September Comics Sales: Commentary

Here is the official list, for reference.

Thoughts:

* Secret Invasion is still #1, with both Avengers books, which closely tie in with the event, at #3 and #5.

* Does Final Crisis skipping a month hurt this title and the event as a whole? Or is there enough FC product out to give the series a sense of continuity?

* I would really like to pin-point the appeal of All-Star Batman & Robin, which is one of the few DC books to make the Top 20 at #4. Is it the Frank Miller/Jim Lee combined name cachet? Or the fact that it is a Batman book that isn't continuity-heavy? Is this book, such as it is, a template for how other successful DC books should be?

* Marvel pseudo-reboots of Hulk, Iron Man, and Amazing Spider-Man still do quite well. Is this a viable strategy for a publisher -- to periodically just come up with a fresh new take on the characters and just push ahead?


* In line with the previous comment, should DC just start doing the same thing with a bunch of their titles? I mean -- for reals, not as a last-minute shuffle.

* I mean my God -- look at the numbers for a book like The Flash -- at #82. This book should be Iron Man/Thor level in sales for DC, if not Captain America level. Because that's how key and iconic this character is to the DCU. It should at least do as well as Green Lantern.

* And Green Arrow -- I mean, that character is classic & edgy & would totally appeal to today's reader -- he even is a semi-regular on TV's "Smallville." Yet the comic is at #85. That's horrible, horrible numbers for a property that is so viable & important.


The formula (and I know I have written this before, so please bear with me):

1. Take your second-tier & some of your third-tier books and apply the Top 50 Test on them.

2. Top 50 Test: are these books starring your best, most licensable intellectual property making it to the top 50? If not: overhaul them.

3. Get top writers & artists for each second tier/third tier book. Carefully talent search for these titles. Pick teams that are willing/likely to stay for at least two complete arcs (if not a full year). <---- this part most important.

4. If the title had been hopelessly mired in bad creative decisions/fill-ins, cancel it outright & start from scratch.

Marvel has applied this philosophy over and over and over again, to good results. Many years ago, when I was just a whelp collecting comics, books like Thor & Fantastic Four and Iron Man were considered "crap" -- all we wanted were "X-Titles" and Spider-Man. But now these second & third tier books are all doing great. This is a formula that works.

I mean, again -- Green Arrow! This should be DC's Iron Man -- there should be a movie out already.

And this is not a slam -- this is a kindness. Trying to figure out what would sell best is a kindness, far more so than a room full of "yes men." A room full of "yes men" can yes you right into bankruptcy. Ask the president.

Secret Invasion #2 Outsells Final Crisis #1...

...by around 40,000 copies.

(via Journalista)

Following Both Final Crisis and Secret Invasion Will Cost Over $400

Via Newsarama, who swears that "no editorial judgment" went into this assessment; just unbiased math.

"...if you’re one of those people who are looking at both, and we know you’re out there, together, both will set you back $432.12 for 133 books from now through the end of the year.

There you have it. We’ll no doubt revisit both Secret Invasion and Final Crisis totals as future solicitations come out, and we discern individual issues of import to add. Happy shopping!"

Dude. We're on the edge of a recession.

This just doesn't work. Readers can't be forced to follow this many books to understand the story. I'm not saying this because I think huge events like this are wrong from a personal standpoint. But from a business standpoint -- this publishing model only really benefits from the hardcore readers who were buying all the books anyway. Any new reader is going to view their checklist and freak the f**k out and say "this is way too much of an investment for me."

This isn't an editorial judgment either. I'm just telling it like it is. I know people who are considering ending their cable service in order to save money. I know people who won't go out with everyone else at lunchtime at the office in order to eat in and save money. Everybody is trying to save money. Who has $200 to spend on a large comic book story, much less $400? Not only does this discourage the new reader, but it puts many committed readers in a bit of a pickle.

