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UNCANNY X-MEN #469
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Comicscape - December 7, 2005

In other news, the first of Stephen King's DARK TOWER miniseries won't come out until early 2007. Not that I take exclusive credit for it or anything, but some controversy arose following Marvel's first press release and their subsequent explanation about King's creative role on the project. Whereas many readers assumed King would write the comic himself, Marvel has explained that he will serve as "Executive Editor and Creative Director" meaning, he'll pitch the stories and supervise the project, but God know whether he'll actually write it (they still haven't said who will). To be perfectly clear, there is no official indication whatsoever that the controversy caused the delay. King has two other books coming out this year, so he may have just decided to push the DARK TOWER to next year to get some breathing room. However, during the interval, I hope that Marvel and King reconsider the latter's level of involvement. Many readers both comic fans and otherwise will naturally assume that King is writing the comic and it may undermine Marvel's credibility when every news story about the series has to mention that he's only supervising it. With that, on to your mail!

Terry Stull writes, "One reason I'm all for the Ultimate and All-Star lines has to do with their ability to lessen continuity's importance while strengthening continuity simultaneously. Looking back on Spider-Man and the X-Men's respective histories, some writers have come up with some kooky storylines (the Clone Saga, Spider-Ham, Onslaught) that many of us would love to have never existed. So far the Ultimate line seems streamlined in the sense that we are following a single cohesive time-line month in, month out. We only see Wolverine in that title, instead of being on 3(!) X-Men teams AND the Avengers (while finding time to pop up in New Thunderbolts). Ultimate Wolverine is written by one writer/month (although I don't mind the upcoming crossover miniseries with Ultimate Hulk)."

I completely agree. That's why I read ULTIMATE X-MEN, in lieu of any of the regular Marvel Universe titles. I still get a taste of the characters and the idea of the X-Men without having to deal with the continuity clusterfk.

"I find it interesting that the Ultimate line helped establish Spider-Man as an icon."

I think Spider-Man was probably iconic before that, but that's just me.

"We now have several versions of Spider-Man (regular, Ultimate, and cinematic versions) yet the character is the same throughout, and that's a testament. I think the Ultimate and All-Star lines are healthy for the comic book industry in the sense of establishing rock-hard mythologies for these characters that exist within the different versions of each character. It doesn't matter if Ultimate Spider-Man didn't experience the humiliation of being mistaken for a clone, nor does it matter that Ultimate Wolverine hasn't regained his memories yet. At the end of the day, Spider-Man the Icon learned the dangers of selfishness by finding out that with 'With great power comes great responsibility,' while Wolverine, amnesiac or not, will always be the man who seeks his true purpose."

Again, I agree it's the concept that remains and resonates, not the continuity. Bloody good call, I'd say.

"So long as Marvel and DC don't lose sight of who their characters are, updating their icons can only be a healthy thing."

Yes, but how many times and for how long? Do you think we should just reboot every few years like Al suggested a while back?

"Maybe this will teach us comic geeks to be less obsessive (why do you think our male populace doesn't get laid often??)."

Speak for yourself, man. I'm a machine.

Lamar Henderson writes, "My take on both Marvel's Ultimates line and DC's All-Star line is that both do nothing but muddy up the waters of an already pretty opaque puddle. While both lines may very well produce good quality stories, in the long run I believe that they will have either a negligible or even a negative impact on both company's overall readership. First, if either or both of these lines were designed to draw in 'non-comics readers,' then they're going about it in exactly the wrong way. Most people who don't read superhero comics don't care about continuity or any of the problems that comic-book fans constantly complain about."

That's true. Many people write off comics as a whole, and a rebooted series isn't going to change their mind.

"They don't read superhero comics because they're silly, outdated adolescent power fantasies primarily targeted at closet fascists."

Are you kidding? I'm totally out of the closet about my fascism.

"Ultimate and All-Star may be 'different' from the perspective of a comics professional or a fan boy, but from the point of view of someone who doesn't read comics, they're all the same. One of the few comics lines that I've seen actually bring in non-comics readers to read comics has been Vertigo, in great part because the Vertigo comics are mostly not silly, outdated adolescent power fantasies primarily targeted at closet fascists."

