NOTE: The individual opinions of each Roundtable contributor is their own, and is not representative of anybody but that contributor.
Marvel sues City of Heroes
Jamie Hatton (Writer of Diner Talk & Nexus Reviewer): Let’s first realize the REAL reason this is going on – Marvel wants to hit the Online RPG market one day – and having this game out there cuts into their buyshare. Also, let’s comment on the fact that DC/Time Warner hasn’t considered doing this. Finally, let’s add to this that it’s in the damned Terms of Service in the game that you CANNOT create a character that is called ‘Hulk’. You can create a character that looks KINDA like Hulk and call him ‘BULK’ or ‘SHULK’ or ‘FLULK’, but you are NOT ALLOWED to call him HULK or, I believe, even things as H|_|LK or HU1K and if you do, they change it.
First Nixonvision (http://www.nixonvision.com) and now this. Why does Marvel have this inappropriate madon for stopping people who SHOW LOVE FOR THEIR WORK?!
Paul Sebert (Nexus hanger on”¦probably angling for Ben’s job): To be honest this just strikes me as being indicative of a much larger problem that affects far more than just the comics industry. US Copyright and trademark laws are in such a god forsakenly awful state that a number of corporations feel they’re backed into a corner in which they either have to sue, or risk losing their intellectual property. Yeah I’m hoping that Marvel drops the suit soon, and it strikes me as stupid but well…until there’s a better defined set of rules defining just what is fair use of a copyrightable character you can be prepared to see a lot more of these types of suits.
Hatton: My problem isn’t that I feel that this is heralding back to the 90’s – it’s going to take a helluva lot more than Marvel and DC jumping back on the variant bandwagon to bring us back to there, my problem is how this affects the legitimate ratings of books and affects store owners.
J-Random human buys a copy of a good, if not midline in terms of sales, title. We’ll use She-Hulk as a PERFECT example of this. It sits and hangs out in the mid to lower area of the top 50 when NEW AVENGERS makes it’s debut. Now, this title is obviously going to hit into that top 25 bracket, and more likely the top 10 – but with this variant cover crap every store that caters to these kinds of customers is going to double, triple, or possibly quadruple their order to fill the quota of people coming in asking for that ‘last variant they need’. This will easily boost the title to a #1 or #2 spot, probably a hard to touch #1. She-Hulk’s sales, in comparison, look diminutive so it becomes another step closer to being dropped.
This also gives Marvel the bragging rights on ‘Last mont’s record sales of blah blah’ because of this over inflated number. Marvel, will in turn – on the resellers market – destroy the title’s future with the exception of one or two of those SPECIAL VARIANTS that are UBER-HOT! Sending countless unwanted, unused, and unsellable copies to dollar bins across America. (see X-Force #1 Vol.1 for a similar story).
I find that this variant cover incentive is indicative of a swing in the market towards the bad again. The only thing something like this helps is Marvel to make some extra scratch on a title, and boost it’s sales to a number that they can say proves how hot of a title it is.
It hurts the purchasers (because they have to purchase all those unwanted ‘standard’ covers) – it hurts the resell market (because to ditch those unwanted covers they have to drop cover down to as little as 50 cents a book in a few months) and it hurts the fan who hasn’t realized that this is a scam – as they will buy into it and sooner or later become disenfranchised like so many people did back in the worst of worse variant days.
Joe Quesada draws 3rd variant cover for New Avengers #1
Jamie Hatton: This initially doesn’t sound horrendous as it’s not so much a variant as it is another printing, but when you read into this FURTHER…..
Fans will be able to possess this titanic image in two distinct formats: Quesada’s new cover and by linking the 6 alternate covers together as one.
SIX FRIGGIN COVERS?!?!? And then, for those idiotic speculators who go out of their way to drop $13.50 (assuming a 2.25 price) on all six covers, skyrocketing this book to the #1 spot with a bullet – all of THEIR work is for naught as they can go buy that one single book and have that whole poster size image.
Welcome to variant cover hell again.
Paul Sebert: Really, it never astounds me some fanboys point to any sales gimmick as heralding the return of the 90s.
