Marvel: Leaving Money on the Table

Comic Book Resources' review of 2006 has been made fun of by several bloggers for its participants lauding of Civil War as "the one project that had the biggest impact on the comics industry" -- which is arguably true, if for all the wrong reasons -- but I found this particular exchange much more interesting:

If we're all agreed that sales are up and things look bright for the industry, how can we ride this success? The last time business was this good was the 1990s and we all know what happened there. What's the key to keeping things going without killing the golden goose?

Tom Brevoort, Marvel : The answer is incredibly simple, yet incredibly difficult: we need to behave responsibly. And that means sometimes leaving money on the table in the short term for the long term good. As we move further and further back into the realm of variant covers and gimmick interiors and all that, we need to be careful that the readers who simply want to be entertained by the stories are being serviced — and that the readers who like these special editions don't feel like we're going this route so often that we're taking advantage of them.

Axel Alonso, Marvel : I totally agree. Besides being willing to walk away from short-term money, we need to continue to diversify our publishing plan, and cater to the different types of readers who are out there: the old-school fans and the new readers.

David Gabriel, Marvel : We need to reach out to new readers, but also help retailers open new stores to reach those new readers. The industry is thriving right now, but if we don't reach beyond our own self-imposed walls, we will have the problems of the past. However, I think all publishers have been acutely aware of this, and Tom is correct. We all just need to act responsibly. Sometimes that means saying no to another variant cover on just any old book and other times it simply means partnering with our retailers and listening and responding to their needs and concerns.

Either these three are crying for help and trying to send a subtle message to someone -- Joe Quesada? Dan Buckley? -- or they're talking out of both sides of their mouths as Marvel is arguably the most "irresponsible" publisher in the industry when it comes to "killing the golden goose". (Or second worst, depending on how much value you put on DC's attempts to offer a wider variety of content.)

A scarier thought here, suggested by the "leaving money on the table" comment, is what bad ideas they've possibly not acted on [yet]. I mean, Civil War; making fun of retailers' concerns about delayed titles; the eMusic inserts damaging irreplaceable inventory; 70/30 ad:edit ratios; Speedball/Penance... in light of this stuff, what could possibly have been so bad that they turned it down? And how long before Wall Street points out that they're leaving money on the table and they're forced to snatch it up?

What if Civil War #6 was good?

Tetsubo Productions is at it again with a hilarious remix of Civil War #6 that is a much more entertaining read than the real thing could possibly be.


Go, read, laugh your ass off and, hopefully, be glad you didn't spend any money on the real thing. (And if you missed it last time, check out the remix of Civil War #5.)

On the Web: Zombies on a Plane

I'm going to be very disappointed if someone, at some point in this story, doesn't say, "I am sick and tired of these muthaf**kin' zombies on this muthaf**kin' plane!"

(Flight of the Living Dead, via murdershow.net)

I've only recently started to dabble in webcomics and Flight of the Living Dead looks like the first one that will keep me coming back on a regular basis. (If it had an RSS feed, I'd track it in the Watchtower. Hint...) Scott Ewen's taken a can't-miss premise and, on a weekly schedule, is planning to roll out what looks like it will be an entertaining yarn. The first hour (8 pages) is mostly setup, briskly paced, as passengers are introduced and Patient Zero shows the first sign of infection, having been attacked by a "homeless man" on the way to the airport. The second hour just started this week, so I'm looking forward to another 47 weeks of fun, which means it should wrap up right before Civil War.

Check it out!

Much Ado About Cowboys & Aliens

I knew a lot of people in the comics industry didn't like Platinum Comics' Scott Rosenberg, but holy cow!

Comics writer A. David Lewis (the excellent The Lone and Level Sands) absolutely flipped his lid last Friday upon seeing Entertainment Weekly's sporadic comics sales chart showing Cowboys & Aliens in the top spot, according to Midtown Comics:

"What smarts most is that C&A is listed as the top-selling graphic novel. Yes, Entertainment Weekly crowns it as #1.

First, that's crap. I think we all know that's crap. And, by 'we,' I mean people who actually go to comic book shops on an almost weekly basis to stock up on the newest, the best, and the guilty pleasures (not always mutually exclusive). Even folks who are only casually aware of the comic book industry -- as either a consumer, a producer, or a critic (again, seldom mutually exclusive) -- know that this is crap. Entertainment Weekly naming Cowboys & Aliens is the #1 graphic novel is like saying Girls Gone Wild Spring Break Sex Riot is the #1 DVD over Pirates of the Carribbean."

The whole post is an apoplectic rant of Fanboy Rampage-level proportions, as Lewis misrepresents the chart and takes a slash-and-burn approach that unfairly slams the book itself -- a solid bit of inoffensive entertainment that's not going to make anyone's Best of lists -- while effectively implicating Midtown and EW in a payola scheme, and representing Platinum as the worst thing to hit comics since Pat Lee's Porsche. I wrote him an email when I read the post (click over to this comments section to read it and the follow-up) and his response made it clear that he was trying to ring the alarm, seeking to spread the word as far and wide as possible, including starting a thread on The Engine that was quickly closed due to, ironically, some unrelated petty sniping between a couple of creators.

