From: intruder@cats.ucsc.edu (Isaac N. Truder)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Marvel Implosion Imminent? (was: Re: Marvel copies DC... again)
Date: 5 Jan 1993 01:34:35 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: am.ucsc.edu


 > Anyone want to place bets when the "Great MArvel Implusion" is
 > going to take place? There is simply no way that they can keep
 > putting out this many titles. I give it a year and the Marvel UK
 > titles are going to be the first ones gone. They are such utter
 > crap, such a blatant (there's that word again) attempt at cashing
 > in the theory that English people can produce better comics. Nice
 > theory, but even England can produce its fair share of garbage.

Well, English people produce DIFFERENT comics -- there's some way that
you can tell when a comic is done by English talent, though I can't
explain what the earmarks are.  Generally, I've enjoyed a lot of British
comics.  These are attempts to bring the British flavor into the Marvel
mainstream universe.  For instance, DEATH'S HEAD wasn't so Marvel'ed out
before, but they brought him back all grim-n-gritty(tm) and tried to put
him in the Marvel Universe.

I haven't read any of the Marvel UK titles, mostly BECAUSE they are such
blatant attempts to cash in on British talent while putting them into
the stagnant pool of the Marvel Universe.  I can't purchase any comic
that features a guest appearance by the X-Men in the first issue.  The
first issue, I thought, was for introducing new charcters and the
direction their plots will take?  But EVERY ONE of the Marvel UK titles
was introduced with a guest appearance.  I'd be interested to hear if
guest appearances even boost the sales of titles any more, considering
that there are just SO MANY of them.  For me, it's a major turnoff.

So what am I saying?  I think if Marvel was really willing to be an
American outlet for some British talent, they have a chance of producing
some good comics.  But it seems clear that all these titles are just the
biggest (so far) leg of Marvel's current expansion drive, and nothing
more.  I see nothing to attract me to these titles.  And as such, I have
to agree with you that, sooner or later, these WILL be the first to go.
My bet for the next to go will be the 2099 titles.  The problem with all
these "New Universes" that Marble and Dee See are trying to create, is
that they're always doing pretty much the same old crap, without any
ties to the original company Universe.  Nobody is willing to invest the
time to familiarize themselves with an entire new line of titles if they
don't offer anything significantly different from the titles they're
already reading.  The New Universe, no matter how many times they told
us it was different from the Marvel Universe, was the same old crap --
though at least at the beginning, it was done WORSE.  Probably third to
go (and they'll do it more quietly) will be the reprint titles -- one
for the X-Men and TWO now for Spidey.  It may take longer to get rid of
these because they're just so cheap, but probably after a while it won't
be worth the effort.  And, I forsee a possible big storyline somewhere
in the future revolving around all the "New Heroes" being killed off (a
sly way of getting rid of all the bombs like SLEEPWALKER, DARKHAWK,
CAGE, etc.)  Stretching it here, but I think we all know what books at
Marble are just not doing it, and will have to go in the eventual
implosion.

WHEN will this implosion happen?  Who knows.  But if you read the recent
MARVEL: FIVE FABULOUS DECADES... hardcover, you'll see that Marvel's
history has been full of periods of expansion and then rapid cutbacks.
The only thing I fear this time around is that a major cutting back of
titles will be translated into the media as "Comic books are no longer
big business", all the "investors" will get out of the market, and it
could spell problems for a lot of the new comic books stores that have
sprung up in the last few years.  And if direct sales comic stores start
closing, that will mean problems for smaller independent publishers. 

Anyway, a lot of doom-saying going on here, but it's all just theory.  I
really would like to hear if anyone is willing to say Marvel is not
setting themselves up for a fall this time.


Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc