Bullet Points

[Harlekin]

So who actually picked up the first issue of Bullet Points, y'know, the JLA: The Nail rip-off? I thought it was a pretty good issue, and set things up nicely, but it felt really short, especially with an ad every page. That really pissed me off eventually, half of the book is made out of ads. The art was still pretty and the writing was decent enough, but it could do with picking up some more steam in later issues.

 

[3dman27]

an ad on every page?

 

[Harlekin]

Nah. It's a normal comic page, ad page, comic page, ad page, comic page and so on. So an ad every other page.

 

[3dman27]

thanks is the story any good
whats a copy of iron mans first armor doing on the cover?

 

[Harlekin]

Yeah, the story is pretty good, nicely written. It was certainly enjoyable, but not mind-blowing.

Steve Rogers wears the Iron Man armor after Dr. Erskine is killed before the super soldier serum can be administered..

 

[Darthphere]

So its a good rip-off?

 

[Harlekin]

Well, that is still dependant on the other issues, but looks to be cool from the first issue. Its art is as pretty if not prettier than JLA: The Nail, and JMS writes it quite enjoyably. Thing is that the pace seems horrid, although that might be attributed to the friggin' ads. You expect like twice the story when you buy it since it's relatively thick.

 

[Nasty-B]

I thought the story was pretty pointless, no pun intended. It's well written for sure, with JMS delving into the whole Run Lola Run idea of how one decision can change everything, but still pointless. I mean, all that really happens in the first issue is that two marvel heroes, Cap and Spidey, end up assuming the alter egos of two other heroes, IronMan and Hulk. Okay, so Steve Rogers becomes Ironman in the 40's instead of becoming Captain America, is this going to fundamentally alter the MU? I dunno, maybe others find this premise interesting, but I see it as an overblown, pretencious JMS WhatIf story.

 

[Harlekin]

Well, yeah, that would actually significantly alter the Marvel Universe as we know it. You're right though. The issue falls a little flat. It's nicely written, but as I said, the pacing is horrible. It doesn't yet feel like getting the full bang for your buck. It's a nice enough lead-in though.

 

[Nasty-B]

Yeah, no doubt there will be significant differences in the Bullet Point version of the MU. However, I don't see this story as being any more innovative than the old 90's WhatIf? where the Punisher became Venom instead of Eddie Brock, or where Spidey joined the FF. It's not as innovative as other reimaginings, such as 1602 or Earth/Universe X.

 

[Harlekin]

It certainly isn't more innovative than JLA: The Nail was, which basically works from a same premise, where one single nail (a bullet in BP) changes everything.

 

[Nasty-B]

I hadn't heard of that one. Okay, so, between this and his continuity gaffs on the ASM and FF CW tie-ins, I officially have no respect for JMS.

 

[Harlekin]

Why? It may not be original, but most works aren't. It's all really based around the concept of "What if that happened instead of that?". JMS is running with it just as Davis did with JLA: The Nail. The similarity of the premise does seem a little jarring, but I doubt that it was intentional. JMS certainly seems to be changing the MU more than Davis did with the DCU.