Gabriel mentions that Disney Stores are now carrying some Disney, Marvel and Star Wars books. Finally. And at Scholastic book fairs, they’re carrying Han Solo, Totally Awesome Hulk, All-New All-Different Avengers, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. So if you wonder why those last two books are still being published, wonder no more.
"From things that we gather from some analysis that Disney does on who is buying Marvel as a brand, and from talking to retailers and looking at our titles, we’re probably up to at least 40% female, which eight years ago might have been 10%. And 15 years ago might have been nothing, while they were all buying manga. So there’s really been a shift, which is great, and it even could be even higher than 40%. I’m sure if you go into some retail shops in different parts of the country, that’ll be 50-60% female, and some lower. But that’s about what we’re seeing now. We also get some stats from digital; they’re a little better at knowing who the customer is."
TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
USAgent was in Captain America Sam Wilson #11 & 12 (and will be in #13)!
And Spencer, shockingly, writes a better John Walker than I expected. It's not consistently good and feels like he just read the wikipedia page, but it's not as hamfisted as I expected from him considering how bad he's seems to be in shoving politics into his recent works. Walker's basically working over in the middle east helping out the soldiers and being his usual brilliant badass self (instead of letting a drone strike terrorists holding a family hostage he barges in, kicks all their asses, but in the rush also punches an innocent man because that's exactly what he would do always shoot from the hip always). And while you can tell he wants to shit all over the character he writes him fairly well in wanting nothing to do with these over the top corporate villain caricatures and is only there because they'll write a check for body armor for soldiers and also doesn't like getting his ass kissed by them. So it shows Walker being a lovable hardass, and he is pro-Carol in Civil War II (I can see him going either way here but he's also loyal to Tony as has been shown through his career), but he also knows he doesn't care about all this stuff (and twitter), especially as would be the case as seen with him in Mighty Avengers and Osborn taking control. He just wants to go kick ass and take names.
The problem comes in how this arc is set up I guess. Steve is back as Cap and these old villain Koch Brother stand-ins are saying Sam shouldn't be Cap either now, so they want John to make Sam go back to being Falcon because something something Americops. USAgent doesn't care, but they set it up like he would care because 'Merica and they're showing Sam fighting the Americops and seemingly fomenting a riot (he isn't). But.....Walker has done the same thing before, being Captain America when Steve was still Cap, as seen in New Invaders. In fact, he's the kind of guy who would deliberately remain Captain America just to piss off Steve and would have no problem with Sam doing the same thing, as it seems Steve doesn't approve of some of his actions. Walker respects Steve, but there's not much reverence there because of how pompous he always acts. As seen in pretty much 75% of their interactions.
This is why it feels like he just read the wikipedia page and maybe the trade of Walker's 12 issues as Captain America from the 80's. Unless Spencer just has Walker drop over the top offensive stuff in the next issue just to show he's the bad Captain America (which I wouldn't put it past him), it looks like it's going to be one of those opposing views fight it out then hug it out at the end of the issue type stories. I can already see how he's using the two characters as being part of the Cap family, but from different sides, only to be forced into the radical side of each wing of their politics, and that's actually solid enough story to work with, it's just past Spencer stories don't fill me with confidence.
Sidenote: this new Falcon sidekick is streets behind, feels like this representation of bad teen sidekicks condensed into one try too hard character. Maybe that's Spencer's point, I don't know.
But anyway I apologize I know this has been way too much information about how USAgent is the best ever ok thank you sorry
Comixology tossed me a coupon, and they've got a deal on a few Secret Wars trades...the main series, Last Days of the MU, and Journal & Battleworld.
Worth it for $21?
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
edited August 2016
The main series, for sure.
Last Days of the MU seems to just be a bunch of lower tier series final issues before the screen went blank, so I don't know about that, the only book in that collection I read was Black Widow, so two issues of it aren't worth a trade purchase.
No idea what Journal has, and the Battleworld moniker seems to run over a few trades by looking at Amazon, but if you can get Renew Your Vows that was a great series and I say that not as just seeing a return of the Peter/MJ dynamic. A Babies vs. X babies was great as well.
