Point One

[Specter313]

Marvel's year-long Point One initiative gets its own one-shot in November, purported to give readers a hint of significant developments in the publisher's near future.

The first teaser image for the comic was released on Monday, and certainly suggests that Nova — seemingly killed during recent miniseries The Thanos Imperative — will soon be back in action. A variety of creators are credited for the one-shot, but the Nova image lists Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Whether or not this image has anything to do with their December-debuting Avengers: X-Sanction miniseries remains to be seen.

Marvel teasers tend to run in packs, so keep reading to see if more Point One images are released this week. Here's official word from Marvel:

"Point One is a massive one-shot of 64 all-new pages of story by the top creators in the business, setting the stage for the biggest stories coming in 2012. It is the starting point to what’s in store for the world’s most iconic characters and startling events. Point One serves as the launch pad for dynamic new series, the return of fan-demanded characters, and a shocking teaser that will have everyone talking. See how all it comes together in one gigantic epic!” – Tom Brevoort, Senior Vice President, Executive Editor

POINT ONE #1 (SEP110496)
Written by JEPH LOEB, BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, MATT FRACTION, ED BRUBAKER, FRED VAN LENTE, CHRIS YOST, DAVID LAPHAM & MORE
Art by ED MCGUINNESS, BRIAN HITCH, TERRY DODSON, SALVADOR LARROCA, RYAN STEGMAN, JAVIER PULIDO, ROBERTO DE LA TORRE & MORE
FOC – 10/17/11, ON SALE – 11/2/11

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/marvel-point-one-teaser-110926.html

 

[THANOSRULES]

Great....now Loeb will F#$k WITH MY NOVA!

Really Great....

 

[runawayboulder]

F***ing Loeb......can't Marvel trade him to DC for a copy of Justice League #1?.........3rd printing.....?

 

[Drz]

Join the DC relaunch gentlemen.

 

[runawayboulder]

Eh, go peddle your DC/Ultimate nonsense elsewhere!

 

[Drz]

Eh, go peddle your DC/Ultimate nonsense elsewhere!

Oh please stop defending Marvel so much, with 64 pages you bet your bum this is going to be some 7 dollar comic or so easily. Not to mention have you seen the bullscrap they're doing with 3.99 comics having only 20 pages and how Marvel responds to that?:
Axel in Charge

I think part of the confusion here is that readers are looking for a policy. They assume or want a broad policy to be declared on what things will be and what they will cost, but then the final product doesn't hold up to that expectation. In these economic times, is it impossible to have a mold that fits the whole Marvel line?

Alonso: Hey, if a comic book doesn't hold up to expectation, that's because it wasn't an enjoyable reading experience -- doesn't matter if it's 21 pages or 23 pages. That said, it is impossible to have a one-size-fits-all mold for the entire line.

It's no secret that we have to put out books that sell -- our job security hinges on it -- but we also want to produce diverse material. I mean, if all we were looking to do was make money, we'd only back winning horses -- core titles like Avengers and X-Men -- we wouldn't even try stuff like the CrossGen initiative or, say, "DeadpoolMAX." That said, our ability to publish lower-circling titles hinges upon our ability to put together a well-balanced publishing plan, and to manage the costs of those books so they stay viable. If shaving "DeadpoolMAX" down to 20 pages allows us to keep the book afloat, and to keep two talented and worthy guys like David Lapham and Kyle Baker working, that's something we'll consider doing. It's up to readers to decide it they want to buy it.

Deadpool MAX is a bottom selling comic so they're charging the small fans it has 3.99 for 20 pages, but what about the top sellers like Uncanny X-Force, Future Foundation, the Avengers stuff, Ultimate Spider-Man and so forth.

So yeah add that + Jeph Loeb and Matt Fraction being in charge of things, enjoy your Marvel comics!

 

[runawayboulder]

I will.

All 20 pages of Black Panther: The Man Without Fear......

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[JewishHobbit]

Honestly... I'm not necessarilly against Loeb... it's McGuinness that I'm disappointed in seeing. I've never liked his art. And yeah, my very first thought on reading this was, "I bet it's going to be six or seven dollars." If it is then I'm just going to skim the stuff I'm interested in an buy it later at half priced books whenever it shows up there, as it likely will.

But hey... Nova's back so that's awesome!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, noooooooo.

 

[KingMob]

Loeb!

 

[Will Nolte]

The Nova costume kinda looks like that lame one from NW vol2

 

[Swordmaster]

I saw the title and grinned.

Then I saw the creative team and died a little bit on the inside.

 

[Dread]

The idea that the Point One initiative is now getting it's own one shot shows that Marvel's policies have evolved beyond satire and into the "snake eating it's own tail" variety.

I'm cool for Nova coming back, but I'd have preferred if Abnett & Lanning did it. We also don't know if that person in the picture is Nova/Richard Rider; it could be his brother in a suit looking for him, for all we know. Granted, since Hickman revived Black Bolt from the void with little effort (and STILL needed 2 issues to do it), Nova staying dead now makes no sense. But, what about Star-Lord?

And yes, the last time Loeb wrote a story that was halfway decent, I was probably still in college...if not high school.

