Brian K. Vaughan leaving Runaways at issue #24.

Darthphere said:
No offense, but I dont think you can compare the death of a man to a creator leaving a book at the top of his game.

No you cant really, just been a really crappy week.
 
Dread said:
Okay, so we have Zeb Wells and Sean McKeever for possible replacements who are non A-List yet (but are capable writers), and Whedon for that overworked A-List choice, with Bagley on art (although won't he still be on USM another month or so by the time RUNAWAYS finishes), although I'd live Norton to stay on after Alphona. He's easily been the best of the RUNAWAYS' two fill in artists.
Bags is usually several issues ahead, and doing two in one month has never been out of the question for him.
 
Darthphere said:
No offense, but I dont think you can compare the death of a man to a creator leaving a book at the top of his game.
No kidding, BKV leaving a book is way worse.
 
DAMN IT! NO! NO DAMN IT! VAUGHN YOU DON'T LEAVE! BAD BOY! BAD BOY! -SLAPS WITH NEWSPAPER-

:(

Please don't let this get cancelled, it's my favorite series. :(
 
monkeyshocked2pn8.jpg

However, I wouldn't mind if Wells takes over. That is, if he does accept the gig, which I am hoping. His writing on the YA/RUNAWAYS mini is commendable. Just as long as the new crew doesn't go on a preposterous rampage, killing half a dozen of the Runaways, just as the new crew did with NEW X-MEN. The reason for Vaughan AND Alphona leaving had better be a good one.
 
Oh, Wells (if he gets the gig) would be great, and I don't think we'd have to worry about him running around killing Runaways, because he seems to respect both the characters of that series and Young Avengers.
 
I haven't read any Runaways but from the sounds of it Whedon would be you guys' dream choice, quality + sales

He has praised the book on his website before as well. Usually that's enough to get me to rush to the store and buy said product (got me started on Veronica Mars, anyway) but I never did pick up this book. I wanted to but I refuse to pick up the digests for the preservation of my bookshelf's aesthetic appeal.
 
Not Jake said:
I haven't read any Runaways but from the sounds of it Whedon would be you guys' dream choice, quality + sales

He has praised the book on his website before as well. Usually that's enough to get me to rush to the store and buy said product (got me started on Veronica Mars, anyway) but I never did pick up this book. I wanted to but I refuse to pick up the digests for the preservation of my bookshelf's aesthetic appeal.

Get the hardcovers then, 18 issues for $35 is pretty good value if you ask me
 
He's just reacting to the point of this thread. That being that Vaughan is leaving Runaways. :(
 
Ah, well, then of course I relate. I'm glad that BKV feels he's leaving while the book is at it's zenith, I just hope the next writer doesn't burry it.
 
the book will be cancelled within the year.
 
Dread said:
I hope Vaughan's not leaving because of the low sales of the book, as with MTU and THE THING gone, RUNAWAYS is officially Marvel's poorest selling ongoing title (SPIDER-GIRL is being relaunched as AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL, so you can't count that either).

Man, wtf is everybody buying instead!? :mad::(

Not Jake said:
I haven't read any Runaways but from the sounds of it Whedon would be you guys' dream choice, quality + sales

Nah, I'm not quite on the "Whedon is God" bandwagon. People praise his AXM like the 2nd coming of Jesus while I'm actually enjoying Bru's UXM more. I'd love to see Wells take over though. :up:
 
Colossal Spoons said:
Man, wtf is everybody buying instead!? :mad::(
To be accurate, NEXTWAVE actually sells worse, but I think Ellis purposefully expected it to be a small cult book, and it is.

People buy more of the "main franchise" books. CIVIL WAR, any X-book, any Spider-book, any Batman or Superman book, DC's event books, some rare 80's revival books (like GI JOE and TRANSFORMERS), etc. RUNAWAYS holds steady around the bottom of the Top 100 at about 24,000-25,000 readers, which is usually only good enough to hover around #'s 88-95 in the Top 100. And it's hard to say that Marvel isn't promoting RUNAWAYS anymore because they included a Runaways/X-Men story on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (even though it was sub-par at best) and they're co-starring in a YA/RUNAWAYS CW book that is selling far better than the YA ongoing title was. So Marvel is actually trying on this one.

Nah, I'm not quite on the "Whedon is God" bandwagon. People praise his AXM like the 2nd coming of Jesus while I'm actually enjoying Bru's UXM more. I'd love to see Wells take over though. :up:
Oh, I'm not on the "Whedon is God" bandwagon either. I usually get flack in the B/T when I don't bow down and worship every issue. Astonishing is still a good read but it's far overrated at this point and decompressed a bit. But his namepower would drank up RUNAWAYS into the Top 60, at least.

