mlazic
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Posts: 57 
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Post by mlazic on Dec 8, 2015 0:05:18 GMT -5
Read a few more ANAD books today;
Extraordinary X-Men #3
Really enjoyed this, Wolverine has always been my favorite character and seeing this meeting between OML and teen Jean was great. Great action scenes as well, really looking forward to more Sinister next issue.
ANAD Avengers #2
I liked this as well, bit different coming of Hickmans grand mega arc stuff to this smaller scale character focused stories but I trust in Waid to pull it off. Kubert's art is great as always, that splash revealing Thor is amazing!
Uncanny Inhumans #2 & All New Inhumans #1
Well written with great art from McNiven & Caselli though as an x-fan still hard for me to shake this off as mutants 2.0. Soule is one of my current favorite writers so I'll be sticking with this regradless, I'm sure he'll give the Inhumans a more distinct vibe that separates them from the X-Men.
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Post by wylietimes on Dec 9, 2015 9:49:19 GMT -5
Thanks for letting me know how you feel about Secret Wars. In 2016, I might be able to add a trade to each monthly order so Secret Wars might make it on there at some point.
I think Final Crisis broke me on events back on the day because of the crazy delays. At least this way, I don't have to suffer through delays.
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Post by optimus on Dec 9, 2015 18:25:52 GMT -5
For me All-New All Different Marvel is marking the end of printed monthly books from Marvel for me. It was not an easy choice, but one, that for me was the logical one. There are a few reasons for this, but before I go into them there are a few quick facts to be aware of first: Im a fan of comic books and stories, ill follow creators and characters, I've never been a publisher follower, I like to think that I support the industry as a whole. I have a budget, I have a budget because i’m an idiot and if left with no plan on a Wednesday ill buy way, way to much. So why now? Well, for me the attraction of Marvel has always been the universe as a whole. I love the character stories, they are the foundation stone and the gateway into the universe at large. For me this is the attraction, how all the small parts come together to make the larger whole. At the start of Marvel Now I was reading 15-16 Marvel titles each month and this, for me, gave me the experience that I was after and I loved it. Then All-New Marvel Now came along. My initial thought’s were, why? did we not just do this? However I had loved Marvel Now, I understand the dire need to attract and keep new readers and above all I understand the need to generate money, its a business after all so i stuck with it. However the Amazing Spider-Man point 1’s started to bug me. Its a title on my pull list so you get them, but they didn't seem at add anything essential for me. Yes they were nice stories but did I actually need them? Then the spin offs started. This started to annoy me. I buy enough books Marvel, if I wanted to buy x or y I would be already. It started to feel to me that I was being squeezed by Marvel for ever $ I had and this made me feel like Marvel was taking advantage of my fandom, they knew that xx% would pick these cross over books up and make them money. Then all of a sudden all Marvel books are $3.99. As I said above I'm a comic fan and I’m now at the point with the launch of All-New All Different Marvel, particularly with the launch of the $4.99 and $5.99 books that I will say good bye. I don't feel I will have the money to be able to achieve the experience that I would want from Marvel at this stage, while being able to support the other publishers. I mean just to know what is going on in the X-Men part of the Marvel U you would need to buy 3-4 of the 7 books and thats before the multitude of Avengers books and then Guardian of the Galaxy books and then the solo books. I get that why Marvel is doing this, its looks to me as a solid strategy for the delivery of value to its share holders, however I would question the strategy of this practice for the larger comic book world. Comic books have been excellent when both Marvel and DC are both on top form with creators delivering new and exciting takes on characters and situations and we don't have that right now. I know that the Jan -16 and Feb 16 numbers will be a bit less scary for DC but I cant image the latest set at pleasant reading for Dan and Jim. So for me that is why monthly print books from Marvel are gone and Ive gotten a Marvel Unlimited subscription. For me it makes sense. Yes I'm 6 months behind, but do I care? No, i don’t, not when I have access to A. Damm near everything that they have ever published and B. Everything that will be coming out now will be on their in 6 months, I can read it all if I want. When I add up what I would of spent in the first 4 months of All-New All- Different Marvel now I have paid for the Unlimited service. I am sad about this as I am a paper man. I don't don't e books etc and I don't want paper to go the way of the dinosaur but too many books at too high a price and it would appear that the digital solution would be the best one for me. So I starting to leave print too, but it is more because I am more interested than ever in reading Marvel, but I can't afford it. I am pretty going Marvel Unlimited for everything but Star Wars comics and a few hero books I cannot give up like Ms Marvel. I wonder if this might be partially by design to get more people to use unlimited. As prices increase like this it will end up being the only option for most people that want to read a lot and cannot afford it. |
