| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You can't save coming cs with things that appeal to comic book poeple. To save comic books, we would need to move eyes off of tictoc and video games. (This is of course impossible, comic books are going to die.)
Does "cs" mean... counter-strike? Comic... something?
I might not understand the topic of discussion well enough to make my argument hold any weight. I certainly don't know about new comics like the other participants of this discussion do. I CERTAINLY certainly don't know the realities of the comic book business.
But I'm sure there are those who would argue against the notion that "comic books are going to die." Some people have been predicting the death of the comic book since the mid-1940s. Social change was going to kill them. New media and technologies were going to kill them. Television was going to kill them. Censors were going to kill them. The Video Cassette Recorder, the internet... well, you get the idea. And yet here you are, discussing the latest comics.
I remember in 2018 Buddy Saunders, the owner of Lone Star Comics, describing his (and his colleagues') trip to the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. I'm now copying a quote from his description of his experiences there, posted on April 17 of that year:
Next morning, Saturday, we saw Steve again, this time when he spoke at the Diamond Retailer's Breakfast (Diamond fed us very well!). Speaking from the heart, the heart of a longtime comic fan, Steve spoke without notes or a teleprompter, making a paramount point at the very beginning that "Comics cannot be killed!" He knows that. I know that. The retailers in the room with 10, 20, 30 years' experience in their comic stores know this. We've all seen the ups and downs of the industry over the years. We all heard the Cassandras among us, predicting the demise of comics--certain to be killed by one thing or another--new formats such as the graphic novel, digital comics, the larger popular culture, the air freight wars, the B&W glut, the caused-by-death-of Superman-glut. The lowly comic book survived all this and more. That's what Steve Geppi reminded us. And that's what we all needed to hear, especially store owners newer to the business than us old dogs.
Isca isn't in every format. She had a few appearances, but after AXE Judgment Day, she's been a non-factor.
I don't quite recall Cat Loki, but I know Throg is still around.
|
I might not understand the topic of discussion well enough to make my argument hold any weight. I certainly don't know about new comics like the other participants of this discussion do. I CERTAINLY certainly don't know the realities of the comic book business.
But I'm sure there are those who would argue against the notion that "comic books are going to die." Some people have been predicting the death of the comic book since the mid-1940s. Social change was going to kill them. New media and technologies were going to kill them. Television was going to kill them. Censors were going to kill them. The Video Cassette Recorder, the internet... well, you get the idea. And yet here you are, discussing the latest comics.
Whether comics will die….? Good question. My answer would be “it depends”. We can speculate, but not really know. There are far too many factors.
Are comics hurting? Absolutely. I chalk it up to a large variety of factors, not the least of which is competition from other sources of entertainment (video games, Manga, TV and movies). There’s also the (in my humble opinion) poorer quality of the writing and editing, the injection of massive amounts of identity politics, and what I see as a generally poor treatment of the brands by the corporations that own them (which, I think they generally just see as cash cow IP farms).
Will it die eventually? Probably. Times change and people change with them. It probably wouldn’t bother me all that much. I’ve got thousands of comics in my collection I can reread whenever. And I’m almost buying more back issues these days than new stuff.
|
That idiotic character was one of the many poor writing/editorial decisions made on the recent X-books that made me drop every single one of them.This issue even had the one Isca appearance, like, ever, in which I didn't loathe her and her dumb plot device power. :)
Worm handles that power so much better, which makes X-Men fumbling it just look bad. You can't have that power in an ongoing narrative with multiple writers over decades, it just doesn't work.
Aaron Bitman, I'm typing on my phone. Fat thumbs make weird mistakes. I apologize. Anyway, remember when Jimmy Olsen's comic was cancelled for only having a million readers? Today's comics often sale less than 50,000. They are at the peak of average quality and already dead.
You can't save coming cs with things that appeal to comic book poeple. To save comic books, we would need to move eyes off of tictoc and video games. (This is of course impossible, comic books are going to die.)
Does "cs" mean... counter-strike? Comic... something?
Aaron Bitman, I'm typing on my phone. Fat thumbs make weird mistakes. I apologize.OH!!! You were saying you can't save COMICS with things! I feel foolish for not realizing that earlier.
Anyway, remember when Jimmy Olsen's comic was cancelled for only having a million readers? Today's comics often sale less than 50,000. They are at the peak of average quality and already dead.
Um... I'm now squirming in my chair. I'm afraid to argue with people on the internet, running the risk of flaming. But I can't help it; I'm compelled to challenge the notion that the Jimmy Olsen comic was "cancelled" in 1974. At least, that's not the way I see it.
Yes, DC Comics was getting into trouble in the 1970s, as it continued to put out silly, campy stories, while some other MARVELous titles were appealing to more readers with their serious approach. DC had to cut down on its titles. And rather than cancel Lois Lane's series and Supergirl's series, DC rolled all three of those characters' books into a single series, Superman Family, thus keeping the three titles alive until its cancellation in 1982.
In other words, Jimmy Olsen's series didn't die; it metamorphosed like a caterpillar.
At this point, I can imagine someone saying to me "Aha! So you admit that Jimmy Olsen got cancelled in 1982, at least!"
But by that time, DC Comics had changed, having acquired so many talented writers and artists. Now DC was giving us wonderful Teen Titans and Legion of Superheroes stories. And its two most famous characters, Superman and Batman, were now finally getting the serious kinds of stories they needed. Individual titles can come and go, but something always manages to keep the industry alive.
Now I'll admit - again - that I don't know squat about comics today. You say that a comic book title sells fewer than 50,000 copies these days? I wouldn't know, so I'll have to concede the point.
But is it fair to compare comic book sales today to those of 1974? Does that comparison account for the much higher price tag that fans are willing to pay for an issue these days, compared to 1974? Does it account for DC's practice of reprinting so many of their new stories in hardcover and paperback collections, which sell to a different demographic? Because DC didn't do much of that in 1974.
Actually, I'd be very much interested in someone more knowledgeable than myself weighing in with comments on my previous paragraph, even if it completely proved me wrong. Because I would still bet on the industry's survival.
I'm with Jeff. My comics back then were the 80s run of Thor with Simonson. That kept me going through most of the 90s until I switched back to DC...and then back to Marvel again.