Still, I'd rather Wells or McKeever take over at this point. I do fear for the continuance of the title; BKV's departure likely will lose some readers depending on who is announced to succeed him, and that could be the fragile slip into oblivion. And an "A-List" writer is more likely to do something drastic (like kill half the team) once they get on. I mean, it worked wonders for Bendis on the Avengers franchise. He piled on the bodies, miswrote other characters, and it sold a mint on namepower alone. Sometimes A-Listers are like Faustian deals, they bring in thousands of readers on name and hype alone, but on characters they can be hit or miss. I'd rather RUnaways continue to be Marvel's best read. I just am realistic and know that digest sales can't save it forever. It's a fragile book on the threshold and one poorly handled slip up in the transfer could be disaster. I mean on an X-book, a new writer can make a horrid mistake coming in like Milligan or Austen and the Book is still going to sell in the Top 35 or so and be viable. But a minor fuddle for a lower teir book and you're outside the Top 100, and are dead in the water.
 
If Joss Whedon write Runaways it pretty much means Nico becomes Cordelia and Chase becomes Spike.:(
 
Darthphere said:
If Joss Whedon write Runaways it pretty much means Nico becomes Cordelia and Chase becomes Spike.:(
And whoever becomes Buffy always saves the day. Just look at Kitty. If she's going to save the day every arc, that's predictable. I don't care who is writing it.

As sad as I am about Vaughan leaving, I'm also extra excited for his last issues if he thinks that they place the book at it's peak. That'll be worth reading, and a great way to finish out 2006 for the book.
 
Dread said:
Colossal Spoons said:
Man, wtf is everybody buying instead!? :mad::(
To be accurate, NEXTWAVE actually sells worse, but I think Ellis purposefully expected it to be a small cult book, and it is.

People buy more of the "main franchise" books. CIVIL WAR, any X-book, any Spider-book, any Batman or Superman book, DC's event books, some rare 80's revival books (like GI JOE and TRANSFORMERS), etc. RUNAWAYS holds steady around the bottom of the Top 100 at about 24,000-25,000 readers, which is usually only good enough to hover around #'s 88-95 in the Top 100. And it's hard to say that Marvel isn't promoting RUNAWAYS anymore because they included a Runaways/X-Men story on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (even though it was sub-par at best) and they're co-starring in a YA/RUNAWAYS CW book that is selling far better than the YA ongoing title was. So Marvel is actually trying on this one.


Oh, I'm not on the "Whedon is God" bandwagon either. I usually get flack in the B/T when I don't bow down and worship every issue. Astonishing is still a good read but it's far overrated at this point and decompressed a bit. But his namepower would drank up RUNAWAYS into the Top 60, at least.

Still, I'd rather Wells or McKeever take over at this point. I do fear for the continuance of the title; BKV's departure likely will lose some readers depending on who is announced to succeed him, and that could be the fragile slip into oblivion. And an "A-List" writer is more likely to do something drastic (like kill half the team) once they get on. I mean, it worked wonders for Bendis on the Avengers franchise. He piled on the bodies, miswrote other characters, and it sold a mint on namepower alone. Sometimes A-Listers are like Faustian deals, they bring in thousands of readers on name and hype alone, but on characters they can be hit or miss. I'd rather RUnaways continue to be Marvel's best read. I just am realistic and know that digest sales can't save it forever. It's a fragile book on the threshold and one poorly handled slip up in the transfer could be disaster. I mean on an X-book, a new writer can make a horrid mistake coming in like Milligan or Austen and the Book is still going to sell in the Top 35 or so and be viable. But a minor fuddle for a lower teir book and you're outside the Top 100, and are dead in the water.

I've been meaning to get into Nextwave but all the funny panels peopel post here that are supposed to be gut-busters don't even get a smirk out of me.

I never would have guessed that the YA/Runaways crossover was sellign better than YA. Is YA in any danger of cancellation or where you just comparing numbers? :(

And you're right. Any A-List writer would totally change the whole dynamic of the team and I guarantee we wouldn't like it(Except maybe Wells :)). It's just weird to hear that the book is struggling since everybody on these boards seems to think it's awesome. Guess our opinions are defeinately different than most people reading comics in the world. A shame too.
 
Has everyone seen the new Cup O Joe panel from Baltimore up at Newsarama?

There is a plan in place for the new team on Runaways, Quesada said, noting that writer Brian K. Vaughan brokered the deal for the new writer himself and picked his successor on the title.

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=83522

Cool! :up: Really gives me a lot more hope for the title.
 
Runaways is one of those edge books - every character is on the edge of death, as if in an attempt to keep things exciting and keep the book alive. just like exiles. So if a new creative team comes along they better stamp their mark on the book and someone better die. I don't read Runaways for comfortable stories. I don't think anyone here does. (i'd like to point out that i don't think someone has to die instantly or something, i'd just like the same feeling of noone being safe and then, in their run, someone bite it.lol. thats just the way i feel)
 
Colossal Spoons said:
Dread said:
Colossal Spoons said:
Man, wtf is everybody buying instead!? :mad::(

I've been meaning to get into Nextwave but all the funny panels peopel post here that are supposed to be gut-busters don't even get a smirk out of me.

