Guest raptor Report post Posted July 1, 2002 Welcome to the first SmarksBoard Comic News Update! I’m Raptor, your cut-n-pasting host. Let’s jump right in. -Lead Story: Description of Marvel’s “U-Decide” event titles At a recent press conference, Joe Quesada, Bill Jemas, and Peter David all described the comics they are entering into the U-Decide competition. Captain Marvel (Peter David) - ”So now, with the relaunch, Captain Marvel has reached a new point in his development. He has now grown up enough so that he thinks he can get a handle on the world. If anything, he's more like a combination of a toddler and a teenager, which is extremely dangerous. At this point in his development, cosmic awareness is the equivalent of taking a new driver and putting him behind the wheel of a Porsche. He figures that he's immortal, he figures that he knows exactly how to do it - gimme the keys and stand back and watch my dust. ”That's exactly where Captain Marvel finds himself, and we frequently know what happens with sixteen year olds who get into that mindset. In the first issue, to all intents and purposes, wraps himself around a cosmic awareness tree. The question is going to be where do you go from there?” Marville (Bill Jemas) - ‘What Marville really is about, the first two issues at least, is just a step back and me poking fun at the industry - Joe and Peter and all the good print that we've made over he past couple of years. I trash Marvel every bit as hard as I trash DC, and I trash myself every bit as hard as I trash Peter and Joe.To some extent, this is just my shot at humor, and for people who like the kind of crap that I've been throwing at you for the past two years, you should enjoy the book, and if you hate the kid of crap that I've been throwing at you for the past two years, please, just criticize the book without reading it - it's a lot more fun.” Ultimate Adventures (Joe Quesada) - ”To describe it in it's simplest terms, we're taking the superhero sidekick archetypes, regardless of what heroes you want to use, but it is that particular model, but we're looking at it from the point of view of the kid who gets placed in the situation where he has to be the sidekick. What is that really like? Is it an enjoyable situation? Is it something that he wants to do? Is it something that he feels pressured to do? What's the chemistry between the sidekick and the superhero? While U-DECIDE is being set up an a three-way competition, the actual stakes of the promotion are more limited to the ‘Dunk-tank’ and ‘Pie-in-the-face” aspects. If the two titles that come in 2nd and 3rd do well enough on their own, they could continue after the promotional contest is over and they will not be automatically cancelled just on the basis of their not outselling the other titles. Jemas also said regardless of the results of the ”competition” he will likely not have time to write Marville beyond six issues, but Quesada later clarified and said if the series was very successful, he’d find a new writer to continue the series. -Marvel cuts page count (from Silverbulletcomics.com) A number of freelancers have recently voiced complaints over a policy that will be enforced by Marvel editorial later on this year. The new policy will see the story length of all Marvel books slashed from 22 pages to 21 pages. So why are Marvel cutting the length of story? To include a one page editorial that will describe recent storylines and provide character information to make the books new reader friendly. -Marvel/DC/Com.X/Crosshen to fight in the playground at noon (from Silverbulletcomics.com) Marvel has waged a war of words with Crossgen and British publisher Com.X. Certain individuals at Marvel and DC have been exchanging messages with the freelance community calling Com.X "the UK version of CrossGen," referring to CrossGen's supposed sweatshop atmosphere and draconian leadership. Both Marvel and DC have been telling their creative talent not to talk to the folks at Com.X. Recently Com.X signed Mick McMahon, a veteran 2000 AD artist to illustrate a new book called Heavy Plant. People who have known Mick for over 15 years, now refuse to speak to him. Though oddly enough Marvel did convince former Com.X artist Trevor Hairsine to drop his plans to move to the CrossGen compound to follow up artist John Cassady on Captain America. -Wildstorm Plans Jim Lee Order Incentive DC has announced a special 'Jim Lee' incentive for retailers ordering [initial orders only] Gen13 #1, 21 Down #1 and The Resistance #1, the premiere issues of three new Wildstorm regular series, all debuting in September. This incentive will be “The Jim Lee Sketchbook.” This new, 16-page, color publication showcases characters and concepts from Jim Lee's 10 years at WildStorm, including never-before-seen art from Lee's upcoming run on Batman. No word on consumer pricing, so if you’re a Jim Lee fan, talk to your local shop. Quick Hits: - John Byrne’s Lab Rats (DC) has been cancelled. No word on if anybody cared. - Marvel has