Marvel.1 - not as stupid as it sounds ?

With all the news about DC on this blog you might think that I´m sponsored by them. But let me assure you, I´m still the only one paying for all the comics that I review here.


So, since I owe them no alliegance I thought it was about time to give some equal opportunity posts to Marvel and the other comic companies. I guess the biggest thing that bugs me about the whole DC relaunch is that I always was a big supporter of DC. For me they were the comic company that always had the readers best interest in mind and thought about the long term effects. While Marvel seemed to be focused on the quick buck and cheap marketing ploys.

Well, we´ll talk about one such cheap marketing ploy ( or maybe something more ) later on. DC always produced the better series for the readers as apparent by less changes in the artistical departement and aside from finally succeeding to get me to stop caring about the FLASH ( a series I read for years ) I was mostly in for the long haul. But I guess always coming in second got to them and suddenly the idea of relaunching their entire line with designs by Jim Lee doesn´t sounds so bad anymore.

Not that Marvel´s FEAR ITSELF is more innovative. Who knew that when Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke the words " The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. " he meant a crossover by one of the two big comic companies 77 years in the future ?


All joking aside, at the moment I´m " evented out " or like other blogs have phrased it I´m suffering from event fatiguee. And that´s pretty lucky because FEAR ITSELF sounds like a really hare brained story. The whole thing with now giving out hammers by the dozen thing sits wrong with me. And FLASHPOINT doesn´t sound much better. Not that I could get my hands on any issues if I wanted. Both online shops I use have sold out all their issues and I´m not sure if my regular comicshop has some issues.

I heard most shops sold out on them which is either a good sign because it could mean there was a higher demand than supply. Or it could mean that they were simply underordered because comicshops don´t trust the big events anymore. Because the readers just don´t care anymore.

But back to Marvel, I thought about doing a news post with all the Marvel news but decided against it. Not that there is no news about Marvel that´s comment - worthy. I mean who´d have thought that Joe " I´ll do my comic series after I finished with my playstation even if it destroys my BATTLE CHASERS franchise forever and after that I´ll do a fugly run on ULTIMATES that makes you wish I kept on designing computer games " Madureiras would ever return to comics ? And to draw a monthly Spider - Man series nonetheless.


But that´s not what I want to write about Today. What I´m going to write about are some comics - finally ! - and I´m once again pondering a few questions about the 3.99 price tag most Marvel comics carry. Because I want to know if we as the comic reading and comic buying public have been lied to. But let´s start with the question of this posts title.

WHAT IS THIS MARVEL.1 THING YOU KIDS TALK ABOUT ?

The .1 concept or Point One, like Marvel itself calls it, is to do special issues that are geared to help introduce readers to a new series. Comics don´t sell as much as they used to do which on one side could be caused by the fact that instead of 12 or 20 titles Marvel now has over hundred.

And if you keep selling to the same audience and number of clients this means your costs for producing comics rise while your revenue shrinks. The only way to get more money is to bring in new readers. DC is doing it by going day and date with their complete line, Marvel did it years ago with their ULTIMATE line. Which they have now flushed down the toilet. And rebooted. And killed of Spider - Man. And brought himback. Well, it´s a different person in the costume now but you know what I mean.


So Marvel´s new idea to bring in new readers was to do these .1 issues that are for instance UNCANNY X - MEN 534.1, an issue that comes between UNCANNY X - MEN 534 and UNCANNY X - MEN 535. In Marvel´s own words :

Geared for new and long - time readers alike, the all - new Marvel: Point One initiative delivers the perfect jumping on points for the biggest super hero series in the world! Beginning in February 2011, select Marvel comic series marked with a ".1" after the issue number feature full - length, self - contained stories by Marvel's top creators, laying the groundwork for the next year of storylines. From INVINCIBLE IRON MAN to AVENGERS to AMAZING SPIDER - MAN, each Marvel: Point One issue of the associated series not only begin major new storylines, but also seamlessly introduces new readers into the dynamic Marvel Universe and its popular super heroes.

Additionally, each issue bearing the Marvel: Point One branding will be followed in the same month by another issue of that series, delivering new fans another exciting installment of the series they enjoy.


" Marvel is absolutely committed to providing new readers with easy entry points into all our comic book series and Marvel: Point One is the next step in our new reader initiatives, " explained David Gabriel, Senior Vice - President, Sales & Circulation, Marvel Entertainment. " And to make sure readers can sample all of Marvel's top series, we've priced every Marvel: Point One issue at $2.99. Utilizing our top characters, top creators and employing a huge marketing push, we expect a lot of new faces in comic stores nationwide to check out Marvel: Point One. Retailers should stock up on these titles and the subsequent issues. "

The biggest super heroes in the universe. The biggest creators in comics. And now, it's time to jump onboard the biggest comic book series with Marvel: Point One, beginning in February 2011!

Okay, now you´re probably wondering " Hey, that statement says Marvel Point One starts in February and now we´re in the middle of June. Why so late ? " and you´re right.

First of all, when the .1 issues were announced for AMAZING SPIDER - MAN, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, WOLVERINE, CAPTAIN AMERICA, DEADPOOL, HULK, THOR, UNCANNY X-FORCE, AVENGERS, SECRET AVENGERS and UNCANNY X-MEN it didn´t look like I was going to get them anyway. Especially the DEADPOOL issue. I mean who needs more Deadpool ? One series is already too much and right now we have at least six of them. Overkill much, Marvel ?


But the whole idea of spending 3 extra bucks on an issue that´s just some in - between story and a logistic nightmare for all the comicfans out there obsessing with the numbering sounded ridiculous.

