You are currently browsing the archives for January, 2013
Hello, my five remaining readers! We are on to part three of our predictions overview, where I discuss your 2012 predictions from last year, tallying the hits, noting the misses, and totally prevaricating when I’m not sure if it’s a hit or a miss. And, perhaps unwisely, I am still seeking your comics industry predictions for 2013, so get ’em in there and watch your pal Mike lose his mind next year, too.
Jeff R. gazes across the veil and sees
“We won’t know anything more about the Woman in Purple at the end of 2012 than we know right now.”
We got a few more hints about about Pandora here and there, like in the New 52 Free Comic Book Day thing last year, right? I imagine there’ll be an eventual payoff to this character soon. Plus, she’s popped up in one of this week’s comics, so we’re getting a tiny bit more about her there, anyway.
“Ultimate comics will come to an end, and they’ll probably actually blow up the entire planet/universe as it goes. (Possibly some refugees end up on 616, possibly not.)”
I’m still sort of surprised the Ultimate line is still a thing, but it has its fans, though the line has certainly outlived its initial purpose of “here’s something for people who like our movies but don’t want to be mired in continuity.” Now they all feel like ongoing “What If…?” series, just lacking the Watcher explaining to the reader at the beginning of each issue how this world is subtly different from the Marvel Universe they know.
“X-factor will be cancelled/end. Peter David will end up writing a book in the Avengers franchise.”
X-Factor stuck around, though I can see it going on a hiatus now while David recovers from his recent health issues. David did write an Avengers book this year…Avengers: Season One, a graphic novel available exclusively (at first) through Wal-Mart, of all places, but just offered to comic retailers last month.
“Hellblazer #300 will be the final numbered issue; after that the vertigo version of the character will be in miniseries. There may be a new #1 featuring the DCnu version of the character around the same time.”
SCARY ACCURATE.
“Mage III will be announced.”
Not that I heard…but I desperately wish I had.
“Scott McCloud will release a fourth XXXXXX comics book.”
Took me a second to parse that…ah, you mean like Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics. Sadly, no, but there’s only one book that can follow those first three: DESTROYING COMICS.
• • •
Gareth wished
“All of the TV shows based on comics characters will be cancelled after less than 13 episodes.”
Sadly, no.
• • •
Jerry Smith presented
DC will announce a return to pre-New 52 continuity, featuring the tag-line “The New Old 52.” The new/old line will rerelaunch in January 2013 with all new #1s. Most importantly, Batman and Superman will get their underwear back.
None of the above, unfortunately, but honestly, if they just gaves Supes his hotpants back, that’s all I’d really want.
“IDW, running out of licenses for TV shows, will announce a ‘San Pedro Beach Bums’ comic.”
Surprisingly, no.
“All comics from Marvel and DC will be 32 pages or fewer at $3.99 by December.”
Not for lack of Marvel’s trying, anyway.
“The Vision will be the new break-out character at Marvel, and the Creeper will be the new break-out character at DC. Sorry, that was just wishful thinking.”
Creeper may be a bit too out there to catch on, but I can see the Vision getting that whole “Lt. Data” thing down in a future Avengers film, and getting a following in the funnybooks after that. Alas, it was not his year this year.
“Bendis will publish one issue of Scarlet and one issue of Powers. If that.”
Last issue of Scarlet was #5 in March 2011, with #6 ordered in April 2011 and with the current shipping date of early next month. So, no issues of Scarlet in 2012.
And Powers had four issues in 2012. Hey, that’s basically a quarterly!
“There will be a month where Matt Fraction will write every book published by Marvel that month.”
I’d be down with that if it ever did happen…particularly if each book is written like his Twitter feed.
• • •
Casey whipped out
“DC will go back on the their new continuity in some fundamental way. Hawkman’s continuity will, ironically, be more consistent than any other characters’.”
Lots of folks wanting DC to go back to their previous state, it seems. I’d like that, too, in a way, as I think they could have had excellent comics not beholden to crippling amounts of insular continuity while not outright ignoring it to keep the lifer-fans happy. But, as I think I mentioned before, this initiative feels like DC Comics’ “last shot before being pieced out to licensing departments.” Going back to the way things were would probably be an admission of failure, and (cue dramatic music) The Final Days of DC Comics.
