This is the thread to talk about Marvel Comics.
Marvel Comics Thread
- This topic has 1,156 replies, 37 voices, and was last updated 2 weeks, 5 days ago by
.
Author
-
You’re both a couple of steps ahead of me.
Now I’ve caught up? It’s cynical all right.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
I think this is another example of how Big Two character deaths are absolutely meaningless.
Let’s be honest: any change of any apparent significance in Big Two books is absolutely meaningless.
3 users thanked author for this post.
-
But, but, but, …
Nothing. Will. Ever. Be. The. Same. !.
4 users thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
Marvel Solicitations for August
-
I just saw this ARTICLE (SPOILERS INSIDE LINK!!!) and it made a very interesting point as to why this may be being done:
So why would Marvel kill one of its most beloved heroes out of the blue? While the publisher hasn’t confirmed the reason, they may be giving the character a soft reboot to align her powers more with her counterpart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In “Ms. Marvel,” Kamala Khan’s shapeshifting Inhuman powers from the comics were changed in a major way. In the show, she gained the ability to create energy constructs with light manipulation after her great-grandmother’s bangle awakened her mutant genes. By killing off Kamala, she can be resurrected via the X-Men’s mutant resurrection protocols on Krakoa, which could activate her mutant gene in the comics and transform her into a version closer resembling the live-action hero. With “The Marvels” coming out later this year, Marvel could relaunch a new “Ms. Marvel” series with her new mutant powers — although that’s just speculation.
And certain corners of Twitter are up in arms about it:
A white male American comic book writer has killed off a Brown female Muslim character in a white character centered comic book for… No real good reason outside of a Fridged trope.
He killed Ms Marvel Kamala Khan to motivate Peter Parker Spider-Man. pic.twitter.com/TN3kXYKWkn
— Tamala Khan (@TamTV_) May 16, 2023
A teenaged muslim woman killed by a crazed jewish male villain for the advancement of a book starring a cishet white male in his 30's. As the climax for one of said book's most divisive stories in living memory.
You have guts, Nick, I'll give you that.
— fjmac (@fjmac_) May 16, 2023
Killing off Ms Marvel, a Muslim girl is both sexist and racist. As well as the fact she’s dying in a title of a character she’s unrelated to and having played a very little in this storyline. And using it to further a white man’s story is so fucking awful. Hope you get fired https://t.co/OOZRtv2BV4 pic.twitter.com/BMNCoJr9Cb
— Aidan BLM. (@jokergatack) May 16, 2023
Ms. Marvel dying in a Peter Parker/Spider-Man comic while MJ and Paul embrace in the background sounds like some bullshit joke I would make to annoy someone. https://t.co/a8yNSgNn4U
— Hush (@hiddenhush) May 16, 2023
So I've been angry for most of the day over the leak from #26 of ASM because of the fridging of Ms Marvel. but this. this broke the camel's back and now I'm furious.
Where the fuck are her family? The Champions? Her friends?
Why is Peter, Steve and Ben there. They have no pic.twitter.com/aNu7OOdUcy
— Jamie Talks Nerdy Shite 💜💜 (@Jamie_The_Nerd) May 16, 2023
When I see people outraged over a comic book characters “death”. pic.twitter.com/wUYqOwkjLM
— Aaron Meyers (@AaronMeyers) May 17, 2023
It's not the death that has people up in arms so much as the execution – killing off a fan-favorite character in someone else's book as part of someone else's story, especially when the character is part of a chronically underrepresented minority.
— Ian Nathaniel Cohen (@INCspotlight) May 17, 2023
them killing off ms marvel is just so fucking awful on sooo many layers like. proudly announcing this on aapi month, doing it in amazing spider-man of all places, killing off a teen girl for shock value, the possibility of a power change… WOW! how do you mess up THIS badly
— 🗂👔 mooly 👔🗂 5 DAYS 🎂 (@mymoolody) May 16, 2023
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
And that…Is why I don’t go on twitter.
5 users thanked author for this post.
