Comics VIII - the Crime Syndic8 of America

[GallowKnight]

Man, they really missed out on not calling it All-NOW Marvel.

[Winterfell is Burning]

The combo of Robinson + Golden Age heroes is going to get me to check out the Invaders at least for the first few issues.

Yes.

As for Inhumans, since I have no idea which Fraction we'll get, I don't know whether I should be incredibly excited or very afraid.

[Sci-2]

I suspect Inhumans will be mediocre to bad. Fraction seems to do his best work when allowed to go off the rails a bit. It also seems like he does best when he can touch the Weird - compare FF with Fantastic Four, but also Cassanova vs Fear Itself.

Then again, he did write some good Dark Reign Iron Man, but that also had Stark running instead of hanging out in the Iron Man suit.

[Nictarion]

Even more disheartening is that Ben Templesmith has been removed from "Ten Grand". Apparently due to lack of communication and falling behind of schedule. I can understand them letting him go but for me his art defined the series far more than JMS' writing. I'll give the new artist a go but i think it will lose a lot of its magic. No reason was given from Templesmith. I do wonder if it could be connected with him being "work for hire" as opposed to co-creator? I do think it's a little unfair for JMS or any writer to have sole ownership of their comic (unless they provide all the initial designs as well). Maybe Templesmith has a more lucrative title that he can part own (or solely own) and is working on that. Still not very professional of him though.

This news really sucks. I've really been liking this book. Its only supposed to be like 10 issues, sucks they can't keep the same creative team together for that short of a run.

[Nictarion]

Battle of the Atom is going much better than I expected; possibly the best X-event since Messiah Complex (but then, the others were pretty bad).

I thought Second Coming was great. A vs X wasn't bad either.

[red snow]

Yes.

As for Inhumans, since I have no idea which Fraction we'll get, I don't know whether I should be incredibly excited or very afraid.

Weirdly we got bad Fraction in Hawkeye as well. It was the one introducing the weird facemask assassin. I honestly thought I was reading a different comic. Maybe Fraction needs a certain type of artist to bring the best out of him? The only other excuse i can think of was that he deliverately dropped the fun tone because of what happened in the previous issue.

This news really sucks. I've really been liking this book. Its only supposed to be like 10 issues, sucks they can't keep the same creative team together for that short of a run.

It's a rare case of me thinking they should have waited. It also seems like Ben has been through some kind of personal crisis as well. I can see JMS' side too it's just a real shame.

Also found that the current Flash team is leaving as well. So I'll be dropping that title along with Batwoman (even though I think the new creative team might be good). Basically I'm cutting back on my pull-list and creative teams provide a good excuse. It hopefully sends a very small message to the publisher as well. Although I feel bad for my comic store guy as I don't replace them with something else. Although I think Hawkeye will be going there - again as a small message of support :)

[Sci-2]

Infinity is doing well it seems:

Publishing | ICv2 continues its look at August’s direct market numbers, declaring Marvel’s Infinity #1 a million-dollar book, the third this year to top $1 million in sales, thanks to its $4.99 cover price and estimated orders of 205,000 (DC Comics’ Justice League #1 and Superman Unchained #1 are the other two). However, it’s also important to note that Infinity #1 was offered to retailers at a deep discount (up to 70 percent). [ICv2]

[red snow]

"All new Now" and "issue 24.Now" etc are incredibly stupid. Almost as stupid as revealing you'll get a code that let's you get several past issues digitally for free. No need to buy a Marvel comic for a couple of months. That said, I think it is a great idea to give away free issues of that comic with the jump on issue.

[Little Valkyrie]

http://marvel.com/news/story/21140/this_is_inhumanity_the_awakening

"Think back to when you were 16 and the things that you used to define yourself," posits editor Bill Rosemann. "Things like your family, your history and where you come from. Now imagine if one day you realize everything you know about yourself is wrong--and, oh yeah, you have spikes sprouting up all over your body and your hands spray acid."

With the likes of the Avengers, X-Men and others preoccupied by other disasters around the world, it falls to their next generation to step up and safeguard their would-be peers.

"It's up to the students of the Avengers Academy and the Jean Grey School to save these young adults before they destroy everything around them," Rosemann says.

It really is full X-Men now, innit.

[Winterfell is Burning]

It really is full X-Men now, innit.

It always was.

