Solicitations for January

[Blue Saint]

DC Comics
Marvel Comics

First while I think DC does come off extremely well for January, I have issues with the "iconic" covers promotion. They are just boring and it all seems rushed with nearly every comic being in the middle of an arc. Honestly it would have probably been better to roll-out a new trade dressing instead, something to make the line stand-out like the old checkerboard pattern. Also I am still excited for "Weird World" even though one of the features is Lobo.

Marvel is just a mess, first coming out a day late made everyone expect something big which just made what we got that much worse. Remember when Marvel made a big deal that new titles starting January would be $2.99, out of the ten new titles only three are at the $2.99 price point. As it stands I am at 5 Marvel books in January, but with the latest rounds of drops and cancellations come February I am down to two Marvel titles. And in all honesty Marvel is going have to work hard to win back my patronage.

 

[Skyknight]

FINALLY, it's about time an ASM writer remembered Spidey's an Avenger, the current regime have been acting like that's almost an alien notion that shouldnt even be acknowleged

 

[Sage Shinigami]

DC Comics
Marvel Comics

First while I think DC does come off extremely well for January, I have issues with the "iconic" covers promotion. They are just boring and it all seems rushed with nearly every comic being in the middle of an arc. Honestly it would have probably been better to roll-out a new trade dressing instead, something to make the line stand-out like the old checkerboard pattern. Also I am still excited for "Weird World" even though one of the features is Lobo.

Marvel is just a mess, first coming out a day late made everyone expect something big which just made what we got that much worse. Remember when Marvel made a big deal that new titles starting January would be $2.99, out of the ten new titles only three are at the $2.99 price point. As it stands I am at 5 Marvel books in January, but with the latest rounds of drops and cancellations come February I am down to two Marvel titles. And in all honesty Marvel is going have to work hard to win back my patronage.

*sighs* The Black Fang of comics.

 

[Blue Saint]

Oh my, I have opinions about something that clashes with yours we must attack each other! Seriously if all you want to do is lob ad hominem comments at me just send me a private message.

Yeah I get worked up because I actually would like the industry to be in better shape. In fact I find it distressing that the direct market is down 12% compared to last year. And yes I have issues with how DC and Marvel go about their business. Why shouldn't I comment on these? I find the business side of the industry as equally fascinating as the creative, in some cases more. I have no problem if you disagree me about anything, but if you are just going to attack me for whatever reason you have in your head just don't you are wasting everyone's time.

 

[Sage Shinigami]

Sometimes I wonder if people realize the inherent ridiculousness of their actions...

Look, dude. You run around here posting news byte after news byte, and all I ever see you do is bitching about them.

It's one thing to go into a thread and have a negative reaction--it's an entirely different thing to START a negative thread.

It's got nothing to do with a difference of opinions in comics, though I'm sure we do vary pretty wildly since you really...really need to read more comics, the problem I have is that, if I don't like something...I'm not going to make a freaking thread about it.

I thought Code Geass, with minor exceptions, was pure crap after episode 19. One of the most popular threads when I came back was one talking about how great a mecha anime it was. I didn't go in there and piss on those guys' cornflakes, but even if I had--that's one negative opinion amongst several positive ones--it doesn't change things. But to START a thread off talking about how terrible something is? It just encourages more people to pile in and complain, and those with something positive to say simply decide not to bother.

And you know what? I have problems with comics too, but it's far more effective to simply put my money where my mouth is. I don't continue to bitch after that because my saying DC's team books have been garbage for years (there are exceptions) won't fix them, nor will it make me happy.

If you get some joy from talking about why DC or Marvel is doing this or that that annoys you, carry on...but I wouldn't worry about me responding to it anymore. I didn't come back to HJU to argue.

 

[ForeverRed]

Definitely gonna get Batman comics. Can't wait to read soon.

 

[Eldar]

In fact I find it distressing that the direct market is down 12% compared to last year.

Because the economy is still down the crapper.

 

[Sage Shinigami]

Because the economy is still down the crapper.

This + no major event + $4 comics.

 

[Red Tyranno Ranger]

Because the economy is still down the crapper.

yep

 

[Blue Saint]

Sometimes I wonder if people realize the inherent ridiculousness of their actions...

Look, dude. You run around here posting news byte after news byte, and all I ever see you do is bitching about them.

It's one thing to go into a thread and have a negative reaction--it's an entirely different thing to START a negative thread.

It's got nothing to do with a difference of opinions in comics, though I'm sure we do vary pretty wildly since you really...really need to read more comics, the problem I have is that, if I don't like something...I'm not going to make a freaking thread about it.

I thought Code Geass, with minor exceptions, was pure crap after episode 19. One of the most popular threads when I came back was one talking about how great a mecha anime it was. I didn't go in there and piss on those guys' cornflakes, but even if I had--that's one negative opinion amongst several positive ones--it doesn't change things. But to START a thread off talking about how terrible something is? It just encourages more people to pile in and complain, and those with something positive to say simply decide not to bother.

And you know what? I have problems with comics too, but it's far more effective to simply put my money where my mouth is. I don't continue to bitch after that because my saying DC's team books have been garbage for years (there are exceptions) won't fix them, nor will it make me happy.

If you get some joy from talking about why DC or Marvel is doing this or that that annoys you, carry on...but I wouldn't worry about me responding to it anymore. I didn't come back to HJU to argue.

I post things that are interesting to me, be it positive or negative. I do this because if I only talk about the positive I would be disingenuous. What is so bad about being negative? If I am upset about something it means I still care. I post a lot negative stuff because Marvel and DC are doing a lot of stuff that is pissing me off. But I do also post things that I think are good ideas, too. I mean I have been nothing but positive about DC's price cut and just recently the whole Legion election deal which honestly has me thinking about getting into the books. I would love to be able to come in here and just gush about how Marvel or DC is just energizing the fans and the industry. The thing is that isn't happening and I am not going to act like it is by not voicing my concerns and frustrations.

And while I would love to read more books I'll be honest cost is an issue. Due the highly interconnected nature of mainstream titles which leads to the fact that most time you are forced to buy books that you don't necessarily want in order to get a complete story, frankly I have trouble justify the cost for that. I mean just look at these number for DC Comics and Marvel, I admit these numbers don't pertain to exactly what I was saying but it still helps to illustrate a point.

My whole point is there needs to be more discussion going on that hasn't been been taking place. This is vital time for comics to either expand or just become cheap IP farms and if don't voice our concerns now we have no one to blame for it later but ourselves. While I do agree voting with your wallet is fine, but you need to tell people why you doing it too. While every vote matters, a vote by itself doesn't add up to much.

Also the economy isn't that much of factor in the the recent drop, if anything comics have been holding up quite well through out this downturn. ICv2 is a great resource that anyone interested in the market should check out.