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COMICS!!! |OT| February 2017 All You Need is Love (and Rockets)

M

Mindwipe

Member
MHWilliams said:
Nah.

Gotta be time travel, looking at those costumes.

OGN or mini-series like Avengers Forever, with older versions of classic heroes meeting their current day counterparts.
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Might not even be time travel. Might just be interconnected vignettes across various points in history, telling an overall story. Maybe with a focus on bits of legacy.

The cover doesn't even have to be that representative in practice.
 
M

Manmademan

Member
MHWilliams said:
Nah. This will end with the rubberbanding back to status quo, much like Aaron's story with Thor will eventually end with Odinson being proper Thor again.
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This one I'm not sure about.

The introduction of the 1610 Mjolnir seems to imply we're going to be stuck with concurrent Thors for quite some time.

I could see one hanging out in Asgard and having 9 realms style adventures and cosmic stuff on the regular, while the other stays more grounded to earth and heavily involved with the Avengers.

I'll let you guess which is which.

I don't see Jane Thor going away any more than Miles.
 
M

Malyse

Member
Marvel should take a break from events. Like, Secret Wars was so good because it was built up to. I would love if they took an entire year to build to something.
 
L

LordOfLore

Banned
Malyse said:
Marvel should take a break from events. Like, Secret Wars was so good because it was built up to. I would love if they took an entire year to build to something.
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I don't even know how many event free weeks we've had since Standoff. Everything leads into itself.
 
M

mreddie

Member
YOU ARE ALL MARKS

Ben-Reilly-The-Scarlet-Spider-1-Original-Hoodie-Cover.jpg
Click to expand...
 
G

GAMEPROFF

Banned
Malyse said:
Marvel should take a break from events. Like, Secret Wars was so good because it was built up to. I would love if they took an entire year to build to something.
Click to expand...

This Generations thing looks more like a Dark Reign situation for me. Big new Status Quo who is lurking in the background above all.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
mreddie said:
This Summer.

C4zNVg8XUAELH8S.jpg
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I'm happy if this is the new status quo.
Malyse said:
Marvel should take a break from events. Like, Secret Wars was so good because it was built up to. I would love if they took an entire year to build to something.
Click to expand...
That's what they did with Secret Empire.
LordOfLore said:
They removed the mouth?! They must've been embarrassed by the reaction.
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They announced that Scarlet Spider will return to the classic costume by the end of the first arc.
 
M

Messi

Member
The art change in The Beauty killed the book for me. Same goes for Rat Queens and Silk. A bad artist does the same damage as a bad writer for me.
 
C

caliph95

Member
Messi said:
The art change in The Beauty killed the book for me. Same goes for Rat Queens and Silk. A bad artist does the same damage as a bad writer for me.
Click to expand...

And another Avatar change.

Did the premise of The Beauty completely changed or was it always an anthology
 
B

BrightLightLava

Unconfirmed Member
Batwoman Rebirth was really cool, but quick question:

Has the creepy Alice in Wonderland girl from the first story with this Batwoman always been her sister? I thought I read that trade, but didn't remember that bit.
 
H

hipsterpants

Member
Maybe I'm stretching here, but with that cover prominently featuring her, not to mention her both having a solo and leading a team book, I'm under the impression that Marvel wants (Teen) Jean to be the new face of the X-Men (alongside Wolverine of course).

Maybe Marvel editorial just really doesn't like Storm or something. Though I haven't read any X-Comics with Storm since Claremont's run ended so I don't know if she's as cool anymore.
 
