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Spend enough time in comic spaces online and you'll start to see a complaint repeated: according to some fans, Marvel's habit of starting over with a new #1 every time a new creative team takes on a comic is a bad one. Those readers posit that the move cheapens continuity or, in a multiverse-heavy market, may even confuse newcomers. Despite those complaints, however, it's a tactic that the House of Ideas still uses - and we recently learned why, thanks to one of their biggest decision makers.

The question came up in Tom Brevoort's substack a number of weeks ago, leading Marvel's executive editor to voice his opinion that DC Comics was "leaving money on the table" by not renumbering their issues at the beginning of their new All In event. In his most recent newsletter, a reader brought up that quote and asked Brevoort to explain his answer.

"[...] new #1s always, always, always sell better than issue #32s or whatever," writes the longtime Marvel editor, "You may not like that, you may not believe that it’s true, but take it from me, it very much is."

"So if you’re making the choice to continue a numbering," Brevoort continues, "you’re doing so with the understanding that the launch in question is probably not going to move as many copies, and get in front of as many eyeballs, as a new #1 would."

And though Marvel's executive editor and senior vice president of publishing admits that "that can be a valid strategy for any number of reasons," to his mind, getting a comic in front of those eyeballs should be paramount. "More often than not," he concludes, "everybody in the field likes money and needs it in order to keep the lights on and the office functioning. So more often or not, a new launch is the best way to go in such instances."

It makes sense that Marvel would want to get as many readers as possible for their comics - and the existence of the 'legacy numbering' on each title helps fans who want to keep track of the long-term numbering, as well. Think of it as the best of both worlds. And all without worrying about the lights. 

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.