Skip to main content

Marvel comics changes going forward

I first want to state openly that this is not to change anyone's opinions or change anyone else's reading habits. This is merely to be open and honest.

I have recently discovered that one of the books I recommended and love Unstoppable Wasp has been cancelled as of issue 8. The first trade is due out, according to Amazon, on September 12th. That means the book was cancelled before it even had a chance to get to a library. This is not the first time Marvel has done this. Great Lakes Avengers was cancelled right before it's trade came out as well as numerous others.  This hurts libraries and does not allow them a chance to have their voices heard especially in areas where the community has no comic book store or a population that is not likely to spend money on books or comic books.

But that is not all, it hurts comic fans, new and old, as they begin to love a story or character and Marvel cancels it before it even has a chance. It has also stopped me from reading a number of Marvel books and until the practices change, I am not going to be trying any new Marvel books. I'm tired of books I enjoy getting cancelled before they even have a chance. Right now, I'm reading Iceman, Nick Fury, and Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider. When those end or creative teams change or Iceman just annoys me too much, I'll be dropping those and not following any new Marvel books.

I also will not recommend any new Marvel comics until after they have had at least one trade out, but preferably two. I worry that if sales are too low, Marvel could cancel a second trade and never complete a series for the fans and that could potentially hurt libraries through circulation if fans feel they can never finish the story.

All that said, I will still recommend Marvel books that are in print in trades for libraries. That will not change. I will also keep track of what is coming out from Marvel, if only marginally so, to stay informed enough to recommend hot new books for libraries. If Marvel changes their practices, I will go back to reading new books, but I do not see that happening in the near future.

Hopefully everyone will understand why I have made this decision and again I'm just trying to be open about the process. I cannot in good faith recommend books to libraries or individuals if those stories are not being given a chance and may never be completed for the fans especially new fans. I just can't.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Katana at Super Hero High Review

I'm obviously addicted to DC Super Hero Girls. As I've said previously, I've pretty much consumed everything that is DC Super Hero Girls up until this point. So here's a review on the newest book, Katana at Super Hero High  by the always amazing and talented Lisa Yee. This is the 4th book in the series after Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Batgirl all got their own books and this one is finally a breath of fresh air of newness. The first 3 books all focus on the concept of a new girl coming to school, struggling to fit in and accepting her place at this elite new school. There were slight variations on the theme, but that's basically it. Wonder Woman and Supergirl felt very similar as they both dealt with similar issues and Batgirl had slightly different perspective, but it still felt like we've tread over this material before. With Katana, we've finally got a new perspective. Katana is not the new girl at school, she's established with friends from the pre...

Why does trade vs. Graphic Novel matter and how to tell the difference

So someone challenged me recently that none of this remotely matters if it is a trade paperback or if it is a graphic novel.. and someone else expressed frustration in not being able to tell what is reprinted.. This blog post is going to cover both.. so hang on to your seats. Why does it matter? Well simple.. they're different terms and mean different things, just like Anime and Manga mean different things even though they are related and in the same industry. But besides that, there is a difference between say the Sandman graphic novel and the Sandman trades. How? OK.. So Sandman has 11 trades now (From Preludes and Nocturnes to the Wake and then the prequel/ending The Overture ) and there are 2 graphic novels ( Dream Hunters and Endless Nights) The trades tell the serialized story from beginning to end and recent beginning that brings the whole thing full circle again. That story is reprinted from the original series 1-75 and Overture 1-6. This is important to note because a...

Transformers More than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise

I know I've recommended these books before, but I've been re-reading Robots in Disguise  (which becomes just Transformers  later) and reading for the first time most of More than Meets the Eye  (which becomes Transformers: Lost Light) and I have to say.. wow. These books are just so beautifully done. I've talked before about the right and wrong ways to do politics in a book. These books? They get it right. How do they do it? Well here's the thing.. both of these books take place after the war between the Autobots and Decepticons is finally over. It's done. Time to move on and build a new world. In Robots in Disguise , we follow the adventures of all the Transformers, Autobots, Decepticons and Non-Aligned Indigenous Life Forms (or NAILs) all trying to make a new life on Cybertron. There is animosity between all 3 groups Autobots and Decepticons obviously still hate each other from the 4 million year war and NAILs feel like the war destroyed their planet and th...