Well, I say technically because it'll the first story he writes on the titles, but the actual storyline(s) he'll be writing won't really start until he takes over Superman #701 and Wonder Woman #601.
I think the main reason he didn't take over Superman right off is because he switched sides (so to speak) right in the middle of the whole New Krypton stuff and at that point other characters had taken over the titles, and Superman was in the middle of that crossover.
I'm kind of cynical towards his run on WW myself. He's said almost nothing about the run or the character (outside a reference to her as a 'female Superman'). That, and all the solicitations feel pretty uninspired (a dark Wonder Woman secret unveiled again, Amazon Island destroyed again, Wonder Woman against a new, deadly force that pushes her limits again, etc.). Of course, those are just solicitations and all, but they really inspire little hope in following his run from me. I think DC just put him on the title in hopes that landing a big name will help revitalize sales. I keep my fingers crossed that my pessimism will be proven wrong and his run will be at least solid.
As far as him being on The Brave and The Bold and Red Circle, I wouldn't be surprised if those were partially some of his own interest. From a lot of his interviews and such after the jump he strikes me that he has a really kind eye for nostalgia, and those work well for those titles. Of course, I've only read about half of his B&B run and none of the Red Circle stuff, so I could be off.
He does seems generally interested in writing Superman, though. I'm thinking DC is hoping he'll pull a Thor and really help to bring him back in sales and will good storytelling. I'm not as excited or convinced as others here are about, though, but I'm trying to stay optimistic
Sales should see an increase for SUPERMAN #700 and WONDER WOMAN #600 regardless; large digit anniversary issues always see some spike in sales because they are seen as collector's items. The best strategy would have been to have JMS officially start on now, and to at least keep the book at normal cover price to really get the word out that this is a new era of SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN, get those issues into as many hands as possible. At the very least, it shouldn't be a $5 book. That makes it quite a purchase for the casual reader, as well as annoyingly expensive for wholesale for a retailer. Now, I can understand Marvel making bird brained, pure greed decisions that are so stupid that a random pedestrian on the street wouldn't make them; they're #1 in the biz, and just got Disney to protect them. But DC is #2, and they'll always BE #2 until and unless they start having some better promotional ideas. The plastic rings and the amping of GREEN LANTERN are good first steps, but they're not enough.
I suppose having the JMS run proper begin on issues #701 and #601 of SUPERMAN & WONDER WOMAN respectively should in theory be a good way to keep those issues from dropping from the spike that the anniversary issues before them got. Assuming that those anniversary issues still see a spike since they will cost a retailer $2.50 a pop, which is more expensive than, say, a wholesale cost issue of NEW AVENGERS or SECRET AVENGERS. And DC wonders why all their moves backfire. Their moves usually are akin to an old man trying to pretend he is young and innovative, while only proving how old he is. I am surprised Dan DiDio hasn't been demoted, only to be replaced by his father (or grandfather), "Dad" DiDio.
The thing is, hoping JMS manages to boost both of those books itself isn't a sure thing. Yes, he launched THOR into the stratosphere, but there are some caveats. Firstly, THOR was off the stage for about three years, and thus demand was built regardless of who was on it. Furthermore, that title was launched in 2007-2008, when both the direct market and the entire U.S. economy was healthier. Neither SUPERMAN or WONDER WOMAN have been off the stage for 3 years and are especially missed. The direct market in 2010 is almost a different beast.
To be blunt, while DC and WB talk about WONDER WOMAN as this vital part of the Trinity and how important she is, they don't back it up. The time to have launched a new multi-media empire with WONDER WOMAN was probably at least six years ago, when KIM POSSIBLE and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER were more fresh in people's memories. There's really no excuse why the character doesn't have a TV presence via a cartoon and a gazillion merchandise opportunities. There's a market for girls out there; isn't that how DORA THE EXPLORER got big? Instead, WW is locked in a box and only dusted off on occasion to serve some other franchise. I'd argue by the way DC and WB acts, Diana is no longer part of their vital trinity; Green Lantern has more than replaced her. And virtually every time someone talks about a run on her book, or how they'd approach a movie, they talk about making new villains and new status quo's. Now, are the villains and status quo's of WW really that terrible? Because I know of far less known superheroes who get treated with more respect, whose entire universes aren't treated as some inconvenience to write around. The average person on the street probably has a better idea of who Wonder Woman is than Green Lantern, especially if they're a woman...but like comic readers, comic executives are scared of women. They don't know how to approach that audience, and if they have managed to hook them by accident or luck, they have no bloody clue how to capitalize. And the irony is Diane Nelson is CEO of DC ENTERTAINMENT now. And even she knows it isn't worth trying to create a WW gravy train, at least not before Green Lantern, or more Batman, or the 1,000th Superman relaunch...