I don't collect events. I just keep buying my regular titles, even the crossover issues, and hope that the story will be comprehensible enough. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. But that's the way I'm doing it. Not because I hate events. Because I don't have the money -- and, to be frank, the quality of events over the last 5 years has been a mixed bag. Does DC expect readers to shell out at least $200 for Final Crisis after expecting them to buy the weekly Countdown for a year?

Where is the incentive?

Would You Bring Back Steve Rogers?

Spoilers (maybe. who knows at this point)

At the end of Secret Invasion #2 there are some suggestions that Steve Rogers may or may not be back. With all these events, I take these suggestions with a huge grain of salt. But there you go.

If they could bring back Steve Rogers, would you go for it? Or, even if you really liked him as a character, would prefer he stay dead to keep the integrity of the character or the stories?

Comic Shop Report: Stepping Out of The Comfort Zone

Before I discuss DC Universe #0, I think I'm going to back up and describe my comic shopping experience yesterday. It's not just a review, it's a whole scenario.

Wednesdays at a major urban comics retailer is, as you can imagine, a madhouse.

Here is what I bought:
DC Universe #0
Avengers: The Initiative
Lucky Volume 2 #1 (Gabrielle Bell)
Liz Prince's latest book from Top Shelf
Hercules #1 from Radical Comics
Giant-Size Avengers/Invaders
Previews <------nerd

When I finally managed to squeeze my way into the new comics rack & pluck a copy of DC Universe #0, I realized that the corner was totally dinged. This began to bother me more and more as time wore on at the store, in the way that only a formerly hardcore comic book collector can relate to. The corner of my copy of Lucky #1 was also dinged. I swore I would find my way back into the new comics rack to replace those copies! (and I did!)

Giant-Size Avengers/Invaders sold out at my store. I took the last copy. I'm pretty sure most or all of that book was reprinted material. But it promised you a great story.

I knew nothing about Hercules #1 from Radical Comics (as I know almost nothing about Radical Comics), but it was only $1.00 for a book with a card-stock cover, prestige binding, and painted (or painterly) art. I decided to take a chance. It was a good marketing strategy on their part.

As the months go by, I find I hunger for more and more independent comics. I go through the back issue bins looking for interesting and/or self-published books that I might have missed. As my finances are tight, I demand more from my comics -- and what I demand is an unique experience & food for thought. I have no problem buying Chuck Taylor knockoffs at Payless and using the money saved to well-made comics that will enrich my life and make me think.

DC Universe #0 was an ad. It was an ad. The way it was promoted, I thought it was going to be some crucial piece of the Final Crisis pie. But it was a series of ads. DC Universe #0 was impenetrable to me. This does not mean the whole series will actually be so. But as somebody who is not steeped in the current lore of the last 5 years of DCU continuity, I had little to no idea what was going on. The only thing I could relate to was the Batman and Wonder Woman segments. Will I be able to enjoy those books if I wish not to follow the entire Final Crisis oeuvre?

I hear some people comment that DC Universe #0 should have just been a Free Comic Book Day offering. I disagree. It is not new-reader friendly. DC is much better off with Superman, Batman, or whatever.

DC and Marvel need to start trusting their overall lineups more and not depend on these humongous events. At least Marvel sort of works the events in a bit more organically. I don't want to read a series of books called "Final Crisis: Blah" and "Final Crisis: The Beginning Of The End of the Beginning." I just want to read Final Crisis. And then I want it to be over. I don't need a whole miniseries as an epilogue. I just want it to have a good run and be over. And then I want some sort of new status quo established that I can identify with and understand. Which brings me back to my point about limited resources & an increased need to buy books that inspire me.

Currently, I'm reading Buddha by Osamu Tezuka. The series of books are put out by Vertical.

Buddha blows my mind. It is so great on so many levels. Life is short. I don't want to stuff my mind with the same old crap anymore. And yes, Buddha is a reprint of an older series -- but it's brilliant and lovely and unique and funny and powerful.

And you know why Giant Size Avengers/Invaders sold out? Because those older stories were good as well! They deliver.

