The Last Defenders

[Dread]

They do look pretty good together. Putting the Blazing Skull in this book was a stroke of genius on Casey's part.

Yeah, I have no complaints about Blazing Skull. If DC has done one thing right, it is maintaining a lot of characters from their Golden Age and mixing them in teams with younger characters from the Silver and even Bronze age with the JSA and other teams. Marvel hasn't usually done that very well, and especially now, some of the better known Golden Agers are dead (Capt. America, Jim Hammond, Black Marvel; Miss America & Whizzer died ages ago), out of the country (Spitfire), or occupied (Namor). In a way it is a shame that many newer fans will confuse Blazing Skull with Ghost Rider, or believe he is somehow connected to the legacy, when he pre-dated Blaze by at least 30 years (debuted in 1941, I believe). JMS has his THE TWELVE thing going, but they're ALL old-timers.

There was AGENTS OF ATLAS, but that sold terribly so I really doubt they'll be doing much in the grand scheme of Marvel.

Having Blazing Skull here, who many say was one of the better things to come out of the mediocre INVADERS series from 3 years ago, gives the squad a sense of history and all that. Joe Casey claims to "want to fill in some gaps" in Skull's history; so far the official story is that from the end of WWII to currently, he did serve as a superhero sporatically, just often under different aliases (such as Smoking Skull). If I was Casey, I'd actually have it as a bit of a joke that Blazing Skull's pet peeve is being mistaken for Ghost Rider.

As for the rest, I put those pics together and I still came away thinking they're VERY random. Like someone hacked MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE or something. Granted, the Defenders, much like the Champions, always did have that sense of throwing together random heroes, like a kid with a Marvel Handbook and a 20 sided die.

Out of the four, Colossus is the one I care about most, which is why his placement has garnered the focus of my attention and worry. This is an ongoing so Casey is probably ensured 12 issues here, and I get the sense we'll either be heralding that it was a good move for Piotr, or we'll be lamenting about what could have been....AGAIN.

 

[The Geek Vault]

Yeah, I have no complaints about Blazing Skull. If DC has done one thing right, it is maintaining a lot of characters from their Golden Age and mixing them in teams with younger characters from the Silver and even Bronze age with the JSA and other teams. Marvel hasn't usually done that very well, and especially now, some of the better known Golden Agers are dead (Capt. America, Jim Hammond, Black Marvel; Miss America & Whizzer died ages ago), out of the country (Spitfire), or occupied (Namor). In a way it is a shame that many newer fans will confuse Blazing Skull with Ghost Rider, or believe he is somehow connected to the legacy, when he pre-dated Blaze by at least 30 years (debuted in 1941, I believe). JMS has his THE TWELVE thing going, but they're ALL old-timers.

There was AGENTS OF ATLAS, but that sold terribly so I really doubt they'll be doing much in the grand scheme of Marvel.

Having Blazing Skull here, who many say was one of the better things to come out of the mediocre INVADERS series from 3 years ago, gives the squad a sense of history and all that. Joe Casey claims to "want to fill in some gaps" in Skull's history; so far the official story is that from the end of WWII to currently, he did serve as a superhero sporatically, just often under different aliases (such as Smoking Skull). If I was Casey, I'd actually have it as a bit of a joke that Blazing Skull's pet peeve is being mistaken for Ghost Rider.

As for the rest, I put those pics together and I still came away thinking they're VERY random. Like someone hacked MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE or something. Granted, the Defenders, much like the Champions, always did have that sense of throwing together random heroes, like a kid with a Marvel Handbook and a 20 sided die.

Out of the four, Colossus is the one I care about most, which is why his placement has garnered the focus of my attention and worry. This is an ongoing so Casey is probably ensured 12 issues here, and I get the sense we'll either be heralding that it was a good move for Piotr, or we'll be lamenting about what could have been....AGAIN.

Wait was Agents of Atlas good? Crap I asked for it for christmas!?

 

[Anubis]

Yeah it was good. Don't you know that all the good books sell horribly?

 

[Dread]

Wait was Agents of Atlas good? Crap I asked for it for christmas!?

I enjoyed the hell out of it. Strong characters, great art by Leonard Kirk, and some very funny lines, especially from Gorilla-Man. Enjoy the gift.

Yeah it was good. Don't you know that all the good books sell horribly?

CAPTAIN AMERICA is a notable exception. It is a great book that sells in the Top 20.

I was just on the NEW WARRIOR topic a moment ago and it refreshed my memory on Jubilee. Like Colossus, she never left the X-Universe before and NEW WARRIORS has actually done great by her. Of course, having lost her powers on M-Day, she has more motive to seek something outside the X-verse than Colossus does. But there is hope...even if she serves as the team's tanker as Wondra, when Colossus, again, can't do that as a Defender with She-Hulk there. It is like being Wonder Man on any Avenger roster with Thor, Sentry, or Hercules.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Cap's only in the top 20 because Cap died.

 

[Anubis]

now the question is, before he died, before the CNN and the nightly news mourning the death of a comic book icon, where was it selling?

 

[Dread]

Cap's only in the top 20 because Cap died.