-
I literally just shrugged my shoulders about all this. The furore isn’t warranted, especially the sexist and racist spin on it. It’s not even fridging as her death will lead to an evolution of her own character upon her inevitable return, rather than the impact on the male lead character in Amazing. Kamala will be back by the end of the year. If that long.
-
My view is it’s a stupid move by Marvel, but as seen in how we’ve talked about it here, also a very transparently cynical one. Especially if you know their tendencies and we all do.
What’s probably adding fuel to the fire is a mix of it being an asian heritage / awareness month in the US, Ms Marvel being one of the few (only?) high profile asian characters who then gets offed and people who don’t know she’ll probably be back in November.
-
The furore isn’t warranted, especially the sexist and racist spin on it.
The last decade of online discourse in a nutshell.
-
It’s a great (although incredibly transparent) bit of marketing from Marvel. Bringing huge attention to a character that has just had a reasonably successful TV series, is soon to star in a big cinematic release, which coincidently is written by the same guy writing the comic in which she was just killed. Well played.
-
Yeah I agree. Having not read this final chapter (as it isn’t out yet) I obviously can’t judge it on its own merits – but on the strength of the first five issues of the arc, this development feels like it comes out of leftfield a bit.
Ms Marvel has been an occasional supporting player in this ASM run but not a major character, so it feels strange to shift the focus onto her during what was billed as the climactic arc about the Pete/MJ/Paul/kids relationship.
It’s pretty much cemented my existing decision to drop the book after issue #26, which was largely based on the fact that JRjr is dropping off the series again. The issues without him have been weak and even this last arc hasn’t been up to the standard of the earlier JRjr-drawn storylines with Tombstone, Vulture and Hobgoblin.
-
Marvel are about to hop on and floor the controversy train’s pedal to the max with Amazing Spider-Man 26 out this week.
It’s easy to find online so no need to post it here. Suffice to say it sounds a truly stupid, tone deaf move, but it’ll get them attention they don’t deserve.
I was enjoying the earlier parts of this run but the whole thing has descended into a messy, meaningless cash grab from Marvel who are valuing short term gain over long term. Those working at marvel clearly dont care about the long term damage they do, knowing they won’t be around to worry about it, as readers continue to leave in their droves. It’s a bit like how we continue to massacre the environment for future generations.
-
And having dropped amazing Spider-Man, saving me approximately £100 per year, I get to add Daredevil to the list, another £50 saving.
thanks Marvel!!!
Ahmed hasn’t earned a run on Daredevil, everything I’ve read of his to date has been rough as fuck.
Another one for the Unlimited app if and when I get round to it, and with the Punisher & The Excellent ending with issue 12 that takes me down to Predator and Ghost Rider as the last 2 remaining Marvel books I’m reading in print.
im picking up maybe 2-3 DC print books a month now too, so between Marvel and DC my monthly comic expenditure has dropped from over £200 a month 2 years ago to less than £100. With cover prices going up I should be sitting at about £300 a month.
I much prefer reading physical copies but I’m trained now to read digitally on the two apps because neither of them are producing much that feels like essential reading or something I need to own.
I hear the same stories all over, it must be a matter of time before there is a huge change (ie licensing the characters out) at one of the big two because I doubt they can go on like this.
-
It’s a great (although incredibly transparent) bit of marketing from Marvel. Bringing huge attention to a character that has just had a reasonably successful TV series, is soon to star in a big cinematic release, which coincidently is written by the same guy writing the comic in which she was just killed. Well played.
I don’t think it’s good marketing at all Vik.
They’ll get a short term bump but it will do more damage than good long term, fans are sick of this shit.
it’s not the death of the character that I care about, in fact I doubt many people care about that character tbh, it’s the level of cynicism that drives every decision this company makes. Even this run of SpiderMan itself has had gimmick after gimmick.
it’s exhausting
-
Ten years ago this past February, I read my last Marvel comic. My tastes had changed to point where I simply didn’t care for their output anymore. I think the true tipping point for me was the Fear Itself crossover event in 2011. I had already been reducing my purchasing but this accelerated it. It was just bad and so pointless. Its worst offense was that it had major deaths that were undone in some epilogue issues. The whole thing was a pointless cash-grab. I think it was one of the most cynical events ever made. I remember just dropping books left and right after it and not wanting to bother with the follow-up books for the event.