Then Carlos Pacheco was announced as artist for the .1 issue of UNCANNY X - MEN and I thought " Okay, just the one. " Or .1 in this case. Although Carlos Pacheco´s style has changed from his art on JLA / JSA VIRTUE AND VICE for more of an HEAVY METAL style I use every opportunity to get some pages from him. Okay, the last work I really, really, really liked was his SUPERMAN / BATMAN storyline ABSOLUTE POWER and the last inkers he had in his ULTIMATE books weren´t on the level of longtime partner in crime Jesus Merino. But what can I say ? Us paisanos gotta stick together.


Okay, I´m right in the middle of the review but I haven´t finished with the segueway yet. So, I thought that I would get just this one issue. Then Brian Hitch was going to do the AVENGERS.1 issue. Okay, two. I can live with two. No big thing. Then Scott Eaton was doing SECRET AVENGERS.1 who was always an underrated artist for me. He also did the next regular issue of SECRET AVENGERS so I thought - in Bob Ross´immortal words - what the heck, I´ll take that too. Which was also my reaction when I found CAPTAIN AMERICA 615.1 in my comic bag. The art didn´t look too bad and since I was catching up on my CAPTAIN AMERICA with three issues I went for the whole " the more the merrier thing ".

So now I had managed to buy 4 of these .1 issues which for me were enough for a post. Not the most balanced since I don´t have all the issues and it might well be that all other issues I didn´t get really sucked. But as I said, for the moment I´m buying all comics myself and if Marvel doesn´t like my conclusions they can always send me the rest of the issues for free. But let´s get started with the issues in question.

PODER ERGO SUM or BEING MAGNETO´S PRESS AGENT IS NO EASY JOB


Do you remember when comic stories used to have titles ? Back in the olden days, in the times before the times, in the long long ago every comic story had a title. Impressive, grandiose titles like WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW ? or THE BOY WHO COLLECTED SPIDER - MAN or FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING. Well, it seems like sound words, caption boxes and thought ballons titles are now a thing of the past especially with the .1 issues.

I shortly thought about using the title I wrote above but since it´s too long I´m going to refer to this story as PRESS RELEASE - if I have to.

This was the first one I was absolutely sure I would get so it´s just fitting to start with it. The story is written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Carlos Pacheco, as I already mentioned. Having Cam Smith, Dan Green and Nathan Lee doing the inks is a bit weird but since you barely notice the different inkers I won´t complain.


Since I´m reading the X - Men in the german translation I´m still a few months behind on the books so I can share the viewpoint of a new reader or someone who´s thinking about coming back to the title.

The art is - of course - stunning and that´s really promising for the upcoming X - MEN SCHISM series that has art by Carlos Pacheco, Frank Cho and other comic greats. Yeah, I know X - MENSCHISM sounds like Snoop Doggy Dog is now writing for Marvel but that´s not the worst title for a comic series I have ever heard. Not by a long shot.


PRESS RELEASE has a subplot about A.I.M. scientists extorting money from San Francisco corporations with an earthquake machine, but the main story is all about Magneto. One of Marvel´s best villains Magneto has always flip - flopped between the light and the darkness. Starting out as a villain he has often play Malcolm X to Xavier´s Martin Luther King and was at one point even headmaster for the NEW MUTANTS. The Meister of Magnetism with the BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY t - shirt collection has even died a few times and come back more villainious than ever or as the big mutant hope.


Right now it looks like he´s on the side of the angels again and PRESS RELEASE deals with the repercussions of that. Thanks to the fallout of Brian Michael Bendis godawful AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED the mutant population is on the brink of extinction and the X - Men are now residing in San Francisco. Having just barely survived an all - out attack by Bastion ( well, not everybody made it out of this one alive ) and saved the world the X - Men are the focus of the media and that includes Magneto now.


As he seems trying to turn over a new leaf ( he brought Kitty Pryde back to earth ) he´s now faced with the problem of selling the idea of a mass murderer and mutant activist living right next door to the public. One of the things that I find odd is the fact that while science has now proven that the idea of species being wiped out by other species as a result of evolution is wrong this has no impact on the x - Men comic.


According to new studies there were two human races co - existing at the same time and one of them just became extinct. The other one didn´t substitute them or eat all their food or whatnot. But still the idea of mutants as the new dominant species by extingushing the human race is being propagandised in the pages of X - Men. I would have thought that the new scientific discoveries would have been an opportunity to tell all humans that they will not be extinguished and that they can co - exist with mutants.


Well, another missed opportunity now that mutants are a minority. Speaking of propaganda, that´s what this issue is all about if you keep in mind that propaganda stats with pr. The story doesn´t dissect EVERY aspect of Magneto´s personality - you could do various miniseries on that subject - but it manages to show you a bit how he ticks. And, together with the preview images of upcoming X - Men issues, it really makes you want to read further issues.

So in that prospect this comic really does what it´s supposed to do.

I´LL CALL THIS STORY THE ONE IN WHICH THE AVENGERS WENT TO RESCUE SPIDERWOMAN WHO GOT HERSELF INTO A S#!TLOAD OF TROUBLE ONLY TO FIND THEMSELVES IN WORSE TROUBLES


Man, they should really start to give these stories titles. Although I do kind of like my own title. It´s abit long and gives away some part of the story but the shorter one I cam up with does give away the ending so there you have it.

This one has surprised me a bit. Besides the top notch artistic team of Brain Michael Bendis, Brian Hitch and Paul Neary the ending leads into the next big event of earth´s mightiest - well, mortlas is not so fitting since Thor returned to their ranks - heroes. It´s not surprising keeping in mind the first six issues of AVENGERS proper just unexpecting. Besides that there´s not much to add on this one because I really can´t find any faults here.