[Little Valkyrie]

It always was.

Inhumans were usually more about individuality vs. duty, like Crystal running off to hang out with the Fantastic Four.

[Sci-2]

I wonder if people in the MU will feel differently about the Inhumans given that they don't present the same possibility of body horror mutants do. Inhuman's are clearly victims of some intervening phenomenon, more akin to the Fantastic Four than the mutants.

Could be interesting if they go that route. Imagine Inhumans arising on different sides of territorial/social conflicts. What happens if Iran gets 20-30 incredibly powerful Inhumans?

=-=-=

Was thinking some more about how bad Hickman's God is Dead was. Why would people in the Middle East or South America jump on board with what are essentially pagan gods?

Muslims and Christians aren't going to suddenly be happy Thor and Anubis are around, they are going to see these gods as aliens at best but more likely as demons.

The only place the gods of old would find a population ready to worship them is in India and, depending on the pantheons, in East Asia. The Olympians and Asgardians would, at best, have some pockets of pagans in the Western World.

[red snow]

I wonder if people in the MU will feel differently about the Inhumans given that they don't present the same possibility of body horror mutants do. Inhuman's are clearly victims of some intervening phenomenon, more akin to the Fantastic Four than the mutants.

Could be interesting if they go that route. Imagine Inhumans arising on different sides of territorial/social conflicts. What happens if Iran gets 20-30 incredibly powerful Inhumans?

One thing I'd hope they'd do is have the real inhumans largely ignore the new ones for exactly the same reasons that humans may hate them. They aren't "pure-breds". That could be ever so slightly novel in that these inhumans are hated by both groups.

Well if famous/powerful humans are struck by the mist then there may be more efforts to feel that it wasn't "wrong" for them to turn out that way but considering they will only turn if they have inhuman DNA I guess it's even easier to call them half-breed or Inhuman. If Marvel had some balls they'd deliberately have some ethnic groups not have Inhuman DNA so they could consider themselves "pure" but that's not very Disney.

As for your second point that is a story that could have been done just as easily with mutants. The concept is something that pops up every now and then but never seems to be handled properly. Red Son did but that was just one superhero.

I'm looking forward to next Spring's event where the Inhumans find an imaginary island and create their own nation. I also eagerly anticiapte the introduction of an elderly woman (got to mix it up a little) who either survived Rwanda,Bosnia or Cambodia and is determined never to let her "people" be victims of genocide again. The government will also create robot "Guardians" to capture and exterminate Inhumans. A few years down the line it'll probably get very convoluted and hard to follow with countless new titles, time travel and a period where characters have lots of pouches. It will be incredibly orginal though and we'll be amazed that no-one in comics had ever thought of creating characters that could be a substitute for any kind of "ism" in the real world and a metaphor for puberty.

That said it will all be worth it for 2015s mega event AvXvI unless by that point Marvel has retconned the X-men entirely out of existence.

[Little Valkyrie]

Could be interesting if they go that route. Imagine Inhumans arising on different sides of territorial/social conflicts. What happens if Iran gets 20-30 incredibly powerful Inhumans?

Marvel can barely set a book outside of New York City, going genuinely international would be a shock.

[Lady Octarina]

I'm looking forward to next Spring's event where the Inhumans find an imaginary island and create their own nation. I also eagerly anticiapte the introduction of an elderly woman (got to mix it up a little) who either survived Rwanda,Bosnia or Cambodia and is determined never to let her "people" be victims of genocide again. The government will also create robot "Guardians" to capture and exterminate Inhumans. A few years down the line it'll probably get very convoluted and hard to follow with countless new titles, time travel and a period where characters have lots of pouches. It will be incredibly orginal though and we'll be amazed that no-one in comics had ever thought of creating characters that could be a substitute for any kind of "ism" in the real world and a metaphor for puberty.

:rofl:

I don't think they could easily get Sentinelish things against the Inhumans, though (assuming they will be under Black Bolt's protection); I mean, Attilan is an acknowledged established nation(or other equivalent word?) in a way Genosha and Utopia never quite managed, right? It is my impression regular humans would respect them more than they do mutants, which is why I think Marvel will have to come up with a convoluted mess to use inhumans the same way they have the mutants for half a century.