In regards to readership, I think @GARJONES has pointed out before that the market has actually been growing. I am not sure if that is still true.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
Ten years ago this past February, I read my last Marvel comic. My tastes had changed to point where I simply didn’t care for their output anymore. I think the true tipping point for me was the Fear Itself crossover event in 2011. I had already been reducing my purchasing but this accelerated it. It was just bad and so pointless. Its worst offense was that it had major deaths that were undone in some epilogue issues. The whole thing was a pointless cash-grab. I think it was one of the most cynical events ever made. I remember just dropping books left and right after it and not wanting to bother with the follow-up books for the event.
For me it was slightly before that when I got utterly tired of the Marvel event cycle and jumped off for good. Around the time of Siege, I think.
Having said that I’ve still checked back in on occasional titles as there’s still good work being done there, I’m just totally done on the wider universe/crossover stuff.
In regards to readership, I think @GARJONES has pointed out before that the market has actually been growing. I am not sure if that is still true.
I think the comics market overall is still fairly healthy, but that includes Manga and Dog Man and Heartstopper and all that stuff that actually sells.
I don’t think Marvel and DC are in a very good place though.
-
There’s more comics than ever but practically that means less cash for the Big Two.
I’m pretty much out of the event / continuity cycles. It’s more specific runs or arcs by particular writers that I’m going for.
Stuff like Zdarsky on Daredevil, Ewing on Immortal Hulk, Taylor on Nightwing.
The X-books are the sole exception.
It’s worth keeping an eye on them as, every now and again, surprising stuff turns up – especially on DC Black Label.
-
Yeah DC tends to have slightly more of the accessible/out-of-continuity minis that are easy to pick up casually. Black Label and the White Knight books have delivered some good stuff in recent years.
Marvel seems to have fewer books like that, but it does still have a few, like the recent Tradd Moore Dr. Strange mini. And yeah, Zdarsky’s Daredevil is a run I want to come back to and finish at some point.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I think the comics market overall is still fairly healthy, but that includes Manga and Dog Man and Heartstopper and all that stuff that actually sells. I don’t think Marvel and DC are in a very good place though.
It’s tough to tell. The stuff I mentioned before was the Comichron analysis of 2020. That showed pretty much every part on the up, including big two, but Covid was a thing that boosted some industries and books being one of them.
That also coincided with the distribution losing the Diamond monopoly so now there are no reliable charts or numbers on monthly sales to compare to previous years.
-
I agree, it’s tough to get a single overall data set that’s comprehensive and reliable.
But piecing together lots of different sources – anecdotal accounts from LCS operators, bookstore data, creator comments, publisher behaviour – I think that what we think of as the big US periodical comics publishers have seen a slump after the boost from covid, and are now struggling to keep hold of dwindling existing audiences let alone attract new ones.
I think Image may be doing a little better than most thanks to their broader range of subject matter and also decent TPB program that helps them do well at the bookstore level, but certainly Marvel and DC don’t seem to be having a good time, and then you have publishers like Dark Horse and IDW that are showing signs of potentially going out of business altogether.
But then I think we’re still in the middle of a big shift that is going to eventually see the monthly/singles market either disappear entirely or become a lot smaller, with subscription services and direct-to-TPB comics maybe picking up a little bit as a result.
Single-issue comics now seem to be the preserve of a very small group that has enough money to pay the increasingly ludicrous prices, along with a high tolerance for mediocre quality. So I’m not surprised they’re on the wane.
That said, there are still some gems out there occasionally and I’m not down on Big Two superhero comics entirely. I just think the creative highs are now very few and far between.
-
Ten years ago this past February, I read my last Marvel comic. My tastes had changed to point where I simply didn’t care for their output anymore. I think the true tipping point for me was the Fear Itself crossover event in 2011. I had already been reducing my purchasing but this accelerated it. It was just bad and so pointless. Its worst offense was that it had major deaths that were undone in some epilogue issues. The whole thing was a pointless cash-grab. I think it was one of the most cynical events ever made. I remember just dropping books left and right after it and not wanting to bother with the follow-up books for the event.