In the days since, the usual suspects have picked up the story and Journalista's Dirk Deppey took the rare step of actually investigating the situation, contacting Midtown and Platinum directly for comment and ultimately revealing what was, at worst, an example of the usual "marketing" trickery comics publishers use to inflate their sales.

One thing that seemed lost in all of the coverage was that it's not the first time EW has printed such a list, as Johanna Draper Carlson noted back in July -- when the much-loved Brian Wood's DMZ topped the Golden Apple Comics-derived chart to congratulations all around -- and as far as I've always understood it, their comics coverage is much more a labor of love project by staffers who happened to enjoy comics, as opposed to their revenue-driven coverage of film, TV and music. I mean, it's not like Marvel, DC or any comics retailers are, or ever will be, spending significant money advertising with them.

It would be a really sad thing if Lewis' off-the-mark post has any negative effects on EW's comics coverage in the future. He's already pissed off at least one innocent bystander on Platinum's payroll, while Golden Apple Comics retailer Ryan Liebowitz posted a comment in support of Platinum's marketing campaign, so he ends up coming off as a conspiratorial crackpot with an axe to grind. Considering comics is such a small, incestuous industry, that's probably not the smartest thing for an up-and-coming writer like himself to be doing.

UPDATE: Lewis has posted a follow-up that I just noticed, where he takes an unapologetic step backwards that should draw some interesting comments. Or not. Meanwhile, Steven Grant offers a sensible, not to mention informed, take on the situation.

On the Web: Ridiculous, Sublime

From the ridiculous:


Deadbeat Superheroes (via Meltblog)

...to the sublime:


Ghost Rider director Mark Steven Johnson explains why Eva Mendes is perfect... um, I mean "the perfect" actress to play Johnny Blaze's love interest. (via Marvel.com)

On The Shelves: 1/11/07

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly look at select comic books being released Thursday, 1/11/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK


Are We Feeling Safer Yet? A (Th) Ink Anthology

AFTER HOURS
7 Days To Fame Complete Set, $11.99

I reviewed this last year for PopCultureShock: "There are some strong character moments throughout the story as the morality of the show is debated, and of suicide itself, but the overall tone is somewhat didactic as [Buddy] Scalera clearly favors one side of the argument, and too much of his peripheral dialogue feels forced and unnatural. The artwork improves dramatically between the first issue and the final two, as Dennis Budd is a noticeably better artist than Nick Diaz, whose stiff characters and low budget backgrounds give the first issue an unnecessarily amateurish feel. All in all, 7 Days to Fame is a noteworthy effort that suggests both Scalera and Budd are talents to keep an eye on. (2.5 out of 5 Surreal Lifers)"

DARK HORSE COMICS
Star Wars Legacy #7, $2.99

No blogiverse controversies here as John Ostrander and Jan Duursema deliver the goods on the best Star Wars-related tie-in since "working" lightsabers.

DC COMICS
Batman #662, $2.99
Fallen Angel Vol 2 Down To Earth TPB, $14.99
Green Lantern Corps #8, $2.99
Superman Batman Vs Aliens Predators #1 (Of 2), $5.99

Ostrander's "Grotesk" fill-in concludes, as does Batman's short-term return to my pull list. With the "Mad Monk" mini about to conclude, too, I'm down to only Detective Comics for my regular Bat-fix, and that one's on the chopping block, too. *** My enthusiasm for Fallen Angel has waned a bit, partly because of outside circumstances that have found the last few issues getting buried in my to-read pile (and partly for Peter David again hinting at some connection to his Supergirl run that holds no interest for me), but I still plan to pick up the TPBs collecting the original run at some point. *** Green Lantern Corps got the axe an issue or two back as my tolerance for marginal titles has lessened dramatically over the past six months, especially when it comes to the Big Two. *** Batman vs. The Predator was one of the first comics I dug out of the back issue boxes when I started buying comics again, back in 2003, so there's a bit of pseudo-nostalgic appeal to Superman Batman Vs Aliens Predators that might be enough to get me to pick it up. (Interestingly, DC notes that it's "co-published with Dark Horse Comics", which I didn't realize.)

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite #19, $2.99

I'm honestly surprised that G.I. Joe (and its myriad spin-offs) is still on my pull list, but it's been genuinely entertaining since the most recent relaunch.

IMAGE COMICS
Meltdown #2 (Of 2), $5.99
Strange Girl #13, $3.50

Hopefully Meltdown gets a collected TPB because the first issue had some potential, but a two-issue mini-series featuring an unknown character by relatively unknown creators is a tough sell and will have no shelf-life beyond its initial release. *** Strange Girl was my "Best Ongoing Series of 2006" and not enough people are reading it, ensuring they will share her fate of living in hell on Earth.