• • •
Rob H has a few predictions that I already see I’m going to have trouble responding to
“The digital exclusivity deals like Amazon/DC and Marvel/BN will end and both comics companies will release pretty much the same content on both devices”
I really don’t know much about that these deals, since I don’t deal with digital at all…a cursory scans shows that a number of the same books are available on both sites, regardless of publisher…Amazon has those volumes of Fables online, and Barnes & Noble does not, at least as far as I can see. Maybe if someone could explain what exactly is being made exclusive.
“Digital comics won’t break out this year, though.”
But they certainly remain a viable option.
“Marvel will release an insane number (like 500+) of digital GNs, while DC keeps their digital GN output relatively low.”
Don’t think so, maybe, but 500 digital graphic novels seems like would be something that someone would have noted. Unless they’re pumping up their library with older material, which is likely. I honestly don’t know.
“Superman Inc.”
I’d buy it, if it existed. Well, that Return of Superman story line with the multiple Supermen…that was pretty much “Superman Inc” in its own way.
“American Vampire, or some new Scott Snyder property, will be optioned and possibly film a pilot.”
Not that I’ve heard, but only a matter of time, I think.
“Walking Dead (the show) gets canceled”
Oh Lordy no. Quite the opposite. It’s the Show That Can’t Be Stopped right now. The showrunners sure don’t last long, though.
“Powers does not get picked up by FX”
According to that great authority on everything, Wikipedia, network heads are still claiming the show is not dead yet. But, still not picked up, so a hit for you, pal!
“Having dropped all Avengers writing, Bendis writes four ongoing X-men titles.”
Just one so far, I think. But it feels like four, what with a new issue coming out every five minutes.
“Having no female-starring titles, Marvel will instead have every team book led by a woman at least once. This means Black Widow will be Captain America for one issue.”
Don’t tell me I missed that.
• • •
Steve laments
“Much like the 2nd Suicide Squad TPB, Resurrection Man will have a 2nd TPB solicited but never actually come out. Thanks DC!”
That sort of thing is happening a lot lately…trades and hardcovers will just quietly slip off the radar and are never heard from again. I don’t recall any Resurrection Man trades, but that new edition of Impulse Volume One just got poopcanned, so those cancellations are still happening.
• • •
Michael G sez
“1. A number of long-time comics bloggers will ‘retire’ from daily or even regular posting as real life pressures and social media interference combine to reduce the significance of keeping a regular blog.”
Ahem.
“2. Fantagraphics will break into digital comics with some version of either Hate or Love & Rockets.”
Well, we’ve got Love and Rockets so far, but no Hate just yet.
“3. ok, I peeked at Jay V’s comment up at the top. Not only will Wonder Girl marry Power Girl, there will be a limited variant edition with them making out on the cover.”
It’ll happen if that’ll happen.
• • •
Dan Wars declared
“Superman gets his regular costume back, Aragones starts doing a new Groo book, Marvel finishes, or at least comes closer to finishing their mini series The Twelve.”
Nope. Almost. And Yup.
• • •
Stephen E. McDonald unleashes
“Superman: The Man Of Steel tanks in its opening weekend, with a domestic return of < $15 million."
Jumping the gun a bit, there! It should tank sometime this year.
“The Avengers opens well, but doesn’t break $100 million in its domestic opening. This throws doubt on future big-budget Marvel movies.”
Had to go check, and holy crow, $207 million opening weekend. Well, you were only off by $100 million.
“Marvel’s production arm starts making plans to do second-string properties at much lower budgets. Ant-Man finally gets a start date, Iron Fist is brought back to life without Ray Park, and someone finally makes a decision on who’s playing Luke Cage. On the TV side, The Hulk and Alias Jessica Jones both die quiet deaths. The Marvel block on Disney XD, however, does very well.”
Ant-Man got a release date, at any rate. There’s still talk about an Iron Fist movie, but a Luke Cage movie seems to be mostly theoretical (and mostly discussed in the context of “Quentin Tarantino wanted to make one”). Hulk and Alias didn’t happen, and the Disney XD seems to be doing okay, I guess, with more shows coming.
“The DC Universe block on Cartoon Network starts out well, but falls off fast.”
It disappeared for a while, if I understand correctly, but it seems to have returned to some fan acclaim. No idea how the actual ratings are.
“By the end of the year 26 of the New 52 will have been canceled following continued writer/artist changes.”
We did lose a few along the way, but not quite that many. There certainly are a lot of creative team jumblings going on, however.
“The Earth-2 Justice Society will finally debut early in the year.”
We did get Earth 2 this year, so I’ll count that as a hit!
“DC will quietly do some resetting of the Nu52 timeline because the five year thing is driving everyone nuts.”
