Dread,
Does it really surprise you that Skaar sells so low? This book was even less pushed than a usual marvel half ass attempt...
It was a surprise book when announced and Marvel has brought Hulk down so quickly after being so high in seemingly mind baffling fashion. Most fans thought WTF? when they saw this book announced.
To me it looked like a "a new marvel way to do conan"..and maybe it was. but the book is dang good, and maybe you SHOULD be reading it.
With Ron Lim coming on board, I've added it my regular pull list and have been impressed so far.
I guess I have a habit of rooting for the underdog.
On marvel zombies 4...
Why not make this an ongoing? Especially if you are just going to do the minis back to back...MZ3 was pretty good even though I only managed a couple issues...
I remember when Venom had a string of mini's for about 3-5 years in the 90's and everyone was wondering why they didn't just give him an ongoing. It is nice to know that common sense hasn't transferred to the new regime since then sometimes.
And, yeah, promotion can make or break a title. I remember a sales article from THE BEAT where Paul O'Brien claimed that "you have to give credit to Bendis for launching New Avengers into a juggernaut" and someone in the replies section claimed, and I almost am quoting word for word, "My grandmother could have made New Avengers a hit if she was allowed to use Spider-Man and Wolverine and Marvel promoted it up the wazoo". Marvel publishes a lot of good books that they barely promote, and also a lot of so-so or "what were they thinking" books.
I'm not a Hulk Fan at all but did manage to pick up the past 2 issues of Skaar due to the Silver Surfer appearances. Turns out it's an awsome book. It's on my chopping block only because I have to cut a good 30% of my buy list due to not being able to afford it and my wife yelling at me.
It's worth a look into, Dread. Definately since you seem to like the Cosmic stuff like I do.
I've made it pretty clear in other threads that I'm not a fan of the Hulk at all, but even I love Skaar. If you've ever wanted a Hulk who actually has a consistent personality (or a personality at all, for that matter), Skaar's your book. It's really good sword & sorcery fun.
Wow. That's either a new low for Marvel or an old low that I'm just learning about.
Well, at least the guys who get paid to read comics largely agree that War Machine sucks. I knew I couldn't have been alone, but my discussions of the series have primarily been with Mr. Green, who inexplicably loves it.
As a rule of thumb, Marvel has a soft level of contempt for their readers and usually takes them all for idiots, so they're not opposed to outright bait-and-switch lies.
While I am liking some cosmic stuff, I have rarely been terribly keen on "sword and sorcery" stuff. I mean if I wanted to try Conan, I would read CONAN. I can tolerate it in doses; PLANET HULK was cool, but that was only because it was something unique for the Hulk, and it only lasted about a year. I usually can't stay in the mood for the barbarian genre long, usually not long enough to commit to an ongoing series (and no, I don't count INCREDIBLE HERCULES as being in that wheelhouse; he is in modern day). I saw SKAAR as an attempt to milk the Hulk franchise after WWH, much as the WARBOND kept seeing mini's that went nowhere. I was never interested in Hulk's sword-swinging outer space son to be honest. I mean, read one "large guy with sword hacks at monsters in forest" series, you have usually read them all.
Depending on the week I may give the WOK crossover issues a try, and if I like them I can always hunt for trades.
More thoughts on the new list.
- The Variant cover for the "maybe canceled" IRON FIST #27 is great.
- Curious that GHOST RIDER isn't solicted. It's sales were in a steady decline and it struggles to sell above about 23k a month. Jason Aaron had been making strides on that book, although calling it a day on GR after some three years may be possible. Just a shame Way had to launch it to 19 issues.
- I love how NEW AVENGERS #54 promises "the Avengers finally have a big showdown with the Hood" and if I am not mistaken, haven't the New Avengers had a showdown with the Hood at least twice while I was still reading it? I also am curious how those heroes plan on beating Dormmamu without Dr. Strange. Oh, that's right...Bendis heroes never beat anyone. They just wait for something convenient to arrive and eliminate the threat. By guess is on Hood being crowned Supreme and deciding not to kill the team yet, only one of them. Not that I plan to read it, but I expect to hear about it online. I've never regretted deciding not to spend $3-$4 for this aggravation.