I mean, Wonder Girl can't even ever appear in a Teen Titans or Young Justice cartoon. While "BATMAN: BRAVE AND THE BOLD" 's charm is that no A-List hero besides Batman shows up in every episode, is Wonder Woman really an A-Lister anymore? Her sales are terrible. Her multi-media presence is almost non-existent, for really no reason. Out of any DC franchise, hers is the only one who doesn't get a spin off, even though many that DO have spin-off's cannot support them (Teen Titans, Superman, looking right at you). I think it is time for DC to realize that through inaction and apathy, WW is at best a B-List franchise now, if not C-List...and that needs to be acted upon accordingly. If they want her to be A-List, then they have to make big moves. If they want her to be a C-Lister with cult appeal, that's okay too, so long as they admit it. I just think it's a wasted opportunity. But anyone who thinks DC/WB don't waste opportunities need only look at the box office debut of "JONAH HEX". Oh, yes, a WONDER WOMAN film would have been SO much more of a gamble than a $47-$65 million dollar bust based on a character who, in his heyday of the 1970's, was barely known. Unbelievable.
Yes, DC has squandered JMS's talent; but, Brave and the Bold has been excellent! I love him on that comic, and I would have dropped it a long time ago if he wasn't on it. Also, Marvel making Wolverine into Dark Wolverine was brilliant! Maybe not in sales, but that book has never been better. I hated Daken at first, but now find his character fascinating.
Daken, to me, is a character so lame he makes X-23 look like the most innovative and fleshed out character in the history of comic books. He's her wingman; the OTHER spawn of Logan who makes her look imaginative by comparison.
In sales, in a normal company, the way that Marvel has caused a former A-List franchise like WOLVERINE to tumble down the Top 50 like an anvil was tied to it should have at the least gotten somebody demoted. But comic book companies are not businesses; they refuse to react to cold, hard numbers longer. Marvel had Daken take over WOLVERINE, while intending to shift Logan's audience onto WOLVERINE: WEAPON X. The problem is they didn't promote W:WX as THE Logan book; they promoted it as the 3rd Logan book, as well as the most expensive of the lot. Thus, it has been ignored, with WOLVERINE: ORIGINS, which is a finite series ending at issue #50, has become the flagship.
When all of comics became dark and grim for a while, with every hero condoning murder, that made Wolverine show his age as an anti-hero. With X-23, Daken, and Romulus running around, Wolverine also was no longer as unique; he literally had 3 clones who could replace him. Daken literally DID replace him. The problem is rather than build up any of these characters over time, Marvel has too much ADHD so they try to have them replace the big leaguers too quickly, and they crap out. To use a baseball example, imagine if the New York Yankees got a kid in the minor leagues who, in maybe a few years time, they know will be a big, huge player and athlete. But, damn it, that takes too long. So they have him replace A-Rod on the line up full time and keep him there until he matches A-Rod's numbers or until the Yankees are out of playoff consideration. Such a move would be denounced and decried as the dumbest move in all of sports history. In comic book terms, similar moves are called Editorial Strategy, and are done almost monthly.
The thing is, while Marvel still acts like Wolverine is as hot as ever and is still plastering him everywhere, sales don't match that up. He's not so hot anymore, and their own tinkering probably made what was a natural decline from a prime worse than it had to be. That should be a corporate embarrassment. Instead it's a Tuesday. Joe Q insists he is an EIC who never fails. But someone who never fails, never learns. They don't realize it is 2010, and promoting something as the 3rd book in a franchise that is the most expensive and not as important will lead to failure. They still act like it is 2006.
Wolverine sells better in team books than he does alone. Those are the numbers. He actually could use a rest to build demand, or at least be limited to one ongoing again.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #607 HA $3.99 (Bah, I was gonna drop this for the remainder of the Baron Zemo s***fest, but then I'd have to take it off my pull list and all that crap. I'll just keep buying it and seething after every issue.)
SECRET AVENGERS #2 HA $3.99 (This shall henceforth be known as "Brubaker's good comic" for the duration of the Zemo arc in Cap.)
Man, Corp, was Heroic Baron Zemo REALLY that great a character? You're taking this awfully hard. You'd think you'd be used to that sort of thing from DC lately.
Ugh, looks like X-Force #28 (the penultimate chapter of X-Men: Second Coming) has been pushed back. I understood the delay at the beginning of the month because this is a 5-week month, and there were only 4 chapters scheduled for June. But what's just happened here is that a weekly event has been released 3 weeks in a 5-week month. Now the relaunch of (sans adjective) X-Men, if still on schedule, will release a week before Second Coming finishes, thus spoiling the new status quo a week early. Well done, Marvel.
Or maybe this list will be updated with X-Force #28 later on, and I'm crying over spilt milk.
How often lately has a shipping error or general incompetence bungled the flow of a story and resulted in advance spoilers making a climax meaningless?
- Civil War
- Captain America Reborn
- Siege
Wait, so Marvel can't even get it right for a big line wide event? I doubt they'll care about the X-Men. Expect it to be spoiled a few weeks early, and if asked about it on Newsarama or Comic Book Resources, an editor or Joe Q will throw out more excuses then a 12 year old girl home past curfew, and will then expect some cheese with his whine about how busy they all are and how rough it is.
Remember, comic books are the only business where you can miss a deadline by years for no other reason besides being "awfully busy" and not only not face consequences, but remain a top draw!
Which sucks. I think comics could be professional businesses with high quality and efficiency controls all around line wide. I just think too much is allowed to lapse. Much like a star athlete who makes all the crazy dunks but lets his free throw percentages fall. Never forget the fundamentals.
Never should've dropped it.)