Change happens. Will comics die? I have my doubts. But I do think the medium and the audience has changed a lot since their debut in the 1930s and 1940s. But that, to me, a sign of the medium going where the audience (and thus the money) is.
Will we ever go back to young kids? Maybe. There have been attempts by the big two to get younger readers hooked. But right now kids today have WAY more on their plate (both good and bad) to worry about.
Ace,
Who is Worm?!!
|
|
Last night I felt like watching TV, so I put on Max (still not sure why they didn’t keep HBO) and found what looks to be a three parter about the history of DC Comics. It might be a series, since it said Season 1, but I don’t see how they could keep it going too long. Those first two episodes brought us from the beginning all the way to Kingdom Come (1996). Not sure how much they’d have to talk about in a season 2.
It was pretty decent though. Lots of big industry names (some from archival footage or audio): Paul Levitz, Mike Carlin, Marv Wolfman, Alex Ross, Mark Waid, Jenette Khan, Karen Berger, Grant Morrison, and even a little Garth Ennis. Some of the archival appearances, Siegel and Shuster, Bob Cane, Neal Adams, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore.
The only things I didn’t like:
I thought they could have spent more time on each decade. We’re talking like 90ish years of history. Surely they had more they could say?
They had an annoying habit of doing ltemporary time jumps forward to talk about something that could have been saved for later. For example, when discussing Wonder Woman they did a time jump to suddenly talk about the new, “modern audience” Wonder Girl.
For the most part, though, it was a not unpleasant way to kill two hours.
More meaningful than Alan Moore's deconstructionist take on Charlton Comics characters huh? Okay cool.
|
The simplest, biggest difference I see between now and then is that back then comics were cheap entertainment pumped out for kids. They were available everywhere and while some kids certainly followed titles and held on to them, they were marketed as disposable impulse buys.
I bought comics at the supermarket back when DC had just raised their prices to 50 cents, and Marvel cheekily put up a splashy yellow box in their left-hand upper corner that read 'still only 35 cents!'
And that was another thing, not just the price. I lived in Oklahoma, and the arrival of the 'direct market' and all comics sales being shunted to specialty shops meant that I simply did not get comic any more, for *years,* because there were none within 200 miles of hicksville, butt-end-of-nowhere, USA, population me. Even when I went to college in New Hamsphire, it was up north, in a small town, hours away from a city that had a comic shop, so, no comics for me.
I'm drifting off topic, as I realize that this conversation was supposed to be about NEW comics. But hey, "RAMBLIN" is in the thread title, after all.
I lived in Oklahoma, and the arrival of the 'direct market' and all comics sales being shunted to specialty shops meant that I simply did not get comic any more, for *years,* because there were none within 200 miles of hicksville, butt-end-of-nowhere, USA, population me. Even when I went to college in New Hamsphire, it was up north, in a small town, hours away from a city that had a comic shop, so, no comics for me.
Now I have to reminisce. Compared to you, it seems I was quite fortunate.
Oh, not so much at first. For years, I went to a school that seemed like a prison. I had little time for leisure, and with no mode of transportation, I had little freedom to shop for things I wanted like comics, and little money to spend on them anyway. Well, even then, I must admit that some of my friends and I could occasionally order comics from catalogs together to save on shipping. But all in all, I was pretty miserable in those days.
But then came that glorious year, 1990, which began a golden age. That was the year I finished a high school I hated and began a college I loved. I had a more flexible schedule and more freedom of movement. And I was able to embezzle - er, I mean... I was allowed to APPROPRIATE - some of the family funds! Just about every week for years, I could go to my home away from home, the mall, which included Geppi's Comic World. On a typical week, I would spend about $10 there.
Alas, Geppi's retail store is no more. But now there's a wealth of material available for online ordering.
And that brings me back to my earlier point. When some business models fail, others come to take their place. Believe me, I'm optimistic about very few things, and I continue to insist that the comic book industry will outlive us all.
You know, I remember when home video games died in the 1980s. The Atari 2600 collapsed under the weight of its huge supply of poorly made games. People could play on their personal computers, but it was so easy to pirate those games that it wasn't that profitable a business. And in the midst of it all, some company came up with some piece of hardware that couldn't possibly have made much money.
It was the Nintendo Entertainment System. And the world has never been the same since.
And the same goes for comics. Maybe the current business models will fail one day, maybe even soon; I wouldn't know. But there will be new business models.
Someone will think of something. Someone always does.
(Actually, I think a more accurate prediction would be that MANY someones will think of MANY somethings, and SOME of those somethings will work. But my previous paragraph is pithier and catchier.)
|
|
I'm drifting off topic, as I realize that this conversation was supposed to be about NEW comics. But hey, "RAMBLIN" is in the thread title, after all.
I lived in Oklahoma, and the arrival of the 'direct market' and all comics sales being shunted to specialty shops meant that I simply did not get comic any more, for *years,* because there were none within 200 miles of hicksville, butt-end-of-nowhere, USA, population me. Even when I went to college in New Hamsphire, it was up north, in a small town, hours away from a city that had a comic shop, so, no comics for me.Now I have to reminisce. Compared to you, it seems I was quite fortunate.
Oh, not so much at first. For years, I went to a school that seemed like a prison. I had little time for leisure, and with no mode of transportation, I had little freedom to shop for things I wanted like comics, and little money to spend on them anyway. Well, even then, I must admit that some of my friends and I could occasionally order comics from catalogs together to save on shipping. But all in all, I was pretty miserable in those days.
But then came that glorious year, 1990, which began a golden age. That was the year I finished a high school I hated and began a college I loved. I had a more flexible schedule and more freedom of movement. And I was able to embezzle - er, I mean... I was allowed to APPROPRIATE - some of the family funds! Just about every week for years, I could go to my home away from home, the mall, which included Geppi's Comic World. On a typical week, I would spend about $10 there.
Alas, Geppi's retail store is no more. But now there's a wealth of material available for online ordering.
And that brings me back to my earlier point. When some business models fail, others come to take their place. Believe me, I'm optimistic about very few things, and I continue to insist that the comic book industry will outlive us all.
You know, I remember when home video games died in the 1980s. The Atari 2600 collapsed under the...
