March 2012 Solicitations

[Specter313]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35987

 

[hippie_hunter]

Glad to see that Marvel has cut down a bit on the double shipping. Only three books that I buy in March are double shipping. Booooo that Deadpool MAX is ending.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Thank God the onslaught of double shippings were one month only. Only 2 or 3 titles doubled up this time.

Avengers Assembled and Age of Apocalypse are new ongoings that I'm debating on getting. I may pass on AoA though.

 

[DeGenerate10]

Looking forward to Avengers Assemble

 

[THANOSRULES]

Bah..wheres NOVA?

those are some good looking avengers arcs/covers/stories...

Obviously Assembled looks good..but Secret Avengers looks interesting for the 1st time (aside from when they tricked me with the lousy initial arc...

 

[runawayboulder]

I'm excited about absolutely nothing for March. I'm not getting X-Sanction or Avengers/X-Men. Villains 4 Hire, Daken, X-23 and GR will all be wrapping up that month and I have no intention of replacing them with other books. Fraction has turned me off from Thor and Iron Man. I'm trimming down after March.

 

[bored]

"Secret Avengers" should be fun, with Remender taking over. I'm curious as to just how awkward "Assemble" will be. How good of a job will they do of distracting us from the fact that this is the movie line-up?

 

[CConn]

Is it just me, or does Marvel seem to launch titles, get bored with them after about 20 issues, then go and relaunch pretty much the exact same title under a different name.

Hey! It's New Avengers! Now it's MIGHTY Avengers! Now it's just Avengers! And now it's Avengers ASSEMBLE!!!!

It's like watching someone with ADD edit comics.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Is it just me, or does Marvel seem to launch titles, get bored with them after about 20 issues, then go and relaunch pretty much the exact same title under a different name.

Hey! It's New Avengers! Now it's MIGHTY Avengers! Now it's just Avengers! And now it's Avengers ASSEMBLE!!!!

It's like watching someone with ADD edit comics.

They've been doing that with the Spidey books for YEARS now...

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Good stuff for March.

 

[Will Nolte]

They've been doing that with the Spidey books for YEARS now...

The latest version of Web of Spider-Man was just Spider-Man Family and Spider-Man Unlimited with a different title.

Same with Avenging Spider-Man...which is just Marvel Team-Up (and other than the art, was not impressed with).

 

[Dread]

Thoughts/Rants:

- AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #0, which technically extends the event to 13 issues, not 12, but what's an extra $4 issue to Marvel, right? Anyway, we have Hope, who has the power to activate mutants one at a time, and Scarlet Witch, who can apparently "repower" mutants she depowered one at a time. Couldn't they, like, team up to make the process go twice as fast? Nah, it's more efficient to have their respective teams fight like morons for a year. Something is vastly wrong in the Marvel Universe when the Masters Of Evil get along, but the heroes don't. Good thing the villains never capitalize on the hero infighting - if they did, they'd have won ages ago.

- Looks like Cable fully succumbs to the techno-organic virus in AVENGERS X-SANCTION #4. Makes him look like Colossus, only he'll likely kick more ass. I suppose it's fair; Colossus is cosplaying as the Juggernaut, so someone may as well cosplay as him.

- The launch of HEY, MOVIE MORONS! BUY THIS COMIC #1, or AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #1 as it is called in the states. It's the 3rd Avengers comic by Bendis for $3.99, which means until he decides to call it a run on the franchise around the middle or end of 2012, fans will be shelling out $12 a month just for that alone. To a degree this makes sense - spit out a book that looks like the movie - but the cover price may not encourage an impulse buy. It may debut well, though. In total, this would push the amount of Avengers books to six.

- AVENGERS #24 seems to confirm the idea that Marvel has settled on the idea that Norman Osborn is their Lex Luthor, as in the "evil insane genius who does science stuff".

- I will probably be on SECRET AVENGERS again by this point for Remender. I like him on VENOM, but VENOM isn't $4 an issue. Don't disappoint me, man.

- AVENGERS ACADEMY #27 finally unites the new cadets with the Runaways. They seemed to meet the Young Avengers before the 2 year mark if memory serves. Hopefully this series won't be announced as canceled by March 2012. Karl Malone looks like he is doing a fill in issue for Grummet. Guess he may replace Chen on the schedule of secondary regular artist.

