1 139.21 AVENGERS VS X-MEN #9 $3.99 MAR 174,356
2 135.35 AVENGERS VS X-MEN #10 $3.99 MAR 169,529
3 100.00 BATMAN #12 $3.99 DC 125,249
4 96.44 JUSTICE LEAGUE #12 $3.99 DC 120,796
5 72.71 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #692 $5.99 MAR 91,071
6 68.24 BEFORE WATCHMEN RORSCHACH #1 (MR) [*] $3.99 DC 85,473
7 62.58 AVX VS #5 $3.99 MAR 78,380
8 61.94 BEFORE WATCHMEN DR MANHATTAN #1 (MR) [*] $3.99 DC 77,577
9 61.63 GREEN LANTERN #12 $2.99 DC 77,187
10 60.68 DETECTIVE COMICS #12 $3.99 DC 75,998
The annuals helped keep DC on top in market share by a point, Marvel won dollar share by 0.06%
Hawkeye #1 sold 42k, Gambit #1 sold 40k and #2 sold 32k. I'd have to think Hawkeye's word of mouth would keep it stable enough to get to 12 issues, where Marvel might pull a Moon Knight and just end the book at an agreed point.
X-Treme X-Men #2 sold 25k, that's a drop of 11k from the first issue, looks like one arc and that's it.
Captain Marvel #2 sold 28k (down from 41k), #3 sold 27k. The double shipping might have helped it prolong it's life, but that's still down in the cancel zone.
The Valiant books are all settling in at the 15-20k range, which is good for them.
Harvest #1 only sold 8.8k, that sucks, it's a good original book.
X-Treme X-Men #2 sold 25k, that's a drop of 11k from the first issue, looks like one arc and that's it.
Blank mentioned in the X-Men thread that Pak tweeted he got permission to use another 616 x-character in the X-Treme book, so it is probably sticking around past the first arc at least.
PSN/Steam - Elderlycrawfish
0
Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
You are seeing a grotesque Hollywoodisation of the two main companies. There was at least a period where I felt that the way they wanted to make money was by telling the best story they could; now the quality of the work matters less than that the book comes out. There is far less a desire to see good work be done.
Dan DiDio has gone on record, and this is the same man that said Gotham Central would never be cancelled as long as he was there, telling people what a great book Gotham Central was, but it never made any money.
Well, take a look at your trade sales! That book has made nothing but money as a trade. What I’m now being told is, ”lt was never worth anything to us anyway.”So, you know what? They can stop selling the Batwoman: Elegy trade and stop selling the Wonder Woman trades and everything else I’ve done, because clearly I’ve not done anything of service and those guys aren’t making any money off me.
Marvel:
My run on Punisher ends on #16, and we are then doing a five-issue mini called War Zone and then I’m done. That’s it! The Powers-That-Be at Marvel, without talking to me, decreed that he’s going to join a team on another book.
That’s their choice, they own him, but I don’t have to be happy about it. I am glad I had the opportunity to work on the character and I’m proud of the work I’ve done.
Despite what the publishers say, their interest in the talent is minimal now, the interest is only in promoting the financial worth of their properties. That was not the case as of two or three years ago, when there was an ‘Exclusives war’, but that’s all gone by the wayside now. Ultimately, they are saying, “We don’t need you,’ because they can get a million more just like you.
I do agree with his feeling that comics are becoming more Hollywood-ized, simply keeping characters afloat simply to pick from for movies as opposed to telling good stories. Even with Marvel's news and changes on NOW, there's still that sense that in a year it will all be upended again for the next thing, despite what they say now about consistent runs. And DC is so similar to mid-90's Marvel Harras might be wondering why no one uses the fax machine anymore.
Man, it's a real shame to see Rucka off of Punisher. I've really enjoyed how the run has balanced street-level crime and superhero elements, and I'd much rather have this than Punisher running around in Thunderbolts.
And if people at DC really are denigrating his work on books like Gotham Central, then fuck them.
Sadly comic books are more or less promotional tools or viewed as such for "bigger more lucrative" business ventures now so not surprised by any of that.
DiDio is definitely one of those guys who comes off as someone who tells you one thing and then does another, not the first time heard that.