It has a solid story, great art by Brian Hitch and really gets you interested to pick up the book. And all for 2.99 - preview avengers 12.1

YEAH, MR. NEGATIVE STILL LOOKS PRETTY STUPID TO ME


As I said before, Scott Eaton is one of comics most underrated artists - at least in my book. He has worked on a few high caliber series but aside from his time at CrossGen it seems he´s always the guy between regular artists. As with the AVENGERS.1 issue I´m a regular reader so I don´t know how successful this issue is in selling the concept of the Avenger´s new black ops team.

On one side the story is not essential to the series so you could have the complete collection without it. On the other side it´s a clever story by Nick Spence that serves up the usual back and forth between this particular team. Especially the new Antman who´s very annoying mostly because while he embodies the reader he speaks out loud what most people wouldn´t think. I mean a lot of people might think that Benjamin Grimm is not winning any beauty contests in the near future. But most people would have the common sense not to call him an ugly bastich to his face.

Because they would end up in a hospital or a cemetery. So it´s never been very realistic to see the new Antman just do this kind of thing. Although you have to keep in mind that there was this scene in an Avengers special where the male members where discussing which women they would like to have sex with while in the presence of their female colleagues. So Marvel might be the new home for males behaving unrealistic to impress women. But aside from that little gripe - which is more a gripe with the character per se and not the story - it´s an enjoyable read. i think a few readers might pick up the regular series.

preview secret avengers 12.1

SOMEONE´S GONNA HAVE TO WEAR IT


Mitch Breitweiser is not one of my favorite artists. Truth to tell I could do without any of his issues in my collection. Still the editorial team of Captain America has managed to keep a certain " house look " with all the artists that have come and gone so far. I mean they don´t have them all mimicking Steve Epting. But so far they have had Michael Lark, Butch Guice, Mike Perkins, Stefano Gaudino, Chris Samnee and Luke Ross in the series - sometimes three of them in one issue - and still made it look cohesively through the right coloring or the right inker.


And Ed Brubaker has a lot of leeway for his run on Captain America so far. Not so much that I´m going to try out his non - superhero books but enough that I took a chance at this one.

The story in this comic does not so much LEAD into the next big thing but rather present a dilemma that Steve Rogers has got to solve sooner or later. And keeping in mind that according to the news the demise of a certain character ( that rhymes with Ducky ) seems to be on the horizon it looks like it´s going to be sooner. So it looks like so far I can recommend all the .1 books I have read - preview captain america 615.1

YEP, THE OLD 3.99 PRICE TAG TOPIC AGAIN

I have kept CAPTAIN AMERICA 615.1 for last because it is followed by the big 70th anniversary issue CAPTAIN AMERICA 616. I have already written a bit about it when it was announced but besides having great stories illustrated by artists like Ed McGuiness, Mike Deodato,


Howard Chaykin and Paul Grist


( which all DO have titles ) it has 94 comic pages for 4.99.

Back when Marvel was raising the price to 3.99 for their regular issues one of the main arguments was that it was impossible to have top artists on books with a 2.99 price tag. Well, on the four .1 issues I got you have Carlos Pacheco, Brian Hitch and Scott Eaton who are not exactly at the bottom of the barrel. I´m not saying that this could be done on a regular basis but you can´t tell me that a company that´s as money oriented like Marvel is not making some profit. It´s probably less than on their regular books but I can´t believe they are not making money with this.

So far there are also two issues I have ( there may be more but once again I have to buy all my comics myself ) that have two complete stories. AVENGERS 10 has also the complete first issue of HEROES FOR HIRE and UNCANNY X - MEN 534 also includes the first issue of AVENGERS ACADEMY.


Once again, I don´t know how much profit Marvel is making with this but is shows that it is possible to publish a comic with twice as much comic pages as the regular books for the same price.

Or four times as much comic pages for an extra buck. Even not including the comics that include the bonus books this raises an interesting question. Was Marvel´s only possibility to raise the price to 3.99 ? Or did they also have the possibility of raising the price to 4.99 and putting in more pages ?


Okay, you might argue that 94 pages for a 4.99 comic may be cutting it close. but what about 84 pages for 4.99. There have been a few bloggers who have written about the " satisfying chunk " meaning that readers are sometimes willing to pay more, even buy a graphic novel instead of a few floppies if they have the feeling they get their money´s worth. With Marvel producing between four and five series for most of their characters coming up with the material wouldn´t be a problem.

And it would be ideal for artists like Brian Hitch, Carlos Pacheco, Frank Cho, Arthur Adams, George Perez, Richard Corben or Ed McGuiness who have problems keeping a monthly schedule. They could do stories from 5 to 25 pages and you could include them when they are ready. And if you want you could also include veteran artists who haven´t gotten much comic work lately like Kerry Gamill, Bob McLeod, Sal Buscema, Ron Frenz, Walter Simonson or Mike Zeck. I would love to see some new pages by them.


So, I would say the Point One iniciative from Marvel is better than it sounds at first but with the 2.99 price tag I have to wonder how much of the money we pay for the regular issues are justified and how much of it is just Marvel filling their pockets. And wouldn´t the better alternative be to offer 4.99 books with more pages ? In Germany the X - Men comics are printed in 100 page books for 5.99 and although there is a lot of filler material I still have the feeling to get my money´s worth. So is a comic for 4.99 with 64 to 84 pages really an utopic idea ?

In a time where the economy is bad the comic industry is the only one that has increased its prices while the rest are reducing prices and showering the customer with incentives and special prices. While the rest of the business world is doing all it can to keep its customer base comics are doing everything in their power to get rid of its core readers. The only comic companies that haven´t raised their prices so far are the independent companies. Although they don´t use that.

