Marvel News

I have to give Marvel credit, that they always are trying to generate a buzz on the internet, but instead of getting interested in their offerings I’m starting to get a little burnt out and I’m tired of working so hard to follow all of these mini-events.

“War of the Marvels” was announced and it appears to just be a story arc in Ms. Marvel. Which is a self contained book usually and has managed to be part of Dark Reign and still be its own thing, but now it is being “eventized” and will guest star Spider-Man, Luke Cage and Deadpool. I was just starting to enjoy having Moonstone be Ms. Marvel and Deadpool turns me off after reading him in the horrible cross-over with Thunderbolts (which I dropped). Another book I may have to drop soon.

Ghost Rider has been cancelled and will be re-launched as a six issue mini-series called “Heaven’s On Fire”. This is actually the last six issues of Jason Aaron’s run on Ghost Rider, which has been fun and a great read, but instead of keeping the book going it gets cancelled (on hiatus, whatever) and then done as a mini-series and will then be, what re-launched as a new series with a new creative team or what. I will get this series and then I’m off the book.

Iron Fist is being cancelled and then replaced with the “Immortal Weapons” series and then will what, we don’t know, but I’m sure it will be big. This is another move that is just trying to jack up sales or something. If Immortal Weapons is that good launch it and still keep Iron Fist going. Marvel may get the jacked up sales on occasion, but it makes it easy for me to move on from a book also.

The Captain America “Reborn” event. Marvel’s mega hyped deal that is burning up the internet as everyone tries to guess what they are doing. I’m a good customer of my store and Cap is on my list, so I will get this, but it is yet another mini-event type deal, but is suppose to be national press coverage type of thing for Captain America #600. If they decide to bring back the “Truth” as Captain America you can count me out. That would be way too much of a stunt. If Steve Rogers is coming back and he will be the one to end the Dark Reign, than count me in.

Now we get a teaser image for the Iron Patriot Acts. Obviously involving Norman Osborne and Nick Fury and others and my reaction is the stifling of a yawn.

Add into that mix a huge number of Dark Reign mini-series, a rumored Thor Event, mini-X-Men events along with an X-Men Dark Reign tie-in and the beat goes on and on and on. By the way I did not even mention Marvel’s new event book “The Marvel Project” or the fact that we have “War of Kings”, “Ultimatum “and some other stuff in the X-books going on.

I mean I love books like Thor, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Moon Knight and a few others, but every single book in Marvel’s line-up is getting jacked up and if everything is a special event, then nothing is a special event (this is not the Special Olympics where everyone gets to be special).

I have a real job that takes a lot of mental energy and I certainly enjoy trying to read a comic and guess what is happening, but I do not want to have to work so damn hard to try and figure out what book I want next. Also this all feel like an artificial ways of boosting up the price to $4 without us noticing. Ghost Rider was a 32 page comic for $3, Heaven’s On Fire is a $4 32 page comic. Iron Fist was a $3 comic, Immortal Weapons a $4 comic (it does say 40 pages though at least). Want to bet when these titles are their own book again what the prices will be.

At this point I will get the books I enjoy, but if a title is going to be screwed up for no good reason than it is a great excuse to drop the book. Ultimate Spider-Man is a book I’m dropping after its’ last issue. I have cancelled Moon Knight just to make sure as no new issue has even been solicited. I will drop books faster then I will add them. Mr. Negative, Lethal Legion, The Hood, Zodiac, Sinister Spider-Man, Young Avengers are all Dark Reign mini-series that I will not give the time of day too. I mean the talent on those books is okay, but they are $4 32 page comics with “B” and “C” level talent.

Marvel needs to start playing fair with their fan base, but it looks to me is they want to try and up their dollar sales and market share at any price. All of this is short sighted thinking and the long term is an unhealthy market. Sure at $4 a book you can have higher sales with a less amount of books sold, but then you have reduced your fan base and it starts the downward spiral.

Marvel please just let the creators produce some good solid series. Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Thor and their kind should be left alone. Have fun with the core “U” and make it connected, just don’t make every book have connections that force people to buy other books or drop the title they like, because others like me will drop it. I know you guys are part of corporate America, but long term goals are the real deal, short term objectives only are a road to disaster.