As for Marvel, you think that they would have informed a writer a character was going to be put in a team book so if nothing else they could maybe work it all in together, some consistency or whatever.
Then again that's something that seems to be fading in todays age of jumping from one event to the next.
I don't think comic book writers got in the business to get rich. They may be taking a risk by speaking out but if they don't, things will remain as bad or maybe even get worse so they're screwed anyway. After all, if the big two are willing to screw highly successful writers like Dwayne McDuffie and Greg Rucka, what are lesser known writers going to do when their time on the chopping block comes?
I don't think comic book writers got in the business to get rich.
They would, however, probably like to be able to make enough money to eat and stuff. Burning all your bridges might be cathartic, but also tough on maintaining a career.
I don't think comic book writers got in the business to get rich.
They would, however, probably like to be able to make enough money to eat and stuff. Burning all your bridges might be cathartic, but also tough on maintaining a career.
This whole situation is just really confusing. Tons of characters have solo books and are on teams at the same time. Why can't Punisher? And why alienate top talent like Rucka over something like this? I don't understand.
There's an interesting dichotomy in the comic industry. On the one hand you have huge media companies that are deeply embedded in popular culture and as such have to act like stereotypical corporations. On the other hand you have these amazingly talented creators on an artistic level who are used to working in a space that is very ad-hoc and "wild west"-like.
To me, no matter what, that's something that will always drive conflict. I'm sure it even did back in the 80s and 90s. With social media now we likely just hear a lot more of it.
Personally, I don't think either side is right or wrong. I think the publishers should be bending over backwards to help these guys out but I also feel like there's a line that needs to be drawn in the sand. The properties these creators work on are becoming household brands and that needs to be respected. I'm sure there's a happy medium to be found somewhere but I have no idea what that is.
This whole situation is just really confusing. Tons of characters have solo books and are on teams at the same time. Why can't Punisher? And why alienate top talent like Rucka over something like this? I don't understand.
From the quote it sounds like it's not that Punisher couldn't do both, it's that Rucka was unhappy with them putting him on Thunderbolts without consulting him.
Rucka's take on Frank would also not be very consistent with a Punisher who was also part of a government hit squad.
It's kind of a bummer that it went down like that, but if Marvel has bigger plans for the character they aren't going to let a niche title like Rucka's Punisher book stop them.
I do think Marvel still does a way better job of promoting and nurturing talent, the issue is that Marvel is more heavily invested in either the dudes who are already their big time creators (Bendis, Fraction, Hickman) and the next wave of guys who will presumably become their successors (Hopeless, Humphries, etc)
Rucka dosen't really fit into either of those categories and Punisher was the only thing he was doing for them, and again it's a niche book.
He's clearly not happy about it but is also sounds like it's a lot closer to "this is why I'm done and it sucks but whatever" as opposed to his comments about DC which are basically "fuck Dan DiDio"
This whole situation is just really confusing. Tons of characters have solo books and are on teams at the same time. Why can't Punisher? And why alienate top talent like Rucka over something like this? I don't understand.
i get the sense that we're only hearing one side of the story here. i like Rucka's writing but most of the time when he talks about the behind-the-scenes goings-on he tends to make himself look like the victim. i wouldn't be surprised if there's more to the story that he's either deliberately left out or is just unaware of
To be honest, I don't have much sympathy for Rucka. The guy isn't that great of a writer and he isn't treated any worse than anyone else, he just throws his toys out of the pram about it. I'm sure the dude is a nice guy but man he plays the martyr card when he's talking about Marvel and DC.
I have enjoyed Rucka's Punisher run a bunch. It's a neat take on Frank.
But it seems like he is mad that Marvel didn't call him up and say "Hey, we are putting Frank on Thunderbolts is that alright with you?"
which is kind of a dumb expectation. He isn't an editor, nor is he writing a shit ton of other stuff at Marvel or whatever. He's a for-hire writer, and they really don't need his approval to say "Frank's on this team now." all they need to do is let him know that it's happening, which it sounds like they did.
Shit gets moved around when you're at a company that is publishing 50something titles all in a shared universe with one another and trying to maintain at least the semblance of continuity.
