Might as well cancel my Twitter account.
Last week was amazing for DC. They put out tons of exciting news for fans. And then Marvel had to go and sit on DC’s proverbial hat by offering retailers Seige Deadpool variants for returned issues of Blackest Night tie-ins. I try to stay away from controversial comic book related news because I find it annoying to chime in on. And frankly, it kinda gives me a headache. But I could not pass up the opportunity to share with you this gem I found thanks to Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat. (Click the video to view directly on YouTube if the subtitles are too small here.)
Hilarious use of this oft-used scene if I do say so myself. “I’d cancel my Wizard Subscription but they’re four months behind anyway,” might be spot on but, “Retailers are rejoicing,” is far from the truth. Newsarama has some quotes from a few annoyed store owners. “I’m not fond of insulting behavior,” said Joel Pollack of Big Planet Comics. “I personally think Marvel looks petty by doing this.” Comics Alliance heard similar stories. A retailer I spoke with said they’d rather donate the comics than rip them up and send them to Marvel.
Of course it didn’t help that Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort acted like he was on the playground at recess saying, “We’re doing this because we’re in the business of selling content rather than Cracker Jack prizes.” I’m guessing Tom hasn’t eaten any Cracker Jacks lately because he’d notice their prizes are closer to Marvel’s Avengers ID cards these days than the kick ass Corps rings hanging around my neck.* Yes, I made a necklace out of mine and yes, I’m hopelessly biased. :)
*Excuse me for being saucy this Monday morning, I had a bad weekend…
@Kirk Warren
That wasn't my point. I wasn't actually trying to explain why Marvel was doing it.
What I was saying in that instance is that it won't hurt DC's sales so it really doesn't matter what Marvel does. If retailers send those comics in, the odds are it's well after the sales of each book has hit a slump, so there's less of a chance of moving them anyway. And the retailer has already bought the books from Diamond, so it doesn't affect DC one way or the other.
As for the sales tracking thing, there are much cheaper ways to find out whether or not the books are selling at comic shops, and I doubt Marvel really cares whether Doom Patrol #12 has 10 issues sitting at Atomic Comics (or what have you).
You're really over-thinking it.
It's a marketing stunt. It's meant to throw more attention towards Seige. And as a bonus it's also meant to be a bit of a bitch slap at DC. I can't imagine Seige is going to do as well as Blackest Night, so Marvel is trying to create a little competitive synergy between the two.
I'm tired of seeing some big chubby bald guy every time I go to the Marvel comics website. I like the comics, but who is that Bendis guy blowing? Him, (previously) Palmiotti, and Quesada are like a strange male cheerleader troupe.
And Randy, the mentality is that of large over grown man children.
@Rebelcomix – "But as stupid as the suggestion is, it won't hurt DC's sales. Blackest Night is making a killing. Seige has yet to prove itself."
Not to nitpick, but it isn't designed to hurt DC's sales. These comics are already out and sales data has come in for all of them. Well, technically, it's shipping data as they dont' track actual sales.
I believe the whole point of the operation, as petty and dickish as Marvel is being with it, is to gauge just how many of those huge increases in sales for Blackest Night ring tie-ins were actual sales and how many are just sitting on shelves.
Expect a set of Infinity Gems or some other kind of incentive from Marvel as tie-in incentives if their research proves DC actually sold those comics.
That's freaking hilarious. I sat here laughing so hard, I had tears in my eyes.
As for Marvel, they can go suck an egg. Talk about bush league. Only reason I'll see IronMan 2 is cuz Robert Downey Jr is so hot.
My comic shop thought it was completely ridiculous. Destroy several hundred dollars worth of comics which, after a while, will most likely be collectors items for Blackest Night completists, just to get another Deadpool comic? He laughed at how stupid it was.
And I'd say it would be pretty easy to top JLA/Avengers. DC vs. Marvel did that back in the 90s. JLA/Avengers was pretty terrible.
Eh. It's a funny video. Leave it at that.
I can't imagine that many people are going to send in one comic to get a variant of something they already have.
Deadpool has something like 8 comics (at least 2 really good ones) already, so no one is hurting for DP covers.
But as stupid as the suggestion is, it won't hurt DC's sales. Blackest Night is making a killing. Seige has yet to prove itself.
I actually really like the Avengers ID card idea, but was disappointed when I actually saw it.
Congrats on the nomination for best geek blog! As for the "1 Siege variant for 10 Blackest Night tie-in" covers controversy, personally, I say let the best stories win. The news from DC was exciting, I look forward to it. I have been reading DC lately, their stories are more exciting than Marvel's. Plus, with a dose of indies like Asterios Polyp, it's shaping to be quite a reading experience for me. : )
Take it easy today, most people have a day off, and I hope you do too. Enjoy the day with a nice dose of comics… : )
I was saying to a friend of mine that this whole Marvel thing reminds of how Burger King always has to take a swipe at McDonalds in their commercials, like a recent one where they compare their 'flame broiled' Whopper to McDonalds 'fried' Big mac.
It's because that no matter what they do, how much 'healthier' their burger might be for you, McDonalds still outsells them.
But Marvel doesn't need to do this. They've been pretty much outselling DC since Day One back in the 60s. For the most part, I mean.
I have never understood the mentality as to why two companies in the same business have to make it look like they are 'at war' with each other.
I mean, if DC and Marvel don't want to do any more crossovers together, that's fine. It would be very hard to top JLA/Avengers, after all.
But this type of sniping should be reserved for the playground where, for the most part, the children really don't know any better.