In the words of the great Led Zeppelin - Ramble On!
|
|
The simplest, biggest difference I see between now and then is that back then comics were cheap entertainment pumped out for kids. They were available everywhere and while some kids certainly followed titles and held on to them, they were marketed as disposable impulse buys.I bought comics at the supermarket back when DC had just raised their prices to 50 cents, and Marvel cheekily put up a splashy yellow box in their left-hand upper corner that read 'still only 35 cents!'
And that was another thing, not just the price. I lived in Oklahoma, and the arrival of the 'direct market' and all comics sales being shunted to specialty shops meant that I simply did not get comic any more, for *years,* because there were none within 200 miles of hicksville, butt-end-of-nowhere, USA, population me. Even when I went to college in New Hamsphire, it was up north, in a small town, hours away from a city that had a comic shop, so, no comics for me.
My first few comics were bought from the grocery store magazine shelves. My grandmother, in fact, bought me my first comic (Marvel’s G. I. Joe #39). After a short time, I finally started making my way over to the comic book store I was lucky enough to have within a short bike ride or long walk from my home.
And collecting is what pushed me to get my first job. Which helped me establish (what I see as) a solid work ethic. So….bonus feature.
|
|
[SNIP, 'cause long quotes kill electrons] And that brings me back to my earlier point. When some business models fail, others come to take their place. Believe me, I'm optimistic about very few things, and I continue to insist that the comic book industry will outlive us all.
Let's hope.
I'm waiting for there to be a local press *in every town* that can accept data from either the customer, or downloaded from the bookseller, and print on demand any book, magazine, newspaper, etc. in moments. No more shipping cross-country. No more availability issues. As long as the 'book store' has ink, paper and internet, they can *make* any book, comic, etc. that you have the licensed data download for.
Although the industry also just needs to survive our generation, which seems to be the last that insists on paper copies of books, comics, etc. I see people at work every day listening to books on tape, or reading online / downloaded material, instead of paper books, so the more that happens, the more the comics / books industries can move to a 90% digital product.
I may have grown up with a 'need' for a house full of physical books (stacked like cordwood, to the point where I have to go through purges every year or two and send a bunch that I'm not going to read again, away as gifts or to some bulk used-book reseller...), but I'm surrounded every day by younger people who are 'reading' all day at work, far more than I do (and I, uh, read *a lot*), and have barely any physical books.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm waiting for there to be a local press *in every town* that can accept data from either the customer, or downloaded from the bookseller, and print on demand any book, magazine, newspaper, etc. in moments. No more shipping cross-country. No more availability issues. As long as the 'book store' has ink, paper and internet, they can *make* any book, comic, etc. that you have the licensed data download for.
Kind of like the Universe Today newspaper in Babylon 5. You could save your personal preferences as to what stories you’d like to see in your paper (like sports or entertainment), and it would print a custom copy. You turn in your previous days copy for recycling, and get the new one at the same time.
All I know is right now, I'm enjoying Marvel's stuff a bit more than DC...especially after Knight Terrors. Weird and felt more than little unnecessary.
|
|
Moon Knight Annual - well, that was a waste of $5. I got about 2 or so pages in and stopped. Sad and pathetic are probably the best two words I can use. At least without being vulgar. I might actually throw it in the trash.
Incredible Hulk - Hulk vs Zombies. Hulk vs Hillbilly Cthulhu. And lots of “stupid”. I like this Hulk. He’s not a savage idiot. He’s not brilliant. He’s just….simple. Straightforward. And he’s got the flowing locks. While I’m not particularly crazy this story seems to be leading to yet another mystical entity that once ruled the earth, it’s still fun so far. And the art is awesome. I liked the little liturgical page at the end.
Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider - that was a disappointing ending. I kind of like the origin of the bad guy, though. His mutation made him a kind of cannibal, until he ate a piece a mystical artifact and became a very minor power. His “defeat”, however, was lame.
Nightmare Country: The Glass House - now it’s getting interesting. Looks like we’ve got an Endless family squabble, with Azazel, an angel, and Thessaly thrown in for good measure. My guess is Desire being an a-hole again. I’m guessing it’s the power behind Azazel’s nightclub throne. One thing I might not have mentioned - I like this continuation of Dream turning dead souls into magic animals. And it was nice to see Matthew again, even if it made me think of Patton Oswald’s voice. Looking forward to seeing where they go with this.
Conan the Barbarian - now this is good. Good Conan. Good comic writing. Good, old fashioned sword and sorcery. The art is good as well. And now we’ve got some otherworldly menace turning the dead into its zombie minions. Maybe something to do with the moon, the way they space out and stare at it. I like the extra bit at the end speculating on the line of Bran Mak Morn during the Conan era. Who knows? After this issue, Conan could be one of Bran’s ancestors.
So once again up to me to set some records straight and highlight what I consider "better than old man yelling at clouds" reviews.
The Moon Annual is actually pretty good IF you have the proper context. IE this is Agatha Harness' attempt both controlling/using Chaos Magic AND creating a new Darkhold. Why? Still unclear. But what is clear, Marc Specter isn't playing. He basically does get enthralled for a bit...but then ultimately decided "Look I've held like SEVERAL powerful abilities/things...and they didn't do much for me. So I'm out. You take over Taeguki." So yeah.
What IS good that he missed (Probably again old man) is the reboot (of sorts) for Kamala Khan. Great story. Is it shoe horned into the greater Fall of X? Yes. But not in such a way you don't a) feel for Kamala and at the same time enjoy seeing and hearing her voice again. So honestly for Iman Vellani's first time doing actual comic book writing, I give it a solid B+/A-.
Philip Kennedy Johnson's Incredible Hulk is going strong. Admittedly I felt somewhat that way after three issues of Coates' run...but this feels different in the sense it's a better continuity after Immortal Hulk. Plus horror vibes are there. So yeah.
Blade's solo feels better after the second issue, if only because we have Blade doing more things that feel...cinematic and in character with that part of his persona. Still unclear how I feel about the big bad. But at least he's acknowledging what came before with the Bloodline series.
Liz Allen's mini is a weird thing but then again with all the symbiote stuff running around, it's some times hard to feel...new. But at least we get more and more into her character, especially as it relates to her and Harry's marriage/life together. Love that Lily is here to help out. Still not sure what to make of Madness.
Deadpool's mini is decent but I still question how the hell a) Arcade has a sister (I mean in the sense she's still alive...) and b) how the hell did she get a sentient Cybernetic Cosmic Cube to help her create her own mini- Murder universe. Still it's nice to see Deadpool Corps get a cameo along with others.
The Danny Ketch Mini series ends...and I still don't know why we had it. I mean sure it was nice...but the main villain...being a magically empowered cannibal mutant? Not exactly as fearsome as say, Blackout empowered or some others.
So good news about Death of the Venomverse! Carnage isn't completely unstoppable. He's still OP...but apparently he sucked up one too many symbiotes (especially ones with Anti-Venom attached to them) So it MIGHT mean there's a chance. We'll see. Glad to see Andi Benton Prime back in the game.
The 1000 commemorative issue of Marvel has some good vignettes/short stories. The Daredevil one didn't ring good for me, but the rest, Spidey's, a day in the life of Jim Hammond, OG X-men (before Time travel stuff), and even a brief Jane Foster Thor story are just some of the highlights.
Spider-man India isn't what I expected in terms of seeing Pavitr going to the other side...but at least he realized (albeit too late) that he's a good enough person to be both himself and Spider-man. Too bad his boss is a crazy pants greedy man willing to work with India-verse Lizard. I mean that's going to go well....
Ultimate Invasion continues to delight and frustrate me. It's hard to see where all these plots are going...but at the same time the CHARACTERS are the draw. Howard Stark as Iron Man, Bruce as a meditative Hulk and the rest of the world powers willing to play the game of "Pass the evil around." while the Maker continues to try to plot. Oh and some Kang show up...but I think it's Future Tony. (Just a guess based on the armor) One thing further is 6160 Reed Richards is Doom. Yeah. Thanks Maker...
And lastly the second to last mini-cross over between Ghost Rider and Wolverine is getting quite good. I wish it didn't end so abruptly IE we have an Omega when we could have one issue more before that. But still. Tonally this is why I enjoy both characters. Good job Percy.
|
|
JSA - I was kind of hoping they would change their minds and not go through with this lame "forgotten heroes" schtick again. Especially with such lame characters (who come across like the products of a focus group). It didn't help they apparently introduced them in an entire separate series. Between that and (more annoying) the very erratic release schedule, I've decided this will already be my final issue. Pity. I think Johns used to be a better writer.
Shazam - I'm really enjoying these new adventures of the real Captain Marvel. Although I always thought the DC universe Zeus was supposed to be a bit more of a good guy, and not such a douche. I like that Billy shows his strength of character, even when not endowed with super powers. I'm guessing Mary Marvel has a separate power source these days? And that Gorilla City is on more normal relations with the world. Interesting. The gullible bit with Atlas was funny. And, holy carp! Garguax!! Haven't seen him in forever. That's one of those things I always like about Waid's writing - his extensive knowledge of DC history letting him pull some overlooked characters in. Mora's art is, as I've come to expect, fantastic.
Moon Knight - I'm glad we seem to be building quickly towards an end to this story arc. Hopefully, anyway. Nice little head trip we had here. And I'm loving the interaction between Marc and Badr. I keep saying, if they decided to kill off Moon Knight, I think I'd be more than happy to read the continuing adventures of Hunter's Moon. As long as they had a competent writer, of course. Which is probably asking a lot. I am a little disappointed in Black Spectre's master plan, though. It seems very cliché. Still, I think it fits the character.
Doctor Strange - I'm really loving this story. The explanation for how the General has a body was cool, especially with that brief set up from the flashback issue. And the delivery was kick ass. That bleed over from the General to the Doctor was interesting. I have to wonder if (a) it'll go the other way, and (b) it'll end up being the key to stopping the General. I'm still really loving the art, as well. It just...fits. And I'm guessing with this can of worms being opened we'll inevitably see more of the Trinity of Ashes.
So while I generally avoid talking about DC comics, (not because I don't like DC but I've decided it would take up WWAAAYYYY too much space), I will take the time to say I disagree with the old man yelling at clouds about JSA. I think Geoff Johns is doing a VERY excellent job tying in disparate threads while we have more building up of newer characters that have been 'forgotten'.
Back to Marvel;
Amazing Spider-man...isn't even mediocre any more. I still don't get why they are screwing around so much with Norman's sins and why people aren't more up in arms about the fact they're basically turning Spidey "evil" and doing a poor man's attempt at Kraven's Last Hunt. It's just...not that great.
Conversely, over on Black Panther, I REALLY have to give Eve Ewing major props for making a faux Cat woman MORE interesting than the current one. Especially for being a) Trans and b) more of a partner (albeit unwilling one) to T'Challa. Very much loving the vibe and feel of this series. Way better than Ridley's run by a mile.
Doctor Strange and Moon Knight, two book ends of McKay's writing prowess that I feel strongly bring out both characters AND also their villain's characters too. While I'm sad that Moon Knight won't continue past issue 30, I am hopeful that even with the Avengers title with McKay's hand in, Strange will get more than 30 issues. Overall, I rate McKay in the same category as Al Ewing; IE best Marvel writer currently.
Ryan North's FF series is still going steady. Not necessarily spectacular, but at the same time some nice moments. The best being a) a new pet mascot for the FF family and b) a DEEP call back cut to a FF villain that few people probably remember. (I certainly forgot about this guy!)
The cross over ending of Ghost Rider and Wolverine was a little rushed in my book, but at least we got some good horror moments. What I'd LOVE to see (as suggested by some over the net) is Talia and Bannister join forces to investigate the Supernatural for the Feds...and my suggestion of them joining the new W.A.N.D. That would be epic in my view.
Immortal X-men...Wow. I just am almost blown over by the fact that Mother Righteous can get away with so much. I mean first kidnapping most of the mutants from Krakoa and then moving them to a kind of bubble reality that she obviously must have some control over. I just wish more people wouldn't accept she's not a mutant. But whatever. I did like the internal monologuing from Selene. Still can't wait to see how more of the Fall plays out.
Steve Orlando's Scarlet Witch continues to shine with not just a "WHAM" ending moment, but really some pitch perfect characterizations of both Wanda and Loki. (Doing what is probably the best kind of non-punching fight for both of them.) I'm just really enjoying that and his building up of his newly minted villain for Wanda is also quite awesome.