Not exactly. CA was selling over 80k during CIVIL WAR. The death issue, #25, sold a whopping 344k (between a few printings and whatnot). But by October, it was selling around 77k, below CW levels. Captain America had been gaining steam and all but doubling in sales from it's pre-Brubaker period based on the strength of his run. CA is selling nearly 90% better than it was in 2003, before Brubaker got aboard.

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/...-month-to-month-sales-october-2007/#more-4139

The death and CW have boosted Cap, but Brubaker, Epting & Co. have been steadily launching the book ahead of where it was on recent runs solely based on the hype and their own quality before the events added some boosts. In fact it has been one of the few Marvel ongoings in recent memory to start climbing the Top 100 charts based on nothing more than quality of a creative team.

 

[Dread]

now the question is, before he died, before the CNN and the nightly news mourning the death of a comic book icon, where was it selling?

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/07/19/marvel-month-to-month-sales-june-2007/#more-3060

Around 47-48k or so. Which was better than the prior run. Keep in mind, many books would kill to DEBUT at that number, and CA's sales at nearly a year were holding steady around that level.

It was selling within the Top 45, but it was steadily climbing in sales of 1-3% based on the creative team and nothing more. That is VERY rare for ongoing titles.

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/...onth-sales-june-’06-by-paul-o’brien/#more-200

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Cap was selling around the 40s on the top 300 lists before the Civil War tie-ins and lead-up to #25. #25 was #1 for that month. Now it's still hovering around the top 20, but towards the bottom end of the top 20.

 

[Dread]

Cap was selling around the 40s on the top 300 lists before the Civil War tie-ins and lead-up to #25. #25 was #1 for that month. Now it's still hovering around the top 20, but towards the bottom end of the top 20.

My point is, simply because CA is still riding the boost the death gave it, does that mean it doesn't deserve the honor of being a great book that sells great?

Because if not, then Joe Q is right and some fans really can NEVER be pleased.

CA was also at #15 of the Top 20 in October.

 

[VICTORVONDOOMX]

Because if not, then Joe Q is right and some fans really can NEVER be pleased.

That is actually one of the few things he's ever been right about.

 

[Dread]

That is actually one of the few things he's ever been right about.

Joe Q is right about no-thing!

Anyway, any idea as to what baddie Casey will truck out? He claimed it is one that has been around since the 60's. Classically, the Defenders have battled mystical/supernatural/otherdimensional threats, but that was back when Dr. Strange usually led. It could be different now.

 

[PhotoJones]

Wow, way to narrow it down, Casey.

 

[Dread]

Wow, way to narrow it down, Casey.

Vague is the new black with writer interviews.

 

[PhotoJones]

Fin Fang Foom?

 

[Dread]

Fin Fang Foom?

For all we know, he could be in the running.

I'd rather it not be, but who knows. Foom doesn't seem like "arch villain" material for an arc or something. He usually is manipulated by someone else.

 

[PhotoJones]

It could literally be anyone. I don't care. It's Joe Casey. That means it'll be good.

 

[Dread]

It could literally be anyone. I don't care. It's Joe Casey. That means it'll be good.

You have a lot of faith in him.

I haven't read enough of his work to have that much yet. I've looked at his bibliography on Wikipedia and he has some genuine hits, some bonafide misses, and a bit in between. It is variable. I certainly remember no one was cheering his run on UXM years ago.

 

[Harlekin]

Although that's true, about his UXM run, it's usually lauded as one of the better 'recent' runs on the book in hindsight.

 

[PhotoJones]

I liked his UXM run. Some of the character designs were wonky, but the stories themselves were good.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I wasn't reading the X-Men comics for his UXM run, and when I started I still stayed away from his series because Ian Churchill's art is anathema to me. But if you want to see Casey at his best, read Wildcats volumes 2 and 3. I don't think I've ever seen anyone evolve a concept from utter dreck to bona fide genius the way Casey did with the Wildcats in those series.

 

[Dread]

The last thing I remember of Casey's that I read was, sadly, Wildstorm's THE INTIMATES, which he co-created with Jim Lee, but by the end Lee didn't even want to be creditted (seemingly). It wasn't abysmal, but it was underwhelming and I spent a year waiting for it to "get good". I'd probably sell the entire run for $12 on eBay if I could.

Paul O'Brien from www.thexaxis.com commented on Casey's UXM run in his index recently and claimed that it had "aged well", especially considering that his run came before Austin's. Casey also had to compete with Morrison doing much lauded work on X-MEN. He's done some "Avengers: Year One" type stories in the wake of Decimation & New Avengers that people have liked. He has a sense of history, which is never a bad thing.

And I have heard of his Wildcats run. I'd consider giving it a try, but that would require reading vol. 1 because I don't know the characters at all, and if I was the type who just leapt into comics blind, I'd have read THE FLASH years ago.

Hopefully TLD succeeds. It HAS to be good to stand out among the oversaturated team book market at Marvel these days. Especially after THE ORDER.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Read the Alan Moore stuff from volume 1 if you want to get to know the characters. It was pretty much the only interesting part of volume 1 anyway.

 

[PhotoJones]

One of the things I like about Alan Moore is his lack of pretension when it comes to choosing assignments.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, yeah. He even worked on Superman clone #83, Supreme.