They’re still sticking to the five year thing, more or less (even though it totally doesn’t work with Batman, at the very least). They could have gone, I don’t know…eight years. I could have lived with eight years.
“By the end of the year expect Hal Jordan to be the one true Earth Green Lantern.”
It’s like it’s impossible for this to happen for any length of time.
“Marvel will get the film rights to Fantastic Four back…and not be able to do anything with them.”
Not that I’m aware of. I think the current license holders are still trying to do another FF movie to keep the rights under wraps.
“Squirrel Girl’s profile will continue to rise during the year. By the end of the year she’ll have her own ongoing, a TV pilot, and a porn parody will be in production.”
She was around in New Avengers ’til the end of that run, I guess. Alas, no TV series…and if you think I’m going to Google “squirrel girl porn” to see if that’s happening, guess again. (I leave that to the comic industry’s lead comics-porn reporter, Chris Sims.)
“At MorrisonCon, Grant Morrison will out himself as a three foot tall and remarkably hirsute alien who’s been traveling around wearing a flesh suit for all these years. She will have no explanation as to why the voice translator has a Scottish accent.”
ALL DOCUMENTED, ALL TRUE.
“Marvel will start another Avengers book — featuring Agent Coulson.”
Apparently he’ll be in the new Secret Avengers series…only off by a few months! Nice call.
• • •
Good gravy, that’s enough for today. Come back next time and see how much of Mike’s hair is left.
…on Wednesday, instead of Thursday, like I said. Turned out I had a little more free time to write this post than I was expecting. …Well, this is more like Part 1 1/2 because I’m gonna do a short one today, covering just a few more of your 2012 predictions from last year. And remember, I’m still looking for your comic industry predictions for 2013!
Googum googumed
“I don’t think Marvel will cave and do a 52-style relaunch, nor do I think DC’s Vertigo relaunch will take off. (I’d like to be proved wrong on the latter.)”
As noted already yesterday, and as I’m sure some of you have noticed, Marvel did follow DC’s lead in restarting a bunch of their books, only 1) not doing them all at once, and 2) not being a complete reboot, as it was in some cases with the DC titles. …As for Vertigo, if anything, it’s kinda/sorta barely hanging in there, and with the loss of several of its ongoing titles, it’s now pretty much a Fables imprint. Well, okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but c’mon.
“A smaller publisher–IDW, perhaps–will decide to go big on digital, with huge discounts even on day-and-date. There will be a lot of hurt feelings and name-calling, but it’ll probably be successful. The majors will use digital as a try-out for new talent (the way they used to be given annuals or fill-ins) to generate cheap content.”
I don’t know if any indie print publishers went the cheaper-on-day-and-date route (though Stewart has a few things to say about digital discounts, particularly compared to international exchange rates, here)…but I know a lot of publishers are doing plenty of digital-first releases. A handful of DC’s titles are basically just reprints of previously-available digital comics. And just to show you how much I generally pay attention to that sort of thing, I hadn’t realized DC even had that many digital-only comics.
“Whether it’s done for penny-pinching reasons, or to find a scapegoat; Marvel will do some housecleaning this year. Some big names will be politely but firmly shown the door; but their replacements will all be conservative choices.”
Not yet, I don’t think. There certainly are a few names I don’t recognize on some of the bigger titles, but, like, Bendis and Hickman and Waid and Fraction as others are all still doing major work for Marvel.
• • •
Chris K had the following beautiful vision:
“In light of Marvel’s cost-cutting measures and their related unwillingness to keep a strong backlist in print, they will outsource their collected editions department. Due to their strong track record with classy archival editions and, more recently, with Disney properties, Fantagraphics gets the gig. Reality implodes.”
Oh, damn, imagine a Fantagraphics Complete Millie the Model series. Fully recolored. Nice glossy paper. …A tear comes to one’s eye.
• • •
Frowny frowned
“1) Multiversity will fail to appear, and at some point Grant Morrison will get sick of getting jerked around by corporate. (If I remember the pitch correctly, it’s been made impossible by the Crises having never happened anyway.)”
Multiversity still hasn’t popped up, no, but I suspect DC will still publish it anyway, regardless of it not matching up to current New 52 continuity. That would probably be a feature, not a bug.
“2) Alan Moore will say something (possibly sensible, possibly off the deep end, depending on whether or not someone asks about Watchmen) that pisses many people off. The usual suspects will go through the ‘Man, what happened to you, Alan Moore? You used to be cool.’ schtick. Alan Moore will continue to not care.”