Silk's mini-series ends...but it does make me wonder why we don't see Albert more as the hero in this series as we rightly should. He basically saves the day. So yeah. That needs to happen. (I mean don't give him powers but maybe act as Alfred to Cindy's hero persona.)
Marz's continuing journal in the past with Infinity Watch, Adam Warlock, a not yet supremely cosmically aware Genis-Vell and Silver Surfer is pretty good with this latest endeavor. Not sure I care for the use of Mephisto...but eh.
Contest of Chaos continues with both Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 (aka Spider-Gwen aka Ghost Spider) fighting White Fox. Not exactly as fun as the one with Moon Knight and Taeguki. But still. The back up is where it's at though, if only because now Agatha is revealing more to Clea...and we all know Clea doesn't play around.
And finally Duggan's X-men has probably one of the best 'zingers' in the form of Kate saying "That's the most Jean Grey thing I've ever heard!" as she almost kills poor Firestar. Still it was nice to see that. Along with more of what Wilson is trying to do with the Hellfire club. Still want to see how the other side comes out with Tony and his Invincible Iron Man series.
|
|
Big news today…..
Bill Willingham makes Fables public domain after fighting with DC Comics
There’s a link in the article to the actual statement from Willingham (on something called Substack). Damn! Savage, but I respect his move. Especially if it’s true DC has been screwing him over (which wouldn’t surprise me).
The only thing that saddens me is DC might retaliate and cancel the last few issues of the recent series expansion. That would suck, but I still applaud his move.
DC has basically already retaliated by saying "Nope."
|
|
Daredevil #1 - although I found the last series disappointing, and stopped collecting it, I decided to pick up this new one. The writing was….adequate. Nothing spectacular, but better than I expected. The art was….meh. Not horrible. Not “wow”. The cover was far superior. Anyway, apparently the last series ended with Daredevil dying, but now he’s back. Starts off with no memory, thinking he’s a priest (an interesting move), and helping run a home for orphans (at least one of whom will probably end up annoying me, but that’s children for you). Elektra is still around, and secretly bankrolling the orphanage. Then some mystic being possesses her and attacks him. He gets his memory back, defeats the mystic being, and goes back to being Daredevil. I’ll give it a few issues. I just hope they don’t keep going with the mystic stuff. Too much of it just doesn’t seem to fit Daredevil.
Werewolf by Night - I really liked the art. The story was solid. And Elsa Bloodstone wasn’t nearly as obnoxious as she’s occasionally been portrayed. Basically, she had the wolf are both battling the same evil magician type, who’s created monsters from evil beings from another dimension. And now he’s calling for a big bad. There’s a twist, but I’ll refrain from spoiling it. Anyway, it was a nice one shot. Wouldn’t mind seeing more of Werewolf by Night. Though I prefer him a bit more animalistic and savage.
Incredible Hulk - Man-Thing shows up, and it looks like Ted has some control of it from the inside. He wants to talk to Hulk about the newly retconned big bad. And there’s some creepy swamp monster that can pull bad memories from your head and use them to lure you to your doom.
Superman: Lost - so he spent a really long time living on that planet, with a dying sun sapping his powers away, and a psycho Green Lantern. Then the people who rule the planet, but don’t really like Superman, try to kick him off planet. He takes a ship to try and save them, and ends up meeting…..old man Clark? Weird.
Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham - picked this up because I’ve liked a lot of the other Black Label stuff. Writings decent. Art is…..not something I’d have chosen. Not terrible. Just not my style. Batman’s tracking down a serial killer, with links to Bruce Wayne’s past. And the undercurrent story is he’s planning on killing off Bruce Wayne to be a more effective, full time Batman. Since Gordon isn’t yet Commissioner, however, I’m guessing this is intended to be a very young Batman. The cover was really cool, I thought.
So once again it's up to me to be the voice of those that understand that greybeards aren't always the best about what's truly good in comics;
First off, AL Ewing's decision to do a Noir style detective story using Janet Van Dyne, clearly great. What was weird was the fact the dead person also becomes the new guy...sort of. (Basically Whirlwind gets a personality upgrade). And the mystery is the other dead people. Best part was the fact that while Luke Cage supports Janet's attempt to bring the disparate Super heroes back to a reasonable location, it still has to deal with Wilson Fisk's "No Capes in NYC" Which I think is still kind of neat.
Carol's new book is clearly more than a little subpar when compared to how much Kelly Thompson's run was a great book and indeed great character moments. Carol doesn't suffer that in some ways...but the supporting cast and even the villain do. So...it's hard for me to feel much for this book other than "I can't wait for Alyssa Wong's take". If only to spare me these cretins. (Which is kind sad since I was hoping for something with Nitro.
Children of the Vault continues to be a very unrated book, given how much the Children are playing a long game versus just going full throttle murder. Still I have a feeling that Cable and Bishop will find a way to outfox these guys.
Astonishing Iceman is decent for the fact you get Bobby and his new/old love interest Romeo doing their best to keep a) Bobby alive and b) handling the rest of the fallout from the Mutant Massacre and ORCHIS.
I will disagree with Zombie in that I think it makes sense given how much of a long suffering Catholic Matt has been, that now he's a priest.
Even so, I'm not sure I'm ready for him to go full Supernatural. Still glad that Elektra has committed to staying the route of being Daredevil.
So I guess I was wrong about there being a weakness for exploiting Super Carnage. Which I feel pretty upset about. (Not the deaths just the pointlessness of it.) Still...my hope is that if this variant of Knull can curbstomp Carnage. But we'll see.
Ghost Rider pulls us into more about Talia Warroad and her own story, along with a familiar foe for the Spirit of Vengeance. We'll see how that all works out.
Philip Jonathan Kennedy continues his solid run of Southern horror with a detour into Florida and thus with Man Thing. (Glad to see we see Ted again.) Best part though is where Banner tries to convince Charlie that she won't get Hulk powers just by standing around.
Miles has some good moments in this not quite jump dash of genres. Mostly because he's willing to see Doc Sasquash and have him give it a go. I really enjoyed that and I think showcases Miles maturity. (Versus what's going on in ASM...)
On the flip side, I do feel like Mile got played and deservedly so by Normie. Even so, I do hope Dylan comes along and fixes whatever's going on with Rascal.