I don´t know, but if it was up to me I´d put STILL 49 CENTS CHEAPER THAN YOUR AVERAGE MARVEL COMIC in bold letters on every Image comic if I was Erik Larsen.


And on all books by IDW, DARK HORSE or ABSTRACT STUDIOS. And bigger than the small " Drawing the line at 2.99 " thingie - that´s for sure. So it seems the whole 3.99 ( or 4.99 ) thing at Marvel will still be a topic on this blog. Especially when it looks like I will be reading less DC books in the future.


So I hope we can finally come to the first GRATIS COMIC TAG post next as I´m itching to give them away. Yes, you have read right. Due to the big success of my last free comic contest there will be a new contest. Write in soon as there is only one copy of each comic available at the moment. But who knows ? I might get another few copies with my next visit at the comicshop.

Today we´re taking a break from the Muppet Show videos for one about german comic artist Jens Harder and his award winning graphic novel ALPHA.



New to the blog ? Everything you need to know about TALES FROM THE KRYPTONIAN : top ten posts / more posts of interest

DC relaunch news - finale

So since this is not only a Sunday but Whit Sunday I´m only doing a short post Today. Tomorrow is also a holiday and I´m sure most people will just relax and prepare for the start of the week.


Here at TALES FROM THE KRYPTONIAN, Germany´s best comicblog, we want to use this opportunity to post the final chapter about the DC relaunch. And with " we " I mean " me " because I´m the only one contributing to to the awesomeness of this blog.

So here are the latest news, articles and musings about the DC relaunch :

dc announces omac, western and wildstorm titles

tony bedard and ig guara launch new blue beetle series

dan jurgens interview about new jli and green arrow books

judd winick writes black batman in new batwing book

steve cornell on demon knights

We have the final details of the DC relaunch , the complete list of the 52 new DC titles and ROBOT 6's John Parkin has gone to all the trouble of mapping out which creators and books are being published before the relaunch adding up which creators and books land after the relaunch, noting major shifts to come for creators and characters.


As the whole line - up is now known the first ones have already taken a look at what the new DC looks like. Greg Hatchers at Friday from the Cheap Seats takes a look at the new DC that explains DC´s new strategy from the publisher´s point of view in detail and has lots of interesting thoughts on the subject while Kelly Thompson´s look at the new DC is more concerned about how the female point of view is represented - or better almost nonexistent - in the new announcements.

To round things up Dean Hacker has a few interesting bulletpoints about the new DC and there is a survey asking Which new titles will you buy ? . I have already participated myself ( so far only 3 titles have made it on my list ) and I´m anxious to see the results next Wednesday. Heh, see you next Wednesday, right, John Landis ?

Last but not least THE LINE IS DRAWN has another hilarious mash - up, this time their own versions of new DC number 1s of which my favorite - so far - is DARKSEID WITH AN AFRO. I mean, the title alone sells this book.

Now it looks like there will be a lot of empty spots in my reading schedule, which won´t make my online comicshop very happy since most of what I order online is from DC.


Although if I know myself and what a hypocrite I can be there is the possibility that I will read more DC titles than ever by the end of this year. I mean, who knows ? I bet when DC started it´s new line of books after CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS there sure were a lot of fans that weren´t too happy about it.

But it´s where I and a whole generation of new readers came in and it´s now considered a golden age of innovation and creativity by many. I wish I could say that this is the last I will write about DC comics in the near future but there are some things I haven´t addressed yet. Like the fact that there are some books that deserve to be put out of their misery ( I think I mentioned 1 or 2 ) or which books I´m going to miss.

And if the new DC really goes as bad as me and a few others fear it could be the perfect time to catch up on all the back issues or check out the series you never got around to read. Right now I got the first trade of Vertigo´s I ZOMBIE ( which thankfully will be continued as far as I know ) and with every issue of TINY TITANS I can get my hands on I´m more convinced that it´s the best Titans series out there at the moment.


Since the last few videos have been from the Muppet Show here´s another one, this time with german movie cult siren Elke Sommer.



New to the blog ? Everything you need to know about TALES FROM THE KRYPTONIAN : top ten posts / more posts of interest

DC relaunch update and other comic news

Since these links were a bit buried in my last post I wanted to give them a post of their own as there will probably be quite a few additions over the next few days.


First up here are the links for articles about DC´s new line up :

dc announces digital pricing and retailer incentives

retailers reaction to dc announcement

dc announces covers and creative teams for 10 relaunched titles

dc announces relaunched green lantern titles

dc announces relaunched bat titles

new resurrection man and 6 other supernatural dc books

frank lemire on new animal man and frankenstein agent of shade

new hawk and dove by rob liefeld and 5 other dc books

what we know and dont about the dc relaunch so far

article on german website comicgate about dc relaunch

article on german website comic report about dc relaunch

george gene gustines look at the post crisis relaunch fiasko

Now after the whole panic has calmed down a bit I got to think which DC titles I´m currently reading and what all the relaunches mean to my pull list. So here´s a rundown of it :


BATMAN THE ODDYSSEY - Currently the only Bat - title I read in the US format. So far there have only come out 6 issues and issue 7 is nowhere to be seen. Maybe it will come, maybe not. I have enjoyed the series so far and as one of the few left who enjoys Neal Adam´s art I would like to see the storyline finished. Especially if Neal Adams is really going to throw cavemen and dinosaurs into the mix.

As for the rest of the Batuniverse I´m buying the german BATMAN comic by PANINI which mostly includes the regular BATMAN series and BATMAN AND ROBIN. As usual they are a few months behind so it will be quite some time before the fallout from the DC relaunch reaches Germany.

My brother has BIRDS OF PREY on his pull list but so far the series couldn´t deliver and Ed Benes only managed to do the first issue.