I’m not even going to check; I’ll just give you a “hit” on that and move on.
“3) I will hate myself while buying the conclusion to his Supreme as drawn by (ack!) Erik Larsen.”
Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself! I’ve plugged Supreme on this site a couple of times…I think it’s a hoot!
• • •
Philip begat
“The ‘big two’ will start to cross the $4 barrier on regular monthly titles.”
Well, there’s a bit of a slow creep, so it’s happening…Batman jumped to $3.99, for example.
“8 of DC’s ‘New 52’ titles will be cancelled.”
Close! I think it was more like 10: Men of War Mister Terrific, O.M.A.C., Hawk and Dove, Blackhawks, Static Shock, Voodoo, Captain Atom, Resurrection Man, and Justice League International. And a few more were announced but still have an issue or two left, I think (Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. and Blue Beetle). I’m sure I’m forgetting some.
“Somebody will finally get to the bottom of digital comics sales and we will learn that they are just so-so. The novelty will wear off for most people and the numbers of regular/repeat digital comics buyers (for new comics) will be minimal.”
I haven’t seen much talk about actual numbers, but then I haven’t been following the digital comics news, as you might imagine. I am curious about the amount of overlap between print buyers and digital readers.
“Superman gets his old costume back.”
Hold on…we’ll clearly have to wait for the near-universal negative reaction to the shortsless costume in the new Man of Steel movie before this will happen.
• • •
Former Employee Aaron cruises for some bruises with
“1.Snapper Carr will be the main villain in the next big DC event comic book.”
I assume he’s the power behind the evil throne in any major DC event, snapping behind the scenes.
“2.Cable will come back in some big way. Maybe some secret Michael Turner cover will be revealed.”
Cable came back, but it remains to be see how big a way. Cable and the X-Force sales have not impressed yet so far.
“3.Hellboy will rock your socks!”
Hellboy has not rocked my socks, but he certainly jazzed my cravat.
“4.That Magnet you found at that gas station with the 2012
warning hurriedly scrawled with sharpie? Totally accurate! ;)”
I thought I’d posted a scan of that magnet here, but I guess not. So, I have pulled it off my fridge, where it’s been for the last three years or so, tossed it on the scanner, and here you go…DON’T LOOK DIRECTLY AT IT:
This represents exactly what happened at my house last December 21st, by the way.
• • •
Gordon beheld
“Rumors will begin to swell mid-summer of a DC crossover between the ‘new 52’ universe and the pre-reboot universe, claiming that when Flash ‘combined the timelines’, that spun off a completely separate earth.”
I don’t know if any such rumors spread, but I would have been surprised if any such crossover would have happened this quickly, while they’re still trying to get the New 52 thing off the ground. …I think unless the New 52 starts flopping horribly (and despite what folks might think, it hasn’t reached that point yet) I don’t think DC will start trying to call back alienated fans that desperately. And if they do, I think we can consider that the death knell of DC, given the “this is our last chance” vibe the whole New 52 initiative gives off.
“In addition, DC will focus on the next great franchise: Swamp Thing, choosing to focus on developing movies, toys, and other media. They claim, ‘We should have listened to Mike Sterling sooner – our bad'”
So many people have realized they should have listened to me before it was too late. So many.
• • •
Okay, that’s enough of that. More prediction commentary in the next day or so. Yes, I know you can’t believe how lucky you are.
So for those of you waiting to tune out my website when I started looking at everyone’s predictions from last year, now’s the time, because I’m about to spend a week doing just that. Also, don’t forget that I’m still looking for your 2013 predictions so that next year you all can stop reading my site for a week in January 2014.
Anyway, just hang in there, and it’ll all be over shortly:
Roger Green predicted
“Despite mediocre reviews, the Avengers movie will win its opening weekend box office. But it won’t have legs. I’ll be bored all summer reading about how the movie makers screwed up.”
It certainly won its opening weekend, but it did hang in there and keep on making money like a thing that makes a lot of money, so there you go. However, I didn’t see a whole lot of people going out of their way to criticize the film…I mean, they were out there, of course, but I didn’t get the impression that there were waves upon waves of people itching to tell everyone how terrible the Avengers movie was, unlike, say, Prometheus. (Probably because, after seeing how some fans reacted to someone’s extremely mild critique, nobody wanted to engage with those lunatics.)
