Saturday, January 28, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Monday, November 28, 2011
3rd Annual CotGW Charity event!
Hey everyone, taking a moment to not talk about comics to get you a heads up. My fellow correspondent on Nerd to the 3rd Power Podcast and his site Clan of the Grey Wolf are putting on their 3rd Annual Charity Gaming Marathon for the American Cancer Society. This year they will be spending three days and nights playing the famous, the term is used loosely here, CD-I games. Bellow is a video giving you some more details. So please head over on December 9th through the 12th for some fun, laughs, and to help out a good cause.
Friday, November 18, 2011
CANCELPOCALYPSE Now!
(Special thanks for iFanboy for the name above, better name I could ever come up with)
Dear Marvel,
Hi there, Bryan here and I have a question to ask you. What the hell is going on over there!?
Let me try to explain this a little bit more. Over the past few weeks Marvel has been making some cut backs. First it was collection of layoffs of employees ranging from editors to people working in their digital department. But, soon the other shoe started coming down and titles were getting cancelled as well. Now every comic fan knows that sooner or later a series will be canceled for one reason or another, most often it comes down to sales. Low selling sales means the book will not last long at all, and for the most part that is what this looked like, at first. There are some other just odd and baffling moves going on.
The first set of titles that were cancelled were Iron Man 2.0 (Which was in fact a War Machine solo book), All Star Winners Squadron, and Alpha Flight. Now poor War Machine has always struggled on his own and his book losing again is a sad but not unexpected event. As for All Star's it seems they were more of a victim of the layoffs than anything else as their editor was let go and that seemed to force the book to end early, but this also means this mini was left unfinished with no clue if it ever will be.
It's Alpha Flight's cancellation that left a lot of people starching their heads. It was just going to be a eight issue miniseries, but suddenly the buzz around the book and some good reviews Marvel promoted the book to a full ongoing. This all sounds good before suddenly the plug was pulled at the series ends with issue eight, the original mini-series number. And the reason for it was stated the book wasn't profitable enough. So the question remained what was the point of the promotion of the title if sales didn't match it or even falling? But at least they the book will be able finish the story.
Now at this point nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the business of comics. But, a new twist came about not too much later when Nick Spencer's Victor Von Doom miniseries was pulled. Why was this one such a bigger event, it was because the first three issues were solicited covers and all. I still really haven't found a reason for this action. There are conflicting reports and none I have found sound, to be frank, believable. So I will go with the excuse of 'stuff happened'.
And then the pile grows, Destroyers was another miniseries that was announced at Fan Expo, shown off the first cover and story. It actually looked to be a fun little series that would be a good pick up for some side story. It was also canned, but since it was never solicited one has to wonder if they were even going to announce it was never coming out at all. So that was it right? The last.....no of course not.
Just recently another string of titles are being cancelled, X-23, Ghost Rider, and Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive, though the last one is being called a series finally which could just men the story was told and it is ending. That is a total of eight titles in about two months, this goes back to my first question, what is going on? The reason of low sales might not be the whole story any more.
At one time Marvel said they were looking to pull back on some of their titles, well this would do it but not sure if they mean to do it almost all at the same time. There is also planned to be fewer miniseries in the future and focusing on monthly titles. That is sad to hear, one of the best things about miniseries is the chance to let a smaller character shine a bit when they are unable to hold a long running title. But, with the economy the way it is, it seems like a good idea to hold back on the more expensive items and focus on your core group.
But, the biggest shock to this is that by February of next year, there will be no Marvel female character solo titles AT ALL. That is a shocking statement with in itself, now while female characters are prominent in team books I don't understand why there isn't at least one or two female titles. Of course that could just be a sad fact among the industry itself and not just on Marvel's shoulders. If there is a certain sales count that a book needs to make to keep a title going and the female books keep falling under that there is something else going on and not the lack of trying on Marvel part to put the books out.
So this has been a very odd month in the house of ideas, mainly because this is the topic a lot of people are talking about and not the books themselves. But, hey if anyone out there has an answer to this please help me out cause I still want to know what is going on.
Dear Marvel,
Hi there, Bryan here and I have a question to ask you. What the hell is going on over there!?
Let me try to explain this a little bit more. Over the past few weeks Marvel has been making some cut backs. First it was collection of layoffs of employees ranging from editors to people working in their digital department. But, soon the other shoe started coming down and titles were getting cancelled as well. Now every comic fan knows that sooner or later a series will be canceled for one reason or another, most often it comes down to sales. Low selling sales means the book will not last long at all, and for the most part that is what this looked like, at first. There are some other just odd and baffling moves going on.
The first set of titles that were cancelled were Iron Man 2.0 (Which was in fact a War Machine solo book), All Star Winners Squadron, and Alpha Flight. Now poor War Machine has always struggled on his own and his book losing again is a sad but not unexpected event. As for All Star's it seems they were more of a victim of the layoffs than anything else as their editor was let go and that seemed to force the book to end early, but this also means this mini was left unfinished with no clue if it ever will be.