(and this is a sidenote but CBR redesigned their site and it's just bland and boring and just another example of comics being taken out in exchange for a pop culture nerd site)
I would definitely get the Last Days collection. I'd say it's worth it just for the Captain America and the Mighty Avengers, Loki, and Ms. Marvel issues. Those were really good.
Man, this week's Marvel Unlimited additions are kind of weird:
* 2099 Unlimited (1993) #1-3 - Never even heard of this one.
* Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix (1994) #1-4
* Alpha Flight (1983) #12 and #106 - They now have issues 1-8, 12, 28, and 106 on MU. Why those issues?
* Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) #24-26
* Archangel (1996) #1
* Askani'son (1996) #1-4 - Apparently a series about Teen Cable?
* Astonishing Tales (1970) #12-13
* Strange Tales (2009) #2-3
Alpha Flight #12 and #106 where kinda important issues in the series (death of an important character and Northstar coming out. Don't know how well those work in a vacuum though, especially death of a character doesn't work if you don't have the issues to get to know that character.).
Askani'son is the sequel to Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix.
But I agree that those are kinda weird choices and series.
Ok, can someone explain why the marvelverse is so up in arms over this pleasent hill thing?
I get the whole "Oh no, they are using cosmic cube fragements to re-write personalities of repeat serial killers/ridiculously powerful super criminals." thing. But given the people they are doing this to, and the fact they are giving them normal lives where they get to live happy and "free", and really the alternative is they should have all been executed decades ago. The conditions are obviously pretty good, since Maria herself was going to have it done to her in order to retire.
So far their concern hasn't been, "Oh no, what if this gets out of control, or they go to far." It's just, "What, you are giving these people a normal life instead of locking them in a cell/sedating them from the rest of their life (until they break out and kill more people). You're worse than Hitler!"
So I am having a hard time actually giving a crap about any of it.
Feel free to spoil, my unlimited subscription is going to end before it ends.
Ok, can someone explain why the marvelverse is so up in arms over this pleasent hill thing?
I get the whole "Oh no, they are using cosmic cube fragements to re-write personalities of repeat serial killers/ridiculously powerful super criminals." thing. But given the people they are doing this to, and the fact they are giving them normal lives where they get to live happy and "free", and really the alternative is they should have all been executed decades ago. The conditions are obviously pretty good, since Maria herself was going to have it done to her in order to retire.
So far their concern hasn't been, "Oh no, what if this gets out of control, or they go to far." It's just, "What, you are giving these people a normal life instead of locking them in a cell/sedating them from the rest of their life (until they break out and kill more people). You're worse than Hitler!"
So I am having a hard time actually giving a crap about any of it.
Feel free to spoil, my unlimited subscription is going to end before it ends.
Because it's basically the plotline to Identity Crisis, which was stupid and terrible.
Uh...not in any way that I can see. Metalscream is a magician taught by 3,000 years of sorcerers' skulls wired through a computer, the Bone Machine. It's really a riff off of his Hellstorm series.
Ok, can someone explain why the marvelverse is so up in arms over this pleasent hill thing?
I get the whole "Oh no, they are using cosmic cube fragements to re-write personalities of repeat serial killers/ridiculously powerful super criminals." thing. But given the people they are doing this to, and the fact they are giving them normal lives where they get to live happy and "free", and really the alternative is they should have all been executed decades ago. The conditions are obviously pretty good, since Maria herself was going to have it done to her in order to retire.
So far their concern hasn't been, "Oh no, what if this gets out of control, or they go to far." It's just, "What, you are giving these people a normal life instead of locking them in a cell/sedating them from the rest of their life (until they break out and kill more people). You're worse than Hitler!"
So I am having a hard time actually giving a crap about any of it.
Feel free to spoil, my unlimited subscription is going to end before it ends.
Mainly it's the reality warping/brain-washing thing. Most of the Marvelverse went through that with House of M and found it all pretty traumatic. Plus a lot of the villains are pissed because they were messed with so profoundly, some of them being seriously messed up by the very fact that their fake life was so much better than their real one.
Maria was honestly kind've creepy during it. But the impression I got was that people weren't cool with the reality warping/mind-wiping more so than 'these people aren't in cells, like they deserve'.
So basically chalk this event up with the slipping quality of events.
Because yeah, I just can't find a fault in this premise, given how their world works.
The whole house of M thing makes sense for why the heroes might find it sketchy, but still.
These are people who regularly kill a massive number of people on a constant basis, and yet never get the death penalty. They have failed normal rehabilitation, they can't be safely and securely contained, and for some "reason" still won't be executed. If I was a citizen in the marvelverse I would be applauding Maria for coming up with a solution that actually negated the threat without putting them in a medical induced coma, and burying them at the center of the earth for all of eternity.
I would also assume, that if the fake lives were so much better than their real ones, they would be wanting Maria to put them back under. Not tear the establishment down? Maybe that comes into play later?
I'll just file the whole thing under stupid premise, like CW2, and maybe come back in a year or two.
Does Red Skull end up being the one that brought Zemo out of it? He just showed up in one of this weeks issues, and last I remember reading he was still at large, so doubt he had been captured.
e:
Basically I would expect more a; "Uh, Maria, we know you mean well here, but mind control/reality warping isn't right/is dangerous.", instead of the, "OMG MARIA IS WORSE THAN HITLER." thing that is going on right now.
So basically chalk this event up with the slipping quality of events.
Because yeah, I just can't find a fault in this premise, given how their world works.
The whole house of M thing makes sense for why the heroes might find it sketchy, but still.
These are people who regularly kill a massive number of people on a constant basis, and yet never get the death penalty. They have failed normal rehabilitation, they can't be safely and securely contained, and for some "reason" still won't be executed. If I was a citizen in the marvelverse I would be applauding Maria for coming up with a solution that actually negated the threat without putting them in a medical induced coma, and burying them at the center of the earth for all of eternity.
I would also assume, that if the fake lives were so much better than their real ones, they would be wanting Maria to put them back under. Not tear the establishment down? Maybe that comes into play later?
I'll just file the whole thing under stupid premise, like CW2, and maybe come back in a year or two.
Does Red Skull end up being the one that brought Zemo out of it? He just showed up in one of this weeks issues, and last I remember reading he was still at large, so doubt he had been captured.
e:
Basically I would expect more a; "Uh, Maria, we know you mean well here, but mind control/reality warping isn't right/is dangerous.", instead of the, "OMG MARIA IS WORSE THAN HITLER." thing that is going on right now.
Maria Hill has been on a lot of heroes shit list for a few years now. She's big into the ends justifying the means, and a lot of heroes are sick of her tactics at this point.
Honestly if I was Hill, I would have just quit years ago. The heroes have kind of gotten full of themselves with their, "Oh we are so much better than that" attitude. They punch someone in the face, drop them off, and completely forget that person exists until they break out again. She is the one that has to deal with finding new ways to lock these people up so they don't just break out and start killing people again.
I guess Parker gets kind of a pass, since he was at one point trying to actually rehabilitate/cure some of his villains.
Can you really blame heroes for the meta things like having recurring villains? That is not their fault at all. You cannot blame the X-men for Magneto or Mr Sinister being perpetual villains, you cannot blame Captain America for Zemo or red skull, you cannot blame Batman for the Joker.
That's the nature of comic books. It's a weakness of the medium. If you must find in-universe explanations for it, you're on a fool's errand.
It was the fact that Hill was looking for a humane way to deal with the universes villain problem, and every hero so far has seen it and immediately jumped on her like she was the devil. Yet, none of them (outside of briefly spiderman), take any time to try to deal with their villains.
It is literally;
Hill: "These are the worst of the worst, mass murders, terrorists, etc. They have failed every form of rehabilitation and can't be contained by conventional means."
Hill: "So in order to stop tens of thousands of people being killed every week, we have developed this new method, we use the cosmic cube to wipe their memory and let them lead normal, productive lives in this town we setup for them. It's so nice I am thinking about moving here myself and retiring."
EverySuperHero: "Jeez Hill, that is way over the line, why don't you just eat some babies while you are at it."