vowed to level the ax of cancellation on titles that aren’t performing. Already cancelled: Marvel Knights, X-Men Evolution, and Blade. -Hushed cancellation rumors for Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Thunderbolts have begun (again). These will most likely not happen, however, as Thunderbolts will be getting a new writer (John Arcudi), Black Panther has been given a vote of confidence, and Captain Marvel is involved in the “U-Decide” event. -Crossgen has formed two new imprints for creator owned titles: Crossgeneration Entertainment and Code 6. This will allow them to print titles outside their “universe,” without the presence of the “Sigil.” First to join is critically acclaimed series The Red Star (under the CGE label). -G.I. Joe will begin running on The Cartoon Network. It will get a six week test run starting July 1st @ 1 a.m. Eastern. It will air four nights a week in that time slot. - Origin: Wolverine (as it’s now being refered to) was such a success that Marvel may be planning additional titles. Fantastic Four and Spider-Man are being batted around for the treatment. - Alex Ross may be on tap for an eight-issue Marvel mini-series. - Rumors continue to circulate about a Firestorm relaunch (made even more fervored after his appearance on the cover for the new JLA). Jim Kreuger recentley purchased the entire run on ebay, leading pundits to think that he may be in line for the job. That rumor has been debunked, however, as it seems that Mike Carey (Lucifer, Hellblazer) has been given the job. - Hasbro and Marvel may be negotiating an X-Men/G.I. Joe crossover event. - Nathan “Cable” Summers will indeed be the star of the revamped Soldier X. No word on Wade “Deadpool” Wilson’s involvement in his title’s relaunch. -Chris Claremont will launch a new Kitty Pride series called MechaniX, with Juan Boblillo handling art duties. - The new Punisher movie in development will be based on Garth Ennis’ “Welcome Back, Frank” mini-series. - New Marvel Hardcovers are on their way: X-Force (Milligan/Allred), New X-Men (through “Imperial”), Hulk (Jones/Romita), and Daredevil (Bendis/Maleev). -Rumors that Marvel is allocating Fantastic Four #60 ($.09 issue) because of poor sales are ufounded. It is quite the opposite in fact, as orders have been so huge that Marvel stands to lose too much money in the deal. -Mark Waid will be writing a Superman max-series (twelve issues), with Lenil Francis Yu (X-Men, High Roads, New X-Men Annual) on art. - Wolverine will guest star in Punisher #16-17. Garth Ennis will be joined by Fury collaborator Darick Robertson on art. -DC’s Midnight Mass, originally an ongoing series, has been made into an eight issue miniseries. -Kaare Andrews will fill-in on Ultimate X-Men #25. It will also be double-sized. -In October, Dark Horse will publish Frank Miller: The Art Of Sin City, a 128-page hardcover volume featuring both published, unpublished and never-seen-by-the-public art from the Sin City series which began n 1991, and has sold over 236k graphic novels in the last five years alone. Some information gathered from Newsarama, “Lying in the Gutters” at cbr.cc, and Silver Bullet Comics Since this is my first attempt at something like this, feed back would be greatly appreciated. Anything from formatting, sections to the report, or general “u suck” mail is welcomed. Feedback is welcome at raptorsg@hotmail.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest areacode212 Report post Posted July 2, 2002 Hey, this is a great summary. It saves me the time & trouble of having to browse around reading the various news sites. I hope you keep doing it. -Hushed cancellation rumors for Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Thunderbolts have begun (again). These will most likely not happen, however, as Thunderbolts will be getting a new writer (John Arcudi), Black Panther has been given a vote of confidence, and Captain Marvel is involved in the “U-Decide” event. Hm. Arcudi's name is familiar. What else has he worked on? This may be a good time to jump back onto T-Bolts, which I haven't enjoyed since roughly around #18. -DC’s Midnight Mass, originally an ongoing series, has been made into an eight issue miniseries. This was probably going to be cancelled after 8 issues anyway. It's a better idea to launch a series like this as a mini to test the waters, rather than release it as an ongoing, then cancel it, forcing the writer to cut short intended storylines, etc... I'm still waiting for Scene of the Crime II, though! - Rumors continue to circulate about a Firestorm relaunch (made even more fervored after his appearance on the cover for the new JLA). Jim Kreuger recentley purchased the entire run on ebay, leading pundits to think that he may be in line for the job. That rumor has been debunked, however, as it seems that Mike Carey (Lucifer, Hellblazer) has been given the job. This looks interesting, especially since I'm loving Lucifer. Has Carey ever worked on anything superhero-y? - John Byrne’s Lab Rats (DC) has been