But seriously if you really want to buy x-number of copies for your collection that’s fine with me. I have no problem with variant covers so long as I don’t need to buy more than one copy to enjoy the story that’s inside. When you have multiple editions with changes to the contents (like the spectacularly ill-conceived sales gimmick for the otherwise well written Slingers) well then that’s when I get annoyed.
Anyway since no discussion of a Bendis book is complete without it, I’m guessing right about now is the point that Jesse Baker starts foaming at the mouth.
The Scorpion will be the next character featured in Amazing Fantasy starting with #7
Jamie Hatton: If it’s the Gail Simone version of Scorpion from Agent X, I’m there. If it’s Fiona Avery trying her hand at another weird revamp that nobody is quite sure what to make of – I’ll ignore. It isn’t a horrible idea though, as long as Amazing Fantasy doesn’t turn into the Wolverine & Spiderman show Part 8.
Paul Sebert: So it appears that Amazing Fantasy is joining such great books as Marvel Comics Presents, DC’s Showcase, and First Issue Special as a showcase for new characters, revamps, along with folks who’s following just isn’t quite big enough to support their own title and I’m all for it. Any outlet for new characters within the big two is ok by me.
Anyway I’m kind of surprised that Scorpion won seeing as how I voted for Werewolf By Night, but there probably is good bit of potential locked in the concept of a character with a scorpion’s powers and seriously when was the last time you read a good story about the “classic” Scorpion. Ok, besides She-Hulk #4. I mean really as is, Scorpion’s just a number of an endless group of big dumb strong guys who smash through walls and rob banks in Spidey’s rogue’s gallery.
As for the current star of Amazing Fantasy, well I’m actually digging Anya’s adventures a lot and I’ll probably be adding Aran~a (darn tilde’)to my reserves list. Oh I reiterate, Fiona Avery is my new hero for fitting a Kamen Rider homage into the Marvel Universe.
New Black Panther series written by Reginald Hudlin with art by John Romita Jr. to debut in February
Paul Sebert: Ok, while I’m sure we’re going to be hearing a lot of wise cracks about writer Reginald Hudlin’s work on the movie “House Party,” I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about his work on the “Birth of a Nation” graphic novel… so I’m looking forward to this.
That and I’m really hoping we’ll be seeing more of my favorite supporting character ever Everett K. Ross.
DC Comics offers solicitations for February, 2005 (credit: CBR)
Paul Sebert: Wow… it’s like Oddball Comics month over at DC comics.
Yes it appears I’ll have to pick up Batman Gotham Knights #62 just to see how Hush managed to miniaturize Poison Ivy and trap her in a hypodermic needle. I’ll also have to check out Catwoman #40 just to see why she’s fighting a human Swiss army knife. Oh and uh… am I the only one getting a strong S&M vibe going on from the cover of Flash #219?
RUMOR: Farscape actor Ben Browder mentioned as possible big screen Green Lantern (credit: CBR)
Jamie Hatton: What about Jack Black?! Three people are crying right now.
Jason Berek-Lewis (Writer of A View From Over The Edge): I ABSOLUTELY LOVE FARSCAPE! Ben is a GREAT actor!
Kevin Spacey confirms having been approached by Bryan Singer to play Lex Luthor in new Superman movie
Jamie Hatton: “How do you shoot the Superman in the back? What if you miss?”
or
“People always would say, “I don’t believe in Luthor, but I’m afraid of him.” Well I believe in Superman, and the only thing that SHOULD scare him is Lex Luthor.”
HI HI PUFFY AMIYUMI DEBUTS ON CARTOON NETWORK!!! JAMIE HATTON IS EXCITED!!!!!
Jamie Hatton: Me?! Look behind me, talk to the girl who all I have to yell out is
“When there’st rouble, you know who to call?” and Danielle will chime in happily with ‘TEEN TITAN!’. Funny enough, I saw an ad for this cartoon on my train – seems like it will continue on the line of the Americanime trend. As long as they’ve stopped showing reruns of DBZ, I’m fine with it.
