Captain Britain and MI-13

[TheCorpulent1]

Mostly Dane, since Dane's beaten pretty much everyone named "Swordsman" he's ever met.

 

[chamber-music]

I get Joe Quesada, you can't really blame the Marvel guys for cancelling the book when just not enough people are buying it.

 

[Manic]

I've been blaming the ignorant masses ever since this book dropped below the 30,000 unit line. The fact that they let it get to #15 instead of dropping it at #12 shows that Quesada and the higher ups really liked it.

 

[chamber-music]

I always wanted a Doctor Strange solo series thats a mixture of fantasy/supernatural/mystical with supporting chracters clea, wong and night nurse but I know it will never happen because it will never sell no matter who the writer is

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I've been blaming the ignorant masses ever since this book dropped below the 30,000 unit line. The fact that they let it get to #15 instead of dropping it at #12 shows that Quesada and the higher ups really liked it.

Should've had a Wolverine cameo, I guess.

 

[The Englishman]

Should've had a Wolverine cameo, I guess.

Yeah Get that ****er involved...

 

[RockSP]

Maybe if they changed the title to

WOLVERINE!!!!!!! featuring Captain Britain & MI 13...

 

[The Englishman]

Maybe if they changed the title to

WOLVERINE!!!!!!! featuring Captain Britain & MI 13...

I think that would work.....

 

[Manic]

I once said that sales for this book would've been better if it had been titled MI-13: Britain's Avengers. And I mean, put "MI-13: Britain's" in tiny letters on top of a giant "Avengers."

 

[Anubis]

I never understood why they didn't call it Excalibur.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Probably because every Excalibur title after 1990 has failed too.

 

[The Englishman]

I once said that sales for this book would've been better if it had been titled MI-13: Britain's Avengers. And I mean, put "MI-13: Britain's" in tiny letters on top of a giant "Avengers."

Thats what they should have done, Avengers UK

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Osborn would've probably sued them.

 

[chamber-music]

Thats what they should have done, Avengers UK

That would of been a good idea if the X-Men can have like 8 different books then so can the avengers although we would probabley have to put a wolverine (chick wolverine/wolverine junior/AoA stump hand wolverine ect)in the book to make it happen.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

They sort of had two Wolverines, thematically speaking. Blade and Dane both cover some of the themes Wolverine does. But, of course, they don't have blades that shoot out of their hands, so they're not as popular.

 

[Manic]

Pete had knives coming out of his fingers.

 

[chamber-music]

They sort of had two Wolverines, thematically speaking. Blade and Dane both cover some of the themes Wolverine does. But, of course, they don't have blades that shoot out of their hands, so they're not as popular.

But they aren't hairy enough or called wolverine or call people bub like some sort of 1930s gangster and they don't have an healing factor thats developed by writers over the years to now make them industructable.

Pete had knives coming out of his fingers.

Hot knives too t:
how do you out knives wolverine by having claws on fire thats how

I think Pete and Wolverine would get on well together they both love beer and smoking. They both love Kitty Pryde (Pete in a more than friends way). Both had run around killing people in shady goverment operations. both led an black ops X-Force team. Both have dead ex girlfriends.

 

[Manic]

I always saw Pete Wisdom as the Wolverine of Excalibur. Of course, neither of them are allowed to smoke, these days. Something about drunken killers lighting up a cigarette really sticks one in Quesada's craw.

 

[yenaled]

I never understood why they didn't call it Excalibur.

I might have actually thought twice about buying it under that name.

 

[Manic]

I didn't get around to buying this title until #4 because I was afraid of the Excalibur connections.

Besides, this comic was about MI-13, a division of British intelligence that deals with magic stuff. It's a continuation of Pete Wisdom's MAX miniseries. It isn't Excalibur at all.

 

[Dread]

Mostly Dane, since Dane's beaten pretty much everyone named "Swordsman" he's ever met.

True.

Yeah, for once Joe Q's words on this title weren't spin. Marvel can only publish a title so long until a lack of sales make it a poor investment. Considering the loss of ad revenue in magazines and comics since last year, the measure of sales is even more key. Despite the quality of the book and some Marvel house ads, it just didn't catch on after the initial debut. Quite frankly, we should be grateful it lasted long enough to publish 15-16 issues worth of material; many titles that sell as poorly as this one did die after issue #12. Once an ongoing title sells below 20-19k, it's pretty much over.

Honestly, I think the fact that Claremont had tried two prior EXCALIBUR relaunches within the last 4-6 years that tanked hurt this book's chances; retailers and fans likely saw it as Excalibur under another name, which to be honest it kind of is. It was far better than Claremont's versions, but quality doesn't really translate to sales on it's own. A company has to hype the book as mattering a great deal, and the audience has to swallow it. That is why ULTIMATUM sells like it does despite being worse than even HULK.

