Comic Musings – Page 6

Why Are You Giving Miles Morales Clones?

So apparently, Marvel Comics… yes, they still do comics. Largely terrible ones, these days, but that’s besides the point.

So Marvel has decided that their Miles Morales character needed more classic Spider-Man failures to certify his status as a Spider-Man for all people and are going to give him his very own Clone Saga… because everyone loved the first Clone Saga so much, it drove Marvel into bankruptcy.

Look, I’m largely unfamiliar with the Miles Morales take on Spider-Man. I’ve only read a couple issues and also that Spider-Men mini from a couple years back. Seems like a pretty cool character and I even saw that Spider-Verse movie where he played a focal point and was subsequently the best part of the movie. I’ve got no ill towards anybody trying to give Miles as many Spider-Man tropes as they can, even if I don’t believe it necessary. Let Miles stand on his own and forge his own path.

But… if you are going to recycle old Spidey bits, can’t you do recycle something that isn’t total shit? The Clone Saga was one of many, many, MANY stupid decisions that Marvel made in the nineties and none of that stuff was ever any good. So to give Miles that similar idea (if not execution) is just… well, it’s so Marvel, I guess.

I don’t know. Maybe it’ll be good, but I doubt it. Like I said, a lot of Marvel stuff these days outside of their earliest MCU flicks have been kind of trash and I don’t have high hopes for this one.

Oh well… good luck, Miles. You’ll need it.

Boom Studios' Kickstarter… To Sell You The Same Crap They've Sold For Years.

Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boom-studios/mighty-morphin-power-rangers-complete-comic-book-collections/description

Well… that’s something.

The link above will take you to Boom Studios’ Kickstarter campaign in order to fund their (already funded) campaign to produce hardcore editions of their Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic book. Sounds totally fine… until you realize that these volumes have been available for some time and cost hundreds of dollars per volume for stuff you can already get for far cheaper by purchasing the appropriate trade paperbacks.

I won’t completely poo-poo this off the bat; the hardcovers are a bit of an uncommon find and for those folks with plenty of disposable income who want a nice way of getting six hardcovers of the comic run have a great opportunity to do so here, along with some interesting perks, including your very own Megazord stand to house all these books.

Still, you can’t help but admire Boom Studios for finding new ways to pedal the same crap over and over again over the course of several years. Multiple covers, multiple trades, multiple hardcovers, and whatnots in different shapes and sizes. Not a new thing in comics, mind you; there was a time when such practices was fairly common a couple decades back and it damned near killed the entire industry, but sure, why not bring this practice back to fool the dimwitted masses who can’t help but buy this stuff.

Interested? Click the link and check it out. Campaign ends February 4th.

Welp… Here We Go Again…

You know… I whipped this banner up a year or so back when an issue of the now-cancelled Go Go Power Rangers comic book teased this image of Lord Drakkon – Boom Studios’ woefully uninspired and hackneyed take on the whole “Evil Tommy” idea that had been the subject matter of most of the wankiest of wankfest fanfiction. My disdain for this worthless character was such that when his presence was teased as such, I ceased giving these people my money and stop reading the comics altogether.

Continue reading “Welp… Here We Go Again…”

BOOM Studios Staff Says There's Too Many Comics On Shelves

Source: https://www.newsarama.com/49124-boom-says-too-many-comics-in-direct-market-publishers-need-to-earn-space-on-shelves.html

Came across a rather hilarious piece of business recently that I thought was worth talking about briefly here.

A Newsarama interview with BOOM! Studios’ President of Publishing & Marketing Filip Sablik and Retail Sales Coordinator Morgan Perry revealed their beliefs that there are too many comics on direct market store shelves and that publishers need to earn their space on said shelves. Now, to clarify, the interview itself isn’t too bad – they did mention that BOOM had to reduce the number of titles they have in the works to focus on the quality of their remaining books. That’s actually something to be commended upon and an attitude most publishers should take on. Instead of releasing a billion books to the market, just release a few that are going to sell and focus on those.

However, BOOM! Studios is also the company that has a billion variant covers for each issue of their Power Rangers comic, which no doubt contributes to there being too much product occupying store shelves. Quite frankly, there’s no reason to have a billion variants to what would’ve been an otherwise run-of-the-mill comic when one or two would suffice. And some of these alternate covers are just the laziest things ever conceived, whether it’d be the “action figure” covers or the Cardzillion-based card covers. Not to mention… are the stuff they’re currently running with really worth occupying that precious yet overcrowded direct market shelf space?

As an aside, I want to also post a transcript of a speech given by Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson during the annual ComicsPROl membership meeting. He’s got an interesting and refreshing take on the ailments of the comic industry as well as offering some possible solutions on how to fix it. There’re some points that I agree with and some points that I don’t, but it’s a fascinating read, regardless.

Said transcript can be found here:
https://www.newsarama.com/28069-image-publishr-talks-at-comics-pro.html

Superman #19 Delayed By Two Weeks To Try And Not Suck

Source: https://www.supermanhomepage.com/superman-19-delayed/

Originally intended for release on January 8th, DC Comics announced that Superman #19 will be delayed by two weeks… presumably because they have to find a way to convince people that letting that fucking hack BENDIS out Superman last issue isn’t the stupidest idea ever. I’ve got more passing thoughts on the matter, but I’ll save those for a certain list due next week.

There’s your tease, kids. Have fun.

The Kingdom Come Superman For The Upcoming Crisis

So, good news, everyone. They kept the trunks, so we’ve got at least one Superman that has a semi-decent costume in this Crisis thing that’s coming towards the end of the year. And he fits the suit just fine, I think.

