JD's Comic Book Thread
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Humanoids has a revised release schedule:
Okay, and just to have a really cool thing in the midst of all these bad news, the pencils of a page from the unpublished JLA/Avengers crossover from the 80s has surfaced online. Behold the awesome art of George Perez:
And even more unpublished George Perez pages, the master himself released eight pages of a cancelled Birds of Prey comic on his own website. Here are two examples, for the rest, follow the link.
During an interview with Rob Salkowitz for Forbes, Todd McFarlane talked about the current situation of the comics industry. He calls for a unified strategy from the top publishers, and strongly suggests to release at least high-demand titles digitally and for free.
Even though I'm very much in support of comic shops, I can't deny that McFarlane makes very good points, and I tend to agree with his idea. I'd do the caveat of having those post-CoVID events as print exclusives for a long while, as that would be a big incentive for readers to actually go back to the stores, and only release them digitally six months or so later. And as a fan, I'd really hate to leave digitally released issues unprinted, but this might very well be not just about the survival of the stores, but of the industry et al.
McFarlane also calls to re-examine Diamonds monopoly on Direct Market distribution.
Todd McFarlane said:
Even though I'm very much in support of comic shops, I can't deny that McFarlane makes very good points, and I tend to agree with his idea. I'd do the caveat of having those post-CoVID events as print exclusives for a long while, as that would be a big incentive for readers to actually go back to the stores, and only release them digitally six months or so later. And as a fan, I'd really hate to leave digitally released issues unprinted, but this might very well be not just about the survival of the stores, but of the industry et al.
McFarlane also calls to re-examine Diamonds monopoly on Direct Market distribution.
Just learned, Mort Drucker, the cartoonist behind the legendary lead parodies in Mad Magazine, has passed away at the age of 91. Here are some examples of his art:
McFarlane makes some very good points for the long term health of the industry. I would also suggest combining it with a plan to support comic shops--I would be very happy to allow my comic shop to send me a digital code for my comics that I could use to read them while waiting for the physical book. I am not sure why/how that plan fell through. Comixology is now an Amazon company so it would be more of an investment for them and a win-win for everyone.
For European readers like myself quite important:
Diamond UK Plans to Reopen Its Doors This Wednesday April 15th.
They obviously won't be able to distribute new comics that they don't have, but rather back issues in stock.
On another note, the US reprints of the French Conan comics I recently pointed out, had some trouble which was to be expected. If you remember my previous post on the matter, publisher Ablaze retitled the series "The Cimmerian" in order to not run afoul of the Conan trademark. Despite that, Conan Properties still send a C&D letter to both Ablaze and Diamond. While Ablaze did not buckle, knowing that the stories adapted in these comics are in the public domain in the U.S. and internationally, Diamond was apparently not as sure. Understandable, since Conan Properties' could bring in their licencing partner Marvel to put pressure on the distributor.
Still, the matter appears to have been resolved. Ablaze has dropped the "The Cimmerian" title for the over-all series and will simply publish the books under the original story titles (so "The Cimmerian: Queen of the Black Coast" becomes simply "Queen of the Black Coast"). I still expect Conan Properties to try some other strategies to intimidate Ablaze and Diamond, but for now, the series will continue. Or rather, it will as soon as Diamond gets back to work.
Diamond UK Plans to Reopen Its Doors This Wednesday April 15th.
They obviously won't be able to distribute new comics that they don't have, but rather back issues in stock.
On another note, the US reprints of the French Conan comics I recently pointed out, had some trouble which was to be expected. If you remember my previous post on the matter, publisher Ablaze retitled the series "The Cimmerian" in order to not run afoul of the Conan trademark. Despite that, Conan Properties still send a C&D letter to both Ablaze and Diamond. While Ablaze did not buckle, knowing that the stories adapted in these comics are in the public domain in the U.S. and internationally, Diamond was apparently not as sure. Understandable, since Conan Properties' could bring in their licencing partner Marvel to put pressure on the distributor.
Still, the matter appears to have been resolved. Ablaze has dropped the "The Cimmerian" title for the over-all series and will simply publish the books under the original story titles (so "The Cimmerian: Queen of the Black Coast" becomes simply "Queen of the Black Coast"). I still expect Conan Properties to try some other strategies to intimidate Ablaze and Diamond, but for now, the series will continue. Or rather, it will as soon as Diamond gets back to work.
I understand the point about the direct market but you think they would come out with some digital only content (so non-competitive) because at the moment they are leaving money on the table... especially from people like me who not have stepped into a physical store for decades.
So why did they end up going with Diamond and the direct market instead of just selling them all in book stores and places like Wal-Mart or Target? Did the just stop buying them from those kind of places.
I kind of wonder if they ended up doing more harm than going that route, especially with the reputation comic book stores ended up getting with the non-fans.
I kind of wonder if they ended up doing more harm than going that route, especially with the reputation comic book stores ended up getting with the non-fans.
Because obviously, they're key workers providing an essential service.
In other news, my Marvel catch up has reached Iron Man. It's been pretty bad since Dan Slott took over, but the 2020 arc and spinoffs is breaking new ground. I've spent a good chunk of today trying to want to read some more of it.
Managed just over one issue in 24 hours of lockdown. Now given up, it's drivel.
Artist Dave Johnson tweeted this cool piece, further stirring the demands for a new DC/Marvel crossover:
Did we ever get that fight in any of the crossovers we got in the past? It's one I would love to see.
I wish they would release digital versions of the Marvel/DC crossovers, I would love to read them. It looks like the majority of the paper versions on Amazon are outrageously expense. There is one "DC/Marvel Crossover Classics Vol. 2" collection for $15 on Amazon, but that's the only reasonably priced listing I see.
Were any of the Amalgam Comics series any good?
I wish they would release digital versions of the Marvel/DC crossovers, I would love to read them. It looks like the majority of the paper versions on Amazon are outrageously expense. There is one "DC/Marvel Crossover Classics Vol. 2" collection for $15 on Amazon, but that's the only reasonably priced listing I see.
Were any of the Amalgam Comics series any good?
No. Batman and Wolverine never headlined a crossover book together, and during the DC vs Marvel crossover, Wolverine was pitted against Lobo, and Batman went up against Captain America. Wolverine did steal the Batmobile, though. And they were fused into Dark Claw in the Amalgam Universe.
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