V

Vibranium

Banned
Messi said:
The art change in The Beauty killed the book for me. Same goes for Rat Queens and Silk. A bad artist does the same damage as a bad writer for me.
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Rat Queens got a new artist and upgrade from Tess Fowler though. Owen Gieni's art looks great, can't wait for March 1, if I can spare the money.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
Lord Retail ‏@LordRetail 2h2 hours ago
More
Hearing very frank talk from Marvel & seeing very exciting initiatives for 2017 BUT I want to wait for official announcements to say more.
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https://twitter.com/LordRetail/status/832261422570729472

This is interesting, but we'll see what comes of it.
hipsterpants said:
Maybe I'm stretching here, but with that cover prominently featuring her, not to mention her both having a solo and leading a team book, I'm under the impression that Marvel wants (Teen) Jean to be the new face of the X-Men (alongside Wolverine of course).

Maybe Marvel editorial just really doesn't like Storm or something. Though I haven't read any X-Comics with Storm since Claremont's run ended so I don't know if she's as cool anymore.
Click to expand...
The only reason Storm isn't leading a team right now is because they wanted Kitty to lead for plot reasons.
 
M

mreddie

Member
Vernon Wiley, retailer of The Comix Gallery in Wilmette, Illinois has a few things to say ahead of that. Specifically Marvel and DC, posting them to a retailer-only forum (and giving Bleeding Cool the change to reprint it publicly.)

"As a response to the unequal pricing of DC's online versions of their monthly $3.99 line, I have decided that these books will be available for subscribers and special order only. I cannot support books where DC's mindset is to eliminate us as main sellers of their product.

I apologize to the creators of these books who are working hard to earn a living. This is not a shot to you, the creative people who aren't involved in this decision. However, DC has put me in this position, and until they make an even playing field on these books I cannot in good faith promote and sell product that seeks to make me a less desirable source for their books.

I hope DC can find you other venues to ply your trades, as I doubt these books will last long if a majority of retailers follow this example.

I will state at the beginning these are only my own thoughts and deductions from my store's personal experience, but what is happening at Marvel these days? Their sales are the lowest here in the twenty years I've been in business, and here's a few reasons I believe why.


"2.- Family titles of books. Most of your line cannot support third and fourth waves of titles. The 2nd title on books like Dr Strange and Black Panther seem like overkill for 2nd tier characters, but adding a 3rd title (or a fourth, like the big guns) just seems wasteful of resources and is certainly not getting you any additional readers. This type of marketing kills new readers who get overhelmed and discouraged when just trying to read a Dr Strange or Black Panther comic.

3.-Innovation and Vision. Once in a while, a title like Powerman and Iron Fist will squeak in, but the monthly Previews catalog just seems to be a lather, rinse, and repeat formula that has made my eyes glaze over when looking at your offerings. Give up on insane ideas like trying to shove Inhumans on us, and work on the Xmen line, which has dwindled in popularity with the ignoring of it not being in your stable as media development. 50 plus thousand readers is not going to make a dimple of success of a TV show or movies that need tens, if not hundreds of millions of followers to satisfy the bottom line. Invent some new characters or situations that are interesting. While Deadpool and Wolverine are enjoying media success, it's not news that their comic versions are a long way from the top of the charts. These titles are pretty familiar to comic readers, and have a niche audience for us at best these days."
Click to expand...

So he's leaving the community?
 
T

TheFlow

Banned
Let's be real digital should always be cheaper to own than physical.

but I am confused why he is upset about that when it only applies to 12 or less titles from DC..3 dollar books have only been with DC for less than 9 months. Not like his whole life changed.

He sees it as DC punishing physical owners when they are actually just moving with the times
 
R

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Carol front and center in another Marvel promo. I can already hear the sizzle of ComicGaf's rage :3
 
E

ElNarez

Banned
TheFlow said:
Let's be real digital should always be cheaper to own than physical.

but I am confused why he is upset about that when it only applies to 12 or less titles from DC..3 dollar books have only been with DC for less than 9 months. Not like his whole life changed.

He sees it as DC punishing physical owners when they are actually just moving with the times
Click to expand...

Also how is a $3.99 book with a digital copy less attractive than a $2.99 digital book? It's less book. Retail is still the better deal.
 
