is not "editing" or if a writer is causing "irretrievable damage" to sales and characters he "doesn't even like" (though I admit i don't know what "irretrievable damage" means, so maybe it's good.).

Regardless...you can change it you "severely reprimand" or "threaten with firing" if you want.

My point still stands.

SW

snell said...

Stephen,

I think there is a huge gap between criticizing and pointing out errors (which you are "100% behind") and calling for people to be "threatened with firing" or "severely reprimanded" (unless, of course, that's how it works in the Marvel offices...).

I won't presume to speak for the intentions of any of my commentators. But I can assure you that I have never called for anyone to be fired (except for sports managers and coaches, of course--that's my right as an American).

I'm not sure how suggesting that someone do their job better is improper, especially when I am paying for the product. As my post made clear, this is hardly the first instance of geographical/historical carelessness in a Bendis written/Brevoort edited book. Unless your point is that it's fine to point out errors in a Brevoort book, but for some reason it's inappropriate to suggest that someone is actually responsible for those errors and should try harder to avoid them. In which case we'll have to agree to disagree. Regardless, that is in no conceivable way a call for anyone to be fired.

Unknown said...

The main thing is, although no doubt the next part of their corporate strategy towards online dissidents will soon come into play ("lighten up it's just the internet" etc.) Wacker's right on target for the usual crazed online defence of the usual suspects at Marvel.

Long, long gone are the days of the "heh heh you got us, oops" or "no-prize heading your way", or even the "Tony was deliberately misleading someone in an attempt to protect security"... or even
Area 51 IS Roswell in the Marvel Universe.

Instead- the Disney Comics Holy Inquisition has to continue its inane cyberbullying.

If that is seriously their approach, that must indicate that every single reader is commercially needed at present, and that in turn indicates that sales must be abysmal.

Siskoid said...

Snell, you're fired.