Comics are Awesome II

[Shockwave]

I've had an interest since the start. At first for the train wreck value but later for the legitimate ideas that are coming out of it. I would actually be reading it if I actually had money to do so.

[andersonh1]

Gotta say I'm surprised at seeing some of you other guys take an interest in this series now, given that I know how polarizing it was right off from the concept. Definitely give it a look, anyway.

That's word of mouth for you. I'm not sure I'd even have known about the current storyline if you hadn't been posting about it.

It appeals to me for a number of reasons. It's entertaining, as I've said, largely because of Ock's huge ego and how he treats people and thinks about them. I get a lot of laughs out of Ock. There's some good dramatic tension since the whole situation is "wrong" with Ock having stolen Parker's life and identity, and seemingly erased his mind. No matter what good Ock does, he's like a thief that just won't give his stolen car back, meaning things will never be quite right until he does. And like Knightfall, which I've compared the series to before, it takes a long-established super hero and explores what it would be like if that character operated in an entirely different manner. I do like that not everything Ock does is necessarily bad. Some of his ideas, like planning ahead for his battles, calling the police for backup and some of his surveillance are actually pretty effective. He just takes things way too far, and some of his other actions are clearly wrong, even if they are effective (murder, blackmail). So there are some genuine grey areas to chew on here. It's not all black and white.

It just goes to show the importance of having a strong character at the center of any given story.

[Dominic]

Hookay..... This requires large font, especially because I know that several people on this forum read DC books but might not be aware of this:

DC books shipping in September are going to have artificial scarcity to the point where Diamond's orders will be capped.

Yes, you read that right.

As part of this Fall's "Evil United" (or whatever the hell they are calling it) event, DC comics is releasing decimal numbered books (similar to the Marvel ".1" books) featuring the bad guys. These books are going to have fancy, lenticular, covers and be super-duper limited. Most of the exceptions to this are the tertiary books like "Smallville" or "Adventures of Superman". A few books (such as "World's Finest") will simply not ship that month.

As I understand it (from the guy at my shop) DC set the print runs *before* anybody (including Diamond could place an order. Even discounting speculators (who are the only people that this might appeal to), this is going to create problems. Diamond can only logically get so many books, which means that individual store orders are either going to be capped or some store's will simply not be getting DC books that month. (I suspect the former is how it will happen. But, neither scenario is appealling.)

The best thing to do is to talk to your local shop now and reserve copies. I buy my books from larger store (with multiple branches. They are allowing people to order the books. But, I was told that there were really no guarantees, even for subscribers. (Remember, the stores only have so much influence over how many of these books they can order.)

DC is likely to do reprints of at least some of the books in question. But, if any books are not reprinted, it is likely to be the secondary titles like "Earth 2" (which I happen to read). The irony here is that the books most likely to be scarce (and least likely to be reprinted) are the secondary books that will have little resonance outside of their pre-exising fan-bases.

I am saying it now: If I miss the two issues of "Earth 2" slated to get the "super-duper rare" treatment and they are not reprinted within a month or so, I am dropping both "Earth 2" and "Legends of the Dark Knight".

So, the main take away you should have: Talk to your local comicshop keepers now about DC books shipping in September. (Remember, recent issues of CSN and Diamond are not going to reflect this information, as the news only broke in the last few days.) (Googling around will get you some news links though.)


I am one of DC's more vocal defenders on this forum (Sparky is likely more staunch in his support), and am frequently the only pro-DC voice in discussions on FaceBook. That being said....

This is possibly the stupidest thing that either of the big two have done since Marvel bought Heroes World (the now defunct distribution company) and ran it in to the ground (which is why it is now defunct). This is *not* going to help sales. If this idiotic stunt plays out as it is expected to, DC has capped their own sales. (The only people who are going to buy second printings will be the people who read comics anyway.) Stores cannot order more copies in anticipation of high sales. If anything, regular readers might just give up on a book if they miss an issue. (Hell, I considered dropping my two DC books on principle.) In the long run, this could end up hurting DC sales even more than the slow decline after late '11.

It can be safely assumed that some stores (likely smaller stores) are going to take a hit on this. And, no doubt, some regular readers will be driven off. (This sounds eerily similar to the 90s don't it?)


Ugh..... I just spent way more time than I should ahve typing this up. (I just wanted to say "Talk to your local shops to make sure you can get your books in September." But.....ugh..... This does not even make the stupid kind of sense that many of the more poisonous decisions in the 90s made. *Nobody* wins. DC takes a PR hit with shops and regular readers. (According to some sources, they might also be taking a financial hit.) Diamond Comics is going to be the bad guy when allocating for stores (and not just in the US!). Stores are going to take a hit in terms of potential lost sales and irate customers. (I will not blame my store for not getting my comics. But, I will not read any titles that I am missing an issue of, nor will I reward DC's bad behavior by sticking with their books. Ultimately, this will result in fewer sales for my local shop as well as for DC.)



-Diatribin' Dom....

[Sparky Prime]

I am one of DC's more vocal defenders on this forum (Sparky is likely more staunch in his support), and am frequently the only pro-DC voice in discussions on FaceBook.