DC Universe #0 brings to my mind the word "rut." I get into ruts sometimes. I think of the same types of things over and over; I try old methods that didn't work before, thinking that somehow magically they will work this time. My life becomes a routine, and even though I'm not completely happy with the routine, and my view is sort of limited, it's all I know. The familiar things, like Triscuits and beer while watching Family Guy, comfort me. And that's fine.

But life is short. I want more! I want to expand my mind. I want to sample the entire expanse that this medium has to offer me. I don't want to be comforted. I want to be uncomfortable. I want to grow.

Change will happen regardless. I am only forestalling it. I rather flow along with change. The mainstream comic book industry needs to do this too. And I think they are, with initiatives like Zuda and Soleil. But something like DC Universe #0 is like a comfort zone. It will have its fans and will generate money for the company. But it is not growing anything. At least Bendis makes people angry; I don't agree with everything he writes, but at least him and Millar write things that piss some people off and make them think. At least Civil War inspires some debate about current politics. I find the political metaphors in Secret Invasion a little chancy, but at least Bendis obviously has something to say.

But in the end, as I said before, Final Crisis will make money for DC.

Occasional Links: The I Believe In Harvey Dent Edition

Spider-skills come handy when you're a window-washer. From Shanghaiist

• Regular OS reader David Miller has an unique series of online books through WOWIO -- The Writer's Block!

Basically, it's what happens when you take famous comic writers like Peter David, Gail Simone, Jim Shooter, and many more, and...

"...three writers are given the same 6 page chapter to script without knowing anything about the plot or being allowed to speak to one another. The authors let their muses take them (and you) on a literary trip that only they could craft."

This sound like a lot of fun! And they're apparently FREE! Holy crap! Go download 'em! (but don't share 'em 'cause WOWIO gets paid per download)

• Did Erik Larsen originally want to make Elektra a Skrull way-back-when?

"I wrote an opening scene in an issue of Nova the Human Rocket with an Elektra Skrull being arrested and hauled off after a battle with ol’ bucket-head and Ralph Macchio caught it (who knew he was paying attention?) and had me take it out (I swapped in a Savage Dragon Skrull, which allowed me to get in a free plug for my Image book) and that was the end of it."

• 6 new Dark Knight posters can be found at Film School Rejects:

I think they are sort of reminiscent of the Batman Returns ones. All-black posters, one each focusing on each main character, then a poster with all three of them:

• Holy crap again -- they've got a Galaxy Quest comic?! You mean, Galaxy Quest as in Tim Allen Galaxy Quest comic?!!!!

It's from IDW Publishing and hits stands in August.

• Finally, it's exactly what you need to buy for the Summer...your very own Charlie Chaplin axe-murderer t-shirt from Threadless:
  

(via Superpunch)

Crisis On Marvel Earths?

Okay, here's a question that popped into my head after discussing Secret Invasion #1 with the bf this morning:

Is there a "1970s" in the Marvel Universe?

To recap, at the end of Secret Invasion #1 (SPOILERS to the three people who may not know) a whole bunch of what we would term "Seventies" superheroes come out of a ship and confront their modern-day counterparts. These are versions of Marvel superheroes from the 1970s (for the most part).

We could also, for the sake of this discussion, call them "Bronze Age" superheroes (which actually covers the heroes up to the mid-1980s).

Now, to us -- or rather, to the comic fan who knows all this stuff -- what we see come out of the ship are Bronze Age heroes from the 70s and early 80s.


But in the Marvel Universe, in terms of (wait for it...) continuity, these characters are not from that time period. Marvel time moves slower, no? Peter Parker was not a teenager over 40 years ago -- we're talking more like several years ago, ten years tops (please correct me at any point on this, I'm not an expert).

So we see some of these "returnees" wear 1970s-style hair and outfits, but they were not actually from the time period, they were from a handful of years ago.

However -- am I making a lot of assumptions, here?

Could these characters actually be from another "universe" or time period?

And if we get into that -- are we talking about multiple earths or timestreams?

I realize this is pretty far-fetched, but I'm just asking...