In regards to readership, I think @GARJONES has pointed out before that the market has actually been growing. I am not sure if that is still true.
The comics market is growing but marvel and DCs audiences are shrinking. Manga is inflating the sales figures hugely
-
-
-
But then I think we’re still in the middle of a big shift that is going to eventually see the monthly/singles market either disappear entirely or become a lot smaller, with subscription services and direct-to-TPB comics maybe picking up a little bit as a result.
It’s one of the very strong trends in the Comichron data. The market of share trades/collections/OGN/bookshop stuff has been growing massively.
Unfortunately we have nothing on the digital subs data. We are a pretty small sample here and it is how me and Chris read most of our comics now, you kind of have to presume they are doing well as Marvel have been going a while and DC launched their own.
It is true, albeit resale value can hit paydirt sometimes, the monthly format is the worst value and most most complicated system of delivering comics.
-
-
Indeed, as many Brian Hibbs columns attests to.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
But then I think we’re still in the middle of a big shift that is going to eventually see the monthly/singles market either disappear entirely or become a lot smaller, with subscription services and direct-to-TPB comics maybe picking up a little bit as a result.
It’s one of the very strong trends in the Comichron data. The market of share trades/collections/OGN/bookshop stuff has been growing massively.
Unfortunately we have nothing on the digital subs data. We are a pretty small sample here and it is how me and Chris read most of our comics now, you kind of have to presume they are doing well as Marvel have been going a while and DC launched their own.
It is true, albeit resale value can hit paydirt sometimes, the monthly format is the worst value and most most complicated system of delivering comics.
I asked the manager at my LCS how sales were. She said the Big Two were about the same but have been dipping. They were also the top sellers for them. She did say Image and a few other smaller publishers were getting more positive attention.
I am no longer going to “predict” the industry death. It has shown a surprising resilience over the years. I do wonder what impact price increases will have in the near future. The current base price is $3.99 and the Big Two have been flirting with the $4.99 price point. (Big cheers to Mark Millar for doing Night Club at $2.99!) I know some of $4.99 books have extra pages but some don’t. I think some may have a heavier stock cover but the normal page count.
I am probably wrong but I think a $4.99 base price may be a bridge too far for many. (That is probably still a few years away from happening, though.) If Generation X is the big buyers of books nowadays, that could be problematic. We are getting up there in age and retirement is in sight for many. This is a time when you start to look at ways to cut expenses. A $4.99 comic book suddenly becomes an expensive luxury item. People may switch to the Big Two’s digital services as it’s far more cost effective. But then the question becomes, how much are physical sales subsidizing digital platforms? Could a subscription price be sufficient enough to cover the production of the equivalent number of physical titles currently being sold without becoming too much to entice users? Would the number of new series produced have to decrease for the service to remain cost effective? I can see that at some point in the future (I have no idea when) where digital comics are the standard and physical ones are just a niche product. The Big Two would effectively become the comic book equivalent of Netflix. Hell, Disney and WBD could theorically make them an add on to their respective streaming services.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
-
Yeah there’s been a few $4.99 titles sneaking in and it’s another reason why im getting quite disillusioned
In most cases they are not worth it. Many times it’s the main strip with a back up by creators I don’t like and I’m not paying the money for that shit
its also why I won’t be picking up the likes of the brave and the bold. They’ll be about 12 pages of Tom King for the first 6 issues then the rest of it is just a lottery.
Many of these books feel quite directionless with writers who are happy to chuck out any old crap for a paycheck.
i tried a lot of the Lazarus Planet books on DC Infinite and it was very grim.
-
Yeah there’s been a few $4.99 titles sneaking in and it’s another reason why im getting quite disillusioned
I was quite interested in the upcoming Ultimate Invasion by Hickman and Hitch until I saw that the first issue had an $8.99 price tag. Fuck that, frankly.
That’s not a pricing strategy that’s aimed at bringing in new readers or fresh audiences – like Vik says, it’s all about milking the few remaining holdouts for all they’re worth.
With decisions like that, they deserve to fail.
5 users thanked author for this post.