I don't know what more could have been done. Marvel had house ads, launched it in the middle of an event (and the story actually made sense), and the debut wasn't that bad, about 45k for issue one. It just couldn't hold up after the SI tie-in ended. About the only thing that might have been interesting would have been had MI-13 involved some of the X-Men characters who were classically involved with the British super-team, or at least the ones still alive or on the planet; Nightcrawler and/or Colossus. Neither are horribly big sellers for X-Men on their own, but Nightcrawler has had recent stabs at his own ongoing and gets a one-shot now and again. I'd have preferred Colossus, but Nightcrawler is probably more popular and may have added a boost; the title was seen for a while as an unofficial X-Title anyway because of Pete Wisdom. That would have meant the X-editors being willing to relinquish one of the X-Men for a while, and given that doing so with Storm to BLACK PANTHER really didn't improve the stock of either, they may have been justifiably hesitant. Cornell, though, might have wanted the book to have more of a British flair, with Dane being the only American present on it (although Nightcrawler was born in Germany, and Cornell acknowledges his long association with Excalibur in the annual, but may not have wanted to include him regardless of editorial permission). That would have been the only addition I could think of that would have maintained the integrity of the title.

Calling it "AVENGERS: U.K." would have been cynical because aside for Black Knight being involved, it has nothing to do with the Avengers. Of course, "X-MEN" has been used as a co-title for books for even flimsier connections, but I wouldn't have approved. Hell, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE at least involves more actual Avengers characters (past and present).

That CBR article I linked to a few pages back noted that the focus on magic may have also sunk the book, as magic themed superhero books have rarely done well.

In the end, at least we got three arcs, and are going out with a bang.

 

[The Englishman]

True.

Yeah, for once Joe Q's words on this title weren't spin. Marvel can only publish a title so long until a lack of sales make it a poor investment. Considering the loss of ad revenue in magazines and comics since last year, the measure of sales is even more key. Despite the quality of the book and some Marvel house ads, it just didn't catch on after the initial debut. Quite frankly, we should be grateful it lasted long enough to publish 15-16 issues worth of material; many titles that sell as poorly as this one did die after issue #12. Once an ongoing title sells below 20-19k, it's pretty much over.

Honestly, I think the fact that Claremont had tried two prior EXCALIBUR relaunches within the last 4-6 years that tanked hurt this book's chances; retailers and fans likely saw it as Excalibur under another name, which to be honest it kind of is. It was far better than Claremont's versions, but quality doesn't really translate to sales on it's own. A company has to hype the book as mattering a great deal, and the audience has to swallow it. That is why ULTIMATUM sells like it does despite being worse than even HULK.

I don't know what more could have been done. Marvel had house ads, launched it in the middle of an event (and the story actually made sense), and the debut wasn't that bad, about 45k for issue one. It just couldn't hold up after the SI tie-in ended. About the only thing that might have been interesting would have been had MI-13 involved some of the X-Men characters who were classically involved with the British super-team, or at least the ones still alive or on the planet; Nightcrawler and/or Colossus. Neither are horribly big sellers for X-Men on their own, but Nightcrawler has had recent stabs at his own ongoing and gets a one-shot now and again. I'd have preferred Colossus, but Nightcrawler is probably more popular and may have added a boost; the title was seen for a while as an unofficial X-Title anyway because of Pete Wisdom. That would have meant the X-editors being willing to relinquish one of the X-Men for a while, and given that doing so with Storm to BLACK PANTHER really didn't improve the stock of either, they may have been justifiably hesitant. Cornell, though, might have wanted the book to have more of a British flair, with Dane being the only American present on it (although Nightcrawler was born in Germany, and Cornell acknowledges his long association with Excalibur in the annual, but may not have wanted to include him regardless of editorial permission). That would have been the only addition I could think of that would have maintained the integrity of the title.

Calling it "AVENGERS: U.K." would have been cynical because aside for Black Knight being involved, it has nothing to do with the Avengers. Of course, "X-MEN" has been used as a co-title for books for even flimsier connections, but I wouldn't have approved. Hell, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE at least involves more actual Avengers characters (past and present).

That CBR article I linked to a few pages back noted that the focus on magic may have also sunk the book, as magic themed superhero books have rarely done well.

In the end, at least we got three arcs, and are going out with a bang.

I still think it could work though....

 

[Union Jack]

i hope this cancellation doesnt mean we arnt gonna see these characters again for a while...it seems such a waste to leave guys like union jack and captain britain on the shelf.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It is a shame, but I don't think we should hold our breath. Union Jack and Spitfire might turn up now and then in Captain America since Brubaker likes them, but the rest are probably going straight back to limbo. I'd love to see the Black Knight join the Mighty Avengers when he's free, but it probably won't happen.

 

[Manic]

I'm sad to see the entire team go, especially as written by Cornell. His Blade is awesome.