Image by Thomas Pitilli for Comic Foundry

The one thing I like about the DC Universe was that they recognized various "eras" in comic book history as having existed, by using the "multiple earths" gimmick. Whereas with Marvel, you have more of a delayed-time thing.

I mean, what if you really had an Earth -- Earth M.M.M.S., for instance -- where the continuity from 1960s Marvel really existed? (and there might be ones like this from Spider-Girl, etc).

What if you had multiple versions of Spider-Man confronting each other?

If you had to take Wolverine from the 70s, 90s, and today, which one would you pick as the Wolverine? Which one would win in a battle of the ultimate Wolverine?

Speaking of "ultimate" -- what if at some point you say the Ultimate Universe is a genuine separate universe, and you had the characters from there confront their Marvel U. counterparts?

I'm not saying Secret Invasion is going to go down this path AT ALL.

But I will say that it's always been a fangeek dream of mine to see a "Crisis on Infinite Earths" treatment of the Marvel U.

(okay, there is the whole other debate as to whether catering to fangeek dreams like mine reels in the new readers. let me put this on hold while I geekdream)

Medical Quibble With Secret Invasion #1 (SPOILERS)

This is just a minor point, and it doesn't detract from the book, but...

SPOILERS


You know the scene where Iron Man has a seizure and they ask for something to put in his mouth?

When someone has a seizure, you are not supposed to put anything in their mouth, because they could choke on it.

From the Wikihow on treating someone with an epileptic seizure:

" Do not touch the person's mouth or put anything in it, including water or medicine used to treat seizures, as it may cause the person to choke. People having seizures cannot swallow their tongues, despite popular belief."

I was brought up to think that you had to give the person a pencil to bite down on or something, so they wouldn't swallow their tongue. But you are not supposed to put anything in the mouth of someone having a seizure -- no pencils, fingers, meds, anything.

Anyway, feel better, Tony Stark. Sucks about the Skrull thing.

Secret Invasion #1: Your Reactions?

I just read Secret Invasion #1 about a half-an-hour ago. Me and Comics Are Expensive's Chris Lamb are planning on doing a point/counterpoint sort of review on the book over the next day or so, but until then:

What'd you all think?

Actually Happened This Morning

"Oh God, I just had the weirdest dream! There were all these people who were secretly these weird green aliens that looked like brine shrimp! And they looked like you or me, but they were infiltrators from the brine shrimp planet, and were only taking on human form as a disguise to take over the Earth!"


Damn viral marketing finally got to me.

Oh, Noes!

Everything I Noes Is A Lie!

Final Crisis Or Secret Invasion: 3 Days Left To Vote!

Our highly unscientific poll here at OS has three days left to go, and almost 400 of you have cast your votes on the question:

What event are you looking forward to most: Final Crisis or Secret Invasion?

The rankings so far:

Final Crisis: 237 (62%)
Secret Invasion: 144 (37%)

So be sure to cast your vote at the poll to your right and make your voice heard!

Remember, the winner of this competition will win their very own contract with OS Studios, along with a very equitable royalties package including 10% on each action figure sold.* Then next month we do it all over again with another event! Event fatigue you say? I say thee "nay!"


*Fine Print:
1) "Marvel Boy" and the eight clones of "Marvel Boy" ineligible to vote, but will probably create multiple fake accounts and vote anyway.
2. For the more literal-minded readers in the audience, the "OS Studios" thing was a joke. I'd never split the profits on the action figures.
3) The "eight clones of Marvel Boy" thing was also a joke.
4) Those responsible for the "eight clones of Marvel Boy" thing have been sacked.
5) Those who sacked those responsible for the "eight clones of Marvel Boy" thing have also been sacked.

The Skrulls Have Invaded The Marvel Offices!

I'm posting this press release I just got from Marvel verbatim.

The Skrulls Have Invaded The Marvel Offices!

For the past year, fans have looked at their favorite Marvel Characters and been forced to asked, “Who Do You Trust?” But now, on the eve of Secret Invasion #1 (of 8)’s hotly-anticipated April 2^nd release, disturbing new evidence has been revealed—the Marvel offices have been infiltrated by Skrulls!

