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Marvel EIC Claims They Won't Kill Characters for Shock Value Anymore


While Marvel events are stories fans look forward to, they are tired of all the deaths that usually come with them. It's one reason why comic book deaths don't faze fans anymore, with people even claiming that the hero/villain will be back in six months or less. This is why fans were a bit shocked to see Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski claim that the company won't needlessly kill characters anymore.

During an appearance in a Swedish comic convention, Cebulski said that he doesn't want to use deaths to sell comic books anymore, even using the killings of Wolverine and Johnny Storm as an example of how cheap they can be. Though he does acknowledge that death is a big part of the Marvel Universe (and comic books in general), Cebulski claims that future deaths will be more story-driven.

"I don't want death to be used to boost sales or to use as a shock value so people go 'Oh my God, Johnny Storm is dead!' or 'Wolverine is dead!' knowing that they're going to be coming back. If we choose to do it now, we're going to add a little more weight and permanence to the situation."

This statement is a bit ironic when you consider all of the characters Jason Aaron has killed in his War of the Realms event, and all the dead mutants in the wake of Matthew Rosenberg's Uncanny X-Men run, which still has a few issues left. Sure, you can point out how all of those deaths were a part of the story but some of them felt really exploitative and cheap, particularly Wolfsbane.

Another ironic part of this statement? Loki was killed in the first War of the Realms issue and he has a new ongoing series coming out in July, showing that his death was temporary from the start.

What do you think of C.B. Cebulski's announcement regarding Marvel deaths?

Via ComicBook.com

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