I should note that after running my commentary on the film with its deliberately baiting title, I started seeing lots of search engine referrals in my site logs for people looking for “avengers sucked” or “why did captain america suck in the avengers” and that sort of thing, so clearly there’s some kind of stealth Avengers-hating movement out there.
• • •
ExistentialMan foresaw
“1. Marvel will not relaunch its entire line in 2012.”
Well, yeah, technically the whole line didn’t relaunch. But, you know, not for lack of trying. I’m pretty sure Daredevil is keeping its current numbering.
“2. Watchmen 2 will top the sales charts but have little staying power over the long-term beyond the initial trade sales.”
I think the very first issues were ordered in high numbers, but at least for us, they’ve settled down to solid mid-rangers. I am curious to see how trade (or, let’s face it, hardcover) sales will do, though I’m reasonably certain the answer is “not a patch on actual Watchmen sales.”
“3. Mike Sterling’s hair will get even better.”
The pompadour is coming along quite nicely, thank you.
“4. Comics in general (from all publishers) will continue to be awesome all year long.”
I’d certainly like to think so! There’s a lot of good stuff out there. I mean, we’ve got two ongoing Popeye comics! That’s more beauty than we deserve.
• • •
Jay V doth sayeth
“DC’s big event will be a 12 issue mini series called ’12 Funerals and a wedding’. Every issue will feature a different character suffering a grisly fate, and a previously deceased character will be brought back with a new costume. At the end, Wonder Woman and Power Girl get married.”
Marvel’s recent Death of Spider-Man (or…is it?) hijinks did inspire in me the following Tweeterings, which I suppose in retrospect may owe something to this prediction:
I actually like Jay V’s idea more, as it combines the whole death/return thing into one epic series. I suppose it’s only a matter of time.
• • •
Alex worries
“Paolo Rivera drops off of the ongoing Dardevil title; a new artist comes in, and my interest in the title plummets. Mark Waid still writes it solid, but it no longer remains Marvel’s flagship book.”
Rivera’s still on as cover artist, but we’ve had Chris Samnee most of, if not all, of 2012, and he’s not too shabby. Still a good-looking book. Don’t know if it ever really achieved “flagship” status, but it, like Hawkeye, are critically acclaimed, if not top-sellers.
• • •
Michael-Sensei sensed
“I predict that I won’t read any new comics in 2012 but I will still continue to be enthralled and amused by Progressive Ruin.”
I don’t know if he did read any new comics, but surely Progressive Ruin enthralled him, as it enthralls everyone, young and old!
• • •
William Gatevackes soothsays
1. Marvel will retake the market share and Diamond Top 10 from DC.
A quick glance at the last few months’ worth of data from Diamond shows things pretty much neck and neck, with Marvel and DC alternating at the top. There aren’t any year-end numbers yet, nor numbers for December, but I’ll try to make a note of them when Diamond finally releases them.
2. DC will cancel low performing titles and replace them with concepts that didn’t come in the first wave and but people were asking for (Captain Marvel, JSA) and some they might not have (Challengers of the Unknown, Adam Strange)
DC certainly did cancel some of their New 52 relaunches, and one of them replacements was Earth Two, essentially a Justice Society title.
3. Bob Harras will hire more creators from his tenure at Marvel. Most outlandish prediction? Peter David being hired at some point to write Supergirl. Expect J.M. DeMatteis to get work as well.
DeMatteis did work at DC for a while there recently, on Booster Gold around 2009/2010 or so. I don’t think either he or David did anything in 2012 at DC, though I could be wrong. Whether Harras hired anyone else from his Marvel days, I’m not sure…maybe Scott Lobdell?
4. The Dark Knight Rises will earn less money and be less well received critically than The Dark Knight. It will still do great business and be a great movie, but since it didn’t surpass The Dark Knight in grosses and praise, it will be deemed a failure and experience media and Internet backlash.
Domestically, Rises didn’t do well as its predecessor, but overall, including international receipts, it did surpass the second film in ticket sales. At least, according to Box Office Mojo, and they’ve never lied to me before.
And, according to Rotten Tomatoes, Dark Knight is sitting pretty at 94% Fresh, while Rises is at a slightly less pretty 87%. I don’t think anyone considered the third film an outright failure, but it did feel like people were a little more quick to mock elements of this film (like, oh, say, Bane’s voice) than anything from the second film.
5. That being said, Warners will want to lock in plans for the post-Nolan future of the franchise, and will announce a reboot while DKR is still in theaters. A name director such as Sam Raimi or Guy Ritchie will be given the task of rebooting the franchise.