- MIGHTY AVENGERS #26 promises a new roster, or rather a roster full of old B and C level Avengers mostly (along with two Young Avengers). As I stated in the MA topic, I am amazed that Marvel didn't editorially mandate at least one character from a book that is actually selling within the Top 50 be in the roster, such as Iron Man, Thor, or even Hulk. I see it as a true test of the Avengers franchise and on Dan Slott's status as a top talent. He got large sales on ASM during the BND launch, but his AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE sold about 40-50k without a crossover, which is midcard status. Now, I think the roster is a solid one and Slott will write it well, I just see it as leap of faith for Marvel if they expect MIGHTY AVENGERS to continue selling at 80k a month with a roster that, for the first time in the title's run so far, lacks Iron Man (even if Bendis himself wrote out Iron Man for various reasons at points, like being possessed by Ultron).
- I guess WOLVERINE is soon becoming Daken's book with DARK WOLVERINE, with ORIGINS and the new Jason Aaron Wolvie title shifting to Logan. While Wolverine is still quite popular, is he popular enough now to maintain a spin-off for his son? X-23 isn't keeping X-FORCE in the Top 15 anymore. It is a curious move.
- Marvel plans to milk DARK REIGN for all it is worth with a slew of mini's. While I am aboard for DARK REIGN: YOUNG AVENGERS and DARK REIGN: FANTASTIC FOUR had a good debut issue from Hickman, who will write the ongoing title, I am unsure about bothering with the rest. Is there a point to a new Zodiac? Is Elektra really that popular anymore? Does Bullseye really need another mini? The only other one that has any interest for me is Frank Tieri's DR: LETHAL LEGION. It sort of looks like a Thunderbolts Lite, and it would be curious if Nekra mentions getting her arse kicked by the Loners of all people recently.
- I only have two words for a SKRULL KILL KREW series: "Ship, sailed."
- AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #25 promises a shake-up to the status quo, which is virtually a given considering that the Initiative is now over. In some ways I can imagine DARK AVENGERS or SECRET WARRIORS being in this dilemma in about 1-2 years. Gage has been handling the book well since he took over solo and while I am not a fan of Ramos' artwork at all, his work on A:TI hasn't been as bad as it was in some other books. Obviously Taskmaster is moving up in the ranks under Osborn, and it will be interesting to see how the others fare. Some like Gauntlet or Cloud 9 either were or became trigger-happy killing machines under the version of the camp organized by Iron Man, War Machine, and "Skrullowjacket", but now with a genuine villain running the show (Iron Man's methods were harsh but his ideals usually were sort of noble, even at his worst; but you could say the same of Magneto usually), it may be a good chance to redeem some of them. I still hope we get an explanation why SHIELD's Scorpion is now working with HYDRA alongside Hardball.
- I love Storm's ability to appear half naked on so many covers.
- AGENTS OF ATLAS #6 pits the team against Namor, who seems to be fighting everyone within the last few years (he's due to fight Iron Man in IIM), and it will be interesting if Parker brings up Namora's lingering royal incest crush on him. She's probably the only one of them who could fight Namor for long.
- I usually long for new Handbooks, but a MARVEL PETS HANDBOOK? Oy, the shame of being a competist. The mini MARVEL PETS series is one of those "what are they thinking?" titles. Does anyone seriously expect that to sell well, or even decently? I predict the first issue debuts at, oh, 25k, and then the last is maybe half that, if lucky, well below the Top 100. It defies reason that so many of Marvel's comics are an extra buck, but they continue to publish a lot of series that no reasonable or objective expert can imagine are worth a damn or will even sell decently. TRUE BELIEVERS is an easy recent example. Same with MARVEL APES. Now is not the time for lark specials. Mock MARVEL ZOMBIES, but it at least is still selling decently.
- I wonder if now is the time to really try to revive 2099, after the attempt to revive NEWUNIVERSAL was a colossal failure and ULTIMATE is sinking like the Titannic. It is worth noting that in the original X-MEN 2099, Wolverine was in no way part of it. And that universe was launched in the 90's when he was at the peak of his popularity. They had a GHOST RIDER 2099 (who was a cyborg for some reason), a SPIDER-MAN 2099, even a HULK 2099 and a PUNISHER 2099, but no Wolverine, even though he likely could live another 100 years. It looks like modern Marvel won't repeat that "mistake".
- CABLE #15 reminds me that "Hope", along with probably "Chloe", is the most overused female name in modern fiction.
