DC announced all kinds of things today at Comic-Con International/San Diego Comic-Con, with a lot of it involving their comic-books. The comic line of DC is on fire right now compared to a struggling Marvel, so I was curious what might be coming down the pipeline from the company. We've got a new Static (Shock) series on the way, and Vixen is getting an ongoing solo book as well, with DC challenging, "...the long-standing stigma that 'Black comics don’t sell,'" with two fan-favorites. Plus, Michael Walsh writing and drawing Jonah Hex as a horror-filled Western sounds like it'll be rad. Speaking of horror, James Harren doing a book on Etrigan The Demon, has my attention. One big crowd-pleaser was the announcement of, "Batman of Two Worlds," which will have Matt Fraction's Batman of the standard DC going through a parallel story with the Batman from the Absolute Universe that Scott Snyder will be writing (I have no idea if they'll meet and chat/fight, but we'll see). It'll feature, "Two stories, one crime." It'll come out on Saturday, September 19th, for Batman Day. This all looks quite exciting!
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| We get a new, "Venom," #1 every few years or so. |
As for Marvel and their comic announcements as of today, um, well...let's see here. Eddie Brock is going to be Venom again after other people have been wearing the suit--Mary Jane most recently, because why not? Also, the evil/"Infernal," Hulk is going to have a bunch of one-shot fights with various heroes. Plus, Deadpool and the Punisher are going to have a crossover, as they do every now and again. Uhhhh, plus Mary Jane is getting another ongoing comic with J. Scott Campbell doing a cover for it, as he always seems to enjoy drawing her. Look, I was a huge Marvel fan for years, and some of my favorite stuff came out from them 2000-2015 or so, but this is all pretty uninspiring. I'm sorry; don't shoot the messenger. Let's just hope that, "Avengers: Doomsday," is a hit and injects some form of life into one division of the company because the Marvel Universe of comics is a bit dull. We're getting an, "Indiana Jones," comic in a different continuity than the superheroes and the, "Marvel Midnight," stuff looks a little interesting, but the Main/616 Universe has a handful of writers doing stories I like and little else popping off. Unless you're chomping at the bit for the Punisher to randomly join the Avengers or Iron Man to be in trouble with the law for the umpteenth time, shit's bleak. Again, let's just be cautiously optimistic about, "Avengers: Doomsday," and see how that (in December) and the Spidey movie coming out (in a week or two) go. As it stands, DC is bringing a lot more fire this year to the show while Marvel seems to be mostly hints of a spark and a lot of fumes.
I feel this. From Marvel, I'm reading Thor, Fantastic Four, Doomquest (since North is writing it), Generation X-23, Dr. Strange and Sorcerer Supreme. I enjoy all those books a lot. The only upcoming Marvel book I'm picking up is Dan Panosian's 80s Wolverine mini with Dazzler.
ReplyDeleteMy DC pull list was already four times larger before I added almost twice my current Marvel. Image, Mad Cave and Dark Horse exceed my Marvel commitment. Ignition Press is tied at six pulls.
My Marvel acquisitions similarly exceeded everything else got along the same timeframe as you. What happened?
Some argue that ever since Disney acquired Marvel that it has been downhill (circa 2009). I'm not sure I agree with that, but Marvel has been struggling to a degree for awhile.
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