Haven’t heard anything yet, but I would absolutely bet they’re cooking something up behind the scenes right now. We probably won’t hear about it ’til the current sales cycle on the Nolan trilogy is a little closer to being done.
6. It will be announced that the two Marvel films Disney has scheduled for 2014 will not be Guardians of the Galaxy and Inhumans as is rumored. There is a chance neither film will get a spot. The two spots most likely will be taken up by some combination of these three films: A sequel to the Avengers, a sequel to the Incredible Hulk, and/or another reboot of the Punisher franchise.
I hadn’t heard about Inhumans, but if it includes Lockjaw, I’m all for it. It does seem like Guardians is a go, though, so it seems unlikely anything’s going to bounce it at this point.
I suspect a new Hulk film is probably in the offing even though it’s probably best just to save him for another Avengers movie, though again, I haven’t heard anything. I also think we’re pretty much done with Punisher movies for the time being. Why there isn’t a Punisher series on AMC or something, I have no idea.
7. Warners will push another long in the works DC property in to active development. Either Flash, Captain Marvel or Swamp Thing.
Word is going around again that Guillermo Del Toro still wants to do something with DC’s creepy characters, including our pal Swamp Thing. And I thought they were toying with the idea of a Captain Marvel movie…I thought one of the reasons for the name change to “Shazam” was to improve marketing/licensing issues and avoid conflict with Marvel Comics. …I’m not sure I’d want to see a Captain Marvel movie where he isn’t called “Captain Marvel” anyway. Yeah, I’m a reactionary fanboy like that.
8. Every article written about digital comics will mention somewhere that the death of paper comics is imminent. But paper comics will survive the year. There will be more of a focus on digital-only content that is vital to continuity, however, to try and convince more readers to migrate there.
Paper comics: still here! I haven’t seen any attempt to force readers into the digital realm, though Marvel is still doing that “Augmented Reality” stuff and I have no idea who that’s doing.
9. The film world will have a quieter presence at SDCC this year, a sign of an inevitable shift of focus from Hollywood back to comics.
Going by my extremely vague and imprecise recollections, it did seem like there was less talk about the general media presence at Comic Con than before, though I don’t know if it was only slightly less, or if I just didn’t pay attention to SDCC news this year. I barely even noticed that it happened, frankly.
10. NYCC, however, will experience an upswing of movie companies peddling their wares, especially studios with big holiday releases.
Someone who was at that con will have to tell me what their perception was, I think. A quick Googling reveals plenty of comics content, and even the panels on TV shows that show up were those based on comics (aside from the Firefly thing). But my general impression is that there wasn’t too much out-of-place studio content there. …If you’re laughing out loud at that assumption, please correct me!
• • •
Steve adumbrated the following
“1) More than 90% of the comics released each week will be released the same day in digital and print.”
I don’t think we’re at the 90% mark yet, since a lot of the indies aren’t doing simultaneous digital releases, but the Big Two and a couple of the Not-So-Big larger indies are. So, I guess that day is coming.
“2) Marvel will not copy the New 52 in terms of either rebooting their continuity or relaunching their whole line.”
Well, Marvel kinda/sorta followed DC’s lead here, in restarting purt’near everything, but the old continuity, such as it is, is still in place.
“3) Marvel and/or DC will launch an ongoing book based in the continuity of one or more of their movies.”
There was a mini-series or two Marvel cranked out that took place in their movie continuity, but nothing really ongoing, as such. The first issue of Avengers Assemble, at least, did feature all the characters from the Avengers film, though still in the regular Marvel Universe, I think.
There are the usual comics based on the TV shows, however, like Smallville and Arrow and Ultimate Spider-Man and whatever that one is called based on the Avengers cartoon.
“4) A front-of-Previews publisher will experiment with digital prices lower than print. (I mean, aside from those cases where print is $3.50 and digital is $2.99 because iTunes only likes prices ending in 99 cents.)”
Doesn’t seem like it yet, from my brief research, but it could be I missed something. I know there are regular deep discount sales on digital comics from time to time, but that seems to be mostly older material, not the brand new releases. …Again, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.
“5) A group of higher-profile Big Two writers and artists will publish creator-owned work through a new imprint at an existing publisher.”
It seems like a lot of high-profile talent is simply doing their own thing. If you meant, like, an Image-style exodus from the Big Two…not that I’ve seen, but it certainly feels like it could happen at any moment.