 

[CConn]

Oh please stop defending Marvel so much, with 64 pages you bet your bum this is going to be some 7 dollar comic or so easily. Not to mention have you seen the bullscrap they're doing with 3.99 comics having only 20 pages and how Marvel responds to that?:
Axel in Charge


Deadpool MAX is a bottom selling comic so they're charging the small fans it has 3.99 for 20 pages, but what about the top sellers like Uncanny X-Force, Future Foundation, the Avengers stuff, Ultimate Spider-Man and so forth.

So yeah add that + Jeph Loeb and Matt Fraction being in charge of things, enjoy your Marvel comics!

Yeah. I love, love a ton of Marvel characters. The X-Men, Fantastic Four, Captain America...are second only to Batman in my book.

But Marvel's editoral/executive staff consistently proves themselves to be the biggest bunch of ass-clowns in the comics industry.

And it's upsetting, as things like the 3.99 bumped forced me to drop a ton of books I'd still be reading if they weren't price gouging us.

Currently, I only buy the Ultimate titles. And even then, I'm going to feel guilty 3 times a month when I have to fork over that 4 dollars.

 

[CConn]

Also, all you bros need to realize...Loeb might not be writing the Nova part of the issue.

It could be Brian Michael Bendis instead.

 

[JewishHobbit]

And yes, the last time Loeb wrote a story that was halfway decent, I was probably still in college...if not high school.

Fallen Son was pretty good I thought.

 

[Drz]

Fallen Son was pretty good I thought.

But the original idea came from JMS, Thats the thing with Loeb. Aslong as he rips off from something superior, it can eb enjoyable for the masses. The Long Halloween is a huge ripoff to the Godfather movies, but people still for some reason like it, even tho Batman and GPD are total morons to Loeb's pet villain.

 

[Speedball]

Haven't seen a thread about this, anyone know what this is?

While DC's relaunch has suffered from week after week of controversy, there's no arguing with the numbers. With several of the new 52 breaking 200,000 copies sold, it seemed like Marvel would inevitably follow suit with a relaunch of its own. Today, it looks like we're getting the first glimpse of that happening.

Marvel has just announced a one-shot titled Point One that will "set the stage for the biggest stories coming in 2012. Here's the language the press release uses:

"Point One is a massive one-shot of 64 all-new pages of story by the top creators in the business, setting the stage for the biggest stories coming in 2012. It is the starting point to what's in store for the world's most iconic characters and startling events. Point One serves as the launch pad for dynamic new series, the return of fan-demanded characters, and a shocking teaser that will have everyone talking. See how all it comes together in one gigantic epic!"
Point One? Flashpoint? No, those aren't similar at all.

In addition to that, Marvel also has the return of popular time-traveling mutant, Cable, on the loom. It seems as though the solicitations for his appearance are hinting towards something as well. Don't believe us? Well, listen to this:

"How has Cable been reborn? Where has he been since "Second Coming"? And what dark event has driven him to destroy the Avengers? The answers are just the tip of an iceberg that threatens to smash the Marvel Universe to smithereens!"
Add to that the launch of all the new Marvel Ultimate books, X-Men, and Spider-Man, and you've got something that's very much a cousin to the DC relaunch. It's hard to say at this point just how much of an actual reboot Marvel will try to pull, but it's hard to ignore that, at the very least, they're trying to ride DC's coattails.

What do you think? Should Marvel be rebooting?

http://blastr.com/2011/09/is-marvel-about-to-outdo.php

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It's sounding more and more like this Point One thing is just a one-shot detailing how we get to the next Initiative/Dark Reign/Heroic Age overarching status quo. Like, "Hey, want to know what the f***'ll be going on for the next year in our comics? Make sure you read this first!"

 

[Drz]

Bendis + Hitch = the Ultron Event that comes after the Dark Avengers arc stuff.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

They're letting those a**holes loose on the 616 Avengers now?

 

[Speedball]

Well... at least it's not Loeb... *shivers*
And it doesn't seem like a reboot to me, just like what you said Corp.

 

[Dread]

It's sounding more and more like this Point One thing is just a one-shot detailing how we get to the next Initiative/Dark Reign/Heroic Age overarching status quo. Like, "Hey, want to know what the f***'ll be going on for the next year in our comics? Make sure you read this first!"

The irony is you'd think that the POINT ONE INITIATIVE was a resounding success, when...it wasn't. Originally, the mark for success would be if those "jumping on" one-shoots provided a boost in sales for the ongoing series they were for; which none of them did. The biggest success was ASM's .1 issue promoting VENOM #1, but ASM had been basically doing that for a few issues beforehand, and VENOM was a formerly hot franchise on it's own. Beyond that, though, most of the .1 issues sold less than a regular issue of their respective ongoing series did (albeit in some of the best cases by slim margins). However, because sales for annuals have been dire for years (hence why Bill Jemas eliminated them on the schedule when he was in power), the Point One is seen as a success because in combination with double-shipping, it allowed Marvel to sell more comics.

That, and Marvel editorial gimmicks start to overlap while cannibalizing each other.

Also, Marvel has not noted the price. For 64 pages, don't expect anything less than $4.99. I'd bet on $5.99.

 

[CConn]

I think I've achieved negative amounts of interest in this.

I don't know if that's even scientifically possible.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If Nova weren't involved, I'd be 100% uninterested. But unfortunately, I need to know what's going on with him. NEED!