-
Marvel don’t know the meaning of too far. They know they can charge more for Hickman’s stuff – see the prices on his X-books output. But there they pushed it enough to get more cash without going so far as to set the price so as to deter purchase in the way a $9 issue would.
Then again, it’s perhaps not so surprising given how Marvel have gone all in on Omnibuses and have gradually jacked the prices up on those, following DC’s lead. I’m pretty certain their rate of Omnibus output is far more than their customer disposable income. I’ve just about exited DC omnibuses, with Marvel following by mid next year, which will see very few left.
-
Also I think on the omnibuses they’ve burned through most of the top-tier material in a relatively short space of time. Once the omnis were occasional and were for classic birth-of-Marvel Silver Age runs (and occasionally for the best modern runs). It was a badge of quality.
But now any old nonsense gets an omni (they’re ploughing through mountains of 90s dross – and I know there’s a nostalgia market for this stuff, but that can only stretch so far) and pretty much any current run of 20+ issues or so seems to be guaranteed an omni.
(Marvel seeing success with a format and then flooding the market with it to milk it dry? Never!)
Combined with the increased costs, I have to really love the material to buy an omni these days.
-
Once they all hit RRP $150, I’m out. There’s some already, DC have, in one case, hit RRP $175!
Marvel know if they slam Omnibus on a book they can charge more, so they do. One of their crappiest tricks is issue OHCs, but not for all of a series. Then do omnibus of the entire series.
Omnibus hit list for me is David’s X-Factor, final half of Priest’s Black Panther, remaining Claremont X-books, couple of events – AVX and Devil’s Reign.
As soon as a Marvel book gets successful, you can bet the run will end up with a big event attached too. I am at the stage of mostly not jumping onto Marvel books now because of that.
Thing is, if there is a lot of positive buzz around a book it’s hard to ignore. Marvel’s paperbacks are back to being not-blatantly-cheap-crap production values too. But even on those they are jacking the prices up.
-
Marvel know if they slam Omnibus on a book they can charge more
And they frequently slap the omnibus label on what would have in the past been a regular OHC of a dozen issues or so. And then charge twice as much for it.
-
To inject a bit of positive balance into this thread, here are some things I’ve really enjoyed from Marvel in recent years:
–House of X/Powers of X: an inspired relaunch for the X-Men that still holds up today. Packed with ideas and fresh thinking, this feels like it not only reinvigorated the entire line but also could be a potential model for the movie reboot.
-Zdarsky’s Daredevil: I’ve only read the first few trades but it’s a very solid take on DD with great art, that does some really interesting things with the supporting cast too. Looking forward to seeing how it wraps up.
-Epic collections: these have covered some surprisingly uncollected historic Marvel runs like early Mazzucchelli Daredevil and the full Nocenti/JRjr run too. It’s great to have them in print (even if the TPB quality has been occasionally iffy).
-Gallery editions: giant oversized hardcovers designed to showcase a single storyline or small handful of issues rather than a giant omnibus approach. The likes of Daredevil: Love and War and Wolverine Weapon X have never looked so good.
4 users thanked author for this post.
-
I am no longer going to “predict” the industry death. It has shown a surprising resilience over the years.
Comics won’t die. This was predicted in the letter columns of DC books back in the 1970s before many of us were born.
They will change, as they have since then. Publications in that era worked on a mass production and low margin model. Then they moved to specialist market lower risk and higher profit model. Now the growth is in print collections and subscriptions digitally and that changes things for publisher and reader. Every area of media is moving more towards a disseminated market where a smaller audience isn’t necessarily a problem.
-
Marvel don’t know the meaning of too far. They know they can charge more for Hickman’s stuff – see the prices on his X-books output. But there they pushed it enough to get more cash without going so far as to set the price so as to deter purchase in the way a $9 issue would.
Then again, it’s perhaps not so surprising given how Marvel have gone all in on Omnibuses and have gradually jacked the prices up on those, following DC’s lead. I’m pretty certain their rate of Omnibus output is far more than their customer disposable income. I’ve just about exited DC omnibuses, with Marvel following by mid next year, which will see very few left.