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Post by BarefootRoot on Dec 9, 2015 18:43:43 GMT -5
you have an interesting theory there. not sure I buy it as a business model though. say I buy 5 books a month at 4 or 5 bucks a pop. why would they want me to give them $69/year (or $5.75/month) when they are already getting $20-25/per month out of me (granted there are retailer costs in there to subtract; this is simple math  )? Even if the books were only $2 each they would still come out ahead in that scenario ($10/month) over having me subscribe to marvel U at $5.75/month. now, having marvel U as an option in addition to the print books is a good thing: people who otherwise wouldn't afford to buy more than 1 book a month are able to access everything digitally, so there is the potential for more exposure. plus one could argue that a marvel U sub is a good discovery tool and that there is a certain percentage of people who will find something they like in marvel U and then wind up going and buying the print copies for more (I was one of them with rocket raccoon). |
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mlazic
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Posts: 57
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Post by mlazic on Dec 10, 2015 21:14:04 GMT -5
you have an interesting theory there. not sure I buy it as a business model though. say I buy 5 books a month at 4 or 5 bucks a pop. why would they want me to give them $69/year (or $5.75/month) when they are already getting $20-25/per month out of me (granted there are retailer costs in there to subtract; this is simple math )? Even if the books were only $2 each they would still come out ahead in that scenario ($10/month) over having me subscribe to marvel U at $5.75/month. now, having marvel U as an option in addition to the print books is a good thing: people who otherwise wouldn't afford to buy more than 1 book a month are able to access everything digitally, so there is the potential for more exposure. plus one could argue that a marvel U sub is a good discovery tool and that there is a certain percentage of people who will find something they like in marvel U and then wind up going and buying the print copies for more (I was one of them with rocket raccoon). While I don't think they actively trying to push readers from print to Unlimited the one thing I would say about your scenario is that of the $20-25 you spend on print Marvel would have to share with the comic store & Diamond. I imagine, and this is a completely assumption, that the costs of hosting the unlimited product online would be cheaper than printing and distributing the printing product so who know maybe Marvel actually makes more profit off Unlimited subscribers? |
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Post by optimus on Dec 14, 2015 12:29:32 GMT -5
you have an interesting theory there. not sure I buy it as a business model though. say I buy 5 books a month at 4 or 5 bucks a pop. why would they want me to give them $69/year (or $5.75/month) when they are already getting $20-25/per month out of me (granted there are retailer costs in there to subtract; this is simple math )? Even if the books were only $2 each they would still come out ahead in that scenario ($10/month) over having me subscribe to marvel U at $5.75/month. now, having marvel U as an option in addition to the print books is a good thing: people who otherwise wouldn't afford to buy more than 1 book a month are able to access everything digitally, so there is the potential for more exposure. plus one could argue that a marvel U sub is a good discovery tool and that there is a certain percentage of people who will find something they like in marvel U and then wind up going and buying the print copies for more (I was one of them with rocket raccoon). While I don't think they actively trying to push readers from print to Unlimited the one thing I would say about your scenario is that of the $20-25 you spend on print Marvel would have to share with the comic store & Diamond. I imagine, and this is a completely assumption, that the costs of hosting the unlimited product online would be cheaper than printing and distributing the printing product so who know maybe Marvel actually makes more profit off Unlimited subscribers? So you start out it getting the people hooked and then you increase price monthly.....something Amazon has done in the past on several of its services also it will be cheaper than print when reduce manufacturing cost....that being said it might not be totally deliberate but it is definitely starting to push people to digital So I have not decreased my comic purchase number but at the same time would have purchased more after reboot, which I knew I could not afford so I got unlimited |
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Post by BatFonz on Dec 15, 2015 8:16:05 GMT -5
I think it's the necessity of running multiple business models.
You have the standard which they know the majority of readers are older with reasonable disposable incomes & prefer to purchase in print, hence the world of absolute / hardcopy / Complete [Vol.1 of 5] / Oversize editions. Based on demographics I read somewhere that Marvel believes the majority of its print sales are from a 40+ readership.
