taraco wrote:
If Marvel simply comes up with a new Archie at Riverdale High cast, they will have achieved nothing. But if they can come up with a new Doctor Octopus or Mysterio, then they'll have something.

I agree with this -- but, in retrospect, when Marvel had The Rhino or even The Kingpin they had something. In addition to great art by the likes of Ditko, Romita and Kane, those comics had the voice of Stan Lee, who was able to tell stories (whether he "wrote" them or not) in ways that were relevant and escapist and upbeat all at the same time. Comics in general, not just Marvel, took a step probably impossible to take back when they decided to grow up with their readership, sacrificing their young niche in the market in an effort to hold onto the wealth of those maturing kids who defined the Silver Age boom. Nowadays there's a different Spider-Man comic for every age group, of course, but the collectors' impulse sees to it that they all cross over and pollute one another. In my heart, I feel that comics (distinct from graphic novels) should be escapist, not overly realistic or confrontational. Marvel was once able to address topics like drug abuse, racism and student protest in ways that were illuminating and constructive without being overbearing or defeatist. It shouldn't have to take a symbiotic black suit or a deal with the Devil to keep Spider-Man interesting. I sometimes wonder if the superhero concept can't help but become dangerous in character when it is willfully applied to adult characters in believable adult settings. Spider-Man was conceived to give Marvel readers a hero who was a teenager like themselves, but the questionable legacy of that wonderful concept has been an alcoholic Iron Man, a whoring Daredevil and a junkie Karen Page, a dead Captain America. Where's the room for dreaming?