- ASM #681-2 kicks the Sinister Six story into high gear, and it looks pretty good. Like SPIDER-ISLAND, only fewer books to buy? Sold!

- VENOM looks like that the unofficial "New New FF" of Venom, X-23, Red Hulk and Lady Ghost Ridress may be fighting Blackheart and over before it's begun - although at this stage, they'd have been together about 5-6 issues. The book is shipping 4-5 .1 issues in February. I don't know if VENOM can handle that, but it is amusing that all this effort is being made to promote books that have already been canceled. The DC New 52 is sloppy, but it at least showed DC is capable of changing course in a sudden. Marvel, frankly, needs a "creator retreat" to pull their pants on in the morning. And once they commit to slacks, man, it don't matter if it's snowing outside - slacks it is, or bust!

- I am not convinced the world needs SCARLET SPIDER, but I will give it a chance. Chris Yost and Ryan Stegman are a solid team, so maybe there could be something to the Spider-Man of Texas. I still wonder if the other Scarlet Spider - the MVP clone - will pop up at some point. Even clones need sidekicks.

- WINTER SOLDIER already looks more interesting than CAPTAIN AMERICA to me. I will be curious to see if the market will support a third Cap book for long, even one featuring the former star of CA. And Alan Davis on CA is sweet. Note that WINTER SOLDIER will be the first ongoing title in at least 3 years that Marvel doesn't charge $3.99 for the debut issue on. Was David "I Was Misquoted" Gabriel asleep at the switch? Since when does Marvel miss a chance to gouge their devoted fans? Since when do they value the longevity of a launch over an immediate buck? What is this, 1997?

- "The epic conclusion of our 3 year story" symbolizes all that is wrong with decompressed comics, FANTASTIC FOUR #604. Better not let me down.

- DAREDEVIL #10 features DD vs. Mole Man. Clever, but I fear Waid is missing a leftover dilemma to the franchise - that virtually all of DD's enemies are either dead or in other books now. Bullseye is dead. Kingpin is back in ASM. Purple Man as well as legacy versions of Death-Stalker and Stilt-Man/Woman are in HEROES FOR HIRE/VILLAINS FOR HIRE material. Who does this leave? Gladiator? Man-Bull? Waid either needs to amp up some forgotten figures, or start fresh. Even a lot of DD's lamer villains were offed by Scourge years ago. What does this mean? Dusting off Micah Sin? Trolling through old MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS issues for villains like Scope? Or paving new ground, or making new versions like Brubaker did with Matador? At any rate, just spinning a Handbook and having DD fight some villain of someone else is a lark for a while, not a long term solution. Still, if that's the worst this book has to worry about, it's in fine shape.

- I am liking BATTLE SCARS, just hope Marvel delivers on the mystery and importance angle of Marcus Johnson, for once.

- T-Bolts Through Time continues. I like Jeff Parker but my enjoyment of his run waxes and wanes from arc to arc, sometimes issue by issue. He's a master at distracting from the fact that he can't write a steady antagonist worth spit, so he keeps doing "threat/location of the week". That worked with ATLAS but is wearing on me here. Will 2012 be the year I ditch this?

- DEFENDERS is over-priced, but I won't lie; I liked the debut issue far more than I expected. Hopefully by this point I'm still in the game.

- I do like how VILLAINS FOR HIRE gets it right and calls obscure characters "cult faves". For a while "fan favorite" was used to describe characters like Darkhawk or Frog-Man in solicitations. This looks to be the end of DnA's run on this franchise, an issue shorter than intended. A shame, as I've liked it more than their recent ANNIHILATORS material.

- Memo to THE TWELVE - you gave away the killer in last month's solicitations. It's the robot Elektro. Kinda hard to build drama now.

- Marjorie Liu leaves one X-Book nobody cares about (X-23) for another X-Book nobody cares about (ASTONISHING X-MEN), which somehow sells better. Progress? At any rate, I wonder if this series will make mention of Northstar's boyfriend from ALPHA FLIGHT, or have him mess around (a cliche for homosexuals, that they can't commit). I tease, but, X-23 was canned despite outselling AVENGERS ACADEMY and THUNDERBOLTS (albeit not by much lately). Was it so Liu could focus on this, or because Marvel can't get heroine titles to sell?

- WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN did it; not that I ever read it, but the solicit made me sigh. They're doing the "shrink down to the size of a cell and travel inside someone to save their life" episode. Every single franchise in television, comic book, or literary history has done this plot. Every one, from Teen Titans to Avengers to The Tick to the Magic School Bus to "MATLOCK", they all did it. If there is one tired plot I hate, it's this one.

- Two issues of X-MEN LEGACY by Gage; Baldeon needs a fill in, so another AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE artist, Rafa Sandoval, fills in. The team fights Exodus. This is the second time I try an X-Book Gage is on, and I hope this time he sticks. Please, have Iceman do something of relevance. It's been 45 years since he did.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Note that WINTER SOLDIER will be the first ongoing title in at least 3 years that Marvel doesn't charge $3.99 for the debut issue on. Was David "I Was Misquoted" Gabriel asleep at the switch? Since when does Marvel miss a chance to gouge their devoted fans? Since when do they value the longevity of a launch over an immediate buck? What is this, 1997?

I was told that Marvel wanted to launch the book at $3.99, but Ed Brubaker took a pay cut to get Marvel to launch the book at $2.99.

 

[runawayboulder]

- The launch of HEY, MOVIE MORONS! BUY THIS COMIC #1, or AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #1 as it is called in the states.

If they had named it that, I bet it would sell even higher.

 

[Dread]

I was told that Marvel wanted to launch the book at $3.99, but Ed Brubaker took a pay cut to get Marvel to launch the book at $2.99.

It stinks that the creators themselves have to take a pay cut to prompt Marvel to do something which might actually help launch a book. #1 issues being $3.99, by and large, sinks any book that isn't a relaunch of something well established, with few exceptions. It's a penny wise and pound foolish solution. As I said once before, if Disney were willing to shell out over 4 billion dollars to own Marvel lock, stock, and barrel, it's a shame they weren't willing to shell out a little more to buy out Ike Perlmutter and stick in someone more forward thinking.

If they had named it that, I bet it would sell even higher.

Perhaps.

 

[CConn]

I don't know if I'd call Hickman's FF decompressed. Rather than being one drawn out story, Hickman seemed to more structure his main plot line as a subplot that ran through a series of stand-alone/small arc stories that were more just about exploring some of the world of the FF.

 

[Dread]

I don't know if I'd call Hickman's FF decompressed. Rather than being one drawn out story, Hickman seemed to more structure his main plot line as a subplot that ran through a series of stand-alone/small arc stories that were more just about exploring some of the world of the FF.

I was tolerant of his approach at the start, but as it has wore on and on with Hickman being willing to sacrifice quite a few mundane issues to get on with things (2 issues to explain how Black Bolt survived, despite it boiling down to "Lockjaw beamed him back"), I have grown more weary of it. He has a lot of big ideas, even if some of them are jarring retcons (as evidenced by the last FF Handbook that came out). As the book has split into two titles, I'll likely stay on FANTASTIC FOUR and leave FF behind.

A story that feels like it never ends eventually grows boring unless in rare instances. It reminds me of some low points in Brubaker's run on CA where it seemed EVERY SINGLE STORY ended with Cap and/or Bucky being lured into a trap, escaping, smashing stuff until the Red Skull and/or his agents fled for the next arc. Finally, Red Skull died in CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN and Sin took on the legacy, only for Brubaker to find new ways to tell "Captain America fights an evil version of himself" stories. Even Agent Bravo is essentially an evil version of Cap, he's simply not as obvious as Grand Director or Ameridroid or Skull-in-Cap's-Body. I suppose Steve Gerber's DEFENDERS run was like that with the Headmen, but at least that series had some tongue firmly in cheek. "INSPECTOR GADGET" always began with a plot by MAD and Dr. Claw and ended with him fleeing until the "next time, Gadget, NEXT TIME!", but that was a comedy. When a story like that is played straight for too long, it seems less effective.

Plus, for most of his run, Hickman may as well have titled the series MR. FANTASTIC AND THE THREE OTHERS. He's invested some effort the last two issues to try to make Human Torch more mature, but I wonder if he went too far. Does Johnny Storm work in a ghettoized version of PLANET HULK? Can the same character who makes wisecracks one second and then orders alien bugs to rend an enemy to shreds the next work? That was basically Vulcan from WAR OF KINGS. Part of me wonders if all Hickman had to do to redeem Johnny was to make him more efficient and experienced, instead of making him emperor of the bug vortex SPARTICUS style. But, so far, so good.

