Marvel CCO Joe Quesada Reveals Why He Thinks Comics Need To Be Different From Movies

Some of Marvel’s most iconic stories have made their way into Marvel Studio films, and for that success to continue Joe Quesada feels they need to stay truly separate entities.

Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada stopped by to talk to ComicBook.com at San Diego Comic-Con about all things Marvel, and during the chat, Quesada explained why comics need to do their own thing apart from the films.

“Sometimes we get a little too deep in this because as creators we’re influenced by television and movies, not just Marvel stuff but everything on the outside,” Quesada said. “I think comics need to do their own thing because ultimately comics are…I always compare Marvel as a wheel. There’s a hub and then there’s spokes that come out of the rim and then there’s the wheel. Publishing to me is that hub. Publishing is where all the ideas are generated because you can get as crazy as you want right? You don’t have to worry about who the star is and all that stuff, and you don’t really have to worry about budget, because it’s just the artist and writer’s imagination, and you can go as crazy as you possibly can.”

“That to me is such a value, as opposed to echoing too much of television,” Quesada said. “Because to me what happens is you become a snake that’s eating its tail. One thing is influencing the other and we become really insular and we forget about the world at large. So to me, I like the idea that it’s all as separate as possible.”

The movies have the advantage of taking different elements from across a character’s expansive history, leading to something that feels familiar but also fresh. That doesn’t happen if comics aren’t allowed to jump around and do crazy and creative things.

“I think the beauty of studios and what television does is it takes 50 60 years of publishing of a character and cherry picks,” Quesada said. “‘Okay, these are the best moments’ right? Like Black Panther for example. Black Panther took a lot from the Stan Lee Jack Kirby era but then also started cherry picking from Priest and Reginald Hudlin and then they make this sort of melange of a beautiful movie. That’s cool to me. Ya know I don’t want to see them literally do the comic book.”

Fans will see another unique comic story mix in Avengers 4, which stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Evangeline Lilly (The Wasp), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon).

Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and The Wasp are in theaters now. Other Marvel projects coming soon are Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.