It was in the same article that they talked about this gap between the 40+'ers and the rest of the comic buying public.
My daughter is 15, she was exposed to print comics from her youngest age by her evil manipulative dad [Moi!] but it never really caught her however when I switched to digital and could share my Comixology account with her she now devours comics in her spare time. She likes how the media is being delivered & a few of her friends who were already comics fans only read via their iPads.
So I think Marvel has the smartest business model, they are offering the media in formats that suit both old & new readers but have realized the 'majority' of print readers can & will pay for those books, those that would rather wait 6 months via MarvelU aren't the type to pay cover price anyway. The younger digital readers can afford a monthly subscription to MarvelU or can get a yearly as a birthday or Christmas present & they know that if they are desperate for a specific title they will blow their pocket money once a month on that 'can't do without' book.
Its not a case of driving people from one to the other, its about trying to sustain the print sales while production costs continue to rise & grow the digital market, I suspect that the comments above might be spot on that once you take out materials / print / distribution overheads / over prints etc... Digital is actually more profitable.
I'll caveat all of the above with that I'm talking about the 'majority' not 'everyone', I don't mean to generalize and I think we all know that 'we' being readers who actively seek out discussion and podcasts about comics are a hardcore group. When you look at download numbers of say a podcast vs overall monthly comic sales relatively speaking we are a low % so don't necessarily reflect the majority.
I really wish other companies offered the MarvelU deal as I would do it this instant - even though I don't have it myself I recommend it to anyone who tells me they 'used to' or want to 'get back into' comics - excellent value.
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Post by pacino on Dec 15, 2015 9:37:40 GMT -5
The Vision has been the best book out of this relaunch; Invincible Iron Man is a close second, IMO.
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Post by BatFonz on Dec 15, 2015 15:58:21 GMT -5
I'm really enjoying Iron man thought I would give it a try & it hooked me in by issue 2.
So tempted to try Vision I hear great things and Tom King is quickly becoming a must read writer for me.
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mlazic
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Posts: 57
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Post by mlazic on Dec 15, 2015 16:56:23 GMT -5
Iron Man has been my favorite so far, Vision and Mighty Thor would close out the top 3. Doctor Strange is nipping at their heels though!
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mlazic
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Posts: 57
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Post by mlazic on Dec 15, 2015 17:30:19 GMT -5
I think it's the necessity of running multiple business models. You have the standard which they know the majority of readers are older with reasonable disposable incomes & prefer to purchase in print, hence the world of absolute / hardcopy / Complete [Vol.1 of 5] / Oversize editions. Based on demographics I read somewhere that Marvel believes the majority of its print sales are from a 40+ readership. It was in the same article that they talked about this gap between the 40+'ers and the rest of the comic buying public. My daughter is 15, she was exposed to print comics from her youngest age by her evil manipulative dad [Moi!] but it never really caught her however when I switched to digital and could share my Comixology account with her she now devours comics in her spare time. She likes how the media is being delivered & a few of her friends who were already comics fans only read via their iPads. So I think Marvel has the smartest business model, they are offering the media in formats that suit both old & new readers but have realized the 'majority' of print readers can & will pay for those books, those that would rather wait 6 months via MarvelU aren't the type to pay cover price anyway. The younger digital readers can afford a monthly subscription to MarvelU or can get a yearly as a birthday or Christmas present & they know that if they are desperate for a specific title they will blow their pocket money once a month on that 'can't do without' book. Its not a case of driving people from one to the other, its about trying to sustain the print sales while production costs continue to rise & grow the digital market, I suspect that the comments above might be spot on that once you take out materials / print / distribution overheads / over prints etc... Digital is actually more profitable. I'll caveat all of the above with that I'm talking about the 'majority' not 'everyone', I don't mean to generalize and I think we all know that 'we' being readers who actively seek out discussion and podcasts about comics are a hardcore group. When you look at download numbers of say a podcast vs overall monthly comic sales relatively speaking we are a low % so don't necessarily reflect the majority. I really wish other companies offered the MarvelU deal as I would do it this instant - even though I don't have it myself I recommend it to anyone who tells me they 'used to' or want to 'get back into' comics - excellent value. Great post, glad to hear of teenagers taking up the hobby via digital media. One of my worries as a 33 year old is that in a world so full of media entertainment the next generation of readers may not take up comics as readily as the previous ones. |
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Post by toxicsooner on Dec 15, 2015 22:27:03 GMT -5
Wow... I thought I might be the only one thinking this way... I've cut the number of marvel titles on my pull to 4 titles (spider-woman, iron man, ASM, and AN wolverine). Everything else seems to be Image, boom, or Darkhorse. If I'm being honest, in my opinion these publishers are putting out better stories. I never thought I'd say it but I have major event fatigue and honestly a lot of the stories seem to be bland and predictable. Even some of the books from marvel that are still on my pull, like ASM, are there because of nostalgia.