I will be curious if Hickman genuinely will end his long slog arc in March, and if so, if he has anything left.

 

[Specter313]

- AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #0, which technically extends the event to 13 issues, not 12, but what's an extra $4 issue to Marvel, right? Anyway, we have Hope, who has the power to activate mutants one at a time, and Scarlet Witch, who can apparently "repower" mutants she depowered one at a time. Couldn't they, like, team up to make the process go twice as fast? Nah, it's more efficient to have their respective teams fight like morons for a year. Something is vastly wrong in the Marvel Universe when the Masters Of Evil get along, but the heroes don't. Good thing the villains never capitalize on the hero infighting - if they did, they'd have won ages ago.

Hope doesn't straight up activate the new mutants, she just stabilizes them since whenever any new mutants do pop up, their powers are usually raging out of control.

- Marjorie Liu leaves one X-Book nobody cares about (X-23) for another X-Book nobody cares about (ASTONISHING X-MEN), which somehow sells better. Progress? At any rate, I wonder if this series will make mention of Northstar's boyfriend from ALPHA FLIGHT, or have him mess around (a cliche for homosexuals, that they can't commit). I tease, but, X-23 was canned despite outselling AVENGERS ACADEMY and THUNDERBOLTS (albeit not by much lately). Was it so Liu could focus on this, or because Marvel can't get heroine titles to sell?

In the announcement article, they said that Northstar is still with his boyfriend and they've moved in together out by Westchester.

- Two issues of X-MEN LEGACY by Gage; Baldeon needs a fill in, so another AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE artist, Rafa Sandoval, fills in. The team fights Exodus. This is the second time I try an X-Book Gage is on, and I hope this time he sticks. Please, have Iceman do something of relevance. It's been 45 years since he did.

I haven't read Iceman under Gage yet, obviously, but if you want Iceman being relevant, you can actually check that out in the last issue of Wolverine and the X-Men, if you can figure out all that he does do with that horrible art.

 

[CConn]

Most of that isn't at all pertinent to what I was saying.

My comment was just that what Hickman is doing is something different than decompression. And, I would say, conceptually, it's more respectable. But that's not a comment on the actual quality.

 

[hippie_hunter]

It stinks that the creators themselves have to take a pay cut to prompt Marvel to do something which might actually help launch a book. #1 issues being $3.99, by and large, sinks any book that isn't a relaunch of something well established, with few exceptions. It's a penny wise and pound foolish solution. As I said once before, if Disney were willing to shell out over 4 billion dollars to own Marvel lock, stock, and barrel, it's a shame they weren't willing to shell out a little more to buy out Ike Perlmutter and stick in someone more forward thinking.

Considering how the comics industry currently is, it's probably for the best in Marvel to keep Perlmutter for the time being. I'm sorry, but while there are a lot of great books in Marvel's lower tier, the fact is that they just don't sell. Books like DnA's Heroes for Hire, Pak and Van Lentes' Herc and Alpha Flight, Gillen's S.W.O.R.D., and whatnot are just no longer tolerable if you want Marvel to survive.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Secret Avengers looks like it'll be readable again. Yay!

 

[CConn]

Considering how the comics industry currently is, it's probably for the best in Marvel to keep Perlmutter for the time being. I'm sorry, but while there are a lot of great books in Marvel's lower tier, the fact is that they just don't sell. Books like DnA's Heroes for Hire, Pak and Van Lentes' Herc and Alpha Flight, Gillen's S.W.O.R.D., and whatnot are just no longer tolerable if you want Marvel to survive.

I'd rather Marvel just copy DC's editorial model and survive that way than going with their current strategy of releasing 11 Deadpool books at $3.99 a piece.

 

[runawayboulder]

Readable for the first time really. The Ellis issues have been good and Spencer's were really good but 8 or 9 straight issues of one and done stories is a bit much. If they were sprinkled into a larger run they'd be even better. Remender likes to plot things out over the course of 20-25 issues so we could be in for a treat, even if it's half as good as UXF.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Half as good as UXF would be better than those one-and-dones. I've never seen a book lack direction so badly, only to be further stalled by that crap-feast that was Fear Itself

 

[runawayboulder]

Fear Itself hurt a lot of books with it's tie-ins, Thunderbolts particularly. Avengers Academy was the only one that made positive use out of it.