That’s a double-edged sword, though, in that one of the reasons that everybody is so interested in SECRET WARS and that it’s been such a success has been the artwork that Esad has been doing. Even the reviewers who haven’t been entirely into the story have consistently praised the art. So it’s not as easy as simply going to some other artist to get the same result–we could have used another artist, but in that instance we possibly and even probably wouldn’t have generated the same sort of interest and passion from the readers. So that’s the trade-off. Even you being this irked about the situation comes from the fact that you want to have read the book already, and that’s more than a little bit due to Esad’s contributions to it.
My 2¢: Much rather have consistent art than switches.
For me, the issue here is Marvel recognises that this could be an evergreen in trade and hardback. The issue of timing will evaporate in the long term. Sure, some people will look back and say, ‘that was the event where Marvel had issues with their publishing schedules’, but most comic readers are fully capable of reading disjointed timelines, even within a single story.
If you are the kind of person that likes to think about where every book sits within an ongoing continuity, then surely this event is just one example of an ongoing challenge. The books have never been written with that level of continuity detail, so that challenge is a self made one. You either accept that and enjoy the challenge as a game, or insist everything lines up and frustrate yourself with your own expectations.
The time jump between the end of Secret Wars and the beginning of ANAD is surely a gift to those that want everything straight and “unspoiled”. Indeed, I think the most negative responses have been from people that have made big assumptions about how Secret Wars is going to end and have disappointed themselves prematurely.
The things we get to see in the new books don’t actually spoil the story, they just allude to an end point. That is not the same thing.
The other issue I keep hearing is people that say they no longer care what happens in Secret Wars now that the story has moved on. I am not sure if this is just an attention span issue, or a general dissatisfaction manifesting in a passive aggressive manner. Either way the statement rings hollow to me. If people truly don’t care they don’t spend time moaning about it.
