QUOTE: I've been checking in on this thread a bit and it just got me to wondering if anyone here is looking forward to the "Brand New Day" ASM relaunch?

Cautiously optimistic, but Peter and MJ potentially being magically unmarried and MJ ending up as a superhero leave me more than a little cold.  (Not necessarily because of the superhero angle, but because that puts her in line to be Peter's girlfriend again and going from "Peter and MJ married" to "Peter and MJ dating" seems incredibly pointless to me.)

That said, after what we've been through the last few years, I'm almost willing to live without the marriage if they'll just stop fucking with the character and start telling stories in the core title (I don't know about the writer of Sensational, but Peter David at least tried although he kept having to derail his plans to keep up with all the events going on) with subplots and a proper supporting cast that are there to simply entertain the readers and aren't done in an attempt to make it on the evening news or "change the character forever." 

Andrew, nice to see someone else on the "marriage wasn't the end of the world" side... :)

I'm just as adventurous as a married guy as I was when I was single. I dress a little better now and don't rely on Taco Bell for dinner nearly as much as I used to, but it's not like marriage was the end of my days as an interesting person.

***********

Put me in that camp, too, fellas.

I don't think the Peter/Mary Jane marriage was a great idea, if for no other reason than it eliminates the classic "I'm needed as Spider-Man, but how do I get rid of MJ/Gwen/Betty/etc.?" stories. (On the other hand, I think Superman works much better as a married man, but that's a different discussion.)

But having a married Spider-Man hardly means the end of interesting stories. And I hope that whatever the "fix" is on ASM that Mary Jane is still a big part of the Spider-Man universe. She's too important to write out, even for a while. 

Yeah, I don't want to see Peter Parker get divorced. In that case, the "cure" would be worse than the "disease"!

<<I would have an Editor on the book that would look out for the best interest of the character and not shock value stories to sell a few books.>>

You need someone who is interested in BOTH the "best interest of the character" AND the sales, or you will have no book.

Howard

<<See, I disagree about that. I think, if the marriage is really going to be
undone, then MJ should be written out of the books for a good long time,
and then she should be brought back later on in an important and
impactful way. >>

Could not agree MORE, Glenn. If she is not gone, then it is just more of the same-- and readers will be waiting around for them to get back together.

Howard