Hehehehehe, PAul did you see the unpublished page of 2112 that had Wolverine in it?

;-)

Taking a realistic approach to this prospect -- the following is not meant to be a "downer" at all.

I think that any one of these possible titles would most likely be a slow-selling title at best (compared to the "hot title of the month" or the current "big-3" sales leader-type comic), and that means that approaching any of them from an "ongoing monthly" perspective from the get-go would probably be a huge mistake.  Even with YOU associated with the title, any of these would most likely fall into the lower-tier sales bracket (think DC's "Manhunter" title, or Marvel's "Spider-Girl"), which would put the book(s) in constant danger of cancellation -- and after the inevitable drop in sales after the first issues(s), the low-ish sales would undoubtedly fuel the fan-boy cries of "Byrne's lost it!  Don't waste your time on this book!", which would ultimately be a death-knell for any of these books.  This is precisely the fate that befell the Doom Patrol and Blood of the Demon, IMO.

The best way to avoid this recurring theme with regards to your books, and the best way to rebuild your rep in general, is probably to avoid taking on second-tier or lesser-known characters and books as monthly assignments.  Any one of these properties approached as a limited series would most likely have a better chance at commercial success, and would most likely have a better chance of establishing the character(s) involved as something MORE than a second-tier or lesser-known character(s).

That said, I say do them ALL, and do them all as limited-run miniseries -- market them as such from the get-go, and market the HECK out of them, then go to town.

If a revolution does occur at Marvel, they should consider doing something like a "Showcase" book -- give the title to JB, let him do three-to-six-issue arcs featuring whatever characters he wants to use, re-publish those arcs in the inevitable trade paperbacks, and then rake in the profits while you watch your previously-unusable properties suddenly become "hot" again.

Alternately, you could emulate what DC has done with Waid and Perez on the Brave and the Bold title by putting JB and Roger Stern on a Marvel Team-Up title that would center around Spider-Man in much the same way the Brave and the Bold storyline has centered around Batman, but with alternating/rotating team-ups.  THAT would be a winner for both JB and Marvel, I think.

Add me to the list of fans who would love to see JB's take on the Defenders for the following reasons:

1. No one does team books quite like JB. Not that he doesn't do quality solo books, but he seems to have a particular skill for crafting well-told team stories. The Defenders is the one major team at Marvel he really hasn't handled.

2. It would give him the chance to work on some new characters, particularly Dr. Strange.

3. The Defenders may be one of those "hidden gems" - a book with lots of potential, but a lot of good raw material and some decent history. Similar to Aquaman at D.C., as mentioned on another thread.

4. Since a Defenders book isn't likely to be a movie tie-in book, it probabably can go underneath the editorial radar, meaning JB would have more freedom to do what he wants (which could only be a good thing!)