Unlimited allows me to revisit stories and characters I love and discover many things I never thought I would get the chance to explore. Currently reading all of spider-man and the fantastic four from the beginning. My hope is one day that marvel will figure out their heavy handed watered down approach is stale, but I'm not holding my breath.
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Post by jonathansoko on Jan 29, 2016 3:39:06 GMT -5
The majority of marvels titles seem to be young teenage angst, and i just cant get with any of the stuff i have been trying to get into. What they have done To Hellcat, is tragic. I used to LOVE patsy, but this new book literally disgusted me. I can not believe how cheesy they made that book. Sad day for me. One positive was captain marvel #1. It was at least readable. I found Kelly Sue's run to be unreadable. I tried so many times, i collected almost the whole run hoping to get into it since i love the charecter. But Kelly's dialogue was painful for me to read. Nothing happened in that book. Issue 15 i found enjoyable, that was it for me. I will never understand the little fan base that run had, i just do not understand it. To each is own though. I do buy wolverine, inhumans and extraordinary xmen though, those 3 titles i am loving! Especially Lopez's art on wolverine! He was the reason i bought kelly sue's captain marvel, too bad her dialogue was just, ugh. That art was amazing though. E-Xmen has been really good though. All though i really dislike Humberto Ramos's art. I really hope they replace him soon. And the inhumans get alot of hate these days, i was skeptical at first but i enjoyed Soule's take on them since the beginning and this new run is even better. Flint has become one of my all time favorite marvel characters, which is kinda crazy to me! I get it, marvel wants more kids to buy their books. But for lack of a better term, they are (batgirl'ing...sorry i hate the term, i just don't know what to call it) so many books, and i just can not take it. What marvel has done to starbrand and nightmask is just flat out disappointing and depressing. They were both stoic, epic cosmic characters who were out there punking the builders and savinng millions of different beings nad people out there in the universe. And marvel relaunches the universe and sends them to college, and have them trying to be cheeky and funny. The ultimate eye roll. I have a strange affinity for the 80s new universe, which is where those 2 originated (for some reason people think they are hickman creations, i do not know why) and starbrand is one of my lowkey favorite cosmic charecters. Another book that i pumped for, untill i saw the cover and read it. Ugh. I really miss the fantastic 4. I do not care for what they are doing with thing, i am ok with Jonny storm being with the inhumans. BUT i want the first family back. I want the Foundation back, i want REED AND SUE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got emotional earlier reading robinsons run again. I need my FF fix, so bad. I miss going and buying a FF book off the stand  This is all my opinion, i will not tell anyone how to feel, or what to feel. Noone has to agree with me. I am just not into what marvel is doing with many of their books. I am glad some people are though. I will continue to try things out on occasion, but those 3-4 books i read are the only titles i have enjoyed. I bought vision 1 and 2, and i do not see the brilliance that people on the board seem to see. I guess that it is just not for me. With cival war 2 coming, i fear that i just may stop buying marvel all together. Especially if the few books i am buying tie into it. I just do not care to read another cival war. All in all, i will only buy all new wolverine, all new inhumans and extraordinary xmen. And i will be impatiently waiting for the Fantastic Four return.......... |
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Post by Bob Reyer on Jan 29, 2016 7:28:56 GMT -5
The majority of marvels titles seem to be young teenage angst, and i just cant get with any of the stuff i have been trying to get into. What they have done To Hellcat, is tragic. I used to LOVE patsy, but this new book literally disgusted me. I can not believe how cheesy they made that book. Sad day for me. One positive was captain marvel #1. It was at least readable. I found Kelly Sue's run to be unreadable. I tried so many times, i collected almost the whole run hoping to get into it since i love the charecter. But Kelly's dialogue was painful for me to read. Nothing happened in that book. Issue 15 i found enjoyable, that was it for me. I will never understand the little fan base that run had, i just do not understand it. To each is own though. I do buy wolverine, inhumans and extraordinary xmen though, those 3 titles i am loving! Especially Lopez's art on wolverine! He was the reason i bought kelly sue's captain marvel, too bad her dialogue was just, ugh. That art was amazing though. E-Xmen has been really good though. All though i really dislike Humberto Ramos's art. I really