How am I staunch? I have criticized DC when they make genuinely stupid moves, as I do with any other comic book publisher. I'm just more objective about it than most seem to be. But with this... I have never liked the idea of .1 issues. And I really don't like the idea of artificially making them scarce. If there is a particular issue I want to read, I don't want to have a hard time tracking it down or missing out on it because they intentionally made it difficult to find.

[andersonh1]

DC's my favorite comic company... as long as it's pre-New 52. The only books I'm buying are Green Lantern and Adventures of Superman, and I don't mind skipping villain month if they're scarce.

[Dominic]

"Adventures of Superman" is not part of this lunatic promotion. But, there are going to be a half-dozen "Green Lantern" issues.

The villain issues are still relevant to the books they are a part of though. (Correct me if I am wrong. But, I think that this is going to be the first time post-"Flashpoint" that Doomsday is going to be established as an individual rather than a vague event.) Typically, if somebody is reading a book (much less subscribing to one), they want a complete run.

The shop I go to is part of a larger chain. At the very least, subscribers are likely to get their stuff. But, I was still told to fill out the order form "just in case". And, it was not lost on me that the form specifically asks is somebody is a subscriber or not. (I would imagine that the store is going to allocate for subscribers first, then people doing random orders and that the remainder of the books will go on the shelves. There is nothign unusual about that except for the artificial scarcity.)

How am I staunch? I have criticized DC when they make genuinely stupid moves, as I do with any other comic book publisher. I'm just more objective about it than most seem to be. But with this...

You are more likely to defend DC than most of the people on this forum, and I tend to think you are a bigger DC fan than I am.

But, yeah... This is bad. Have fun Sparky. Have fun complaining while you catch your breath after chasing down the half-dozen needlessly scarce issues of the comics read anyway. (Actually, the GL books are likely to get second printings. So, you might be ablt to get away with playing "chicken". I read "Earth 2", which could go either way, so I am much less willing to play "chicken".)

I have never liked the idea of .1 issues.

The way Marvel handles decimal numbered issues is fine. They are meant to be obviously accessible to new readers. As bad as the execution of that decimal numbered "Iron Man" run was, the idea of presenting as a "lost" story (based on old story notes from the Michelinie and Layton run) was sound.

DC is turning "new reader accessible" in to "scalper bait". I almost hope that I do not get my "Earth 2" issues, as I am tempted to drop that book and "Legends of the Dark Knight" (which is not getting the treatment) simply on principle.


-Decimal Dotted Dom.....

[JediTricks]

Sounds exceptionally stupid. What are they planning to do about digital content? Why should I bother pissing all my time and gas money away trying to track down artificially-depressed issues when I can just sit back and read that shit on a tablet or pc when it comes out?

[Sparky Prime]

You are more likely to defend DC than most of the people on this forum, and I tend to think you are a bigger DC fan than I am.

Which is ironic considering when I first got into comics I started out as a big Marvel fanboy. I'd agree with you I probably am the most likely to defend DC here though, but I think that's mainly because I don't see the New 52 so negatively as others do.

But, yeah... This is bad. Have fun Sparky. Have fun complaining while you catch your breath after chasing down the half-dozen needlessly scarce issues of the comics read anyway. (Actually, the GL books are likely to get second printings. So, you might be ablt to get away with playing "chicken". I read "Earth 2", which could go either way, so I am much less willing to play "chicken".)

Relic being a brand new character I feel like will be an important issue but I'm most interested in getting the Sinestro and Black Hand issues. Mongul I wouldn't mind missing out on.

[Dominic]

Sounds exceptionally stupid. What are they planning to do about digital content? Why should I bother pissing all my time and gas money away trying to track down artificially-depressed issues when I can just sit back and read that shit on a tablet or pc when it comes out?

Dunno about the digital content.

But, this stunt puts DC's output for that month in the "hard enough to get legitimately that I would not be against picking up pirated copies" category. (I always try to get legit copies of things. But, if nobody can/wants to sell me one, then I am not above getting pirated copies.)

Either way, I do not like digital comics.

My anger on this is more based on principle than anything else. I have a sub at a large store. And, I put in a special order. I am most likely getting my stuff. But, DC is making a play for speculators, despite that business model nearly killing the industry 20 years ago.


I am legitimately curious about what this does to sales in the long term. The special issues will likely sell through well enough. But, what about the next two or three issues? In the long run, this is not going to help. In fact, it might end up hurting sales.

[Dominic]

Iron Man #12:
Despite being billed as part of "The Secret Origin of Tony Stark", the issue takes place mostly in the present day. The flash-backs are little more than allusions to things that happened before Stark's birth. Gillen's handling of Death's Head is the best since Furman's, with just enough of a British sensibility to be funny, but not enough to be obnoxious. I get the feeling that Gillen is setting up for a "high-minded and ambitous schemes brought to ruin by basic greed" ending. But, that is just a guess.
Grade: A


Daredevil Dark Knights #2:
This is a solid, street-level issue. While Spider-Man is the "friendly neighborhood" superhero, Daredevil has always been shown as the hero of the common man in and out of costume. More than one "regular" character is shown to be rooting for him (even if they are not betting on his success), and two characters are shown to not only have Daredevil's secret identity but to be actively protecting it. And, given that this is a "Daredevil" comic, it is entirely possible that the hero is going to fail next issue.
Grade: A


-Damn good readin' Dom...