I never would have guessed that the YA/Runaways crossover was sellign better than YA. Is YA in any danger of cancellation or where you just comparing numbers? :(

And you're right. Any A-List writer would totally change the whole dynamic of the team and I guarantee we wouldn't like it(Except maybe Wells :)). It's just weird to hear that the book is struggling since everybody on these boards seems to think it's awesome. Guess our opinions are defeinately different than most people reading comics in the world. A shame too.
I read the first 2 issues of NEXTWAVE, it had some chuckles but it was empty and soulless, like a lot of stuff that's on ADULT SWIM, and I figured it wasn't worth my money. If you don't care about characters bring written as empty archetypes, if you don't care about a lack of a plot or "randomness" being a given for "comedy", and if you enjoy the snarky attitude from the same nation that still thinks cross-dressing is always funny, then NEXTWAVE is for you. If not, then it won't. I just didn't care for it.

YA is being relaunched with a new #1 early next year. It's last series was selling at about 59,000 readers a month which is decently well. It usually landed in the 30's of the Top 100. The YA/RUNAWAYS CW mini is selling at least 20,000 readers or more over what the YA series was selling. That likely is true of two factors; the 24,000 or so readers who usually are on RUNAWAYS are also reading this in addition to the regular YA readers (using this to sustain them until the new series starts in '07), and because CW is actually boosting all of the books and mini's it ties into. Even bottom feeders like SHE-HULK and BLACK PANTHER saw dramatic sales boosts for CW issues. Granted, stores tend to overorder event books, but still. I mean, SHE-HULK #8 sold out and the reprint sold decently, too. But no, YA is in no danger of being cancelled, it's sales are solid (any book above the Top 50 is a good book in Marvel's sales eyes) and it has a lot of critical draw. They likely feel that a relaunch at #1 can be a good jumping on point, and plus it'd likely add a few readers to it in the short term.

It's easy to laugh off Marvel's "relaunch with #1, repeat" philosophy with books, but sometimes it helps. MOON KNIGHT and GHOST RIDER, two franchises who languished and skidded during the 90's, are Top 25 books.

I come down hard on Marvel for not supporting a lot of "little" books, I'm just saying at this point it would be unfair to claim they haven't tried with Runaways. They have. And hopefully their CW series can have some carryover effect. I believe SHE-HULK has actually seen a thousand or so readers continue on after the CW issue.
 
Ok idiots, I suggested that Whedon would be your ideal not because I am under the illusion that everyone here is madly in love with him but because A) he can write teens, 2) he has expressed his love for the book, and 3) his name will sell more books, which you all want. I understand that those of you who don't love Astonishing and are oh-so-vocal about it have problems with Whedon, but most of you will admit that Astonishing is at least enjoyable, that it has some degree of quality to it. So, to type it out in one sentence for you, Whedon can write, Whedon respects the characters, and Whedon sells. He's your man. But if you all looooove Young Avengers/Runaways soooooooo much, fine, take Wells, take him and take your final 10 issues of the book before it gets cancelled.
 
MyPokerShirt said:
Runaways is one of those edge books - every character is on the edge of death, as if in an attempt to keep things exciting and keep the book alive. just like exiles. So if a new creative team comes along they better stamp their mark on the book and someone better die. I don't read Runaways for comfortable stories. I don't think anyone here does. (i'd like to point out that i don't think someone has to die instantly or something, i'd just like the same feeling of noone being safe and then, in their run, someone bite it.lol. thats just the way i feel)
But on that same token, go overboard and kill all of your stars, and the book loses steam. EXILES still has solid sales (as in it sells comfortably around the 70's or 80's of the Top 100) but it's not as hot as it was in the beginning. Every franchise needs some standouts to sell it. The Runaways to me work as an team book; it's not Chase or Nico or Karolina who sell issues, but all of them together. That's a far cry from some other team books, where you could argue that Wolverine, Gambit, and/or Rogue were once carrying X-MEN for long stretches of time in the 90's.

Besides, books where characters die off every arc can make people get weary, as I've heard from the new team on NEW X-MEN who're blasting through secondary characters like there was no tomorrow.

I mean, really, how many major cast members have died on the book so far? Two. Alex and Gert. Many issues apart. And you also got two charcters to replace them, Victor for Alex and Xavin for Gert. And you could argue Alex was being set up as the traitor for the first volume, whereas Gert's death shook up the status quo. But that's not the same as, say, a writer who'd want to go on killing sprees every arc. That breeds apathy.
 

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