E

echoshifting

Banned
I expected retailer reaction to that announcement to be swift, widespread and visceral. Things have really changed in recent years.

I wonder if any other publishers will follow.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
ElNarez said:
Also how is a $3.99 book with a digital copy less attractive than a $2.99 digital book? It's less book. Retail is still the better deal.
Click to expand...
Pricing obviously. Not everyone is going to want two copies of the same book when there's a cheaper alternative. Calling it "less book" sounds like something PR people would say lol.
echoshifting said:
I expected retailer reaction to that announcement to be swift, widespread and visceral. Things have really changed in recent years.

I wonder if any other publishers will follow.
Click to expand...

Probably.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
TheFlow said:
Physical owners refuse to get with the times.
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"Getting with the times" means them making less money though with people buying their comics through digital and online services like IST and DCBS. That being said he's going to be making a lot less money by not selling DC.
 
L

LordOfLore

Banned
A response to that:
I confess I have always found digital comics to not be an issue. If people want to buy comics digitally they are still far viewer than people who buy physical copies. What I have always been amazed by is the pirate sites. Or sites that people go to and read comics for free. That seems foolish. After all these years I would have guessed that not just comic publishers but all publishers would have tried harder and repeatedly if need be to get sites that rip off their material shut down.

The price difference between print and digital in my eyes is a total non-issue. In the years that I have been in business no one has said I am dropping print to go to all digital. The bagged DC comics from the start of the New 52 that had digital codes simply faded away.

There have been customers that have both read digital and the physical copies. Some have actually increased their comic buying in store thanks to reading digital versions.

I do not see “boycotting” DC as an answer, anyway. I saw this when DC had the whole “hold the line at $2.99” years ago. Some people thought that meant $2.99 forever? Right now DC is the best publisher sold here instore. Not one customer here has said anything about being worried about a dollar increase. Now granted when the comic is actually $3.99 that may change.

That said I do wish I had tried just having customers with pull boxes getting Marvel only this year and part of last year. Sales for Marvel here instore are at amazing lows. We still have a few Marvel die-hards. But most of the casual Marvel fans simply just stopped coming. Nighthawk, Mockingbird, Mosiac, Solo, Occupy Avengers, Slapstick, the current Hawkeye series, and more Marvel titles no one is or were buying them off the self. Since they are non-returnable that is money wasted. The ones that are already cancelled are already in the dollar bin and still are not selling. There is no demand for them.

My thought process of having Marvel titles on the shelf quite frankly hurt my business. Why did I do it then? Because for years it wasn’t an issue. Though as they say things change and I did not see Marvel sales dropping so far and fast as they did. I always thought Marvel was hurting the industry long term with the non-stop renumbering and relaunches. Though for years instore it didn’t show that much. Yes, every new first issue of the same character was less than the previous one but I knew that would happen. Then all the sudden last year Marvel sunk big time. I started ordering what I thought was low enough but I kept getting proven wrong. Marvel kept bleeding readership. My April Marvel order is very low. Basically bare bones ordering on Marvel. Why? Because selling nonreturnable material forces us to be careful. Take to much of a risk and we are wrong we are out of business. Which if you have been reading Bleeding Cool there are comic stores closing nationwide.

Marvel seems not too creative driven but by mandates that make little sense to us comic store owners. Royals is the next Inhuman title to come out? Let the Inhumans go. They are never going to take the X Men’s place in terms of popularity. And they do not sell.

There can be at least one Fantastic Four book.

Why is there yet another Captain Marvel book?

The Avengers last relaunch was quite the stunner. I ordered up on the issue thinking there would at least be a bit of a sales bump thanks to the first issue. It truly was a jumping off point. It sold less than the previous issue. Avengers now sell in store as much as some of our Valiant titles do. That isn’t a slap to Valiant. Avengers are a known brand. They had multiple movies that millions went and seen. But for some reason the title now sells in the single digits. And to make things more confusing Marvel does the 1.1 numbering that is not popular. Just make it a limited series.