The bad news? I’m pretty sure that all the hype that’s building towards Brandon Routh reprising any semblance of Superman is going towards something that will probably last about five seconds before we have to stick with the usual gang of idiots that everyone says we’re supposed to care about, but actually don’t.

Meanwhile, I’m expecting Tom Welling to appear as a disembodied head pasted onto a CGI model of some Superman figure to keep up with his running gag of never appearing in the suit.

How Easy It Is To Slip Away… How Easier It Is To Stay Away… The MMPR Boom Moratorium Continues

Two months into my self-imposed moratorium on Power Rangers comics, especially after word broke that Drakkon was making a comeback in one issue, which turned out to be a flashback thing or something. But just the fact that we’re teasing a possible return leaves no hope going forward.

Here’s the funny thing about this whole deal, right? I dropped the series when that news broke… and I don’t miss it. It didn’t leave some hole waiting to be filled again. It just went away. And I just went on with my day.

I keep track of the reviews and reactions to this thing; this is the only way I keep track of things going on in that realm of the Power Rangers franchise. And at some point, I wonder if I ever really want to come back. This moratorium is supposed to last six months. More often than not, I find myself breaking these self-imposed moratorium because curiosity gets the better of me.

Could this be the first one that sticks? And not only stick, but go beyond that period?

I’ve heard good things about the current run and I’m sure they’re better stories until they need to dive back into the Drakkon drudge. But strangely enough, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. In fact, I know I’m not missing anything.

The last time I felt this way was back in the mid-2000s, when I no longer had a regular outlet to catch airings of PR… but this time, it’s different. Or is it?

Am I losing interest in this franchise in ways that I might not be aware of?

It’s possible. Anything is possible with the power of Ninjetti.

But I don’t have Ninjetti. I have a beat-up notebook that I’m using as a journal to write these quick entries from my bed in the hopes of transposing them to the blog… assuming they ever happen.

I guess we’ll have to let it play out and… *sigh* see where it goes.

Fuck, now I’m using WWE cliches for posts about Power Rangers.

Lord Drakkon Retu… OH FUCK OFF!

Source: https://www.powerrangersnow.com/sabans-go-go-power-rangers-issue-23-details/

So, this is supposed to be a new direction for the Power Rangers comics from Boom… and what do they give us? Their shitty “Evil Tommy” bad guy comes back from… something or other.

You know what? I’m done.

The minute I’ve heard the news and came across the above source, I went over to my Comixology account and cancelled my subscriptions to both the Go Go series and the MMPR series. I am done with this shit.

From this point forth, I am on a six-month moratorium from anything pertaining to Boom Studios’ Ranger comics. I was willing to give it a chance going forward – especially with the rather underwhelming Beyond The Grid storyline – but if this is what I have to look forward to, then I am done for the foreseeable future.

I’ve seen Evil Tommy-types done better in poorly written fanfictions than what was done with this dipshit. Hell, I’ve done the Evil Tommy bit and even he comes off as more compelling than this fucking doofus… especially considering how he met his ultimate defeat at the end of that other wankfest.

Fuck off. Fuck off, all you fuckers. Fuck you.

I’m done.

Good night.

Beyond The Grid… Lies A World Void Of Purpose

So the recent Beyond The Grid story-arc that has dominated the MMPR comic book series has concluded. This is the one with the ragtag band of Rangers who act almost nothing like their on-screen portrayals, the one with the OC ship that not only fulfills the diversity checklist just fine but also become Rangers themselves, the one with the somewhat inconsistent artwork (though to be fair, it only slightly got better towards the end), and the one with the ultimate drab and uninteresting storylines again.

I have somewhat soured on this story before it even became a thing, because it deviated from what the series is supposed to be focused on. And even though I wasn’t on board with it, I was willing to give it a chance. And to be fair, there’s a couple good points I could bring up. I like the idea of the Praetor being a fallen Morphin Master; I think there’s potential behind that idea that I felt wasn’t explored all that much here. And to be fair, this whole ragtag band of Rangers lost in time or whatever was something that could’ve made for its own series… its own series, I emphasize.

It’s just unfortunate that something with potential is squandered by what is essentially sub subpar fanfiction drivel… and I’ve written such drivel in the past, so I’d know. And after having to sit through a dozen issues of Kyle Higgins’ unapologetic Tommy wankfest, I would’ve liked to have seen something better and well… that’s not why I got.

But, hey. Issue 40 is supposed to jump us into the second season with a brand-new White Ranger guy and half the team replaced. Some would suggest that this is a return to form and it’ll be the usual suspects, but given how Boom wants to “swerve” fans for the sake of swerving fans, I’m wondering if I should even expect good things out of that camp.

Oh well, at least the secondary Go Go series is alright.

Saw That Endgame Movie…

So, for those who care, I ended up watching that Endgame movie over the weekend and I’ll just say that as a film that concludes eleven years worth of cinematic continuity, it was satisfying enough. Without dipping too much into spoilers, everything is tied up with a nice little bow and there’s some of the usual big spectacles with everyone all over the place, the usual assortment of funny jokes along with some not-so-funny jokes, and they found a way to write off the folks who no longer have contracts to do more movies.

I suppose the question now would be what’s next… and at the moment, I don’t know for sure if that question has been answered or if there’s any indication of that in the upcoming Spider-Man film due later this year or so… but for now, I guess we can all follow the Avengers box office after its billion dollar global debut box office obliteration.

Or… maybe you can follow it. I’ve got better things to do.