It ain't a case of DC's shitty handling of writers where they are constantly getting last minute changes and editorial re-writes with very little notice. Marvel seemingly told Rucka what their plan was, Rucka didn't like it and either they decided to end his run.
Yeah it kind of sucks but you've gotta be able to roll with the punches if you're gonna be working in the unique publishing environment that shared universe comics have.
This whole situation is just really confusing. Tons of characters have solo books and are on teams at the same time. Why can't Punisher? And why alienate top talent like Rucka over something like this? I don't understand.
i get the sense that we're only hearing one side of the story here. i like Rucka's writing but most of the time when he talks about the behind-the-scenes goings-on he tends to make himself look like the victim. i wouldn't be surprised if there's more to the story that he's either deliberately left out or is just unaware of
It'll be a long time before we hear DC's side. Their standard procedure is not to comment on matters like this.
Fuck Dan Didio and fuck comic book retailers for not ordering enough of Rucka's CHECKMATE. That book was fucking awesome, and it went out "death by Bruce Jones".
Honestly, I'm surprised Rucka had plans to continue Punisher, past War Zone. The sales haven't been great, and it's seemed clear that he was approaching the end to his maxi-story.
Still, it's unfortunate to see him sour on Marvel. But, if that means he'll be focusing his energies toward creator-owned material, I'm cool with it.
To be honest, I don't have much sympathy for Rucka. The guy isn't that great of a writer
Yes he is. He's a fantastic writer.
He writes great superhero stuff, fantastic street level stuff, and is constantly trying to push the "boundaries" of comic book standards with female characters, sexual orientation, gender roles, and all that
He just seems (to me) like a dick in most interviews
On their Twitter account IDW has announced a future upcoming crossover in their Transformers comics line. IDW has given us Transformers VS zombies in Infestation and Transformers VS Lovecraftian horrors in Infestation 2 - and now they are following that up with Mars Attacks The Transformers! The aliens from the cult classic alien invasion trading card story from Topps in 1962 (and its various follow ons, including the 1996 Tim Burton movie) attack Cybertron on January 23rd 2013!
Posts
I thought Avenging Spidey was good?
Top 10:
1 139.21 AVENGERS VS X-MEN #9 $3.99 MAR 174,356
2 135.35 AVENGERS VS X-MEN #10 $3.99 MAR 169,529
3 100.00 BATMAN #12 $3.99 DC 125,249
4 96.44 JUSTICE LEAGUE #12 $3.99 DC 120,796
5 72.71 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #692 $5.99 MAR 91,071
6 68.24 BEFORE WATCHMEN RORSCHACH #1 (MR) [*] $3.99 DC 85,473
7 62.58 AVX VS #5 $3.99 MAR 78,380
8 61.94 BEFORE WATCHMEN DR MANHATTAN #1 (MR) [*] $3.99 DC 77,577
9 61.63 GREEN LANTERN #12 $2.99 DC 77,187
10 60.68 DETECTIVE COMICS #12 $3.99 DC 75,998
The annuals helped keep DC on top in market share by a point, Marvel won dollar share by 0.06%
Hawkeye #1 sold 42k, Gambit #1 sold 40k and #2 sold 32k. I'd have to think Hawkeye's word of mouth would keep it stable enough to get to 12 issues, where Marvel might pull a Moon Knight and just end the book at an agreed point.
X-Treme X-Men #2 sold 25k, that's a drop of 11k from the first issue, looks like one arc and that's it.
Captain Marvel #2 sold 28k (down from 41k), #3 sold 27k. The double shipping might have helped it prolong it's life, but that's still down in the cancel zone.
The Valiant books are all settling in at the 15-20k range, which is good for them.
Harvest #1 only sold 8.8k, that sucks, it's a good original book.
Blank mentioned in the X-Men thread that Pak tweeted he got permission to use another 616 x-character in the X-Treme book, so it is probably sticking around past the first arc at least.
DC:
Marvel:
I do agree with his feeling that comics are becoming more Hollywood-ized, simply keeping characters afloat simply to pick from for movies as opposed to telling good stories. Even with Marvel's news and changes on NOW, there's still that sense that in a year it will all be upended again for the next thing, despite what they say now about consistent runs. And DC is so similar to mid-90's Marvel Harras might be wondering why no one uses the fax machine anymore.