Marvel has taught their readership not to stay with a title with all the relaunches. So what if a character has a first issue? I have only been open 6 years and have lost track of all the times titles such as the Avengers, Captain America, Thor, Inhumans, Captain America, and more have re-launched.

In store DC is currently selling. There is demand. Flash I might have finally ordered high enough to meet demand. Fans of the T.V. show actually come in and buy the title. New fans. Which is great. That means having copies on the shelf is a good thing.

I don’t believe $3.99 comics is going to hurt DC. If people are entertained by a product they will still want it. If a dollar increase is enough to cause them to drop it then they weren’t really enjoying it enough to begin with.

$4.99 and higher people do complain about. Darth Maul some people skipped at that price. Some picked it up after I told them the rest of his limited series would be $3.99.

I would like to see new talent. New writers and new artists for the next generation of comic collectors. Right now I rarely see that. Do not get me wrong I love Jim Lee’s art but we haven’t had a superstar artist in decades now that get people as excited as he did at the height of his popularity.

Alright this was a quick type up after I read the original boycotting article. I will always want people buying comics. As long as it is ethical. Meaning not doing something stupid like selling a kid a copy of Heavy Metal. As a retailer if there is an audience of people willing to buy from you then by golly you sell it to them. I want to sell hundreds of copies of every comic that comes in. I am glad to read that come 2018 Marvel is signing up big name talent. I just hope the comic industry can last till then and 2017 isn’t Marvel’s lost year. That comic fans get out of the habit of picking up Marvel material and by 2018 it will be too late.
Click to expand...

Oh and Marvel are bringing back Eddie as Brock as rumored after the launch and the comic is doing a 'Tec/Action and going to the old numbers AKA #150.

For $5.99.
 
T

TheFlow

Banned
Sandfox said:
"Getting with the times" means them making less money though with people buying their comics through digital and online services like IST and DCBS.
Click to expand...
This makes no sense. Nothing has changed. Effect goes in on April for 12 titles. Large majority of their books are still 4 dollars. Considering someone is pulling all those titles physically there monthly cost goes up 12-14 bucks. Sure there will be some hardcore physical fans upset about it but overall it is a good move.

sales won't get worse for them over this.
 
E

ElNarez

Banned
Sandfox said:
Pricing obviously. Not everyone is going to want two copies of the same book when there's a cheaper alternative. Calling it "less book" sounds like something PR people would say lol.


Probably.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but people who are already buying digital are not coming back to retail. They're already there. If you're gonna buy digital, you're already buying digital because it's just that easy. For people who buy physical but also want a digital copy, say because your house is a goddamn mess and you'd have to search forever to find one particular issue, the best deal is a $3.99 physical+digital combo, and that's a deal I can only get at the store.

People already buying digital are already buying digital, and it's very dumb to say because it's so goddamn obvious, but, of course comic book retailers would be short-sighted enough to miss that.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
TheFlow said:
This makes no sense. Nothing has changed. Effect goes in on April for 12 titles. Large majority of their books are still 4 dollars. Considering someone is pulling all those titles physically there monthly cost goes up 12-14 bucks. Sure there will be some hardcore physical fans upset about it but overall it is a good move.

sales won't get worse for them over this.
Click to expand...
I was talking about getting with the times in general because lcs are arguably obsolete. This guy is clearly making a dumb decision that makes no sense other than pride.
 
G

GAMEPROFF

Banned
TheFlow said:
but I am confused why he is upset about that when it only applies to 12 or less titles from DC..3 dollar books have only been with DC for less than 9 months. Not like his whole life changed.

He sees it as DC punishing physical owners when they are actually just moving with the times
Click to expand...

Because he makes a living out of selling physical comics. When your job is threatened to go away, you would be protective, too.

Edit: Legacy numbering? YEEEEEEEEES
 
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