hope they replace him soon. And the inhumans get alot of hate these days, i was skeptical at first but i enjoyed Soule's take on them since the beginning and this new run is even better. Flint has become one of my all time favorite marvel characters, which is kinda crazy to me! I get it, marvel wants more kids to buy their books. But for lack of a better term, they are (batgirl'ing...sorry i hate the term, i just don't know what to call it) so many books, and i just can not take it. What marvel has done to starbrand and nightmask is just flat out disappointing and depressing. They were both stoic, epic cosmic characters who were out there punking the builders and savinng millions of different beings nad people out there in the universe. And marvel relaunches the universe and sends them to college, and have them trying to be cheeky and funny. The ultimate eye roll. I have a strange affinity for the 80s new universe, which is where those 2 originated (for some reason people think they are hickman creations, i do not know why) and starbrand is one of my lowkey favorite cosmic charecters. Another book that i pumped for, untill i saw the cover and read it. Ugh. I really miss the fantastic 4. I do not care for what they are doing with thing, i am ok with Jonny storm being with the inhumans. BUT i want the first family back. I want the Foundation back, i want REED AND SUE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got emotional earlier reading robinsons run again. I need my FF fix, so bad. I miss going and buying a FF book off the stand This is all my opinion, i will not tell anyone how to feel, or what to feel. Noone has to agree with me. I am just not into what marvel is doing with many of their books. I am glad some people are though. I will continue to try things out on occasion, but those 3-4 books i read are the only titles i have enjoyed. I bought vision 1 and 2, and i do not see the brilliance that people on the board seem to see. I guess that it is just not for me. With cival war 2 coming, i fear that i just may stop buying marvel all together. Especially if the few books i am buying tie into it. I just do not care to read another cival war. All in all, i will only buy all new wolverine, all new inhumans and extraordinary xmen. And i will be impatiently waiting for the Fantastic Four return.......... Jonathan, As someone who appreciates many eras of comic book history, your opinion on these topics is certainly well-informed, and as in all matters of artistic choice, definitely very personal. Seeing characters that you love morph into something that you don't recognize is jarring, and over the course of my life as a comic book reader, I've experienced more-than my share of disruptions to the status quo. While I am enjoying the majority of the "fringe-ier" titles, I can understand where what seems a lack of depth or consequence can be off-putting. On the other end of the spectrum, I would love to be able to still have an X-Men or Avengers book that read like the Claremont/Byrne or Englehart/Perez era of those titles, but those mainstream books are now so caught up in "event programming" that you end up down the rabbit hole! For the longest time around these parts, I've championed the idea that at both Big Two companies, there should be titles that harkened back to the older forms, so an "Old 26" at DC, or for Marvel, having books that, alongside the new iterations, also star the original versions of Cap, Thor, X-Men, and of course, the Fantastic Four. It'll never happen, but a guy can dream, right? ps) If you haven't already Jonathan, you might want to sample the Slott/Allred Silver Surfer, as it has a bit of everything for every taste! rrr |
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Post by toxicsooner on Jan 31, 2016 22:26:58 GMT -5
Jonathan,
I feel your pain, I have also slashed my Marvel intake since the re-boot. While I'm not quite as down on some of the specific titles you mentioned I do understand where you are coming from. Truth be told, Spider-woman, Iron man and AN Wolverine are about the only titles that I really get excited for. And, even with those, I'm just waiting for the next event or creative team change to push them off my list.
Bob,
I have resisted Silver Surfer so long due to Slott's involvement with the book and how he has literally reverted Peter Parker to a man-child since his return following Superior Spider-man (which I thought was great). I hope for your sake and everyone who is enjoying Silver Surfer, Slott continues to be excited about what he is doing and you don't have to go through the same pain that I am dealing with right now. I know that I shouldn't judge a book based on what the creator is doing on a different title, but it is what it is. Maybe one day I'll give the title a shot and have a nice glass of Malbec with my healthy serving of crow... LOL!!!!
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)? Even if the books were only $2 each they would still come out ahead in that scenario ($10/month) over having me subscribe to marvel U at $5.75/month.