BOOSTER GOLD - One of my favorite titles but as it ties directly into FLASHPOINT it will probably end. So far no new Booster Gold title has been announced but at least he´s part of the new JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL book. After JUSTICE LEAGUE - GENERATION LOST it was clear that there was a new JLI book coming I just didn´t expect it to take place in an alternate world. I probably have to check the new series out before deciding if it´s an adequate replacement to BOOSTER GOLD.

GREEN LANTERN - Having just recently returned to the Lanternverse I´m still a few issues behind on GREEN LANTERN and GREEN LANTERN CORPS. But as Geoff Johns is one of the architects of the whole relaunch debacle it looks like it´s going to be " business as usual " for the Emerald Knights. Although what that means in the mirror DC universe remains to be seen.

JONAH HEX - I have no idea how this is affected by the whole relaunch thing but since I´m only buying the issues by Jordi Bernet this makes no big difference to me.


JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA - As I said in my last post, thanks to Scott Kollins art the book is already headed to the chopping block. The series has delivered instant classics like the THY KINGDOM COME story ( which I have already re - read at least six times ) and got an adequate replacement with artist Jesus Merino but the currenty storyline is just a shadow of the quality of the title. I mean JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA was the one book to outdo even Grant Morrison´s JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA.

Speaking of the JLA, it has also been crossed out from my pull list as James Robinson couldn´t follow up the " oompaah " from his CRY FOR JUSTICE story and instead turned the title into ULTIMATE TEEN TITANS. At the moment it´s not going to come back to my pull list and since Jim Lee will be drawing the new series ( at least the first issue like with his W.I.L.D.Cats restart ) it´s surely to go on my brother´s pull list.

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES - I missed the boat on the new series so I´ll have to wait for the trades anyway. The only book with Legionnaires I´m reading right now is ADVENTURE COMICS and that´s only till the end of the Legion Academy story. From the new Legion titles that were announced so far none really looks like a blockbuster.


SUPERMAN - The two reasons I´m reading this series at all are JMS´" GROUNDED " story and Eddy Barrows art. So far there has been so much tampering with it that I´m not sure DC is going to finish the argument. As Eddy Barrows leaves for the new NIGHTWING series and Grant Morrison is taking over as SUPERMAN scribe ( without an artist announced so far ) it looks like I´m nearing a kryptonian - free period.

SUPERMAN / BATMAN - Speaking of one Superman title I also have to mention the other Superman book I´m reading - although from my brother´s pull list. Ever since Ed McGuiness wrapped up his last storyarc in issue 25 - directly after Carlos Pacheco´s masterpiece ABSOLUTE POWER - the series has been in a constant artistical decline. There was an okay issue with Power Girl by Kevin Maguire but from then on it only got worse and worse. As THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD this is one series where I´m glad it´s going to be put out of it´s misery.

And speaking about misery - how else could one describe the SUPERGIRL series. This book has been flip - flopping since issue 1 and so far no coherent idea has been visible. There was one issue where it seemed for 5 minutes that they could finally do something interesting but they already nixed it all in the next issue. So good riddance to this one too.


POWER GIRL - The other kryptonian Maid of Steel is kind of a mixed feeling thing. Amanda Conners initial 12 issue run was fantastic, hilarious and almost everything you could want from a Power Girl book ( it was only missing a few unobstructed boobie shots and Guy Gardner as guest star ). It could even have done with less superheroing and more personal stuff. But after issue 12 the whole tone changed and while the art and writing was no too horrible it also hadn´t found its footing. As it´s probably not going to be continued we´ll never know if it would have sizzled or rocked.

TEEN TITANS - I think I kept the book solely on the 2.99 thing but lately it has almost become unreadable. Add to that constant changes in the writing and art departement and you get abook that better ends sooner than later. There has been a new Teen Titans book announced but I think I can do without it especially since Brett Booth is one of my brother´s favorites and not mine.

I never read the TITANS book so the only thing I´m really going to miss will be TINY TITANS. I don´t have a lot of issues ( at least till my next comic order arrives ) but every one is three kinds of Airwolf.


WONDER WOMAN - Another book from my pull list and I have to say that so far I have been unimpressed by the relaunch. Maybe we have better luck with the next one.

And now to the titles that have been announced so far, and I´m trying to be brief on that one :

AQUAMAN - as a plus it got Ivan Reis. On the other side it has Aquaman and if BRIGHTEST DAY has taught me one thing than that an Aquaman book can be quite boring even when drawn by Ivan Reis. Prospect 40 percent.

BATGIRL - at least seems to get rid of Stephanie Brown as Batgirl but also wipes out Oracles history. Prospect 0.

CAPTAIN ATOM - One of THE breakthrough characters of JUSTICE LEAGUE - GENERATION LOST this could be one of the more interesting books. If it hadn´t been after the whole BRAND NEW DC thing. Now it´s more a question of how much of the original Captain Atom is left in this version. All the changes, trials and tribulations he had to go through in GENERATION LOST have been wiped out so this is probably not the Captain Atom you´ve grown fond of. Prospect 10 percent.

FIRESTORM - since it includes Jason Rusch....prospect 0.


FLASH - the current series hasn´t piqued my interest so far and it looks like this won´t change. I´m a big Flash fan but DC has managed to alienate from a title I used to follow religiously. After reading the issue I got at the Comicbörse Stuttgart I was a bit curious what this war between the Rogues and the Reverse Flash is all about. But since all of this will be wiped out anyway we don´t even know if there will be any rogues left. Prospect 0.

GREEN ARROW - was last on my pull list with the first issues of GREEN ARROW & BLACK CANARY issues but at the moment he´s not going to make a return. Prospect 0.