I bought the planet of the apes omnibus
assumed it was the full doug Moench run
it arrived and it was the size of a standard hardback
Issues 1-11
its £72
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Issues 1-11
its £72
Clearly intentional that on a per-issue basis it matches up with what they’re charging for Ultimate Invasion.
-
-
–House of X/Powers of X: an inspired relaunch for the X-Men that still holds up today. Packed with ideas and fresh thinking, this feels like it not only reinvigorated the entire line but also could be a potential model for the movie reboot.
I reread HoX/PoX not too long ago and it remains fantastic. It’s innovative, ambitious and self-confident in a way that Hickman knows in his very brain that he’s onto a good thing here.
-
Marvel don’t know the meaning of too far. They know they can charge more for Hickman’s stuff – see the prices on his X-books output. But there they pushed it enough to get more cash without going so far as to set the price so as to deter purchase in the way a $9 issue would.
Then again, it’s perhaps not so surprising given how Marvel have gone all in on Omnibuses and have gradually jacked the prices up on those, following DC’s lead. I’m pretty certain their rate of Omnibus output is far more than their customer disposable income. I’ve just about exited DC omnibuses, with Marvel following by mid next year, which will see very few left.
I bought the planet of the apes omnibus
assumed it was the full doug Moench run
it arrived and it was the size of a standard hardback
Issues 1-11
its £72
Oof! Did you send it back?
I’d preordered it as part of my monthly order
probably my own fault to a degree for not doing my research
I’d been picking up all my gaps on Doug Moench’s stuff over the last couple years and this felt easier than trying to hunt down the single issues
ive read it and listed it on eBay for £45, but even that is overpriced and there’s understandably been no takers
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
Weird article, as both Punisher MAX runs certainly didn’t render Castle as a role model. Hence the Punisher is a character that shouldn’t be liked, but can be both fun and thought provoking.
It is kind of sad that there will likely never be another story like Welcome Back Frank, due to fear that it justifies the character.
Ennis’ introduction in the WBF trade is withering on this notion, considering it ludicrous that anyone would try to justify such a character. He instead sets Frank up as an 80s action hero, with a body count to match. It’s an entertainment story, not a life story – a point a load of toxic idiots failed to get.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Apparently Wolverine vs Predator is on the way, written by Ben Percy. I’m totally down for that. Sounds like fun.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
To revive the Ultimate verse…. they are getting the guy who blew it up!
I’m really not sure how this’ll work out. The second time they did it, the books were nowhere near the first incarnation. Third time around when much of what made the line work has seeped into Marvel? I don’t know.
-
I think that just trying to just redo Ultimates won’t work.
Partly because the MCU already did that – and is still doing it.
And partly because the success of the original Ultimates was never really about putting the characters in the modern world as a backdrop, it was about reinventing the characters themselves in a way that made them interesting and relevant again.
Hickman is good at big ideas and plotting, but not character so much. So I’m not sure he’s got it in him to reinvent the Marvel cast of characters like this.
-
I think that just trying to just redo Ultimates won’t work.
Partly because the MCU already did that – and is still doing it.
And partly because the success of the original Ultimates was never really about putting the characters in the modern world as a backdrop, it was about reinventing the characters themselves in a way that made them interesting and relevant again.
Hickman is good at big ideas and plotting, but not character so much. So I’m not sure he’s got it in him to reinvent the Marvel cast of characters like this.
It was also a very different time for the comic book industry and the entertainment industry from what it is now. Marvel was in a very different place at that time compared to what it is now. Superheroes are far more prevalent now than they were back then. Different takes on characters are commonplace today.
The UU was also very character driven. What Bendis and Bailey did for Ultimate Spider-Man was lightning in a bottle, same for Millar and Hitch on The Ultimates. This were some very special runs that are now legendary. There was an organic quality in those early years. It also felt quite experimental.
This version just feels like creative bankruptcy, like so many events and series of the last decade or longer. I can see the crossovers and events that will occur once or twice a year. It’s going to become the Marvel Universe Junior. The way it seems they are launching it feels overly manufactured.
This whole thing just reeks of desperation.