The Contest of Champions keep going as Deadpool (newly in a relationship AND a Symbiote daddy of sorts) ends up fighting Dylan for Chaos magic. Fortunately this was more like Moon Knight in that Deadpool realizes he doesn't want any part of this. The backup was also nice even if Clea got a little pwned. But she's right about not trusting Agatha to play this right.
Oh...and then there's Eddie's journey. Holy crap. Like so much temporal time-whimey going on. But at the same time, it's Al Ewing's turn to shine with Doctor Doom. I mean seriously. There are SOOO many good one liners coming from Doom. Oh and Kang shows up too. But mostly, this issue. All Doom. No question. If you EVER have a novice ask you "Just why Doom is so awesome" show them this issue.
The one shot with Elsa and Jack was serviceable. The twist at the end was good/decent. But mostly I felt...meh overall about this. Could have been better.
Reading X-force, I keep get the feeling that while Mikhail is playing Parcheesi, ORCHIS and the rest of the universe is playing 4D Chess around him. I mean seriously...But we'll see if he think he can get a leg up on guys like M.O.D.O.K., Doctor Statis and the rest.
Al Ewing just swings and connects all the time. Maybe not all of them are homers, but even when they're just singles, they prove weighty indeed. We get a deeper dive into Fisher King and his backstory. Along with more about the Genesis War. I feel bad for Storm for being played...but at the same time, we get a greater sense of why Genesis decided to hold off bring in her kids. It was just for that moment alone. So great stuff.
Now to Sept 20th's Marvel releases. (I figured I'd get ahead of the curve.)
JMS debut with Steve having dealing with the whole "Outer Circle" debacle. But at the same time you see him at his most human. (Who knew Avengers salary had that much heft to buy a used building!) We also get to see the years between Steve after his mom passes and him signing up for Project Rebirth. So it's pretty nice. Still unclear entirely if this new mystical villain is actually new or just a reworking of an older Marvel thing.
ASM... Lord. I had hoped once Peter had realized what was happening, he'd try to get SOMEONE to fix it. But no. More of the same. At least Kakfa is going try stop him before he hurts someone REALLY badly. But I think this is really a new low for ASM editorial.
Alpha Flight miniseries is still pretty decent, if only because the mutant side of this equation is considerably more interesting than the whole "What can the humans do to keep their cover?" Still waiting to see if this all pays off or not.
Dark X-men is truly a treat if you enjoy some call backs along with some intriguing ideas about whether or not Maddie can be redeemed. (Oh and her newest creation should scare the pants of most everyone) The latest freelancers for ORCHIS are kind meh. But also clearly more competent than some of the others...say like in Astonishing Iceman.
Liz Allen's journey with the symbiotes is done, but not without some cost to poor Lily Hollister. Still at least now we can see just what it is she wants to do with symbiotes. The ending left me feeling a little ambivalent, especially with the monkey...
Deadpool's mini is near the end...and at least now with Wolverine, Venompool and Deadpool in tow, and with a good assist by Spidey. (Probably his best cameo) Still can't believe that Cable fell for Van Strutten's lies. But live and learn I guess.
So FINALLY after dragging it all out, we get better clarity as to what the bloody hell happened to the Guardians. And it's pretty tragic indeed. Turns out Grootfall was done to Groot via ANOTHER of his own species, albeit from long long ago. Even so...it makes me feel bad for the team. I also wish they hadn't killed Moondragon and Phy. Again. But oh well...
The ending for Loki wasn't exactly predictable. But at least the comeuppance of Bullseye was. Still unsure how this all locks in the current run of Immortal Thor, but best guess is the Nalfgar made him realize he's not good enough to be king. Maybe. I will say the Truth book was pretty baller for a weapon.
Predator versus Wolverine apparently will not just be a thing were Wolverine fights one of them, but over the course of his long life, fights the same one multiple times. So...I guess that's good.
Strange Academy continues is journey of excellence with Moon Knight/Marc QUICKLY realizing how much of a trap was set for him. Too bad it didn't help him get out of it. Still, at least now with Miles and the formerly trapped Academy guys in tow, they'll get this figured out. I hope.
So in another place on the internet, someone remarked that Duggan isn't writing a few of the characters correctly. In so far as having Rogue (right after the fight with Captain Krakoa
When this series was announced, I was still unclear just why we needed to have it. Even after reading this...I'm still unclear. Sure it's nice to see Kurt try something heroic after all the crap and hurt/pain he suffered during his time on Krakoa. But...I just dunno if this is the right fit. It's the same with using Adrian Toomes aka the Vulture as the newest Agent of ORCHIS. Seriously guys, you need to check your hiring practices. Also weird is the fact he and ORCHIS are going the Hound route. Just...lazy. Si Spurrier clearly has no idea what he's doing here.
The latest What if...was intriguing for the combination of Timey-whimey meeting naming dropping Dormammu. Still I feel like this wasn't QUITE the what if it should have been. So...meh.
In the latest issue of Wolverine, Hulk and Logan team up to find the remainder of his Beast cloned selves. The stuff on Madipoor was good, but I REALLY feel that Solem overplayed his hand. I mean most SANE people do not go around pissing off the Hulk. But whatever. At least now Logan has dealt with some of that. Still more pal-ing around to do in this post Fall world.
The penultimate issue of Contest of Chaos has some good character moments...but after the rest it's a little more fizzle than pop. Still it's good to see Carol relatively in control when it comes to her seeing herself being super amped/powered by Cyclop (in a baller kind of bluff but also strategic move), not win. Because now, (especially with the back up showing WHERE Agatha's been hiding) we will have Agatha (and probably her champions) versus MacKay's Avengers. Excellent.
|
|
Captain America #1 - I picked this up because Straczynski was writing. I’ve enjoyed his work ever since discovering Babylon 5 lo those many years ago (when it was actually still in its original TV run). As expected, you give the writing to someone who knows what they’re doing, and you get a really good story. This first issue was a nice set up. Part “day in the life of”, part flashback to youth. I loved the bit with the FF, especially Cap’s thought about whether Reed will let him keep the jet pack. The big bad they’re setting up looks to be mystical in origin, but he’s recruiting AIM folks, so that’s interesting. That evil spirit thing kind of looked like a Shadow (from B5) I’m sure is totally a coincidence. The art is….adequate. It’s not “wowing” me, but it doesn’t suck.
