Comic Book Talk (5 Viewers)

[GrandAdmiral]

Bendis being Bendis, really. It just feels like a Bendis comic in every way, and that does nothing for me at all. As to the specific character moves, unfortunately didn't surprise me. Status quo is god in the big 2, and even good changes get swept under the rug eventually. I hate it, but decades have proven it to be a near universal law.

Also, I was a glutton for punishment and picked up Superman #1 (another damn reboot ). The dude is truly changing the Superman universe...

See more

Like seriously, is he bringing out the Brandon Roth Superman? Why the hell do you put the Fortress of Solitude in the Bermuda Triangle? And after ridding Earth of Rogol Zaar (horrible character name and design), you bring him back after only one issue. Geez.

 

[bonnjer]

Comic sales are down as readers abandon print

Good graphic in this article that shows yearly sales. I'll be interested to see if 2017 was just a normal downturn or the beginning of a trend.

 

[Sun Wukong]

So this is sort of tangentially related to comics, but...it's the end of day two of San Diego Comic-Con and it just seems like major announcements don't happen there like they used to. The movie studios have almost abandoned it completely, and have been in the process of doing so for a few years now*, but aside TV shows doing stuff it's been mostly nothing, even from the publishers. Obviously tomorrow is the big day with the big panels, but I remember when news would start rolling in on Thursday night and last until Sunday. Now? Almost nothing. It's been a very quiet but noticeable shift. So I guess my question is...what is SDCC now? It feels like it doesn't have any kind of identity anymore. Even after it turned its back on comics for movies, it had an identity. But since that has faded, what is it? Looking at the panels this year it's like 90% TV shows. It feels like it's turned into some weird version of Paleyfest.

*Actually, the rise and fall of SDCC as the hotspot for movie studios begins and ends with Jon Favreau. He chalked a lot of the first Iron Man's success up to the reaction it got at Comic-Con and pushed hard for it as a marketing avenue, which spread like wildfire to the other studios. When he went back for Cowboys and Aliens and was unable to recapture the same magic (indeed, that movie bombed hard) the studios slowly began dropping out as they increasingly questioned how useful it was as a marketing tool and how much purchasing power the geek crowd actually had. Now you have a minimal presence at best. Been an interesting change to see.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

So this is sort of tangentially related to comics, but...it's the end of day two of San Diego Comic-Con and it just seems like major announcements don't happen there like they used to. The movie studios have almost abandoned it completely, and have been in the process of doing so for a few years now*, but aside TV shows doing stuff it's been mostly nothing, even from the publishers. Obviously tomorrow is the big day with the big panels, but I remember when news would start rolling in on Thursday night and last until Sunday. Now? Almost nothing. It's been a very quiet but noticeable shift. So I guess my question is...what is SDCC now? It feels like it doesn't have any kind of identity anymore. Even after it turned its back on comics for movies, it had an identity. But since that has faded, what is it? Looking at the panels this year it's like 90% TV shows. It feels like it's turned into some weird version of Paleyfest.

*Actually, the rise and fall of SDCC as the hotspot for movie studios begins and ends with Jon Favreau. He chalked a lot of the first Iron Man's success up to the reaction it got at Comic-Con and pushed hard for it as a marketing avenue, which spread like wildfire to the other studios. When he went back for Cowboys and Aliens and was unable to recapture the same magic (indeed, that movie bombed hard) the studios slowly began dropping out as they increasingly questioned how useful it was as a marketing tool and how much purchasing power the geek crowd actually had. Now you have a minimal presence at best. Been an interesting change to see.

I was mentioning this to a friend of mine the other day. Things have been drying up for a while. As another example, Detective Comics is now in it's final stretch for hitting issue #1000 and yet, DC has yet to announce who will be the main creative team moving forward after all these fill-in arcs are done. How is that not big news to break at SDCC?

 

[Sun Wukong]

I was mentioning this to a friend of mine the other day. Things have been drinking up for a while. As another example, Detective Comics is now in it's final stretch for hitting issue #1000 and yet, DC has yet to announce who will be the main creative team moving forward after all these fill-in arcs are done. How is that not big news to break at SDCC?

Yeah, it's crazy.

Honestly? It feels like New York Comic Con has supplanted SDCC as the con for major reveals and announcements the past few years for the publishers. SDCC feels like it's coasting on the fumes of its past reputation as the industry giant at this point, but increasingly that reputation is unearned. I'm interested to see what the attendance is this year. It peaked in 2015 with 167,000, but had a huge drop in 2016 to 135,000 and then fell again in 2017 to 130,000. Will be interesting to see if that decline continues.

Also, when SDCC took that big attendance hit in 2016, NYCC posted a record 180,000 attendees. Then they did over 200k last year. Probably some correlation there. I think NYCC has stolen SDCC's thunder in a very under the radar way.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Yeah, it's crazy.

Honestly? It feels like New York Comic Con has supplanted SDCC as the con for major reveals and announcements the past few years for the publishers. SDCC feels like it's coasting on the fumes of its past reputation as the industry giant at this point, but increasingly that reputation is unearned. I'm interested to see what the attendance is this year. It peaked in 2015 with 167,000, but had a huge drop in 2016 to 135,000 and then fell again in 2017 to 130,000. Will be interesting to see if that decline continues.

Also, when SDCC took that big attendance hit in 2016, NYCC posted a record 180,000 attendees. Then they did over 200k last year. Probably some correlation there. I think NYCC has stolen SDCC's thunder in a very under the radar way.

I've had friends who would get in line for Saturday's Hall H presentations on Friday morning. Not this year. No Marvel Studios. FOX Studios took MCU's spot, but they're only screening a director's cut off Deadpool 2. So after WB and then, there is nothing worthwhile. They would typically sit in Hall H all day; not this year.

