The Last Defenders

[Dread]

I can't wait to see Isaac.

Or Colossus. Or Blazing Skull.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It is nice that he wants TLD to become an ongoing, but unless pre-orders for the first issue are dramatic, I seriously doubt that is happening. I mean, look at OMEGA FLIGHT, which imploded despite selling far better than some imagined. Marvel had a modest hit and blew it (and then Joe Q will bemoan how the industry is a "boom and bust", with strike-out's or grand slams with little between; hey, buddy, paranoia killed a solid base hit there!). THE ORDER's cancellation has retriggered my Marvel-pessimism. Or rather reinforced it.

The best TLD can hope for is to sell well enough that Marvel grants him another 6 issue mini. That at least is reasonable and possible. I will be aboard this series, though, and am anticipating it. So, keep that in mind when I sound the alarms of sales pessimism; I WILL BE BUYING IT!

Didn't Kolins leave in disgust after Marvel switched Omega Flight to a mini? I'm pretty sure Oeming was upset about it, too. I think that's a likelier reason why we haven't gotten a proper follow-up commensurate to its sales. Even then, we've still got some continuation of it in the form of the Guardian story in MCP. I don't think Marvel's done with OF at all.

 

[PhotoJones]

I think they might be. At the very least, they could've offered a follow up miniseries based on the sales of the first, and they didn't.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, but I think that's because they pissed Oeming and Kolins off by changing the first to a mini to begin with. I doubt a second mini with a different team would've sold as well, which is why I think this Guardian story in MCP might be a kind of field test for how OF does with other creators behind it. Just a guess on my part, though.

 

[PhotoJones]

Who says it would have to have been by a different creative team? Once the sales started rolling in, they could've offered it up to them on the spot instead of waiting for them to ditch.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Eh, I don't know what the internal situation or its timeline were really like, so I could only speculate on that.

 

[PhotoJones]

The point is Marvel sucks and they ****ed over a great book by great creators.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Indeed.

 

[PhotoJones]

I just hope this doesn't mean that Oeming would be opposed to doing any Marvel work in the future.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I don't think he would. I think Kolins was more annoyed than Oeming.

 

[PhotoJones]

Yeah, Kolins seemed displeased with pretty much every project that Marvel put him on.

 

[Dread]

The idea of the Guardian story in MCP "testing the waters" for OMEGA FLIGHT means that it will be disaster. MCP is selling horribly. The market has had zero tolerance for anthology books for at least the past 4-5 years now, and it looks like MCP is simply further proof of that.

Considering how many of their launches or mini's tanked, Marvel was being cautious with OMEGA FLIGHT. However, swapping it from ongoing to mini in the middle like that was obviously going to miff the creators, especially before the first issue hit the stands. It was an example of Marvel being penny wise and pound foolish.

They have no sense of planning something for the company beyond a year and they have almost no patience. Then when they allow a mistreated star to go to DC and they become superstars, Joe Q chuckles, "Golly, how'd we let HIM slip through our fingers?"

That said, at least there hasn't been any games with THE LAST DEFENDERS like that. It was planned as a mini from the start. Casey & Muniz know it is a mini going in so they won't feel like they are getting the rug pulled out from them. Going by the quick cancellation of THE ORDER, maybe 6 issues really is all the patience the Marvel sales reps have for a book.

Y'know, POWERS sells like poo, why don't they cancel that? Oh, wait, that's Bendis' ego vehicle, nevermind. Can't DARE cancel anything he writes. Hell, UMTU only ended because Bendis chose to leave it. It really is who you know, isn't it?

Marvel gets big hype for stories that break down and destroy, but you also need to create new franchises, relationships, and so on, and, yes, that might mean a little patience or tolerance. Why is SPIDER-GIRL a 13k sacred cow but nothing else is?

So, I hope THE LAST DEFENDERS is good and does well. But, sadly, as THE ORDER has taught us, quality and talent alone are not good enough to sell a comic book, even mainstream superhero fare by the best selling company in the biz.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I think Powers may have some kind of different deal, since it's Bendis' creator-owned thing. It probably costs less for Marvel to publish that.

 

[PhotoJones]

I think Powers may have some kind of different deal, since it's Bendis' creator-owned thing. It probably costs less for Marvel to publish that.

Haha, no it doesn't cost less to publish it.

 

[Dread]

POWERS doesn't even sell within the Top 100. The last hard numbers are from Nov. 2007 when it sold 19k, down 3% from the month prior. Sales seem to fall on average 10% a year for that book. It sells below the Top 110. Below PENANCE. Below SPIDER-MAN/RED SONJA. Even below the ULTIMATE SAMPLER. Or MCP #2. Yeah, it is an ICON book, but if Marvel is all about hard numbers, POWERS is ****. But, it is a ****y seller from their #1 writer. It is untouchable. It could sell 700 copies and Marvel would still crank it out.

Sigh...maybe I am letting THE ORDER's upcoming end get to me too much. I saw the writing on the wall just like Fraction did, but it still...nevermind.

Let's keep it on LAST DEFENDERS here. That kick that Nighthawk gives one of the Brothers Grimm in that colored art is NASTY. Liu Kang has nothing on Kyle.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, no it doesn't cost less to publish it.

Does Marvel pay Bendis for his creator-owned work, or does he just get royalties from the sales? I don't know how it works at all, but I figure there must be some difference between having a creator-owned book published and being a creator on one of the publisher's own books.

 

[PhotoJones]

Does Marvel pay Bendis for his creator-owned work, or does he just get royalties from the sales? I don't know how it works at all, but I figure there must be some difference between having a creator-owned book published and being a creator on one of the publisher's own books.

For Powers, Bendis doesn't get his page rate, but instead gets a percentage of the sales profit.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I wonder how that breaks down compared to his page rate. Probably more, even if Powers does sell for ****. But I imagine he commands a pretty high page rate, too...

 

[PhotoJones]

I wonder how that breaks down compared to his page rate. Probably more, even if Powers does sell for ****. But I imagine he commands a pretty high page rate, too...

Well, I'm assuming that Bendis and Millar's profit percentages are the same when it comes to Icon books, and Millar has stated that the money he's getting from the orders has already doubled his typical Marvel page rate. So in the case of Kick-Ass, Millar's actually making more than he would if it were a Marvel-owned book.

Powers doesn't sell near what Kick-Ass will, so Bendis probably makes close to half of his typical page rate with Powers.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Well, aren't they losing less money than they would be if Powers were a Marvel book and they had to pay him his full page rate?

 

[PhotoJones]

Well, aren't they losing less money than they would be if Powers were a Marvel book and they had to pay him his full page rate?

Yeah, they're making less than their regular page rate. Thems the breaks with creator owned work sometimes, though. I'm sure Bendis would do it for free though. I wouldn't be surprised if he does and gives his half to Oeming.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm sure he's got the money for it. "Mice Templar not doing so hot, Mike? Here, I've got a couple thousand from Powers. Why don't you hold onto it for me?"

 

[PhotoJones]

Image I believe gives you a much higher percentage on the profits, though. Actually, I've heard that Image gives the creators pretty much all of it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Probably why Image is rife with great creator-owned stuff now.

 

[Dread]

That and Image doesn't hold creators to "6 issues to make a mint or bust" logic. Their expectations are modest and appropriate for their status. And less editorial imput on creators.