Ronin Book II #4 - another issue with lots of repetitive dialogue and images. I think that was more than half the book. I’m still loving the art, but the story itself is a very pale shadow of its predecessor. I’m glad it’s almost done.
Queen of Swords #3 - Serra finally overcomes her evil sister (kind of). Sends her through a portal, at least, which counts as a win in my book. I loved Deadheart’s method for interrogating an orc. Hell, I’d have answered any questions put forth by some psycho barbarian chick holding a sword to my family jewels. The Master acting all big and bad - until Ka cuts off his hand. Hehehe. The whole Dixon trying to literally absorb her sister thing was kind of creepy. I’m kind of sad this seems to be the end, but that’s what they do with this series (and Barbaric), just little miniseries. They’re good fun, from a smaller company (the kind hopefully not trying to dick over their creatives), so I look forward to the next.
Big Game #3 - oh for f$&@s sake! Not Eggsy! Godsdamnit Millar. That opening scene with Huck (whom I’m sadly not familiar with) was funny. I hope he survived, and comes looking for payback for the bear. Kick Ass back in action! Let’s hope he doesn’t get murdered as well. Pepe Larraz’s art kicks ass (pun intended) so much. He should be on everything! EVERYTHING!!!!
World’s Finest #19 - I’m thinking this two episode arc was a “Hey, Mark! We want you to write a story with a brief set up for this Time Trapper rip off we’re going to use in another series”. Because he pretty much did look like a rip off. Which made me sad. I was hoping it was the real Time Trapper. I’ll admit, I wasn’t too up on Jax-Ur’s background, but that Waid was (and used it) was completely unsurprising to me. That’s one of those things I’ve always admired about his writing - the way he works his seemingly vast knowledge of comics history into his stories. You can tell he loves where all this came from. I like they game Jax-Ur that “good at math” thing.
Looks like Miller is going for a cleaning house by offing the cast of past books. Like Marvel's Scourge. Not impressed and I couldn't care what happens.
Eh. I just think it's his way of setting up something new at Image. Maybe. We'll see.
|
|
Looks like Miller is going for a cleaning house by offing the cast of past books. Like Marvel's Scourge. Not impressed and I couldn't care what happens.
I hadn’t previously collected any of Millar’s stuff, so I’m not as invested in a lot of the characters. I knew Eggsy from the movies, though, so I was sad about that.
I have picked up the collected books edition of The Ambassadors, and that was pretty good. I’ll probably get more of the collected stuff in the future.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
|
Regarding the current drama in Gotham City: am I the only person wondering why Selina decided the right thing to do with the former henchmen was to teach them skills and then use them to (a) continue to commit crimes, (b) in Gotham City?
Why not send them to Boston, or New York, or, hell, Bludhaven?
I am, however, enjoying the sight of the rest of Batman's rogues struggling to find help.
I kinda of remember something where The Joker was having trouble finding gang members because he was so infamous for screwing over his own goons.
Chris,
Maybe it's expensive to move to other cities. Especially when most of the henchmen are pretty much low to below the poverty line people.
But yes, seeing that is a nice sign. Though I doubt it will last.
Philip,
Maybe but the newest Joker series is pretty weirdly interesting.
|
|
Regarding the current drama in Gotham City: am I the only person wondering why Selina decided the right thing to do with the former henchmen was to teach them skills and then use them to (a) continue to commit crimes, (b) in Gotham City?
Why not send them to Boston, or New York, or, hell, Bludhaven?
I am, however, enjoying the sight of the rest of Batman's rogues struggling to find help.
I fixed having to wonder about bad writing by not collecting those titles.
Of course because anything that challenges your perceptions about "narrative' is automatically "bad writing...*eye roll*
|
|
Sweet! Announcement from Rippaverse Comics yesterday Mike Baron will be writing a book for them - Goodyng: The Polymath.
They introduced the character in Isom #2. He’s kind of like the genius inventor of Tony Stark, but seems to basically run a private damage control/investigative service for Excepts (Rippaverse people with superpowers). At least that’s the impression I got. It’s an impression I liked, though.
I look forward to seeing what Baron will do with the character. Possibly more than I look forward to seeing what Chuck Dixon does with Alphacore.
|
|
Immortal Thor - the second issue sees the conclusion of the battle between Toranos, the Utgard Thor and All-Father Thor. The battle ends with Thor opening a portal to temporarily banish Toranos to the @$$ end of eternity. Then he goes to the moon to fall into the Thor Sleep, but not before Hobo Loki shows up, asks some questions, then turns into Liberace Loki. Weird, but I’ll roll with it. The writing is top notch. The art is pretty damned decent. I’ll be interested to see how long this runs.
Batman Beyond - the miniseries continues with Batman and his Magic Catman sidekick exploring and old Court of Owls tomb, filled with what appears to be fungus people. And it turns out the Cat Kid was trained in the mystic arts by an aged Constantine. Interesting. And it’s somehow all leading to the mysterious Garden somewhere deep under Gotham. Meanwhile, douchenozzle Lumos is bulldozing whole sections of the city, so he can rebuild them into new housing projects. The art continues to be solid. The story is pretty decent. I’m really liking Batman Beyond as a miniseries format. I wish they’d to it a lot more.
Conan - He and Brissa the Pict invade the evil black citadel, free some trapped Cimmerians from Conan’s village, then fight reptile men (hinted to be related to the future Worms from the Bran Mak Morn story Worms of the Earth). Thulsa Doom gets name dropped. The story and art for this new series are kicking several kinds of butt. Looking forward to more!
|
|
The Midnight Show - the cover for this, showing classic horror monsters, caught my eye. So I picked up the first issue. There’s a bit of a ripoff of Snyder’s Night of the Ghoul, as the main story revolves around another unfinished monster movie, stopped by an on-set fire. In this case, the movie was being done by a Karloff/Chaney Sr. type actor who played all these monsters and did his own make-up. In present time, they’re finally showcasing the long thought lost movie, and in parallel to the monsters showing up in the film, they start showing up in the town. Seems Dracula might be the main bad guy, but I don’t know if I buy that yet. Anyway, it’s written by Cullen Bunn. The art, by some dude named Brian Hurtt, is decent enough.
