Comic Day Week 5 - November 5, 2008

[DoctorFinger]

http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/JohnnyGigawatt_2_500px.jpg (http://johnnygigawatt.com/)

DC
Adventure Comics Special Guardian #1
Final Crisis Resist #1
Justice Society Of America #20
Secret Six #3
Top 10 Season 2 #2
Trinity #23

Marvel
Amazing Spider-Man #576
Avengers The Initiative Special
Cable #8
Invincible Iron Man #7
Ultimatum #1
X-Men Spider-Man #1

Indie
Transformers Spotlight Blurr

Picks of the Week

Final Crisis Resist #1 - What does the world's premiere espionage agency do during the Final Crisis? What else: Resist. Trautmann, Rucka and Sook take us through Checkmate's efforts to resist the Dark Side as reality goes to hell around them. What role does Cheetah play? And does she hook up with former JLA mascot Snapper Carr? Read and find out.

Ultimatum #1 - This is a pick with reservations. I'm not a Jeph Loeb fan, and the Ultimate U has been a big disappointment lately. But, on the other hand it has Magneto as an incredible bad-ass, and I'm always up for that. This event is supposed to encompass every Ultimate U character, and 'redefine' the line, leading to the cancelation of three-quarters of the line. So this will end up being your last chance to see some of these characters before they're killed for 3 months!

X-Men Spider-Man #1 - You'd think Marvel would have one of these out every month? Combining their two biggest cash cows in one book seems like marketing 101, but it's the first time in a very long time these franchises have intersected. Each issue of the series will showcase a meeting between the two from a different era. Up this time: the Thomas/Adams era X-Men and a still in High School Spidey.

Question of the Week - Once again we're accepting nominations for the Tiger Men's year end awards. Up for consideration this week: Moment of the Year & News Story of the Year

[vuk]

I stopped following comics at the time of the Ultimate line launch, but I was always under the impression that they sold well and were well received. What changed to have to cull 3/4 of the line? Was it just shitty handling on Marvel's part with piss-poor stories/quality, expanding too quickly or something else?

[J'onn J'onnz]

I'd be excited for Ultimatum if it weren't for Loeb. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Loeb can't write a good story if it isn't Batman illustrated by Sale. Hush had a a terrible plot, and the Red Hulk and Ultimates 3, have proven once again that he shouldn't even be allowed to write Marvel books.
Right now it looks like ASM is the only big book I'm picking up this week.

[muddi900]

Nothing for me this week as well. There's a reissue of Absolute Watchmen which I can't buy:(

QOTW:
The Watchmen movie trailer. I have reason to believe they're gonna "V For Vendetta" it, but I've hope.

[Rogue_hunter]

Final Crisis: Resist #1 and Secret Six #3 for me this week. After having read FC #4, I could see Resist having some pretty cool stuff happening.

QotW: The big thing I could see was Marvel and DC both having fairly big events at the same time.

Moment would have to be the Watchmen trailer coupled with The Dark Knight.

[MosBen]

vuk, my understanding is that all of the Ultimate books have sold decently (that is, enough to not be canceled), but that the line has kind of stalled creatively. As exciting as the Ultimate books were at first, the 616 universe has kind of caught up to the Ultimate universe's look and feel, making the latter seem kind of superfluous. This is their opportunity to shake things up in a major way in the Ultimate U., presumably in some way that they couldn't do in the 616.

Oh, and don't think that they're canceling 75% of the line, end of story. What's much more likely is that several books will be replaced with books featuring new, original teams not seen in the 616. Ultimate Spidey and possibly The Ultimates will probably be the only books in the line left as they currently are; Spidey because it consistently sells really well is still manages to be very good, while Ultimates doesn't really need a new title to try something else, just a new roster/status quo. I'm sure they're going to kill off several characters, but I'll be damned if I can think of who it might be. It's hard for me to think of any of the FF biting it, though maybe Johnny, I guess. I bet the X-Men have heavy casualties. Oh, and I suppose there's plenty of cannon fodder in Ultimate characters who never had their own book (read: Ultimate DD).

[DoctorFinger]

Cancel is the wrong word. UXM, UFF and Ultimates will be relaunched either under different names, or just renumbered with big new creative teams.

Mark Millar has already announced that he's working on Ultimate Avengers, my guess is you'll see Paul Jenkins on one book and Loeb on another with Bendis sticking with USM.

But I do think they'll keep the overall structure of the line: 4 regular, ongoing titles with a constant flow of minis and specials supplementing the whole.

[MosBen]

I know it's unlikely that anyone's reading this thread anymore, but you know what occurred to me just now? One of the most shocking and earth-shattering things they could do in Ultimatum is kill of Wolverine. There's something kind of sad about that.

[DoctorFinger]

Well, killing Spidey would be more shocking IMO, but I see your point.

[Savok]

Secret Six... I think I'm love with Simone, mad fucking genius she is.

[Rogue_hunter]

Secret Six... I think I'm love with Simone, mad fucking genius she is.

That last page was totally awesome, in an out there kind of way.

[MosBen]

Well Doc, I guess I just assumed that Ultimate Spidey is off the table for major upheaval because it continues to sell really really well (at least, from what I remember). Killing him off or dramatically changing the character would undermine a very important franchise for Marvel.

Killing Wolverine would be almost as shocking, but it's also something they could maybe get away with because Ultimate Wolvie a) doesn't really add much over his 616 counterpart, and b) is tied pretty directly to the stuff from Ultimate Origins.

[DoctorFinger]

I just don't think Marvel has the stones to do it. It could be cool though...

[MosBen]

Yeah, it doesn't take an excess of balls to kill off Dazzler.

[Spigot]

Grr... did I miss this again?

Here's what I plan to pick up from last week.

Marvel
FRANKLIN RICHARDS SONS OF GENIUSES
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #7
MARVEL ZOMBIES 3 #2
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL ANNUAL #1
ULTIMATUM #1

Other
PARASYTE GN VOL 05

QOTW - When I realized that I was thoroughly lost and stopped reading Final Crisis.