Modern Marvel

L+T: Is Hollywood ready for Miles Morales?
Alonso: In my personal opinion Hollywood was ready for Miles Morales a long time ago. The long-short of it is, I don’t control the movies. I’m in charge of publishing. I would say that we have a Spider-Man movie that’s coming out this summer that I’m personally excited about. It’s a reboot of the franchise and it looks exciting. That said, who’s to say that several years down the road we won’t see a Miles Morales in a costume on the silver screen. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jaden Smith is out there doing crunches and having his Dad [Will Smith] design a suit for him for an audition tape.

L+T: Get Will on the phone!
Alonso: People are ready for it. One of the things I love about Spider-Man, and this is a theory, is that when a kid sees Spider-Man they see the red and blue costume and they can project themselves into that costume. He’s colorless. It’s only when he pulls back the mask that you know otherwise. I know my son Tito was fascinated with Spider-Man very early because he looks like this bug and he has these bright colors. I love the fact now that when Spider-Man pulls back his mask readers are greeted with a different face and a different last name.

L+T: Who came up with the name Miles Morales?
Alonso: It was the decision of the writer Brian Bendis. A lot of people have asked the question, if he’s father is African-American and his mother Puerto Rican, how is it that he has a Hispanic surname? And that’s something we reveal in the course of the story. Really, Brian was the one who drove the car in developing who Miles is. He had some input from others, but Miles is very much his character.

L+T: With the advent of the iPad, how does Marvel evolve into the digital age?
Alonso: I think the iPad is the future. It’s the Wild West for our medium. I’m very excited that Ultimate Comic Spider-Man #1 set the record for digital downloads. It’s an indication that if people hear about this, if people read about this, they see it on the news and they can hit it was the flick of a switch; they’re going to want to buy this. That, new, newsstand that the Internet and digital comics provide is the Wild West for us and I think it will change the way we distribute comics, I think it will change the way we reach our audience, I think it will change the way we tell our stories and they types of comics we can make. It will help us in many ways.

L+T: Spider-Man has the “Spider-Stinger.” Captain America has his shield. Tim Tebow has…
Alonso: Oh man, that’s wicked. Tim Tebow has the enduring faith in himself. It’s pass the point where you can’t hate him, you know? It’s interesting for me because everybody talks about how he’s mechanics are wrong and he’s completely not what a quarterback should be and he finds ways to win. I was watching the other day that his team and coaches gave up on him prior to the Broncos game with the Steelers. I don’t want to have a beer with the guy, [laughs] but I can’t help but route for him in some odd way and I’m a Niners fan. So I’m all about the 49ers this season. I wanted the Giants to beat the Packers and I want[ed] the Niners to beat the Giants to go to the Super Bowl. It’s been a long time for San Francisco 49ers fans but Tebow’s story is fascinating at the end of the day. He’s not saying that God routed for him. There in lies the difference. If you say God gave you victory because you’re more worthy than the other guy…there’s something warped about that. But he’s saying ‘I’m thanking God for the blessing I got.’ And at the end of the day, I have to respect that. I’m not going to route for him, but we’ll see.

L+T Has this been your dream position thus far in your career?
Alonso: I’m blessed. It’s a privilege to be Editor-In-Chief. It’s not a cake walk. It’s hard work, but I love it. I work with a great group of people, great editorial staff. Wonderful writers on the greatest characters known to man and I think that for me I would have never dreamed to be in this position. I didn’t work towards a career path to be in comics, but it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it as someone who did. I am able, to a degree, to find passion for individual characters and then step back from them and be removed and look at it like you have this character here we really want to make sure that he/she is ready for the next generation. I have to be willing to sacrifice this, this aspect that I love, for the future. One of the things for me is that I want Spider-Man to be around for my son and my son’s son and his son. And I think that it’s selfish when 40-year-old men don’t want change in their comics because their want their characters to age and die with them. I love my job.

L+T: Is Miles Morales a hip-hop fan?
Alonso: Bendis is the one who will determine that. However I just don’t see how not! And if he listens to hip-hop, I think he should listen to Curren$y and CyHi Da Prynce. Right now for me, Curren$y is that new find for me. I think that CyHi was that for me maybe a year ago, but there’s something about Curren$y’s flow and the beats he’s got there so easy to listen to. And I think Wiz Khalifa has got some skills too.