HAWK & DOVE - are you kidding ? Not even my brother would be so stupid as to get this one. And he bought the original series. Prospect...do you really have to ask ? Even below zero. Waay below zero.


HAWKMAN - another relaunch another new origin, just as they were finally bringing them all together. too much confusion for my taste so....prospect 0.

MISTER TERRIFIC - doesn´t sound so terrific to me as I´m not sure he got what it takes to be in the spotlight. Prospect 0.

NIGHTWING - has art by Eddy Barrows which means I will probably get every third issue as the others are going to be by fill in artists. Prospect 30 percent ( or 100 percent foe every third issue ).

RESURRECTION MAN - this is the one that is definitely going to be on my pull list as it unites one of my favorite DC characters of all time with the original art team and my favorite artist from JUSTICE LEAGUE - GENERATION LOST. Oh yeah, baby. Prospect 110 percent.


SWAMP THING - good news for Mike Sterling but the last issue I got was one drawn by Richard Corben. Unless someone from my top artists list is doing a n issue it´s just not going to happen. Prospect 0.

BATWOMAN and CATWOMAN are not on my pull list and that will not change. BIRDS OF PREY is on my brother´s pull list and I really don´t care if he´s going to get the new series or not. STATIC SHOCK has Scott McDaniel on art chores who´s a favorite of my brother but I think even he is tired of constantly following him from book to book.

All other books I haven´t mentioned are just too much beneath me.....only kidding.

So from the 7 ór 8 DC books I´m reading at least 2 will stay on my pull list and only 1 of the remaining will be missed. And from the newly announced so far only 2 are good candidates for my pull list. Keeping in mind that only 1 of them is probably going to manage without fill - in artists it looks as there will be a few gaps in my reading schedule that I can fill with more indy titles like I always wanted.

Or I could cut back a bit since I should really reduce the amount of money I spend on comics. Thanks DC for making it so easy.


BUT WAIT THERE´S MORE - OTHER COMIC NEWS ( AND STUFF )

DC is not the only comic company that has been making news since Terry Hopper´s BLACK TOWER COMICS are going to reboot the entire line in their upcoming FLUSHPOINT event. Really a hilarious read that cracked me up.

As for DC´s distinguished competition here´s a new interview with Alex Alonso about digital comics and movies , Johnathan Hickman and Steve Epting talk about the future of the FF and Fred Van Lente and Dale Eaglesham speak about life imitating their new Alpha Flight series with the newest political developments in Canada.

Since we had ( kind of ) an end and a new beginning in our last post here is an interview with Terry Moore about the end of ECHO , the start of RACHEL RISING and digital comics.

I don´t know what it is but I never got around to do a post about Terry´s big metal bikini sf opus ECHO and I also never did a post about STRANGERS IN PARADISE although it was one of my favorite series. I had hoped to get the chance to do a post on ECHO during my BLOG WITHOUT SUPER HEROES month but I never got around to do it.


Well, now it´s too late ( as the ECHO series is wrapping up in a few short months ) but if Terry´s track record so far is any indication RACHEL RISING is going to be another instant classic.

If you are a fan of his STRANGERS IN PARADISE and you haven´t checked out ECHO you´re definitely missing out. There are already 5 trades out collecting issues 1 to 25. And if you haven´t read STRANGERS IN PARADISE go and get it now. What are you waiting for ? This series has my unconditional recommendation and it´s one of the best you´ll ever read. Just ask anyone.

For those who still have to jump on the ECHO band wagon here are a few preview pages from ECHO - issue 1 / issue 20 / issue 22

Over at ARCHIE COMICS Kevin Keller may become the first openly gay soldier and THE LINE IS DRAWN offers a new chapter of it´s popular mash - up series this time combing famous movie posters with comics


For my german readers I wanted to mention Christoph Roos blog one more time because besides having updates on the BOOK OF SHADOWS webcomic it also has brilliant articles about Charles Bronson , Geier´s new NICK comics and the slow dissapearances of german Kioske , those small newsstands where you could buy comics, pulp novels, adult nudie magazines and sweets. At the moment he´s writing a very interesting series about war movies.

As for the ever popular top 10 lists Today´s 10 TV Cop Shows that changed the medium comes from TOP ONLINE COLLEGES Jennifer Lynch. Thanks, Jennifer. You can find many more interesting articles in their archives. And if you also want articles or top 10 lists featured on this blog just send me an e - mail.

In the video section we continue with the MUPPET SHOW this one is with Brooke Shields and the Muppets are doing their version of Alice in Wonderland. The Jabberwoky number is just incredible. I think the Muppets are a perfect fit to bring Lewis Caroll to the stage.



New to the blog ? Everything you need to know about TALES FROM THE KRYPTONIAN : top ten posts / more posts of interest

The fall of DC - the rise of Valiant ?

You may already have heard that DC is going day and date with its line of comics and that to further facilitate this they are going to relaunch 52 of it´s books with a new number 1 following the events of FLASHPOINT.


That´s right. New series, new creative teams and most important - new number 1s. Because we haven´t got enough number 1s as it is. Who cares that a book like Justice League has at least six number ones already not counting the number 1s of series like Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Classified, Justice League Task Force, Formerly known as the Justice League, etc., etc., etc....
And comic companies wonder WHY they have so much trouble getting new readers.

HELLO ! First rule for getting new readers : You have to take them by the hand and guide them, not throw them at the lion pit.

Why is WALKING DEAD so successful ? Besides being a terrific book with great art and writing there is only one book.

No TALES FROM THE WALKING DEAD, no WALKING DEAD EUROPE, no WALKING DEAD REDEAD. If a customer asks : " Is this the comic to the tv series ? " the shop owner can say yes. This is it. And he doesn´t have to explain to the customer that there are five books and what they are all about and which ones he needs to read to understand it.

