Marvel Next Culture Shock

Robert Taylor's most recent "Comic Culture" column over at HeroRealm.com disects Marvel's upcoming Marvel Next imprint which will feature books like Young Avengers and Liverwires (snicker).

The Next line features some interesting launches; Young Avengers, Runaways and Spellbinders in particular look like must-buys. But why was another line of books necessary, especially when at least one of the books is a proven failure? Placing titles in a line like Marvel Next implies that the titles would not be able to stand on their own, are interchangeable and (in this case) only for teenagers.

Taylor also mentions the utter failure of Marvel Age and Tsunami, as well as the detriment that marketing these books for teenagers may steer older readers away from good books. He also has a great point about the launch of another Spider-Girld title with Arana:

Some people will remember picking up the first issue of Amazing Fantasy, a book featuring that OTHER Spider-Girl. Since it’s fairly popular launch the title has lost over 60% of its readership, now down on a level with the other Spider-Girl title: Spider-Girl. The chances of the relaunch, Arana, working when readers (not to mention critics) have already rejected the book are minimal, and it also gives the entire line a feel that these are warmed-over ideas that didn’t work elsewhere.

Seems pretty logical to me. I can't for the life of me understand why Joe Q, who has made a whole lot of great changes over at Marvel, would keep launching lines like this that will, most likely fail. Tsunami was a bad idea. Why were those books together in the first place? What does Namor have to do with Mystique? And don't say they're both mutants.