• • •
Birdman cawed
“A lot of the independent titles that have been making strong inroads into the market will be wooed by the Big 2.
D.C. will use those titles to launch another ‘Vertigo’ line to keep up the ‘New 52’ charade, but develop other titles not in continuity to keep fan base happy.”
I haven’t seen DC or Marvel going after specific indie titles, though it seems like they’re always keeping an eye out for any creators that may grab their interest. Also, I don’t think DC is in a position to launch another imprint, as Vertigo itself may be on the ropes. I do notice DC publishing several out-of-DCU-continuity books, licensed material or stuff like Lot 13, which simply have the DC logo on them and aren’t part of their own line.
• • •
Mike Nielsen prophesied:
“1) We still will not have a collection of the Miracleman stories that everybody wants.”
Nope, of course not. I haven’t heard any news on Marvel’s Marvelman front in, like, forever. Let’s get those hardcovers out, already.
“2) Showcase Presents Tomahawk will be announced.”
Not yet, those jerks.
“3) There will be a crackdown on internet piracy from Marvel and/or DC. And it won’t really change anything.”
Seeing as how scans of Amazing Spider-Man #700 were up on the filesharing sites a week ahead of its release (when stores got the issues shipped early due to the holidays, and were asked to hold them for the following week’s on-sale day), if there is a crackdown on Internet piracy going on, it’s not cracking hard enough.
• • •
Okay, come back…oh, probably Thursday for more of my enthralling responses. I’LL BE DONE SOON, I PROMISE.
So this week sometime I’m going to start going over your predictions for 2012 from last January, but first…let’s get your predictions for what’s coming for the comics industry in 2013! Please let me know what you see beyond the cloudy mists of time’s veil, or whatever, by dropping your predictions in the comments to this post.
As always, I have a rule or three I’d like people to stick to:
1. Don’t read the other predictions before entering your own.
2. Don’t criticize other people’s predictions.
3. Don’t predict any real person’s death.
We’ll see how y’all did next year, assuming I’ll still want to be talking about comics then and haven’t converted this site over to a deep sea fishing blog or something. Anyway, place your predictive bets and let’s see what happens.
image from Action Comics #276 (May 1961) by Jerry Siegel & Jim Mooney – reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1
- Bully, the bulliest of all stuffed bulls, just wrapped up his 366 Days of Alfred Pennyworth project with this explanatory post, and kicked off 365 Days of DC House Ads with this post. How that little bull manages to put out so much good stuff when he has trouble even reaching the keyboard is beyond me.
- Sent to me by Many Folks: Gerhard (he of all-the-bits-of-Cerebus-not-by-Dave-Sim fame) puts down some lavish lines over a Bernie Wrightson-penciled Swamp Thing drawing.
- From pal JP: a penciled image of Swamp Thing and Mary Worth, as you’ve always wanted them.
- “OOH! OOOOOH! ME, ME, HE’S MINE, ME ME ME!“
- “What’s So Great About Swamp Thing?”
“He can easily regrow damaged or severed body parts, and can even transport himself across the globe by leaving his current form, transferring his consciousness to a new form grown from whatever vegetable matter is present in the location he wishes to reach”
“its a mystery and a good show”
“I dunno, you tell me”
“Boobs…”
So it turns out this month is the eighth anniversary of my End of Civilization posts…I haven’t tagged all of them yet, mostly because who has the time, and plus the really early ones didn’t have images for all the items, believe it or not. Anyway, if you’re curious, this is the post I’ve always considered as the first EoC entry, even if it’s not named as such, as that particular item really triggered the “what, really?” response in me. Also, in a nice touch, that’s apparently post #666 on the site, so take from that what you will.
Anyway, there’s new stuff coming from Diamond every month, so let’s get an advance warning for what’s headed our way soon by going through the Previews January 2013 edition. Grab your copy and follow along:
p. 31 – FCBD 2013 Commemorative T-Shirt Jim Cheung:
You know, I bet Marvel could make more money selling these with the “CLASSIFIED” design rather than the actual one they’re keeping under wraps. I mean, at least to jaded comic store employees who’d wear them ironically.
p. 188 – Constantine #1:
I don’t have a gag. I’m just reminding you this is happening.
p. 127 – Threshold #3:
The introduction of Captain K’rot, the new, gritty, updated version of Captain Carrot! Hopefully when Marvel gets the Star Wars license back in a couple of years, they can reintroduce Jaxxon:
…and he and K’rot can have one of those intercompany crossover thingies. But only if the comics are painted like in these images.
p. 158 – Superman The Man of Steel Superman by Lee Bermejo Statue:
Another piece of Superman merchandise that still retains the trunks. Also, he seems to come with a postal scale as a base.
p. 167 – Judge Dredd Year One #1:
And now, in the most unexpected comic news of the year:
Yup:
I would pay real money to read a full Judge Dredd comic by Sim. Abso-freakin’-lutely. (Especially if it included “JUDGE ROACH.”)
p. 238 – Bazooka Joe and His Gang HC:
“The book also includes reproductions of 200 classic Bazooka Joe comics….”
OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE:
p. 255 – Archie #642:
So, kids being unable to keep their drinks from spilling all over the damn place? Is that a thing these days? I mean, are those even drinks? Are they carrying paint around for some reason? What’s going on? I don’t get you young people and your crazy fads.
p. 285 – Lady Death #24 Bad Teacher Cover:
Say, have they done a “Naughty Librarian” variant cover yet? If not, maybe soon? I’m, um, asking for a customer.
p. 364 – Superman The Ultimate Guide to the Man of Steel:
“Superman gets his power from Earth’s yellow sun….”
“So why’s he wearing armor?”
“Ahem. Yes, well. Earth’s lighter gravity gives him super strength….”
“Yes, but about the armor….”
“HE HAS X-RAY VISION AND SUPER BREATH….”
“SENATOR, YOU ARE EVADING THE QUESTION!”
“Security, please escort Mr. Sterling from the room, thank you very much.”
p. 365 – Doctor Who FAQ All That’s Left to Know About the Most Famous Time Lord in the Universe SC:
“FIRST NAME: Doctor. LAST NAME: Who.” Glad that’s finally cleared up.
p. 380 – The Walking Dead “Keep Calm and Kill Walkers” Black T-Shirt:
Honestly, at first glance I thought that said “kill wankers” and I thought, well, that could be a bit harsh, depending on how they’re using the word “wanker.” …Also, this “keep calm” business is about over, right?
p. 387 – Aquaman Symbol T-Shirt:
“Hey, Chad, love your Star Trek shirt! The emblem seems a bit off, though.”
“IT’S NOT A…ah, forget it.”
p. 396 – Stormtrooper Tinned Mints:
I suppose having to breath your own air all day in one of those helmets, things would start to get a bit ripe. Also, what if in one of the movies, a stormtrooper pulled his helmet off, and instead of a Jango Fett clone face underneath, out poured a bunch of these minty candies? That would be terrifying. And refreshingly yummy. And terrifying.
p. 397 – Light Saber Bottle Opener:
You know, back at the Academy, Yoda was always catching the older Padawans slicing caps off bottles with their lightsabers. “OPEN BREWSKIS WITH THE FORCE, YOU WILL NOT.” “Lighten up, old man!”
p. 402 – Ron English’s Temper Tot Vinyl Figure:
And the weird thing is, I kinda know dudes who look like that. Well, maybe not green, but, like, the body shape, the fashion sense….
p. 429 – Doctor Who Figural Mugs:
You know, the first thing I thought of when I saw these was that hollow-headed alien played by Harvey Korman in the Star Wars Holiday Special, where Bea Arthur as the barkeep would pour a drink into the hole in the top of his head, and the second thing I thought was “why in God’s name is something from the Star Wars Holiday Special an immediate reference point in my mind for anything else?” And then I cried. A lot.
p. 442 – Zombie Figural Bottle Opener:
I wonder if, in the fictional worlds of zombie apocalypse milieus like The Walking Dead, their respective pop cultures are also filled with oddball zombie-related pieces of merchandise. And, when the inhabitants of those particular scenarios come across artifacts such as Zombie Figural Bottle Openers while seeking out much needed supplies, do they regard them with some small measure of irony or just outright dismay or disgust?
I also wonder this about Star Trek. What filled Star Trek’s cultural niche in the fictional Star Trek world? Was it Lost in Space? Did Kirk’s great-great-great-whatever-grandfather wear “DR. SMITH LIVES” buttons and Debbie-the-Bloop ears?
p. 450 – The Lord of the Rings Head Knockers:
“Hey, Gollum, people aren’t really bowled over by that new Hobbit movie…”
“But everyone likes you in it, though!”
p. 457 – Monopoly The Lord of the Rings Edition:
“YOU…SHALL…NOT…PASS…GO!”
image from Nancy Likes Christmas – get yer own!
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