One book.

But DC relaunches 52 of its titles.


I´m gone for the internet for 5 friggin days and THIS is what I come back to ? Has DC gone mad ? I swear, I can´t leave them alone for 5 minutes.

I´m still reading the books I got at the Comicbörse Stuttgart ( I already gave DAS MARVEL - PROJECT away as a birthday present ) and since I invited my sister and my brother in law to celebrate his birthday I spent most of last week cleaning up the house.

Longtime readers may recall that I mentioned in my last post ( or any other about HARTMUT ) that I always buy two copies of every new HARTMUT comic since it´s one of the few comics my brother in law reads. So after the Comicbörse Stuttgart I called my sister and as fate would have it I asked her when her husband celebrates his birthday ( I didn´t want to wait till Christmas to give him the present ) only to hear that it was the same weekend on which the Comicbörse took place.

So we talked a bit and decided that they would visit us on Saturday ( this weekend ) but that also meant the house needed to be cleaned up a bit. And since none of my brothers seemed to be in the least bit inclined to help with that I had to do it all myself.


I tried to get a bit of rest on Friday after I had almost finished with cleaning but then I also had to cook and that was that.

On Saturday I wanted to take a nap after returning from the ice - cream parlor but just when I started to doze off my sister and her husband had arrived. As usual the time was too short but we had a good meal of paella that my younger brother had cooked ( his birthday present ) and - as my sister hasn´t the time to watch all new DC animated movies - we watched GREEN LANTERN - FIRST FLIGHT and SUPERMAN / BATMAN - ACOPALYPSE.

All in all an enjoyable day and I also gave away my first comic from the GRATIS COMIC TAG, the MUPPET SHOW comic because my sister is a big fan of the show. I´m pretty sure she will love the comic.

As a matter of fact I have already read all the 12 comics I got at the GRATIS COMIC TAG ( and one my brother got ) and besides the MUPPET SHOW comic there are 6 that I´m definitely giving away, 2 I´m also probaly going to give away and 3 I will keep. Unless I can get more copies of the comics. It all depends on my next visit to the comicshop.


I would like to write about a few more comics in the GRATIS COMIC TAG post. Which would have been this post if I hadn´t heard the news of DC´s suicidal tendencies from COMIC BITS ONLINE ( which you can find right on this blogroll - you are checking it out regularly I hope ) which has me shaking my head in disbelieve.

Seriously, I just don´t care anymore. FLASHPOINT doesn´t interest me in the least bit besides the SECRET SEVEN series – and that´s only because George Perez will be doing the art. I´m a big George Perez fan and this way I can hopefully bridge the time until the TEEN TITANS GAMES graphic novel is finally released.


But I wasn´t interested in the FLASHPOINT crossover before and now I´m even less interested.

I mean if you have seen one bleak, grim and gritty alternative timeline you have seen them all. Been ther, done that, bought the t - shirt. And from what I have read so far it doesn´t seem that this is another one of the highly entertaining " Alternate timelines in which everybody dies ".

DC is relaunching 52 books ? Whatever. Wonder Woman was being relaunched anyway and now this is – what ? A re – relaunch ? A re – retrolaunch ? A back – and – forth launch ? In the words of a certain ex – president I would say : Wonder Woman is a flip – flopper.

Every time Wonder Woman has been successful in the last years ( as in the storyline that was drawn by Terry Dodson ) it has had really exceptional art and it has always gone back to the roots and used the things that made Wonder Woman popular. And every time Wonder Woman has flopped in the last years was when the book had below - par art and was trying to re - invent itself.

This is one of the main problems of Wonder Woman ( and comic books in general ) instead of working with the tools they have and writing good stories the company think they have to constantly re - invent the wheel. But once you´ve invented the wheel that´s it. You can fidget with the basic design but the general idea is solid. You just have to use it wisely.


Wonder Woman is one of the best known female comic characters and thanks to a tv show that was better than it got credit there are a lot of things people know about Wonder Woman. She comes from a secret island of amazons where men are forbidden to set foot and she´s a princess. She´s strong, she deflects bullets with her bracelets, she can talk with animals and she has a lasso of truth and an invisible jet.

People know what her costume looks like and that she changes clothes by spinning around. Now, can anyone tell me why the people of DC think they can sell more Wonder Woman comics by changing all the things I mentioned above ? Because I can´t understand it.

It´s still a mystery to me why companies like Marvel decide to flood the market with 5 different versions of IRON MAN whenever a new movie is in the cinemas but not one of them is like the movie version.

In my opinion DC is just digging it´s own grave with this new relaunch and I´ll – as usual – keep on reading my regular books unless they are canceled or relaunched. And I´ll maybe try a few ones that sound interesting which I will mostly decide by on the grounds of who the artist of the books will be. Not like the creative line up of DC books had such a good track record. I mean, every three months I want to do a post about TEN TITANS but the new writer I wanted to announce is already out and the current writer is only temporary until the new one takes over – this time for real. That book goes through more writers than Hawkman has origins ( and I think DC is going to add one more to the list with the relaunch ).


I´m usually a " let´s wait and see before crying bloody murder " guy, but reading the press release........sorry this all sounds like a lot of bs ( pardon my french ).

Guided by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee, JUSTICE LEAGUE will begin its first year with an updated secret origin reflecting DC’s new initiative, giving the group a reason for coming together that it lacked when the league first appeared in 1960. And while it will ultimately boast 14 members, at its core will be DC’s A - list do - gooders: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern and Aquaman.