-
Apparently Wolverine vs Predator is on the way, written by Ben Percy. I’m totally down for that. Sounds like fun.
Brisson’s Predator has been pretty good so far if you’ve not read it, particularly the first arc with amazing Kev Walker art
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
And partly because the success of the original Ultimates was never really about putting the characters in the modern world as a backdrop, it was about reinventing the characters themselves in a way that made them interesting and relevant again.
I think the other aspect was simplicity. Coming out of the 90s with multiple spinoffs and convoluted plots and retcons like Cable and Spider-clones you could read one Spider-Man and one X-Men book starting from ground zero, which didn’t really crossover either. I think that appeal could still exist.
As with your concern around character based writing I’m not sure at all Hickman is the guy for that either. Most of his books set up very convoluted narratives, his Avengers and X-Men runs are full of creating new complex concepts around the universe, which are enjoyable in their own right but not really an alternative to anything.
-
Apparently Wolverine vs Predator is on the way, written by Ben Percy. I’m totally down for that. Sounds like fun.
Brisson’s Predator has been pretty good so far if you’ve not read it, particularly the first arc with amazing Kev Walker art
Yep, I agree. Really enjoyed that first arc. Walker and D’Armata’s artwork was phenomenal, but I was impressed with Brisson’s story too. Good stuff.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I think the other aspect was simplicity.
Definitely. When the line launched, Marvel were very careful about limiting it to just a handful of core books, focusing on quality over quantity, and keeping crossovers and miniseries to a minimum.
Of course, that all eventually went out the window. But for a while, it was a pretty prestigious and accessible line.
-
Apparently Wolverine vs Predator is on the way, written by Ben Percy. I’m totally down for that. Sounds like fun.
That’s going to be the shortest fight in history
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Apparently Wolverine vs Predator is on the way, written by Ben Percy. I’m totally down for that. Sounds like fun.
That’s going to be the shortest fight in history
Hey, the Predator isn’t that short.
-
I’m sure the character’s return will tie into a real life event a few months from now.
You mean, about the time The Marvels comes to theaters? yes it is quite cynical.
edit: sorry I am a page behind
-
-
So, Tony Stark and Emma Frost are getting married. Thoughts?
-
-
-
Tony Stark Marries The Marvel Universe
4 users thanked author for this post.
-
So, Tony Stark and Emma Frost are getting married. Thoughts?
Didn’t Tony marry Patsy Walker recently?
It’s not big-a-you, it’s bigamy.
-
-
I just saw Al Ewing is giving Thor the Immortal treatment. If he does Thor as well as he did Hulk, this could a great storyline.
I plunged in and bought Ultimate Universe. general spoiler- Hickman loves him some Maker. Maker’s escape plan was a bit gory but amusing.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
Marvel Solicitations for September
-
Marvel Solicitations for October
-
-
Marvel are doing some outrageous pricng on Hickman’s mini series. First they sling a high price on Ultimate Invasion #1, now the first issue of G.O.D.S is $9.99
I’m interested but not at these prices.
What a pisstake.
-
Reign 2? Why not!
-
-
-
Marvel’s Solicitations for November
-
-
It’s an interesting question. Subscription has always been favoured because it guarantees income. I used to get so annoyed reading US import comics in the 1980s that those subscription offers were so cheap, half the price even though they mailed it to your door instead of you going to the shop and we couldn’t access them.
There is almost nothing transparent with comics sales now, not even the physical ones after Diamond lost their monopoly so we have no idea how many $69 subs Marvel are getting. It’s a global service too, as an example hundreds of millions of fluent English speakers in India can now read all the latest Marvel comics for the first time.
It does ask questions about new material volume though, in comics as well TV and music really. I can currently read every Marvel comic released for that $69 a year, I don’t come close. How many new shows do Apple, Netflix, Prime have to create to keep me subscribing? (Or more pertinently not just me but a global audience with many different tastes).
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I used to get so annoyed reading US import comics in the 1980s that those subscription offers were so cheap, half the price even though they mailed it to your door instead of you going to the shop and we couldn’t access them.