Now at this point nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the business of comics. But, a new twist came about not too much later when Nick Spencer's Victor Von Doom miniseries was pulled. Why was this one such a bigger event, it was because the first three issues were solicited covers and all. I still really haven't found a reason for this action. There are conflicting reports and none I have found sound, to be frank, believable. So I will go with the excuse of 'stuff happened'.
And then the pile grows, Destroyers was another miniseries that was announced at Fan Expo, shown off the first cover and story. It actually looked to be a fun little series that would be a good pick up for some side story. It was also canned, but since it was never solicited one has to wonder if they were even going to announce it was never coming out at all. So that was it right? The last.....no of course not.
 |
| Adventures in Baby Sitting Marvel style |
At one time Marvel said they were looking to pull back on some of their titles, well this would do it but not sure if they mean to do it almost all at the same time. There is also planned to be fewer miniseries in the future and focusing on monthly titles. That is sad to hear, one of the best things about miniseries is the chance to let a smaller character shine a bit when they are unable to hold a long running title. But, with the economy the way it is, it seems like a good idea to hold back on the more expensive items and focus on your core group.
But, the biggest shock to this is that by February of next year, there will be no Marvel female character solo titles AT ALL. That is a shocking statement with in itself, now while female characters are prominent in team books I don't understand why there isn't at least one or two female titles. Of course that could just be a sad fact among the industry itself and not just on Marvel's shoulders. If there is a certain sales count that a book needs to make to keep a title going and the female books keep falling under that there is something else going on and not the lack of trying on Marvel part to put the books out.
So this has been a very odd month in the house of ideas, mainly because this is the topic a lot of people are talking about and not the books themselves. But, hey if anyone out there has an answer to this please help me out cause I still want to know what is going on.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Grifter, DC new underdog.
As many you may know from following me on Twitter (And if you don't Can you please, Follow me here, see I even said please)
A few days ago I went a bit on a sake fueled rant about the most random of comic topics. One of them was how much I like the new Grifter series. Now looking around, after a day of rest any way, I noticed something, the lack of love for the book and the character. And I want to try and shed some light on things I have seen or heard in hopes you all get into the book.
 |
| I am positive this is a bad way to shoot a gun. |
Story of my life for comics I read. The short story is that Grifter is a character created by Jim Lee when he help found Image comics, when Lee left and made Wildstorm all his characters came with him. He was a team member of WildC.A.T.s team book. When Wildstorm closed those character were intergrated in this new DC Universe, for Grifter it was getting his own series.
2. I never read Wildstorm or WildC.A.T.S.
That's cool, you don't have to. New beginning for some of these books remember. Unlike some of the other books in this new Universe that have a standard history to follow, (Batman's parents are killed, Krypton blows up, Aquaman talks to fish) Grifter is lucky enough to get a clean slate and start from a very clear beginning point.
3. He isn't going to be like the one I read.
This is a bit of a hurdle I had to jump as well. If you read anything of Wildstorm or even back with Image when he debuted then even suggesting this book might cause trouble. But, look the new series is just that a new series. Think of it like the new Thundercats show, a new start, same cast, slightly updated story, and look you still have the others on DVD to watch when you want to.
4. Who is even writing the new series?
Nathan Edmondson, other series include Olympus, The Light, and Who is Jack Ellis.
 |
| "There better be a trampoline under me." |
5.I tried the first issue there is no back story!
Okay, it is this point that I really getting into more of a review than suggestion. There is a reason for this no back story in the first issues, you're reading it. Like I mentioned before Grifter is getting a complete clean slate here and we are following it at the same time he is experiencing it. Each incident he experiences let's you in on a little more to him.
From what happened to him, why he is on the run from these alien forces as well as civilian ones. And upcoming issues (As of this post Issue 3 will be coming out.) We will find out how he got these other handy if also fatal skills he has shown off so far. There are times we need to realize that not every character, even your favorites, will be well known enough that they don't need an origin arc.
6. So, I read this, read the book and I still didn't like it. Now what smart guy?
Well, that's it for you, I may be able to suggest things and argue my points to yours, but if you don't like the book for your own reasons then there is nothing for us to argue about. Really though if one or two people read this and maybe picks up the book based on my suggestion and enjoys it than great! If not, hey I tried right. If you want a book to continue you support it the best way you can.
If you take any thing from this, besides the fact I ramble, is that to give this book a try. Heck even if it is in a trade paperback form, a try is what this book deserves. Who knows you may end up liking it like I have.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Myth of Jumping on Points
How many have heard the phrase, "This [Insert Title Here] is a perfect jumping on point!" But, is there such a thing as a perfect jumping on point? Is there even a thing called a jumping on point to begin with? Well, I know the that all comic book companies have tried in some fashion or another to bring in readers and more often that phase above follows it. Let's look at a few cases here.
POINT ONE
Marvel has been pushing a system they have called 'Point One' and earlier in the year that attached this concept to a good amount of their titles. A lot of these were one and done stories to try and introduce the reader, hopefully new, into following the book into the new stories. Except there is a bit of a problem in this logic. Case in point close to the bottom is 'Secret Avenger' a book I have been following since issue one which is still a relatively new book, less than a year old by the time of this system. If a new reader looked and maybe the name caught their eye and picked it up they would still need something close knowledge of recent history to understand the team. Why Steve Rodgers wasn't Captain America at that moment, why was Beast on the team, what this team was even suppose to be about. Now, if the reader did enjoy the issue they could read back to catch up, but if the reader was confused then it seemed like a wasted opportunity.