And if people at DC really are denigrating his work on books like Gotham Central, then fuck them.
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
DiDio is definitely one of those guys who comes off as someone who tells you one thing and then does another, not the first time heard that.
As for Marvel, you think that they would have informed a writer a character was going to be put in a team book so if nothing else they could maybe work it all in together, some consistency or whatever.
Then again that's something that seems to be fading in todays age of jumping from one event to the next.
They would, however, probably like to be able to make enough money to eat and stuff. Burning all your bridges might be cathartic, but also tough on maintaining a career.
Unless they switch to another career.
To me, no matter what, that's something that will always drive conflict. I'm sure it even did back in the 80s and 90s. With social media now we likely just hear a lot more of it.
Personally, I don't think either side is right or wrong. I think the publishers should be bending over backwards to help these guys out but I also feel like there's a line that needs to be drawn in the sand. The properties these creators work on are becoming household brands and that needs to be respected. I'm sure there's a happy medium to be found somewhere but I have no idea what that is.
True. But why stay in an industry when you can get better respect and money elsewhere for their talents?
From the quote it sounds like it's not that Punisher couldn't do both, it's that Rucka was unhappy with them putting him on Thunderbolts without consulting him.
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I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
It's kind of a bummer that it went down like that, but if Marvel has bigger plans for the character they aren't going to let a niche title like Rucka's Punisher book stop them.
I do think Marvel still does a way better job of promoting and nurturing talent, the issue is that Marvel is more heavily invested in either the dudes who are already their big time creators (Bendis, Fraction, Hickman) and the next wave of guys who will presumably become their successors (Hopeless, Humphries, etc)
Rucka dosen't really fit into either of those categories and Punisher was the only thing he was doing for them, and again it's a niche book.
He's clearly not happy about it but is also sounds like it's a lot closer to "this is why I'm done and it sucks but whatever" as opposed to his comments about DC which are basically "fuck Dan DiDio"
i get the sense that we're only hearing one side of the story here. i like Rucka's writing but most of the time when he talks about the behind-the-scenes goings-on he tends to make himself look like the victim. i wouldn't be surprised if there's more to the story that he's either deliberately left out or is just unaware of
I have enjoyed Rucka's Punisher run a bunch. It's a neat take on Frank.
But it seems like he is mad that Marvel didn't call him up and say "Hey, we are putting Frank on Thunderbolts is that alright with you?"
which is kind of a dumb expectation. He isn't an editor, nor is he writing a shit ton of other stuff at Marvel or whatever. He's a for-hire writer, and they really don't need his approval to say "Frank's on this team now." all they need to do is let him know that it's happening, which it sounds like they did.
Shit gets moved around when you're at a company that is publishing 50something titles all in a shared universe with one another and trying to maintain at least the semblance of continuity.
It ain't a case of DC's shitty handling of writers where they are constantly getting last minute changes and editorial re-writes with very little notice. Marvel seemingly told Rucka what their plan was, Rucka didn't like it and either they decided to end his run.
Yeah it kind of sucks but you've gotta be able to roll with the punches if you're gonna be working in the unique publishing environment that shared universe comics have.
It'll be a long time before we hear DC's side. Their standard procedure is not to comment on matters like this.
Still, it's unfortunate to see him sour on Marvel. But, if that means he'll be focusing his energies toward creator-owned material, I'm cool with it.
In more pleasant news, Brandon Graham will be releasing an art book in 2013.
I'm a total junkie for process stuff, as well as big coffee table books, so I hope this will scratch that itch.
Now, someone do the same thing for Marian Churchland and James Stokoe.
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no no no no 2012 DON'T YOU FUCKING DO THIS
Not cool world, not cool
Stan Lee's just rocking a pace maker now.
the greatest thing ever
Yes he is. He's a fantastic writer.
He writes great superhero stuff, fantastic street level stuff, and is constantly trying to push the "boundaries" of comic book standards with female characters, sexual orientation, gender roles, and all that
He just seems (to me) like a dick in most interviews
It's nice to read something scary, and three posts later reslove it with a "phew."
Unlike you poor bastards who had to wait seven days. :P
Oh no. ohhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooo.
fuckin YEAH