I agree about the Vertigo bit, as I've seen plenty of people who "don't read comics" that buy SANDMAN and PREACHER in trade. However, I wouldn't label all superhero comics with such a broad brush. There are plenty of constructive, legitimate things to portray with superheroes besides fascist power fantasies for overgrown adolescents. I love superhero comics, but I also love Vertigo's long-form non-superhero titles. PREACHER remains one of my favorite titles.

"Second, even if there are people who are interested in getting into comics but have been put off by the continuity issues, neither Ultimates nor All-Star is a good solution, because one has to be familiar with existing continuity issues in order to understand how and why these lines are different. There are about 73 X-Men titles published ever month why does Wolverine look different in this book than he does in all the others? And why doesn't he look like Wolverine in the movies? It's in a different continuity, you say? What does that mean? A different universe? Huh? Third, the comic-book distribution system that exists now is designed to exclude 'outsiders,' those people who are not part of the fan-boy network. When I owned part of a comic book store, we were located in a popular downtown area within walking distance of a major university campus. Even so, we rarely had people come into the store who weren't comic book collectors or gamers, and usually only when there was a big event in the comics world, such as the DEATH OF SUPERMAN. Meanwhile, I now rarely see comics displayed at the newsstands in grocery stores, pharmacies and the like where I and a lot of people were first exposed to comics. If the comic book publishers want to attract new readers, then it would make sense to up their presence in those places that potential new readers frequent."

I'll give you that. Many comic shops take on the feel of a clubhouse, and while that's great for the customers, it can intimidate potential readers. It also depends a lot on the attitude of the staff. I've been to some shops that were very welcoming, and others that barely cared about their customers.

"Fourth, the existing comic book form factor puts a lot of people off. Almost five bucks for a little flimsy pamphlet? Most people are not interested in spending that sort of money for that little product. Perfect-bound collections are a good start, but even these have their problems. For example, they don't address the continuity factor a six-issue collection out of the middle of UNCANNY X-MEN is still six issues out of the middle...And when there are multiple collections, which one do you have to read first? Manga collections, in comparison, often have specific trade dress and are clearly numbered as to which book is which in a series."

I agree with the bit about reading a collection out of the middle of a series, as well as your comments about the price. Yes, Manga collections are numbered, but so are the Ultimate trade paperbacks. I agree that many already disinterested readers aren't likely to read a hunk of a series out of the middle of a run. This goes back to the inherent problem with ongoing series.

"Fifth, and in many ways the most important point, I think, is that most contemporary comic book artists and writers don't have a clue what they're doing. A good rule of thumb for determining whether a comic book artist knows how to tell a story is if you can look through a comic book without reading the words and come away with at least a good idea of what the story is. Too many comic book artists these days don't understand the basics of good storytelling techniques. In a related issue, far too many comic book artists working now appear to have learned to draw from comic books. When was the last time you saw a character in a comic book that actually looked like a real person? I'm not necessarily talking about a literal, photorealistic style, but rather art that captures the essence of reality, even while twisting it sideways to add the fantastic elements."

That's an incredibly broad generalization. Mike Deodato and Doug Braithwaite both capture the essence of humanity without becoming too cartoonish or too realistic. Admittedly, there are plenty of artists that draw in the "big tits and big guns" style, but there are also some very talented artists out there. It's not fair to point at every single artists in the business.

"Sixth, a lot of the comics stories being produced now don't have an easily recognized beginning, middle and end. Fan boys like the overlapping continuity and the never-ending nature of comic-book series, but the average non-comic book reader usually doesn't. When they read something, it's likely to be a single novel by an author such as Stephen King, or a distinct and complete story in an ongoing series that usually doesn't require intimate knowledge of the details of the previous books in the series, such as the typical mystery-suspense series novel. Look at the most popular and well-respected comic book stories of the past 20 years -- THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and WATCHMEN. Although they were originally issued as individual books, a vast majority of people who have read them have done so in the trade paperback collections, both of which are complete narratives with a beginning, middle and end. If the comic book publishers want to draw in more readers, especially new readers, here is what I would suggest that they do (and I just know how valuable my opinion is to anyone).

1. Forget about existing properties. Create some new stuff for a change. Sure, it could be set in existing continuity, but it doesn't need to be subservient to it. If a book sells, do another one in the series. If it doesn't, oh, well. Move on to the next idea.
   
2. Create complete stories in trade paperback form you know, like a novel.
   
3. Keep the costs down as much as possible. More people are likely to pay 10 bucks for a thick, meaty trade paperback on pulpy paper with black and white illustrations than will pay 20 bucks for a thin book with slick paper and high-gloss printing.
   
4. Employ writers and artists who know what they're doing and have some talent.
   
5. Distribute these books everywhere not just comic book stores, not just bookstores, but grocery stores, pharmacies, Wal-Mart, hardware stores, Chinese restaurants, anywhere that might work.

Think outside the existing distribution box. Will it work? I have no idea. However, it's pretty clear that the current model isn't working, and sometimes, as my favorite surrogate aunt likes to say, a change is good enough. This change may be as good as any."

Lamar, I ran your letter in its entirety because it had many strong, constructive suggestions. Most criticism from fans boils down to complaints with no viable alternative in sight. You also hit on many of the same points the other letters did, and it saves space. However, the industry isn't going to abdicate ongoing series in the name of coherence. Publishers make too much money on established properties to say, "You know, Spider-Man's really getting old. Let's kill him and think of something new for a single maxiseries." Fans, not casual readers, keep the industry afloat, and fans like buying UNCANNY X-MEN monthly. But, I agree with you that the industry would be wise to follow Vertigo's model self-contained, finite series of approximately 70 issues, regularly reprinted in trade form. I know people that read PREACHER in trade years after it wrapped, and I'm not sure they would if it were 150 issues into an indefinite run. I also think there's value in superhero stories and that you sell an entire archetype short by calling all superheroes fantasies for closet fascists. (an archetype found in literature and mythology since the dawn of time, by the way).

Cliff Hicks writes, "What I've found so far is that the Ultimate line isn't necessarily the best at drawing complete comic virgins, if you'll excuse the phrase, in, but it brings back to the fold a lot of people who like comics but haven't been reading them in a while and don't know where to start. Really, if you wanted to get someone into Spider-Man right now, where else would you start? Maybe with the JMS books, but even then you have a lot of explaining to do. I'd be terrified trying to explain X-Men continuity to someone right now. It's gotten FAR too messy for its own good."

Believe it or not, I've had a few people tell me that the Ultimate titles brought them back to comics, so I think you've got a point. I won't beat the X-Men-continuity-dead-horse again, because it's been said a million times.

"The key success, I think, for the Ultimate line, has been the trade paperbacks. You comment in your column that you think the 100+ issue mark will start scaring people off, but I'd argue that many, if not most, people who read the Ultimate line have no idea what issue they're reading. Or they'll tell you that issue #13 and they're waiting for #14... because they're talking about Vol. # and not issue #, because they've never picked up a single issue in their life. To them, the trades ARE the issues...Warren Ellis argued long ago in one of his massively entertaining columns that the single issue format should be seen as a loss-leader for the sales of the TPBs, and that the TPBs should be the big things. In this, I agree with him. While the single issue format is entertaining, I know that nine times out of ten, I'm waiting for TPBs rather than buying single issues."

That's prudent, given that many new series read far better in trade than individual issues. Hell, I often save up arcs and miniseries to read them all at once, as I can barely remember what happened the month before if I read them monthly.

Mark Hain writes, "Attracting new comic readers is a tough thing to do. Comics as a medium has been dying almost since the day I started buying them in the mid to late 80's. The 90's were arguably the worst time for comics as a whole (even though I loved the X-men, Batman and many many other comics and the way they were written). The focus turned more to art than story especially in the 90's and although the Death of Superman stories and other "big events" brought in new readers for a short time, those readers did not continue to buy. In a way I have to admit I'm glad. I got very tired of seeing people who could care less about the comic book industry buying 10-15 black bagged DEATH OF SUPERMAN comics thinking that they would pay for a college education in a few years when they sell them off. At any rate, I believe that once we entered the year 2000, comic companies re-examined the 90's and began to change the way they did business. They realized that while art is important, a story is at least equally important if not more so. When ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1 came out I...was skeptical to say the least. Rewriting history was never something I've been in favor of. This was not rewriting history however. After reading USM #1, I realized there might actually be room for updating a classic.