Hill: "I hate all of you, and I wish I was dead."
e:
Basically given they end their responsibility after having caused massive property damage, and having dropped the villains off for the muggles to deal with. It is kind of condescending to sit there and that harshly judge someone for trying to do their job, in keeping the normals safe.
Maria Hill is sort of the Peter Gyrich of the 2010s; I expect by the 2020s she'll be the butt-monkey for whatever kids grew up reading comics over the last 10 years.
At least Gyrich was actually antagonistic in his actions.
I think its really just the hypocrisy that gets me. Like hey Tony, maybe instead of judging her you should make your own prison to kee...oh wait. No, please don't do that again. That was probably actually worse.
Total bummer that happened, I always liked her. She was never really evil, just misguided, and when Norman Osborn went bughouse she was ready to face the music, and Cap brought her onboard the Avengers team to help keep everyone honest.
I think she died during that 'Agamotto wants his eye back' storyline, which also seemed really promising but I don't think went anywhere. Harumph! They should revisit that thread and reveal that her soul is still hanging around and get her rezzed or something.
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Golden YakBurnished BovineThe sunny beaches of CanadaRegistered Userregular
One of these days I'm gonna make a big list of all the aborted storylines I've read that I really want to see something done with.
Hand was a technocrat - she thought she was doing the right thing, working within the system for the most part, dealing with earthbound gods and lab accidents that could punch their way through buildings. She was a very human character in a setting where ordinary people sometimes get a bit forgotten about.
I'm with you on the Agamotto/Death of Dr. Voodoo storyline - could have been handled better. I've always been a fan of Marvel's magical characters, especially for that brief period of time when it was more organized and understandable.
Not really what I meant. 'What Ifs' are usually storylines that were wrapped up properly being told with different endings. I'm talking about storylines that had promising elements to them, but were simply abandoned or ignored.
I have lost count of how many times vampires, either as a whole or large groups of them, have been destroyed in the Marvel universe. I remember that after the Blade movies they started getting silly about it, and they've brought back Dracula at least half a dozen times, so now I honestly have no clue what the status of vampires in the MU is.
I have lost count of how many times vampires, either as a whole or large groups of them, have been destroyed in the Marvel universe. I remember that after the Blade movies they started getting silly about it, and they've brought back Dracula at least half a dozen times, so now I honestly have no clue what the status of vampires in the MU is.
Pretty sure they exist, at least to a degree still. I think there are a few putzing around the Deadpool books, due to his wife's monster world. I think a bunch got wiped out during the X-men run at one point?
I think the ones Jubilee were specifically hanging out with were also wiped out by the opposing faction, and she was thinking about taking up after them? But then didn't I guess? I forget how that ended up, aside from her getting Shogo.
She is actually a succubus if I remember correctly, one of the reasons she is with deadpool is she cant suck out his soul/life force by sleeping with him.
She isn't literally a vampire though, she turns into some purple demon thing.
Dang, they added a ton of stuff on Marvel Unlimited this week:
* Astonishing Tales (1970) #25-36 - First appearances of Deathlok!
* Avengers Annual (1967) #9, 11-13, 15, and 21
* Avengers Annual (1999) #1
* Avengers West Coast (1985) #21, 42-45, 89-91
* Avengers West Coast Annual #1, 8
* Savage She-Hulk (1980) #1 - The only issue of this series they put up, and still no Sensational She-Hulk, which is a huge oversight, imho.
Posts
http://www.comicsbeat.com/marvel-40-of-our-readers-are-female-and-our-sales-are-just-fine-thanks/
And Spencer, shockingly, writes a better John Walker than I expected. It's not consistently good and feels like he just read the wikipedia page, but it's not as hamfisted as I expected from him considering how bad he's seems to be in shoving politics into his recent works. Walker's basically working over in the middle east helping out the soldiers and being his usual brilliant badass self (instead of letting a drone strike terrorists holding a family hostage he barges in, kicks all their asses, but in the rush also punches an innocent man because that's exactly what he would do always shoot from the hip always). And while you can tell he wants to shit all over the character he writes him fairly well in wanting nothing to do with these over the top corporate villain caricatures and is only there because they'll write a check for body armor for soldiers and also doesn't like getting his ass kissed by them. So it shows Walker being a lovable hardass, and he is pro-Carol in Civil War II (I can see him going either way here but he's also loyal to Tony as has been shown through his career), but he also knows he doesn't care about all this stuff (and twitter), especially as would be the case as seen with him in Mighty Avengers and Osborn taking control. He just wants to go kick ass and take names.
