Ongoing Comic Books Thread

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Haha wow ok. I'm gonna have to look into that. Wizard used to track that stuff. It would have been 96-2000 give or take.

[Finger Cookin]

The two were pretty much neck and neck during that time in the post speculator crash and during Marvel's bankruptcy. Fighting for top spot in an industry that was half the size it was just a few years earlier.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Yup I was mistaken.

Of my dozen of wizard mags I grabbed one at random Oct 1998. It says DC beat Marvel that month but that Marvel usually won by 1-3%. Not sure where I thought I was getting that from.

[Finger Cookin]

I forgive your mostly accurate recollection of a magazine blurb from almost 20 years ago.

Now go buy Lazarus while I'm in a forgiving mood.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I haven't bought anything in months. Barely even bought anything at expo. There are a few Image books on my to do list.

I literally have 20 unread tpbs that I need to get to. Such a backlog.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I haven't bought anything in months. Barely even bought anything at expo. There are a few Image books on my to do list.

I literally have 20 unread tpbs that I need to get to. Such a backlog.

Lol such a problem to deal with. The relative cheapness and availability has definitely changed comic reading for me. I have no desire to pay $6+ an issue and wait a month between them. I'd much rather just get a classic story in a TPB. You can get them discounted at my local shop for about $10 each. I'm behind on my reading by about a dozen.

[Finger Cookin]

Most books are not $6+ an issue, even with the exchange rate factored in. Still, I get your desire to trade wait. Monthly collecting isn't for everyone.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

Most books are not $6+ an issue, even with the exchange rate factored in. Still, I get your desire to trade wait. Monthly collecting isn't for everyone.

Fair enough. It's probably more like $4.50 per issue. I also feel like issues have gotten far shorter though and there's also far less dialogue. The pages are a lot glossier than they used to be, which I assume increases costs and decreases the amount of pages they can print per issue. However, computers have surely made the process cheaper, as less stuff has to be done by hand.

[Finger Cookin]

Robert Kirkman just announced that Invincible is going to be ending next year. Issue #144 will be the final issue of its 14 year run. I'm sad.

[KTrain]

This kind of sucks. It has been dragging a bit but I still really enjoyed it.

From the sounds of it, Ottley wanting out is the biggest reason behind it. Cory Walker is coming back on art with issue 130 but Ottley will be finishing off the series.

[Finger Cookin]

I'd love to see Ottley sprinkle in some work for hire with the Big Two with the rest of his work.

[Pizza]

When Batman forgets wing night with Supes

[Finger Cookin]

Heading to Portland this weekend for Rose City Comic Con. I went to this con last year too, and I really like how comics focused it is compared to many other conventions. It has a smattering of actors from comic/geek related TV shows and movies, but it's still mostly a comic convention. This is probably due in no small part to the number of comic publishers and creators that reside in Portland.

There's just a ton of creators I'm hoping to meet and get to sign some books for me: Brian Michael Bendis, Cullen Bunn, Kurt Busiek, Terry Dodson, Jonathan Hickman, Greg Pak, Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Liam Sharp, Charles Soule, Larry Stroman. Plus I've got a couple of blank cover variants that I've lined up to have sketch covers done for. And I'll definitely sit in on the live recording of a Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men podcast episode. It should be a fantastic weekend!

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Man Calgary is so tv and movie focused we'd be lucky to get a single big name creator like those you listed.

[KTrain]

The Red & White Comic and Toy Expo is this Sunday.

It's my favourite show because the focus is on comics and old toys.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Man Calgary is so tv and movie focused we'd be lucky to get a single big name creator like those you listed.

Soule was in Calgary this year, but I missed the whole con due to a family health emergency. Rucka was here three years ago, but that was before I had got back into comics again. I was hoping to see him last year at RCCC since he's a Portland resident, but he was all the way in Australia for a different show. Glad to catch up with him this year.

RCCC is advertising Stan Lee as their big attraction, which was the case for Calgary Expo of course. Stan is making the final rounds at many shows this year, I don't think he'll do nearly as many going forward.

Have fun at the Red & White show, KTrain!

[PowerPlayoffs06]

My pipe dream would be having Sara Pichelli come aaaaaaall the way over from Italy to get a Gamora sketch. Angela by Bendis would be next. ;D

[Finger Cookin]

Cullen Bunn had to cancel his appearance at RCCC, so that frees up an hour of my time on Sunday. 7 panels I wanted to attend in 16 hours of con time was feeling pretty daunting.

[Finger Cookin]

So in the "This isn't quite news, but some minor details have been announced" department, Marvel has been dropping hints as to the future of the X-Men line all week. There's another upcoming event (isn't there always) after the current event, Death of X, and the event that follows that event, IVX (Inhumans vs. X-Men), called ResurXion. Presumably that is supposed to be pronounced like Resurrection, but I can't decide if it's really Rezerkshun or Ressur-zion.

Anyway, 7 "ongoing" X-Men titles have been announced this week, though nothing has been specified as to what current X-books they may be replacing (if any), what creative teams will be on these new titles, or even what versions of the characters may be featured in the titles.

Cover art teasers behind the spoilers, but the books announced this week have been: Iceman, Weapon X, Jean Grey, Generation X, Cable, and then just today: X-Men: Blue and X-Men: Gold.

Spoiler!

An interview at Marvel.com with the group editor and assistant editor on the titles teases some more info. Excerpts below.

Marvel.com: What is the mission statement of ResurrXion?

Mark Paniccia: Easy. X-Men are heroes. Of the Marvel Universe. These mutants have saved the world enough times they deserve to be called what they are.

Daniel Ketchum: Without spoiling too much about the ending of INHUMANS VS X-MEN, the X-Men have been living with a cloud hanging over their heads—literally. The current roster of X-Men titles has been defined by this pervading sense of doom, the fact that mutantkind is on the brink. Well, one way or another, the impending threat of extinction subsides, and this is the story of what happens next. The X-Men have a future. Now what are they going to do with it?

...

Marvel.com: Why give solo books to Iceman and Jean Grey?

Mark Paniccia: These are characters rich with stories to tell. And characters readers want to read about. We’ve given a lot of face time to other characters and felt it was time to put the spotlight on two of these beloved cast members.

Daniel Ketchum: Because it’s about time, isn’t it?

...

Marvel.com: What can we expect from the new books with old names, GENERATION X and WEAPON X?

Mark Paniccia: With GENERATION X we’re tapping into the demand for the school book. The school is such a big part of the X-Men mythos it feels wrong not to have a series devoted to it for this long. And I think readers will like the cast and the creative team. This will be a book that will seem familiar but it’s going to have a very fresh vibe to it and I can see it being a very endearing run for fans of this kind of book.

WEAPON X is our darkest book and that’s an understatement. I’m asking my writer to push the boundaries on this, go as far as we can take it in the rating. I haven’t done a lot of dark books in my career at Marvel. I’ve always had that itch I wanted to scratch. This is going into the abyss. Visceral. Shocking. You’ll step back and for a minute and be like “What the [expletive] just happened? Did they really do that? I’m loving this!!!”

Daniel Ketchum: GENERATION X and WEAPON X follow in the footsteps of their predecessors in terms of tone and spirit, but otherwise they blaze their own trails.

So, GENERATION X will bring you plenty of teenage drama, school uniforms, awkward kissing, and young X-Men being thrown into peril that would test the mettle of even the most seasoned veterans. And—of course—Jubilee. Because how could you do a GENERATION X book without Jubilee?

[KTrain]

Steve Dillon passed away today. He co-created Preacher and his run on Punisher is probably the best ever.