When that came out, I was like, "Oh Jesus, not this again." But, Brian Michael Bendis and Marvel proved me wrong. I like most of the Ultimate titles a lot, and they did something that has rarely worked in the past (an alternate universe imprint).

"I believe the future of these books are clear...widespread popularity. While it is very hard to bring in new comic readers and keep them, with stories and art as good as the Ultimate line and stories (but no so much the art) in ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, the readers brought in by each subsequent movie sequel will find the characters they really liked in these movies in new stories every week and all in modern styles with younger characters they can relate to. As for veteran comic book lovers, I truly believe that long time comic lovers that don't give these books a chance are missing out on another take on characters they have always loved. The 'real' universes are always there and they aren't going anywhere, but I have always been a fan of Elseworlds and What If? comics and that's how I personally approach these stories. They aren't the universe I grew up with but they are excellent takes on many heroes that in all honesty really could use upgrades."

I'm not sure if the original Marvel Universe will always be there. One day, the Ultimate Universe may be the only thing left. I don't have any insider info about that or anything, but I think as the Ultimate line expands, Marvel may decide to wipe away the original continuity in the name of coherence.

Joel Handloff write, "Ultimately (no pun intended...ok, maybe a little), though, I doubt this line will achieve the goal of attracting new, non-comic book readers. While I haven't taken any polls, I suspect most of that audience has no clue what the Ultimate line is about and probably assume that ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN is just, yet another, Spider-Man title, which is a shame. The only way to change this perception is to advertise. However, comics have this tendency to advertise in, well, comics. And when your target audience doesn't read comics, that sort of defeats the purpose. Comic publishers, like Microsoft, don't really have a fundamental understanding of image and audience communications. They just keep doing the same things over and over and hoping that this time it will be different. And, given DC's and Marvel's monolithic presence in the market, they sort of don't have to worry much. It works, or it doesn't, and they are still the top two. Manga might undermine this as somehow, it has managed to reach out to a very new audience (especially teen-aged girls). DC has its own manga line and should probably leverage that (which is may be doing, I don't honestly know) to draw those readers into its mainstream line or All-Star line, or their version of Ultimate if they should create one."

Marvel started placing comics in 7-11 a while back, which I thought was a step in the right direction. Also, all of the major publishers have sought mainstream press coverage in the past few years. While that may not have converted legions of formerly unwilling souls, it's a start. They have to know comics exist and that they aren't just children's fodder anymore. Anyway, that's it for this week, guys. Thanks again for all your mail and your kind words. If your letter didn't run this week, I'll try to write you personally in the next few days.

Ever notice how many comics rip off song lyrics in their titles? Well, you will now.

DARK HORSE

Aeon Flux #3 (of 4) $2.99
Al: I made myself a deal: instead of going to see the movie, I've been watching the original cartoons. I'm pretty sure I'm coming out ahead here.
Kurt: I'll save you the trouble. It's not terrible, but it's perfect DVD fodder. Yeah, I see everything.

Chip N Dale Nuttywear Gacha Capsule PI
Al: Nuttywear! Who doesn't need some nuttywear? Kurt needs nuttywear, badly.
Kurt: Have you been talking to my wife again?

Conan & The Demons Of Khitai #3 (of 4) $2.99

Penny Arcade 1x 25 Cents $0.25
Al: C'mon, admit it: you'll buy anything for a quarter.
Kurt: Al sold me his dignity for a quarter. I got ripped off, man.

Star Wars Episodes I - III Slipcased TP Set $29.95
Al: Slipcases: like your grandmother's sofa, except with comics.
Kurt: Save your money and just get Revenge of the Sith.

DC COMICS

All Star Batman And Robin #1 Special Edition #1 $3.99
Al: I'm holding out for Issue 1 Special Edition #2. That one's gonna be hella rad.
Kurt: Which is the one with more story and less suck? I want that one. Actually, I think this one is kind of like the Marvel Director's Cuts.