cancelled. No word on if anybody cared. There's an amusing thread on Newsarama/Comicon featuring 1 or 2 Byrne fans trying to convince everyone else that this series was worth buying. Byrne-bashing is always fun to read. Personally, I didn't even know that JB was working on this title. Whenever I saw the name of it, I assumed it was based on some Cartoon Network property. - New Marvel Hardcovers are on their way: X-Force (Milligan/Allred), New X-Men (through “Imperial”), Hulk (Jones/Romita), and Daredevil (Bendis/Maleev). Is anyone here actually buying these hardcovers? Even buying an original hardcover like the upcoming Selina's Big Score (which I really, really, really want) is something that gives me pause. TPB collections are the best way of selling these things. I wonder how much money Marvel is making on them. -Mark Waid will be writing a Superman max-series (twelve issues), with Lenil Francis Yu (X-Men, High Roads, New X-Men Annual) on art. I think this will be an easy skip (sounds like another 12-issue Waid snorefest (like JLA: Year One)). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest raptor Report post Posted July 2, 2002 Some follow ups to your questions, Areacode. -John Arcudi was working on the critically acclaimed Doom Patrol. -I found a story where the writer of MIdnight Mass said he had 91[!] more issues of Midnight Mass planned. - I don't remember Carey's name involved in any superhero-y title. - I have heard that the hardcovers are selling well, comparitively. They make a lot more on each sale, however, so the success of the line is inflated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pochorenella Report post Posted July 2, 2002 Hey Raptor, great report, keep up the good work. No doubt I'll be coming back to this board for your weekly news. I'm more of a TPB guy (mostly Marvel stuff), so I'd appreciate more info about them. For instance, what's up with the announced "Korvac Saga" Avengers TPB? They announced it months ago but I can't find any info on it, not even on marvel.com. Do you know anything about it? Is it possible that you give a regular report on TPBs? Thanks in advance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest starvenger Report post Posted July 2, 2002 I guess this is the point where we insert our own sarcastic comments... Marville (Bill Jemas) - ‘What Marville really is about, the first two issues at least, is just a step back and me poking fun at the industry - Joe and Peter and all the good print that we've made over he past couple of years. I trash Marvel every bit as hard as I trash DC, and I trash myself every bit as hard as I trash Peter and Joe.To some extent, this is just my shot at humor, and for people who like the kind of crap that I've been throwing at you for the past two years, you should enjoy the book, and if you hate the kid of crap that I've been throwing at you for the past two years, please, just criticize the book without reading it - it's a lot more fun.” I suppose that I can read the book at the store, and THEN trash it. However, I'm sure noone will blame me for thinking that it'll suck based on Jemas' description... So why are Marvel cutting the length of story? To include a one page editorial that will describe recent storylines and provide character information to make the books new reader friendly. Because we know that it wouldn't be proper to cut out an advertisment in the comic... Recently Com.X signed Mick McMahon, a veteran 2000 AD artist to illustrate a new book called Heavy Plant. People who have known Mick for over 15 years, now refuse to speak to him. Actually I heard that it was because he started leering at all the the lovely young ladies and... wait, that's too easy... DC has announced a special 'Jim Lee' incentive for retailers ordering [initial orders only] Gen13 #1, 21 Down #1 and The Resistance #1, the premiere issues of three new Wildstorm regular series, all debuting in September. This incentive will be “The Jim Lee Sketchbook.” This new, 16-page, color publication showcases characters and concepts from Jim Lee's 10 years at WildStorm, including never-before-seen art from Lee's upcoming run on Batman. In tangentially related news, Gen13 #1, 21 Down #1 and The Resistance #1 will all be expected to ship late due to Jim's never-before-seen Batman art being late... - John Byrne’s Lab Rats (DC) has been cancelled. No word on if anybody cared. The new Punisher movie in development will be based on Garth Ennis’ “Welcome Back, Frank” mini-series. I can see it now: "Gabe Kaplan IS The Punisher"... Overall, Raptor, it's pretty good, but feel free to throw in witty comments here and there... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest raptor Report post Posted July 2, 2002 I'll make sure to research TPBs more from now on. It seems to be becoming a much larger part of the industry. I didn't know if you guys wanted straight up news or not, so from now on I'll be sarcastic when it's warranted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