When Jack Kirby jumped to DC in the early 1970s, I paid for subscriptions to the Fourth World titles after realizing that newsstand distribution was very spotty (in the days before direct market). Those books arrived in the mail FOLDED IN HALF in brown paper wrappers. 50 years later you can still see the creases.
I hear great things about the DC and Marvel subscription services, but I’m no longer interested in those publishers. Let me know when Image and Dark Horse begin offering a similar plan.
-
I have heard moans across many years about subscription services, either being late or in bad condition.
However it doesn’t really change the business element. Subscriptions have always been more desired than shop sales, you still get great offers and retailers in publishing models typically take at least 50% of the cover price. I subscribed to Time magazine a few years back because what I paid was a third of the (pretty cheap because of the region) cover price.
My mother has a new history book out this year from a publisher, she’ll get 10% of that retail price as royalty. Her out of print books I uploaded to Amazon pay out 70%.
Marvel will have costs to maintain a service like Unlimited but it’s likely their profits would be higher than that 70%. Maybe 90% when a retail sale gets them 30% at best after printing, distribution and retailer deductions.
-
Big Bang Comics are bang on target:
Lack of pre-orders + high price means that I'm ordering G.O.D.S. #1 at a tenth of what I ordered HOUSE OF X #1.
Pre-orders even lower than ULTIMATE INVASION #1.
We're going backwards, folks, not forward.
— Big Bang Comics (@TheBigBang_) September 3, 2023
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
You can get used to the longer cycle on trades. But the same problem crops up with the Big Two charging too much, even for what are niche formats like OHC / Omnibus or Absolute-size HCs.
Those formats started off at RRP $50-75, now they are at $100-125, once $150 becomes the norm only the hardcore fans will be willing to pay it.
But with the new X-books Marvel went full hog, whacking prices way up for those OHCs.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
How does Manga sell at an LCS?
I remember devoted shelves going uo in the early 2000’s, and I realized these stores are a bit of everything (Comics, Manga, games, and whatever you need to keep flowing).Now, I do have a bit of shame to drop them when they need more.
But I honestly did my time for 30+ decades.Now? Who’s hanging on?
People that have no exit strategy.
It’s a hard thing to close a shop, but rent and taxes aren’t going away and they aren’t going down.Sorry to be so doom & gloom.
But I honestly believe while comics are forever, the LCS is on borrowed time.
Shame really (and hope I’m way off base).1 user thanked author for this post.
-
How does Manga sell at an LCS?
I remember devoted shelves going uo in the early 2000’s, and I realized these stores are a bit of everything (Comics, Manga, games, and whatever you need to keep flowing).Now, I do have a bit of shame to drop them when they need more.
But I honestly did my time for 30+ decades.Now? Who’s hanging on?
People that have no exit strategy.
It’s a hard thing to close a shop, but rent and taxes aren’t going away and they aren’t going down.Sorry to be so doom & gloom.
But I honestly believe while comics are forever, the LCS is on borrowed time.
Shame really (and hope I’m way off base).The owner at my LCS once told me that new comics only accounted for about 17% of his sales. He has an incredible back issue inventory (including over 1 million issues in his warehouse), but he also sells toys (domestic and import, old and new), graphic novels, magazines, games, and other types of collectible, pop culture merchandise.
Stores need to have a diversified product inventory that appeals to current pop culture as well as nostalgia merchandise. My LCS, Third Planet, bills itself as a “sci fi/fantasy superstore”. If the main revenue source of an LCS is new comics, they’re fucked. If they have back issues, they are probably very limited. They will probably also sell some merchandise, but it will almost be incidental. I remember seeing stores like that come and go during the 1990s.
I think smaller stores are going to be especially vulnerable, if not already. I would say that stores who have been in business for decades who have survived the ups and downs have the best chance of survival. Their problem is their owners tend to be significantly older there is the question of how long they can physically keep it up. They may be able to turn them over to younger staff, but they will not have the decades of institutional knowledge and may not be able to keep the stores afloat in the long run.
The next few years are going to be a critical time for the industry. A lot of things are coming together to create a perfect storm that has the potential to shake up the industry significantly.
1 user thanked author for this post.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.