Batgirl Kicking Assassins TP $14.99
Kurt: Batgirl can kick my assassin any day. All right, that didn't make any sense.

Batman And The Monster Men #2 (of 6) $2.99
Al: Monsters live on TV, never in the zoo; hang around with us and you'll be a monster too.
Kurt: I don't think they mean the kind of monster that has to tell the neighborhood about his criminal record whenever he moves somewhere, Al.

Blood Of The Demon #10 $2.50

Danger Girl Back In Black #2 (of 4) $2.99
Al: I'm just living on the side cause it's getting me high; forget the hearse cause I never die.
Kurt: I used to get mocked for listening to AC/DC when I was 14, and now their hipster-retro-kitsch. Yeah, I'm always ahead of the times.

Detective Comics #814 $2.50

Gals Vol 4 $9.99

Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol 1 HC $49.99

Gotham Central #38 $2.50

Green Lantern Vs Sinestro Statue $195.00

Hard Time Season Two #1 $2.50
Hooray for the return of this awesome series. It's like "Prison Break" meets "My So-Called Life"! Sortof.

Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi Maquette Set $125.00
Al: Hi hi! It's fun to say.

JLA Classified Cold Steel #1 (of 2) $5.99

Jonah Hex #2 $2.99

JSA #80 $2.50

Justice League Unlimited #16 $2.25
Al: Christmas special alert!

Kingdom Come Spectre Green Lantern Norman Mccay Statue $89.99

Looney Tunes #133 $2.25

Majestic While You Were Out TP $12.99

Outsiders #31 $2.50

Pieces Of A Spiral Vol 2 $9.99
Al: Right now, somewhere in Canada, Geddy Lee is cursing himself for not thinking of this title first.

Seven Soldiers Mister Miracle #2 (of 4) $2.99
Al: Ooh as you blow a storm, there's no one there to keep you warm.

Showcase Presents Justice League Of America Vol 1 TP $16.99

Superman #224 $2.50
Al: Thank heaven, it's an Infinite Crisis tie-in. I was about to go into withdrawal.
Kurt: Oh, don't worry. The cash-ins will continue. Look for Infinite Crisis: Reunion after it's all over.

Superman In The Name Of Gog TP $17.99

Superman Secret Files 2005 $4.99

Swamp Thing #22 (MR) $2.99
Al: I have no joke here - I just want to point out that the cover of this book is incredibly awesome.

Team Zero #1 (of 6) $2.99
Al: Chuck Dixon and Doug Mahnke bring back Team Zero for a WWII story "in the epic tradition of Saving Private Ryan". Earn...this...

Vimanarama TP (MR) $12.99
Al: Hey, did you know that Indian chicks are hot? Well, now you do.
Kurt: Yes. Yes, they are. And their food kicks ass.

Y The Last Man #40 (MR) $2.99

IMAGE

Age Of Bronze #22 $3.50

Battle Hymn #5 (of 5) $2.99
Al: Trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.

Bone Rest #6 (MR) $2.99

Casefiles Sam & Twitch #20 (RES) (MR) $2.50

Down #2 (of 4) $2.99

Fell 2nd Prtg #1 (PP #693) $1.99
Kurt: You know, if you didn't read this the first time, pick this up. It's worth it.

Fell 2nd Prtg #2 (PP #693) $1.99

Freshmen #4 (of 6) $2.99
Al: Six is about the number of freshmen I had in college too.
Kurt: So, you like your men fresh, eh? Sick bastard.

Freshmen Yearbook One Shot $2.99
Al: Whereas this is more like Kurt's experience. You only get one shot, Kurt; do not miss your chance to blow.

Image Comics Holiday Sp 2005 $9.99
Al: Dudes, you can't charge ten bucks for a holiday special. You just can't.
Kurt: Little Johnny's mother won't be able to afford his operation this year, and he sure as hell won't get the Image Christmas special.

Image Comics Ltd Slipcase HC (RES) $75.00

Looking Glass Wars Hatter M #1 (of 4) $3.99
Al: Yet another "clever" reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland, this featuring a Mad Hatter whose hat is a weapon. Hm...where have I seen that before?