I will correct an error thought. They've announced Peter J. Tomasi is taking over Detective Comics at issue #994. I'm pretty damn stoked for that.

 

[bonnjer]

I collect Funko Pops, so I usually have an eye on all of the major cons. I've never been to SDCC, but from what I've read, people say that it has become too commercial. They are just trying to make money rather than break news. Over the last few years, the number of SDCC exclusive Pops that have come out has been increasing with this year having the most I've ever seen. I don't recall ever seeing comic book news coming from SDCC. Either it's not happening there or it's not being covered very well.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

I collect Funko Pops, so I usually have an eye on all of the major cons. I've never been to SDCC, but from what I've read, people say that it has become too commercial. They are just trying to make money rather than break news. Over the last few years, the number of SDCC exclusive Pops that have come out has been increasing with this year having the most I've ever seen. I don't recall ever seeing comic book news coming from SDCC. Either it's not happening there or it's not being covered very well.

Most of social media look at what's coming from the studios. For years, SDCC has been less about comic books than it is about everything else. That's why the major comic book news coming out of SDCC from a comic book perspective have been those about long time vendors not returning.

If I get a chance to attend I will, just to say that I've done it. But I'm not expecting near as what I would have expected to see years ago.

 

[Sun Wukong]

I collect Funko Pops, so I usually have an eye on all of the major cons. I've never been to SDCC, but from what I've read, people say that it has become too commercial. They are just trying to make money rather than break news. Over the last few years, the number of SDCC exclusive Pops that have come out has been increasing with this year having the most I've ever seen. I don't recall ever seeing comic book news coming from SDCC. Either it's not happening there or it's not being covered very well.

SDCC used to be THE hub of comic book publishers in the 90's and early 00's. It was the one place everyone went and the publishers would break big news about their plans, announce new titles and creative teams, preview events, etc. It was huge for the industry. And not only did you get major announcements at SDCC itself, but the rumor mill would churn for weeks afterwards about what had gone on at the con and how it might impact the industry (everything from barroom conversations between people from rival publishers to people overhearing talk of creative directions, etc.)

That started to change around 2004/2005 when they started using Hall H and the movie studios started hitting the con hard. It began shift from begin a true comic convention to a media expo focused on films. Not coincidentally, attendance started to skyrocket around this point and by, say, 2010 you could argue that SDCC had completely transformed from what it used to be into a major Hollywood marketing ground. Comics were still a part of it, but were feeling increasingly marginalized and even when big news was broken it was completely overshadowed by what was going on with the movie studios in Hall H. In effect, the comics industry had had its own major convention taken over by movie studios.

This was good for the con's bottom line. Attendance kept climbing year after year. But comics and comics fans were increasingly frozen out. There was once a time where you could walk up to the box office at SDCC and buy tickets day of. Now it had reached a point where they sold out within minutes after being opened for sale due to the Hollywood element driving demand and prices.

This continued for several years, until a few years ago when the movie studios started bailing on SDCC because they were seeming what they saw as diminishing returns on their investment. But it has still left SDCC transformed, and it's not longer comic centric like it used to be. Like I said above, it really feels like NYCC has started to take over on that front.

 

[bonnjer]

So, just thought I'd share this minor victory....

There was a variant cover of Flash #45 with Flash and Superman racing that I wanted. I missed ordering it from my usual online shop, so I decided to roll the dice and purchase it through Amazon when I ordered a couple of books. It arrived today, bagged and boarded, but the only packaging was a flat bubble wrap envelope. I was absolutely amazed that it made the trip without damage. This was through FedEx shipping. They apparently do a pretty decent job of handling those kinds of packages a little better than boxes.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

So, just thought I'd share this minor victory....

There was a variant cover of Flash #45 with Flash and Superman racing that I wanted. I missed ordering it from my usual online shop, so I decided to roll the dice and purchase it through Amazon when I ordered a couple of books. It arrived today, bagged and boarded, but the only packaging was a flat bubble wrap envelope. I was absolutely amazed that it made the trip without damage. This was through FedEx shipping. They apparently do a pretty decent job of handling those kinds of packages a little better than boxes.

I don't know if I could ever buy paper comics from Amazon. Was your purchase directly from them or a third-party seller?

 

[bonnjer]

It was fulfilled by Amazon, so I got it with Prime. I got all kinds of lucky. It's not like we're talking about an expensive comic, though, so it wasn't too big a deal. I basically tossed it in because I was primarily focused on the books I wanted.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Man, Bryan Hill is doing so good on Detective Comics. While I love the idea of Peter J. Tomasi coming on to the book, I would have no issue whatsoever if Hill was kept on.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Just had the chance to meet Jim Starlin (Thanos's creator). Really cool guy. Had him sign a copy of Batman #414 (listed as his first book on Batman as a writer). He told me there strange thing was that it was maybe the third or fourth book he wrote for DC, but that it was the first one Denny O'Neil (long time Batman editor). Unless it was an arc, none of his books were released in ordered. He said as great as O'Neil was, he was quite the weird one.

Wonder if that is a regular practice.

 

[bonnjer]

Just had the chance to meet Jim Starlin (Thanos's creator). Really cool guy. Had him sign a copy of Batman #414 (listed as his first book on Batman as a writer). He told me there strange thing was that it was maybe the third or fourth book he wrote for DC, but that it was the first one Denny O'Neil (long time Batman editor). Unless it was an arc, none of his books were released in ordered. He said as great as O'Neil was, he was quite the weird one.

Wonder if that is a regular practice.

Cool, where did you meet him?