Ghostlore - another Cullen Bunn book. In this latest issue, the young chick Harmony, having run away from her father, comes across a farm full of people with the same I see dead people ability. They say they’re the good guys, and that there are others who are the bad guys. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a feeling the father is going to be written to join up with the bad guys. It would be disappointing, but completely unsurprising.
Shazam (aka the original Captain Marvel and DC were morons not to copyright that) - Waid continues to tell a good story. First we had Garguax on the Moon, but now it turns out he’s just a stooge of Queen Bee. I loved the way Billy decided was the only way to get out of kissing her. Funny. And Solomon is finally showing his wisdom in trying to put a stop to what was apparently just a rather ill-considered plot by the gods to stay relevant. At least they’re not being made villains. Not sure what the gorillas get out of all this.
Doctor Strange - interesting. I think the Vishanti might actually be afraid of General Strange. Or maybe they’re more afraid of restarting the war. Either way, the good Doctor making a deal with the Trinity of Ashes to get the power to fight his far more capable doppelgänger is a really cool development. I look forward to seeing what kind of mayhem comes out of that decision. One thing I like about this series, they seem to be moving away from the rather tired “all magic has consequences” trope they’ve been overusing the last few years. I think at one point they were using some variation on that line at least once an issue. The art continues to kick ass. It’s very…..trippy might be a good word.
|
About the Shazam/Captain Marvel copyright, DC had won with great difficulties a lawsuit against the owner of Captain Marvel (Fawcett Publications) for him being a copy of Superman.
While DC was recovering from this fight, Marvel Comics jumped on the name and quickly trademarked it.
It is much later that DC bought the creative rights of the original owner and thus of the character.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
About the Shazam/Captain Marvel copyright, DC had won with great difficulties a lawsuit against the owner of Captain Marvel (Fawcett Publications) for him being a copy of Superman.
While DC was recovering from this fight, Marvel Comics jumped on the name and quickly trademarked it.
It is much later that DC bought the creative rights of the original owner and thus of the character.
Yeah, I know. I was just being a goofball. Something my wife assured me I’m very good at. When I’m not being an a-hole*
*The Lovable Kind
So I had a busy couple of weeks...and I haven't had time to process enough comics...but now that I have a few moments...time for....Marvel comics of Week 39 aka September 27th, 2023!
First up!
The end of Contest of Chaos. Do the Avengers win? Mmmm...kind of...I mean they got their 'friends' back from Agatha's enchantments. But in the process I think they might have accidently unleashed a sentient Darkhold that MIGHT be the Son of Chthon. At least that's my take. So...nice work everyone! Not the best ending...but eh.
Jed McKay's Avengers run continues its stellar character and stakes run. I mean I just am enjoying the HELL out of just how evil and/or nigh unstoppable the Ashen Combine is. Especially Lord Ennui. He's like living entropy and Carol hasn't seem to figured out a way to stop him...Yet. But still! The fact the team all yells "NO!" to the seemingly inevitability of Ashen Combine's win...great testament to this team and the Avengers spirit.
Blade's run is getting better, especially now that Doctor Strange makes an appearance at the end. Mostly I enjoy the fact this monstrous thing called the Adana MIGHT just be not invulnerable after all. Of course though, it means getting their hands on Lucifer's/Satan's sword. So...yeah. Not easy.
Death of the Venomverse is pretty much a downer. I REALLY thought (even if he's not 616 version) Knull would be able to take out Carnage. But I guess getting distracted was inevitable. Even so...pretty gruesome sights to see many Venoms and these alternate reality Avengers get basically skewered.
Immortal Thor....God I just can not get ENOUGH of how great Al Ewing is on this. Even when Thor semi-succeeds, you can tell he wishes he could do more. And that dialogue between him and Loki...Great stuff.
Gerry's Invincible Iron Man gives us the OTHER side of what happened in the last issue of X-men. So not only was the wedding a ruse like some expected, but it also covered for a heist AND a mind jacking. Nice work Gerry! Still unclear why we need an Iron man suit made of Mysterium...but whatever. Also like how much Feilong under-estimates the reach of Fisk, even if he's not the Kingpin or the Mayor.
Jean Grey's journey through her life takes us to the pivotal moment of her and the Phoenix force bonding...and twists it with Wolverine taken over. It was...not great to say the least for the X-men in general. So now we're on to Maddie and Jean.
Much like Thor is on his newest journey, the Pet Avenger 2.0 (titled Marvel Unleashed) are on their way to being just as awesome as their owners. Especially with the assist from Throg. Even so, I felt bad they are going to have to go through a secret layer of Hell to get this all resolved. But still! Bats showing up is good, if only to help the lowly human that agreed to help Blackheart understand more of what's going on.
Moon Knight: City of the Dead by Pepose is still very good, if only because we got kind baited and switched about Layla leaving Mark alone. Still we get clearer stakes about why Khali is so important. That plus some more insight on how Randall got joined up with Anubis.
Iman's journey with Ms Marvel continues. It's clear she loves to write Kamala with pathos and understand. It's VERY well done even if we're still unclear about just what some of the dream things mean. That being said, I definitely want more of her writing Kamala if only because of how tonally she handles the cast and the wider Marvel U.
Realm of X....Well we at least have a clearer idea as to why Thor hasn't shown up. Some how, any missives sent to Asgard are being blocked. (I'm assuming that's Saturyne's magic and also is blocking or at least making Sif not see what's going on.) So apparently the White Witch wants access to the portals and possibly the armories of Vanaheim. Which probably isn't good. But still unclear why she needs Curse to do it. Looking forward though to seeing this run end quickly.
I just can't for the life of me get much into Parvitr's series. Maybe it's because the stakes don't feel that high...or the fact the villains are so...one dimensional. Even so, once this series end, I hope we'll revisit it with someone that has a better/clearer vision for Spider-man India.
So honestly not QUITE how I was expecting Ultimate Invasion to go. But at the same time, I'm glad we got some forward movement even without the usual charts and graphs you'd expect from Hickman. So now comes 6160 as the newest iteration. Oh and we found Ultimate Cap. So good for us!
If you like seeing Days of Future Past, this series is for you. Otherwise, I'm just passing through on this one. Read it. Don't read. I have no strong feelings.