Comics are Awesome III

[Dominic]

I wonder if DC's drop after "Convergence" is why Marvel staggered "Secret Wars" on both ends (alongside other likely reasons for delays).

Proportionally, there was less of a break in Marvel's schedule than with DC's. DC was out for two months. Marvel has overlap on both sides of the event.

I agree with the main point of the article, DC has to do something (and the road back will be long).

[Sparky Prime]

Proportionally, there was less of a break in Marvel's schedule than with DC's. DC was out for two months. Marvel has overlap on both sides of the event.

To be fair, DC was also busy moving their home office from New York to California at the time which is why they had Convergence to fill in that 2 month gap for them...

[Dominic]

The reason is not the issue. The result of the action is a problem. DC had a planned break, and it managed to disrupt reader's habits enough to drive numbers down. Marvel, possibly, was trying to adapt.



Secret Wars #9:
It reads well enough. If not for the delays, I would have given it an "A", rather than the (generous) "D" I am giving it.

Marvel needs to sort a few things out. But, "Secret Wars" is over and done.

[Sparky Prime]

The reason is not the issue. The result of the action is a problem. DC had a planned break, and it managed to disrupt reader's habits enough to drive numbers down. Marvel, possibly, was trying to adapt.

Wasn't Convergence a huge success for DC though?

[Dominic]

"Convergence" was a temporary spike. (Numbers are in the article that Anderson posted.) That is a big part of why DC seemed to change direction so abruptly at the end. "Convergence" was the best recieved thing DC had done since before "Flashpoint".

But, after "Convergence", numbers kept going down. The prevailing theory is that "Convergence" disrupted reader's routines enough over the course of two months that some readers dropped books they might have otherwise kept out of habit.

DC is currently working like the industry did in the 90s, their best numbers are coming from events and high profile projects ("Dark Knight III" being the current example). But, their core series are decllining.

In the next month or two, Marvel will likely level off after "Secret Wars", until the next movie.

[Sparky Prime]

"Convergence" was a temporary spike. (Numbers are in the article that Anderson posted.) That is a big part of why DC seemed to change direction so abruptly at the end. "Convergence" was the best recieved thing DC had done since before "Flashpoint".

But, after "Convergence", numbers kept going down. The prevailing theory is that "Convergence" disrupted reader's routines enough over the course of two months that some readers dropped books they might have otherwise kept out of habit.

I'm just saying, I dunno that I'd blame "Convergence" disrupting readers routines that much. Any event generally sees a boost to sales with a decline afterwords, and DC didn't really have much a choice with moving their offices. Besides, that article is also pointing out DC sales have been declining over the past 5 years.

[andersonh1]

Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion #1
The story picks up six months after Lost Army ends. No sign of Relic or Krona, and the Corps that have managed to find each other are on the surface of Mogo, discussing how much time they have left and how to find the rest of the Corps, as well as how to escape from this dying universe. Graf Torren comes up with the idea to light up like a beacon, and it works, drawing another group of Green Lanterns to them. It also draws a planet much larger than Mogo. After a brief fight with some giants who claim to be the world's guardians, the giants tell the GLs that the world is filled with last survivors of doomed planets and doomed stars. As this universe dies, they try to protect whoever they can. The Corps is introduced to the people of the planet, most of whom welcome them, with a few dissenters in the crowd.

The final scene is of the fish Green Lantern, Mukmuk, being attacked and killed by an unknown foe, ending the story on an omnious note.

So this is essentially issue 7 of the storyline that began in Lost Army, but with a six month time skip, a different artist and a different writer. I'm not sure why a renaming and renumbering was employed, unless the modern trend of relaunching books is becoming a parody of itself. To be fair, the book does feel very different, and the focus is more on the Corps as a whole than on John Stewart as a lead character with the Corps as supporting cast. It's nice to see Ethan Van Sciver drawing Green Lantern again.

Batman '66/The Man from UNCLE #2
I still think I'd "get" this storyline better if I'd ever seen The Man from UNCLE. As it is, it's a pretty standard 1960s Cold War spy type of plotline, and if I approach it from that framework, it's just fine.

Issue 2 starts to blend the two properties as the lead agent of UNCLE is an old friend of Alfred's, and the rival organization to UNCLE has broken a bunch of Batman's rogues out of the Arkham Institute to work for them. Wayne Technologies has a new satellite which Bruce Wayne is displaying for the shareholders during a big party at his home. The head of UNCLE uses his connection with Alfred to get himself invited. THRUSH sends some rogues to steal the satellite, and there's an all around fight with Batman, Robin, and the two UNCLE agents fighting Poison Ivy's plant men, while she escapes with the satellite.

This is a plot-heavy book, and I'm not entirely sure the spy genre and super hero genre mix all that well. I suspect The Man from UNCLE was a fairly straightforward drama, while Batman '66 was of course played for laughs more than drama. But Batman is nothing if not flexible, and can be made to fit into many genres, so the whole thing works well enough. And the goal of THRUSH was apparently always to take over the world, so employing supervillains who often share the same goal is appropriate.

[Dominic]

Planning to read "Edge of Oblivion" as soon as I get a bit more caught up on Marvel.

So far, no real surprises. Any fuzzy or contrary elements can be reconciled as being caused by the Molecule Man being involved at the foundation of everything.

"Contest of Champions" is no so good. It is the game tie-in that most people dismiss "Injustice" as being. However, Marvel deserves some credit for trying to use that series as a way to draw gamers in to comics.

And, there is this.
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/01/16/ ... -warriors/

Breevort answered for an apparent mistake the way that more editors and writers should. (He called it a mistake and told people to move on.)

And, now, the fandom is up in arms.

tl;dr for those who care: Current Marvel has disposed of the numbering system. They are assuming an infinite, or at least indeterminate, number of alternate worlds. But, Marvel is not bothering to number them beyond calling the setting for their regular books "Prime Earth". "Web Warriors" is still referencing the old numbering system in early issues.

I'm just saying, I dunno that I'd blame "Convergence" disrupting readers routines that much. Any event generally sees a boost to sales with a decline afterwords, and DC didn't really have much a choice with moving their offices. Besides, that article is also pointing out DC sales have been declining over the past 5 years.

It gave readers two months to get away from, and reconsider, their normal habits.

Obviously, DC had to move their offices. But, it seems to have gone badly for them.

[Sparky Prime]

It gave readers two months to get away from, and reconsider, their normal habits.

Obviously, DC had to move their offices. But, it seems to have gone badly for them.

Yeah, that's what the article says. But again, there's always a certain amount of that that happens with any given event, and DC's numbers of been declining over the past 5 years. Even if they hadn't taken those 2 months off from their regular stories, those numbers would have probably still dropped.

[JediTricks]

I finally got around to Batman '66 #26. This was the Poison Ivy issue, and it was pretty good. I was a little surprised that they made her southern, that felt tacked on but in a way the show might have tackled it. The gag at the end Louie was surprisingly cute. Batman investigating a death was interesting. The meta was mostly light with its touch.

Man, it is taking me forever to get through my backlog.