MARVEL COMICS
Immortal Iron Fist 2nd Ptg Dellotto Var #1, $2.99
Thunderbolts #110, $2.99

If you skipped Iron Fist #1 the first time around because it was, well, Iron Fist, here's your chance to rectify your mistake as Marvel offers up a legitimate 2nd printing of an underordered gem. *** I really enjoyed Fabian Nicieza's old school, character-driven run on The New Thunderbolts, but I have no interest in this new Civil War-revamped incarnation by Warren Ellis. Penance is an interesting concept for a character, but I have no faith in Marvel's ability to pull it off.

TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS
Are We Feeling Safer Yet A TH Ink Anthology TPB, $12.95

New work from Keith Knight! Nuff said.

Review: Ed's Terrestrials

Ed's Terrestrials
By Scott Christian Sava and Diego Jourdan (Blue Dream Studios, 2006; $19.99)

There's few things in comics that I love more than a good, all-ages graphic novel, both for my own personal enjoyment and to be able to share it with my 6-year old son. In the past, I've praised the likes of A Bit Haywire, Amelia Rules!, Bumperboy, and Superhero -- all excellent reads for kids ages 6-60+ -- and Scott Christian Sava's delightful Ed's Terrestrials joins that list.

Fans of such entertaining Nickelodeon fare as Fairly Oddparents and Jimmy Neutron will love Sava's slightly younger-skewing tale of aliens on the run who've crash landed in the titular Ed's tree house and look to him as their savior. Ed is your typical middle America pre-teen who doesn't know what he wants to do when he grows up -- "I like to read comic books!" -- but comes to understand that you can do anything you want to if you follow your dreams.


Ed's nemesis -- his "bazillionaire" classmate, Natalie, who has a weakness for "shiny, pretty things" -- teams up with the Intergalatic Food Court's Mall Security Guard, Maximus Obliterus, who threatens to destroy the Earth if Ed doesn't surrender his new friends. Diego Jourdan's artwork is clean and colorful, with great attention to character design that gives the lead humans and each alien, no matter how peripheral, a distinctive identity.

While it may sound sappy and/or overly outlandish, it's neither as Sava and Jourdan keep the humor and action coming at a steady pace, and their cast of characters is extremely likeable -- even the "bad" guys. Ed and Natalie are similar to Timmy and Vicky from Fairly Oddparents, perfect foils for one another, and coupled with a potentially unlimited alien cast, Ed's Terrestrials is not only a smile-inducing winner the whole family can enjoy, but a worthy franchise-in-the-making that I'd like to see more of.

[Review copy provided by Sphinx Group, for Blue Dream Studios.]

Civil War: Can it be saved?

After reading Civil War #6, the answer is definitely no. In my opinion, this is the worst event comic DC or Marvel has put out in the three years since I jumped back into comics. Civil War makes Identity & Infinite Crisis look like f#&k!ng Shakespeare. House of M, is the next great American novel compared to Civil War.

No matter how this ends, it cannot overcome the crap in the previous 6 issues.


If it wasn't for the amazing artwork by Steve McNiven and the star power of Mark Millar, this series wouldn't be a hit; people would have dropped it halfway through if it was done by some B-listers. Marvel really dropped the ball by breaking the story up into the various tie-ins. If some of those stories would have been incorporated into Civil War proper, it would've been a much better mini-series.

Just take a look at the following comparisons and ponder what could have been:

I took a look at the page count for Civil War issues 1-6. It started off with a bang at 33 pages for issue 1. Since then, issues 2-6 have each come in at an astounding 22 pages. That is a total of 143 pages over six issues. I read earlier today that #7, the final issue, is on track for 28 pages. That would bring the grand total to 171 pages for a :blockbuster" seven-issue mini-series.

I then had a great idea and thought about how this stacks up to some all-time, truly great mini-series, so I pulled out my trades for Kingdom Come and Watchmen. Kingdom Come was originally published as a four-issue Prestige Format mini-series and came in at 212 pages. Watchmen was a 12-issue maxi-series, so I only counted the first six issues, which came in at 166 pages.

In comparison to Watchmen, Civil War is down 23 pages when looking at the first six issues of each. Just to clarify, I'm not counting the excerpts of "Under The Hood" at the end of every Watchmen issue. When Civil War goes against Kingdom Come it gets even worse. To keep the fight fair, I factored in the entire run of Kingdom Come (four issues) and the projected total page count for Civil War and in that case, Civil War is down 41 pages.

Using the comparisons above, Civil War is obviously lacking in the story department. Let's not even consider the effects of all the single and two-panel splash pages that are a staple in every issue of Civil War.

I don't think there is much more to say. My opinion of the series is pretty obvious, and the numbers don't lie. In all likelihood Civil War will go down as the series that could have been, but never was.

PANEL: Winter Soldier: Winter Kills #1

Winter Soldier: Winter Kills #1
Art by Lee Weeks, Stefano Gaudiano, Rick Hoberg and Matt Milla
Written by Ed Brubaker
December 2006, Marvel Comics