Also, the point one system seems to be there not to show off and bring the readers in, it seems more like preview books for the next upcoming event Marvel is pushing for, in this case for these books some lead to "Fear Itself", "Spider Island", and "Schism". Also Marvel is moving a Point One one shot that does that, previews all the upcoming story lines that will lead to their next big event. At least this time all collected into one book.
BRAND NEW #1
Do you remember when you heard the news of that DC comics was basically starting over and releasing all New #1s of 52 comics? It was another day the comic blogosphere exploded. But, again here is that phase coming in that this is a jumping on point. Everything is starting from the very beginning, see #1, the start, not #950! And yes the idea of a new reader more willing to pick up a #1 over a greater number may be slightly true, to again say this is a perfect jumping on point doesn't seem to work.
It may work for characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Those are characters people already know about to an extent. But looking through the list of titles, Captain Atom, Blackhawks, Voodoo, and others well, unless you already had some time reading or knowing those characters the likely hood they will be picked up is a bit less than that of the big three I already named. Not to mention Green Lantern books are not so new reader friendly as you still need to know about past events to understand a lot if not all of what is going on.
Now there is a slight flaw in the argument I know, these books were still picked up for the curiosity factor surrounding the whole universe getting removed and the dust blown off like an old NES game, but even with out that new number ones while having a better chance to get looked at still need some basic knowledge for the readers.
THE MINI SERIES
Readers of this blog and Videos know I am a huge Atomic Robo fan for the clever writing, stories, and the art work. And the creators have done something different than their main stream counter parts. Every Atomic Robo series is a stand alone Mini Series, basically meaning once this story is over that's it they move on to the next adventure. There is no order to the the trades collection, you can pick up volume three reader it, then go to volume one, and then jump all the way over to volume five and have yourself a good old time. It is almost close to calling them a TV show season than a mini series. And frankly it gets the job done.
Of course though that is once the series is collected in trade paper back form. If there is one flaw to this is that there are now several single issues of several different series running around in comic shop bins and if one isn't careful you may pick up #1 of Atomic Robo Dogs of War and then pick up #2 of The Deadly Art of Science by mistake. But, out of all of two styles this one has more pro's than cons for looking up a Jumping on point. But, it is still not perfect.
IS THERE A PERFECT SYSTEM?
From looking at just these three, no there is not a perfect system, frankly there may never be. That won't stop companies from trying though and pushing out the phase mention at the start of all of this. I think a lot of this came about because so often the biggest comic readers have used this system of, "Buy it, Read it, see if you like it." mentality to people who often asked for recommendations of how to start, as if buying comics is like trying on jeans at Target. And while that may work for current readers and old readers trying to get back in new readers it is harder. Should companies stop trying then if each system has flaws? Of course not, with out trying to get new readers in some way the industry would have died long ago. But, perhaps there shouldn't be projected as PERFECT.
POINT ONE
Also, the point one system seems to be there not to show off and bring the readers in, it seems more like preview books for the next upcoming event Marvel is pushing for, in this case for these books some lead to "Fear Itself", "Spider Island", and "Schism". Also Marvel is moving a Point One one shot that does that, previews all the upcoming story lines that will lead to their next big event. At least this time all collected into one book.
BRAND NEW #1
It may work for characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Those are characters people already know about to an extent. But looking through the list of titles, Captain Atom, Blackhawks, Voodoo, and others well, unless you already had some time reading or knowing those characters the likely hood they will be picked up is a bit less than that of the big three I already named. Not to mention Green Lantern books are not so new reader friendly as you still need to know about past events to understand a lot if not all of what is going on.
Now there is a slight flaw in the argument I know, these books were still picked up for the curiosity factor surrounding the whole universe getting removed and the dust blown off like an old NES game, but even with out that new number ones while having a better chance to get looked at still need some basic knowledge for the readers.
THE MINI SERIES
Of course though that is once the series is collected in trade paper back form. If there is one flaw to this is that there are now several single issues of several different series running around in comic shop bins and if one isn't careful you may pick up #1 of Atomic Robo Dogs of War and then pick up #2 of The Deadly Art of Science by mistake. But, out of all of two styles this one has more pro's than cons for looking up a Jumping on point. But, it is still not perfect.
IS THERE A PERFECT SYSTEM?
From looking at just these three, no there is not a perfect system, frankly there may never be. That won't stop companies from trying though and pushing out the phase mention at the start of all of this. I think a lot of this came about because so often the biggest comic readers have used this system of, "Buy it, Read it, see if you like it." mentality to people who often asked for recommendations of how to start, as if buying comics is like trying on jeans at Target. And while that may work for current readers and old readers trying to get back in new readers it is harder. Should companies stop trying then if each system has flaws? Of course not, with out trying to get new readers in some way the industry would have died long ago. But, perhaps there shouldn't be projected as PERFECT.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)