Uncovered at http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.2939, Marvel’s intrepid reporters will expose a different Skrull agent each day…and it just may be one of your favorite writers, artists or editors at Marvel!

Tune in each day for more shocking Skrull revelations at http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.2939! And don’t miss the red-hot Secret Invasion #1, from the superstar creative team of award-winning scribe Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers, Mighty Avengers) and acclaimed artist Leinil Yu (New Avengers)!

"Nothing-But-Business Tearing Down Of The Marvel Universe"

Comedian Patton Oswalt on his good buddy Brian Michael Bendis' Secret Invasion (found via Blog@Newsarama)

Brian’s already let me read the first three issues of SECRET INVASION, which is Marvel Comics’ big summer dust-up.

After COUNTDOWN and CIVIL WAR, I was going to take a break from these big summer crossover thingies. But this SECRET INVASION…holy sh**.

This is not a big, disposable, multi-issue donnybrook. This is a blitzkrieg from page one. Bendis basically worked out a remorseless, nothing-but-business tearing down of the Marvel Universe. And it’s clear the story has been set up…for…years. And the deaths are treated so off-handedly, with no appeal or remorse — and this is three issues in.

So far, each issue has also ended with a sh**-your-pants, ’Wait, what in the F***?!” moment…after, of course, about three or four what-the-f*** moments tossed off during the course of each story.

This confirms what I suspected about Secret Invasion, that it would be a bit of a scorched-earth ass-kicker that would truly shake up the Marvel Universe. Of course, having not read the book myself, this sort of confirms nothing. And then there is the issue of reader "event fatigue."

But good sound-bytes, this.

Poll: What Event Are You Looking Forward To More? Final Crisis or Secret Invasion?

It's a simple and straightforward question, and I'm presenting it without personal commentary. I'm even listing them alphabetically. The poll is to the right and will be up for about two weeks.

Start voting, people!

And if you really cannot stand either, come up with a write-in event and post it here.

Of Skrulls, Reptiles, Shape-Shifters, and Xenophobia

After reading a copy of the free SECRET INVASION SAGA comic, something occurred to me in regards to the possible inspiration for Marvel's latest event.

In hardcore conspiracy theorist circles, one of the most prevailing and popular theories is that of the "Reptilians."

In brief, the theory goes that there are reptile-like "shape-shifters" who have infiltrated our society. The origin of these green shape-shifters depends on who's telling the tale. Some say that they are fairly recent visitors from another planet, others claim that they are indigenous to Earth and evolved from dinosaurs parallel to human development. But a key part of most of these theories circles around the creatures' ability to take the form of other humans.

Reptilian

Skrull

According to popular conspiracy theorist/new age dude David Icke, the Skrulls -- er, I mean Reptilians -- have committed their deception at the highest levels of government and high society. From the Wikipedia entry on Icke:

"In 1999, he published The Biggest Secret, in which he wrote that the Illuminati are a race of reptilian humanoids known as the Babylonian Brotherhood, and that many prominent figures are reptilian, including George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Kris Kristofferson, and Boxcar Willie.^"

The idea of the "Illuminati" is another quite popular both with Icke and conspiracy circles in general. It is also the name of the comic that more or less "officially" kicked off the SECRET INVASION event with the revelation that Black Bolt was secretly a Skrull.

It would seem that the Reptilian theory is quite similar to the crux of the SECRET INVASION plot -- that green shape-shifters from another planet have taken the guise of prominent world figures and plan to take humanity over from within.


Now, the Skrulls, as far as I know, were invented in the early 1960s by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They predated the Reptilian theory by several decades. It might even be possible that the champions of the theory have simply been influenced by the comics of their youth but don't consciously remember it.


On the other hand -- or the same hand, just at a different angle -- the archetype of both the green invader from another planet and the shape-shifter have been with us for some time. In the end, unless you are a talented folklorist, it might be impossible to tease out where these ideas all started.