Necromancer #3 $2.99
Kurt: Some call me...TIM.

NYC Mech Beta Love #4 $2.99
Al: Beta love...my beta love...why must we seperate?

Rock N Roll One Shot $3.50
Al: No, this is not Axl Rose's solo album.

Savage Dragon God War #4 (of 4) $2.99

Sea Of Red #7 (MR) $2.99

Spawn #151 $2.95

Top Cow Marvel Crossover Collection TP $24.99
Al: Thank heaven, because these were all so good. Witchblade: "You're short." Wolverine: "Where are your clothes?"
Kurt: Where indeed? Where in...deed?

Walking Dead Script Book #1 (MR) $3.99
Kurt: I'd totally make fun of this if this book didn't rock so hard.

MARVEL

Essential Spider-woman Vol 1 TP $16.99

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 $2.99

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #10 $2.50

Marvel Team-Up #15 $2.99

Marvel Team-Up Vol 2 Master Of The Ring TP $17.99

Marvel Zombies #1 (of 5) $2.99
Al: Robert Kirkman writes a followup to the highly entertaining Ultimate Fantastic Four arc from earlier this year, about a world where all the superheroes were turned into zombies. Sounds fun, but if you buy this and not Walking Dead I will eat your mother$%@^in brain.
Kurt: "Now the dead can't die/They're not alive/I've got one walking by my side/It's a curse! A hex! Tell me what comes next/We'll tie the noose around my neck/I'll see you in the graveyard at midnight/It's such a horrifying de-light/Your ice cold touch it feels so right/And just last night I walked with a zombie! Zombie! Zombie! I walked with a zombie!"

Mega Morphs Digest $7.99

New Excalibur #2 $2.99
Al: Chris Claremont goes on the Michael Jackson Team for me. See, it makes me happier to pretend that Michael Jackson was killed in a tragic accident right after he released "Dangerous". Thus his brilliance was never tempered by creepiness and Jesus Juice, and I can go right on blasting "Thriller" without being reminded of a skeleton wearing a wig and epaulets. Similarly, Claremont was killed saving children from a burning building right after Uncanny X-Men #279. The writer of Excalibur is someone else with an unfortunately coincidental name, who can mimic Claremont's bizarre stylistic twitches but not his storytelling genius. Rest in peace, Claremont. You were awesome.
Kurt: A few years ago, I decided that Metallica had been kidnapped by aliens and replaced with evil clones. I'm still waiting to be proven wrong. Oh, St. Anger was all right, but still!

New Warriors #6 (of 6) $2.99

Powers #15 (MR) $2.95
Al: So please, stay off my back. Or I will attack; and you don't want that.

Punisher #28 (MR) $2.99
Kurt: In this issue: Frank Castle kills people.

Sentinel #2 (of 5) $2.99

Spider-Girl #93 $2.99

Spider-Man Black Cat Evil That Men Do #4 (of 6) $2.99
Al: Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
Kurt: All right, Hell has frozen over. Looks like we'll have Christmas after all.

Spider-Man Breakout TP $13.99

Supreme Power Nighthawk #4 (of 6) (MR) $2.99

Thor Blood Oath #5 (of 6) $2.99
Al: Last issue. When's the real thing relaunch again? I didn't know I'd miss Thor this much until he was gone.
Kurt: Those flowing golden tresses, that giant hammer...Al, you're gay.

Ultimate Marvel Flip Magazine #7 $3.99

Ultimate Spider-Man #87 $2.50

Ultimate Tales Flip Magazine #7 $3.99

Ultimates 2 #9 $2.99

What If Captain America $2.99
Al: Hey, have you ever wondered what Captain America would like in a headdress? No? Uh...yeah, me either.

What If Classic Vol 2 TP $24.99
Al: One of the stories collected in this trade is "What if Daredevil's secret identity was exposed?" If another one is "What if Wolverine got drunk on a plane", we know where Bendis gets his ideas.
Kurt: He gets them from me. I'm his ghost writer. The secret's out.

X-Men Colossus Bloodline #4 (of 5) $2.99

X-Men Unlimited #12 $2.99
Kurt: No reason whatsoever.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@cinescape.com.