The problem comes in how this arc is set up I guess. Steve is back as Cap and these old villain Koch Brother stand-ins are saying Sam shouldn't be Cap either now, so they want John to make Sam go back to being Falcon because something something Americops. USAgent doesn't care, but they set it up like he would care because 'Merica and they're showing Sam fighting the Americops and seemingly fomenting a riot (he isn't). But.....Walker has done the same thing before, being Captain America when Steve was still Cap, as seen in New Invaders. In fact, he's the kind of guy who would deliberately remain Captain America just to piss off Steve and would have no problem with Sam doing the same thing, as it seems Steve doesn't approve of some of his actions. Walker respects Steve, but there's not much reverence there because of how pompous he always acts. As seen in pretty much 75% of their interactions.
This is why it feels like he just read the wikipedia page and maybe the trade of Walker's 12 issues as Captain America from the 80's. Unless Spencer just has Walker drop over the top offensive stuff in the next issue just to show he's the bad Captain America (which I wouldn't put it past him), it looks like it's going to be one of those opposing views fight it out then hug it out at the end of the issue type stories. I can already see how he's using the two characters as being part of the Cap family, but from different sides, only to be forced into the radical side of each wing of their politics, and that's actually solid enough story to work with, it's just past Spencer stories don't fill me with confidence.
Sidenote: this new Falcon sidekick is streets behind, feels like this representation of bad teen sidekicks condensed into one try too hard character. Maybe that's Spencer's point, I don't know.
But anyway I apologize I know this has been way too much information about how USAgent is the best ever ok thank you sorry
Worth it for $21?
Last Days of the MU seems to just be a bunch of lower tier series final issues before the screen went blank, so I don't know about that, the only book in that collection I read was Black Widow, so two issues of it aren't worth a trade purchase.
No idea what Journal has, and the Battleworld moniker seems to run over a few trades by looking at Amazon, but if you can get Renew Your Vows that was a great series and I say that not as just seeing a return of the Peter/MJ dynamic. A Babies vs. X babies was great as well.
(and this is a sidenote but CBR redesigned their site and it's just bland and boring and just another example of comics being taken out in exchange for a pop culture nerd site)
https://marvel.com/comics/discover/564/original-graphic-novels
I just read No More Humans. It was good!
* 2099 Unlimited (1993) #1-3 - Never even heard of this one.
* Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix (1994) #1-4
* Alpha Flight (1983) #12 and #106 - They now have issues 1-8, 12, 28, and 106 on MU. Why those issues?
* Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) #24-26
* Archangel (1996) #1
* Askani'son (1996) #1-4 - Apparently a series about Teen Cable?
* Astonishing Tales (1970) #12-13
* Strange Tales (2009) #2-3
Askani'son is the sequel to Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix.
But I agree that those are kinda weird choices and series.
So far their concern hasn't been, "Oh no, what if this gets out of control, or they go to far." It's just, "What, you are giving these people a normal life instead of locking them in a cell/sedating them from the rest of their life (until they break out and kill more people). You're worse than Hitler!"
So I am having a hard time actually giving a crap about any of it.
Feel free to spoil, my unlimited subscription is going to end before it ends.
That was actually one of the better parts of the 2099 line - introduced Metalscream and Hulk 2099, and basically let Warren Ellis play.
Because it's basically the plotline to Identity Crisis, which was stupid and terrible.
Sex & the Cthulhu Mythos
Sex & the Cthulhu Mythos
Maria was honestly kind've creepy during it. But the impression I got was that people weren't cool with the reality warping/mind-wiping more so than 'these people aren't in cells, like they deserve'.
Because yeah, I just can't find a fault in this premise, given how their world works.