None of this is to say that Brian Michael Bendis ripped SECRET INVASION off of a popular conspiracy theory (though if he did, it would be nothing to be ashamed about -- Grant Morrison has been doing the very same thing for years). There are dozens of places Bendis might have gotten his inspiration from -- Battlestar Galactica, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, They Live, V, etc, etc, etc.


But, as with every major pop-culture phenomenon, I like to get a good sense of its possible influences and "contemporaries."

And if the more hardcore elements of the "reptilian agenda" theorists end up pointing at SECRET INVASION as some sort of "corroboration" for their tales -- as some have done concerning other science-fiction -- I would hardly be surprised.

Personally, I think these theories of evil shape-shifters from other world who secretly infiltrate society is a way for humanity to explore their own issues regarding xenophobia -- the fear of the foreign and unknown.


I believe SECRET INVASION also touches upon these issues of xenophobia. Skrulls are "evil," alien, foreign; they have a different skin color, different clothing, a different culture. They seem almost irrationally hostile, hostile without a good reason -- the perfect enemy for us to band together and fight. And seeing our most beloved and familiar characters as these alien invaders is shocking -- that was the whole point of Greg Horn's series of promos for SECRET INVASION.


The Skrulls could be anywhere, as "sleeper agents," across the country. It will be up to the heroes to root out the Skrullian influence in their midst; and in the process, many of their mistakes and sins might be explained away by "Skrull interference." After a couple of painful years filled with "Civil Wars" and "World War Hulks," things finally might get back to normal when the heroes make amends and team up to fight this common foe.

I am looking forward to SECRET INVASION, but my hope is that Bendis finds some sort of ironic twist in what might otherwise be the standard Cold War-era paranoia story. He's a smart writer; he could do it if he wanted to.

References for further reading:

On Cold War paranoia in pop-culture:
Science Fiction Films and American Society In The Fifties

On Conspiracy Theories:
The Ten Most Popular Conspiracy Theories
Crank Dot Net's Reptilian Links

Don't understand the concept of thinking critically about pop-culture?
I now include these links at the end of any pop-culture study I write:
Pop-culture studies: a definition
bell hooks on critical thinking (video, some scenes NSFW)
Resources for studying gender in popular culture
Resources for studying race and ethnicity in popular cuture
Racialicious -- a blog about the intersection of race and popular culture

Invisible Woman Is A Skrull? And Secret Invasion Musings

Man, if this stuff actually comes to pass...

I mean, can you imagine?

Again, I have several important questions:

1. What timeframe are we talking about for these Skrull replacements? Are we talking like post-Kirby, pre-Secret Wars? Or just some s**t that happened five years ago? Because the impact this is going to have on the Marvel Universe (to say nothing of the Merry Marvel Marching Society) is going to be contingent on what length of time we're talking about.

2. Could there be some of the replacements walking around at the same time as the originals, just at different places? (This could answer the age-old question of how Wolverine could be in so many damned books at the same time)

3. Are the originals still alive? What state are they in? Will they feel as if in a time warp like Captain America? Are we going to get a lot of those battles where two versions of the same character are beating each other senseless?

The last question brings up another interesting point:

In the DCU situation, various versions of the same character more often than not end up joining the same club and sipping tea together (Fanboy Superman Prime an exception).

But in this Marvel event, the reasons for the extra versions of the character in question are sinister and confrontational.

If we try to see Secret Invasion -- if it lives up to its hype -- as Marvel's "Crisis"-level event, it is one that can potentially deal with the sorts of inconsistencies in characterization and continuity that plagues older characters by classifying them as "fake" history in a way due to the Skrull infestation. Then the younger, more "pristine" versions of these characters can reemerge.

If this indeed happens, then I do consider Secret Invasion to be Marvel's "Crisis."

And frankly, if it does not happen, I would be rather disappointed.

Marvel Promo Art: Wolverine Is A Skrull???

C'mon, ya gotta love this.

Tho really, after all this Skrull promo art, some of these characters really ought to turn out to be Skrulls.