MARVEL'S GOT SOME GIANT BALLS DON'T THEY?
According to the newest Marvel solicits for books shipping in February 2009, Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk issues #1 and 2 will be given an all-new printing in anticipation of the continuation and (I assume) completion of that series.
In other words, they want buyers to double dip and repurchase two issues of a series that should have wrapped up in 2006.
Marvel - you got some balls.
It falls under collusion, but retailers should send Marvel a wake up call and place not one single order for the new printings of issues 1 and 2. Nada! You want to stop being treated like low-man on the totem pole in this ongoing game of late-shipping books, classified solicitations and delays? Stand up and make yourselves be heard and so 'Thanks, but no thanks' to that Bridge to Nowhere. Obviously, no one was worried about making money on the series back when it fell of the boat, especially since Lindelof is swimming in Lost money, and surely Marvel is treating Yu to a nice chunk of their Secret Invasion profits. So why give Marvel anymore money for a series that is working its way to being almost three years late? They didn't want it back in 2006, why give it to them now?
And if someone actually did buy the original issues back in 2006, you should bring in those original issues to a local comic shop that is selling the new printings and ask if you can swap yours for the new ones.
In fact, Marvel should put out a press release stating exactly that: 'True Believers! Anyone who already has the older issues should be able to swap it out for the new ones. Excelsior!' Because you know Marvel is going to give it a new cover or new design dress just to make it more appealing.
I don't know what could be anymore smug than this move. The only other thing I can think of is delaying an issue of a major series while also delaying over fifteen other titles connected to that event and only telling retailers a day before said issue was supposed to ship. Surely Marvel is much more civil than that and would never want to start a war with their retailers.
Oh wait...
In other words, they want buyers to double dip and repurchase two issues of a series that should have wrapped up in 2006.
Marvel - you got some balls.
It falls under collusion, but retailers should send Marvel a wake up call and place not one single order for the new printings of issues 1 and 2. Nada! You want to stop being treated like low-man on the totem pole in this ongoing game of late-shipping books, classified solicitations and delays? Stand up and make yourselves be heard and so 'Thanks, but no thanks' to that Bridge to Nowhere. Obviously, no one was worried about making money on the series back when it fell of the boat, especially since Lindelof is swimming in Lost money, and surely Marvel is treating Yu to a nice chunk of their Secret Invasion profits. So why give Marvel anymore money for a series that is working its way to being almost three years late? They didn't want it back in 2006, why give it to them now?
And if someone actually did buy the original issues back in 2006, you should bring in those original issues to a local comic shop that is selling the new printings and ask if you can swap yours for the new ones.
In fact, Marvel should put out a press release stating exactly that: 'True Believers! Anyone who already has the older issues should be able to swap it out for the new ones. Excelsior!' Because you know Marvel is going to give it a new cover or new design dress just to make it more appealing.
I don't know what could be anymore smug than this move. The only other thing I can think of is delaying an issue of a major series while also delaying over fifteen other titles connected to that event and only telling retailers a day before said issue was supposed to ship. Surely Marvel is much more civil than that and would never want to start a war with their retailers.
Oh wait...
Labels: WTF?
posted by Peter at
2:03 PM
5 Comments:
Peter, I see what you did there at the end. :)
I totally agree. I thought I was seeing things when I read the solicitations. I actually thought that it was for the third and fourth issues and somehow I had missed the fact that they had come out.
By
kafraco, At
November 18, 2008 at 7:30 PM
When they woudl do things like this in the past, they woudl reprint the issues as "Marvel Must Haves", i.e. all of the previous issues in one big issue.
I know the reason they are doing it - there is a number of people who weren't buying comics back 3 years ago that might be buying it now. I remember they did the "Must Haves" with NYX and the Kevin Smith Spider-Man mini-series.
By
Cory!!, At
November 19, 2008 at 10:05 AM
Cory beat me to it, but I was going to say the same thing.
Setting aside the point that if their books came out on time, they wouldn't have to even do things like the "Must Haves", the fact that they are releasing 1 and 2 as individual issues just reinforces your point.
Rather than "catch people up on the story" in a "Must Have" format, they are going for the increased revenue that two individual issues will generate. I guarantee that the combined cost of those two issues will be more than one compilation book.
And you know there are some compulsive collectors out there that will have to buy those issues to have a complete set or something. [rolls eyes]
There's another issue here that could take up a blog post just by itself. The use of TV and movie writers is increasingly resulting in late books. I'm in the process of writing a few things myself, but when my day job comes knocking, or more importantly, when my STEADY PAYCHECK comes knocking, I set aside the writing to get stuff done.
If you are a TV writer or filmmaker, are you really going to say to your agent/manager/studio: "I really can't write that episode of Heroes/Lost/Buffy or direct that movie or do rewrites on that screenplay right now... I have to finish this comic book miniseries first."
Of course not. Whether that's fair or not is, to me, beside the point. You got to go where the money is. And the comics suffer because of it.
By
Quiet Arrogance, At
November 19, 2008 at 3:45 PM
People will buy it.
They did the same thing with that Kevin Smith Spider-man/Black Cat thing.
WFTT FTW!!!
By
Ping33, At
December 12, 2008 at 7:12 AM
Come on, Marvel didn't expect anyone who had purchased #1 and #2 to buy them AGAIN (though I'm sure the variant cover crowd did, but that's a different story). They did it so when a customer picks #3 off the rack and asks "Where's #1 and #2?", you'll have something to stick in their hands instead of shrugging and losing a sale.
By
Anonymous, At
June 19, 2009 at 3:37 PM
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