These are people who regularly kill a massive number of people on a constant basis, and yet never get the death penalty. They have failed normal rehabilitation, they can't be safely and securely contained, and for some "reason" still won't be executed. If I was a citizen in the marvelverse I would be applauding Maria for coming up with a solution that actually negated the threat without putting them in a medical induced coma, and burying them at the center of the earth for all of eternity.
I would also assume, that if the fake lives were so much better than their real ones, they would be wanting Maria to put them back under. Not tear the establishment down? Maybe that comes into play later?
I'll just file the whole thing under stupid premise, like CW2, and maybe come back in a year or two.
Does Red Skull end up being the one that brought Zemo out of it? He just showed up in one of this weeks issues, and last I remember reading he was still at large, so doubt he had been captured.
e:
I guess Parker gets kind of a pass, since he was at one point trying to actually rehabilitate/cure some of his villains.
That's the nature of comic books. It's a weakness of the medium. If you must find in-universe explanations for it, you're on a fool's errand.
That wasn't the point. At all.
It is literally;
Hill: "These are the worst of the worst, mass murders, terrorists, etc. They have failed every form of rehabilitation and can't be contained by conventional means."
Hill: "So in order to stop tens of thousands of people being killed every week, we have developed this new method, we use the cosmic cube to wipe their memory and let them lead normal, productive lives in this town we setup for them. It's so nice I am thinking about moving here myself and retiring."
EverySuperHero: "Jeez Hill, that is way over the line, why don't you just eat some babies while you are at it."
Hill: "I hate all of you, and I wish I was dead."
e:
Basically given they end their responsibility after having caused massive property damage, and having dropped the villains off for the muggles to deal with. It is kind of condescending to sit there and that harshly judge someone for trying to do their job, in keeping the normals safe.
Sex & the Cthulhu Mythos
I think its really just the hypocrisy that gets me. Like hey Tony, maybe instead of judging her you should make your own prison to kee...oh wait. No, please don't do that again. That was probably actually worse.
Sex & the Cthulhu Mythos
Didn't she become a good guy, though?
http://comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=862
Shows what has worked on in what capacity.
Sure. Sortof. Before she was killed off.
Sex & the Cthulhu Mythos
Total bummer that happened, I always liked her. She was never really evil, just misguided, and when Norman Osborn went bughouse she was ready to face the music, and Cap brought her onboard the Avengers team to help keep everyone honest.
I think she died during that 'Agamotto wants his eye back' storyline, which also seemed really promising but I don't think went anywhere. Harumph! They should revisit that thread and reveal that her soul is still hanging around and get her rezzed or something.
I'm with you on the Agamotto/Death of Dr. Voodoo storyline - could have been handled better. I've always been a fan of Marvel's magical characters, especially for that brief period of time when it was more organized and understandable.
Sex & the Cthulhu Mythos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_What_If_issues
Not really what I meant. 'What Ifs' are usually storylines that were wrapped up properly being told with different endings. I'm talking about storylines that had promising elements to them, but were simply abandoned or ignored.
Sex & the Cthulhu Mythos
Weren't they killed during one of the story lines?
e:
That was vague and technically applies to all of them. The vampires.
Sex & the Cthulhu Mythos
Pretty sure they exist, at least to a degree still. I think there are a few putzing around the Deadpool books, due to his wife's monster world. I think a bunch got wiped out during the X-men run at one point?
I think the ones Jubilee were specifically hanging out with were also wiped out by the opposing faction, and she was thinking about taking up after them? But then didn't I guess? I forget how that ended up, aside from her getting Shogo.
In the sense she was supposed to marry dracula.
She is actually a succubus if I remember correctly, one of the reasons she is with deadpool is she cant suck out his soul/life force by sleeping with him.
She isn't literally a vampire though, she turns into some purple demon thing.
* Astonishing Tales (1970) #25-36 - First appearances of Deathlok!
* Avengers Annual (1967) #9, 11-13, 15, and 21
* Avengers Annual (1999) #1
* Avengers West Coast (1985) #21, 42-45, 89-91
* Avengers West Coast Annual #1, 8
* Savage She-Hulk (1980) #1 - The only issue of this series they put up, and still no Sensational She-Hulk, which is a huge oversight, imho.
Yes, that's the Librarian of Congress geeking out.