Okay, first of all what´s all this nonsense about lacking a reason for coming together ? A giant alien telepatic starfish that´s bent on enslaving the entire human race is not reason enough for you ? What more do you need ? So far there always was a reason for the Justice League - besides the obvious. Namely that they banded together to fight the threats no superhero could battle alone - oops, wrong comic company.


And since when is Aquaman A - list ? Since BRIGHTEST DAY ? Which was pretty disappointing especially the ending. I mean all this trouble just to bring back one character ? Okay, how much did Mike Sterling pay DC ? This is a ripp - off.

“ The approach is very much about who they are behind the masks and how they interact together and how these personalities mix, ” explains Johns, DC Entertainment’s chief creative officer. “ With the world’s greatest superheroes, how does that team actually work? Do they all get along? Being able to pull together and see how that relationship is forged and continues to grow has to be at the heart of that book. ”

For Lee, working on a team book is a different experience than a Superman or Batman, both of which he illustrated in recent years.

“ When you have a Green Lantern mixing with a foil like Batman, you get scenes that are comic - book history. There’s the epicness of it all. You’re dealing with iconic characters and you want to give them all equal grandeur and weight. ”

Now call me oldfashioned but we already had all this in the DC books that were published so far. At least in the good ones.


Every good Justice League book focuses on the persons behind the masks and their unique interaction. Like the Giffen League or the recent JUSTICE LEAGUE - GENERATION LOST book. So far I haven´t heard anything new about this new relaunch.

Also I´m not sure how good Jim Lee is at keeping deadlines since the wait for new issues of ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN kept getting longer and longer. The sequel to that has been announced every year now but with all the new books at DC and Jim Lee starting a different title who knows if that ever will happen.

The recent emphasis on diverse characters such as lesbian superheroine Batwoman, Hispanic hero Blue Beetle and African - American adventurer Cyborg ( who will be a core member of Johns and Lee’s new Justice League ) also will continue.

“ He’s a character I really see as the modern - day, 21st - century superhero,” Johns says of Cyborg. “ He represents all of us in a lot of ways. If we have a cellphone and we’re texting on it, we are a cyborg — that’s what a cyborg is, using technology as an extension of ourselves.”

Okay, this is where the train not only heads off the rails but swandives into the abyss. Batwoman did not profit from the hysterical media coverage of a lesbian superhero and if it has gained a following it´s because of the solid creative team.


Blue Beetle´s book was canceled.

And Cyborg is neither a new character ( he´s from the 80s ) nor is his inclusion in the Justice League a new idea. James Robinson did it during his run on the book and it didn´t fit even back then.

Cyborg is one of the rocks of the Teen Titans and an integral part of the team. On the Justice League he´s just one of many and not even someone special. He has no ties to the team especially when Dick Grayson is not their Batman, Wally West is not their Flash and Red Arrow, Starfire and Troya are not on the team.

And what the f - word is Jim Lee smoking ? If I am using a cellphone I´m a cyborg ? Last time I looked in the dictionary the word " cyborg " was short for cybernetic organism meaning a living organism being partly organic and partly machine. Half man, half machine. All cop.

I don´t know but as long as your cellphone is not implanted in your body or growing out of your elbow you are not a cyborg. Calm down. Just using technology will not turn you into a man - machine and Skynet is not going to control you to terminate all humans. Really.


Can anyone explain to me why comic companies seem to be in a self – destruct mode lately ?

But there is also good news as the prospects of a return of VALIANT looks pretty good. Another strange coincidence since I just bought the trades of SHADOWMAN, HARBINGER and RAI at the Comicbörse Stuttgart. Now they could be worth more - along with the rest of my VALIANT collection.

Valiant Entertainment – the company which purchased the rights to Valiants original properties in 2007 – announced that it will begin publishing new comics in both print and digitally formats in 2012 featuring heroes like XO Manowar and Bloodshot. The move comes in part thanks to a capital infusion from Cueno & Company, LCC – an investment firm headed by former Marvel CEO and Vice Chairman Peter Cuneo and his son Gavin. Cuneo left Marvel in 2010 as a result of the Disney buyout of that company and will serve as Chairman of Valiant, rounding out a management team that already included CEO Jason Kothari and Director Dinesh Shamdasani. You can read a full interview here


This reminds me a bit of the time Jim Shooter left Marvel and started Valiant. Or when Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portaccio, Jim Valentino and Jim Lee left Marvel to start Image. Hmm, it seems that every time someone leaves Marvel new grounbreaking comic companies follow in its wake. Maybe more people should leave Marvel.

Now although you have to take the press release with a grain of salt since no release dates or creative teams are announced. Also you won´t be seeing new comics about Gold Key properties SOLAR, MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER or TUROK since they are currently published by Dark Horse ( and written by Jim Shooter nonetheless ). But there are such great books left like X - O MANOWAR, BLOODSHOT, RAI, ARCHER & ARMSTRONG, ETERNAL WARRIOR or SHADOWMAN to name just a few.

So it seems that while I may be reading less DC books in the future ( JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA is already on the short way to the chopping block of my pull list thanks to Scott Kollins abominable art ) I may fill the vacant space in my pull list with new Valiant titles. I have too many books on my pull list anyway and I would really like to find out what´s up with my favorite armored barbarian Aric Dacia. And who knows we may actually get rid of the awful SUPERGIRL series and Stephanie Brown as Batgirl.


Since the biggest part of Todays post has been rather depressing here´s a clip to cheer you up. The MUPPET SHOW comic has finally reached Germany and at the same time the show is also finally released on DVD. To remind you of the greatness of the show here´s the episode from the third season that had Raquel Welch as the guest star.


Thankfully you can watch the full episode on YouTube unlike most cartoon shows where YouTube always insists on deleting the third part.



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