[red snow]

:rofl:

I don't think they could easily get Sentinelish things against the Inhumans, though (assuming they will be under Black Bolt's protection); I mean, Attilan is an acknowledged established nation(or other equivalent word?) in a way Genosha and Utopia never quite managed, right? It is my impression regular humans would respect them more than they do mutants, which is why I think Marvel will have to come up with a convoluted mess to use inhumans the same way they have the mutants for half a century.

I thought Attilan was in space now (I admit to being behind on my Inhumans lore)?

I think they'd see them as human if it wasn't for the caveat they only become inhumans because they have inhuman ancestry. I'm therefore guessing they'll be treated much like mixed race caucasian/african people were in the bad old days which is as black. In turn to get the powers you have to be a bit inhuman to begin with therefore you were never fully human. Assuming this knowledge is known to the whole world.

I often think the whole thing falls apart when you think about it. Non mutants are treated as celebrities despite the fact these heroes origins are often completely unknown. How does the average Joe not know that Daredevil, Spider-man, Spider-woman, Scott Lang etc,etc aren't actually mutants? For that matter other than the X-men being mutant and proud (unless you're HAvok) how do they know they didn't get their powers from magic or radiation?

[Winterfell is Burning]

I often think the whole thing falls apart when you think about it. Non mutants are treated as celebrities despite the fact these heroes origins are often completely unknown. How does the average Joe not know that Daredevil, Spider-man, Spider-woman, Scott Lang etc,etc aren't actually mutants? For that matter other than the X-men being mutant and proud (unless you're HAvok) how do they know they didn't get their powers from magic or radiation?

Spider-Man IS hated and seen as menace by many, or at least he used to be, I don't follow the book these days. Daredevil doesn't seem to be that well-known outside NYC, and at least in Hell's Kitchen he's popular because he's their hero.

To me, the main reasons why mutants become hated is:

a) Anyone can be a mutant, and they can pop up anywhere, while not anyone is going to be irradiated by cosmic rays or something. Plus, many mutants are weird looking;

B) Magneto and his anti-human rethoric (I'm talking about Silver Age Magneto mostly, but also when written by Lobdell or Morrison, for example): imagine how the anti-Islamic feeling would be if Osama Bin Laden had superpowers and could kill millions by himself in one second.

[red snow]

Spider-Man IS hated and seen as menace by many, or at least he used to be, I don't follow the book these days. Daredevil doesn't seem to be that well-known outside NYC, and at least in Hell's Kitchen he's popular because he's their hero.

To me, the main reasons why mutants become hated is:

a) Anyone can be a mutant, and they can pop up anywhere, while not anyone is going to be irradiated by cosmic rays or something. Plus, many mutants are weird looking;

B) Magneto and his anti-human rethoric (I'm talking about Silver Age Magneto mostly, but also when written by Lobdell or Morrison, for example): imagine how the anti-Islamic feeling would be if Osama Bin Laden had superpowers and could kill millions by himself in one second.

I get that but if you are a non-mutant hero with a secret identity no-one knows how you got your powers. Even if you were to tell them you could still be a mutant making shit up. So while being a non-mutant with powers isn't a threat for the reasons you state there's no reason why they aren't actually mutants.

Iron Man, Captain America and the Fantastic Four are fine as they don't have secret identities (barring a deal with the devil I'm unaware of) so people trust them and in the case of those three there origins are likely public knowledge.

I guess a DNA test would sort this out. Then again, the sentinels eventually came to the same conclusion I have.

[Winterfell is Burning]

I get that but if you are a non-mutant hero with a secret identity no-one knows how you got your powers. Even if you were to tell them you could still be a mutant making shit up. So while being a non-mutant with powers isn't a threat for the reasons you state there's no reason why they aren't actually mutants.

Iron Man, Captain America and the Fantastic Four are fine as they don't have secret identities (barring a deal with the devil I'm unaware of) so people trust them and in the case of those three there origins are likely public knowledge.

Spider-Man has been called or been confused for a mutant sometimes.

Daredevil I don't think so, but he doesn't have obvious superpowers.

[Sci-2]

Yeah, I think there was a time when any hero without a clear origin for their powers was suspected of being a mutant. Also sucked that the Avengers didn't do as much to deal with the bigotry facing mutants.

That said, it never really worked that well but was good as an analogy to racism. Stan Lee was also on panel with a guy who awhile back who'd written a novel about gay superheroes. Was really cool that Stan was there.

Grant Morrison did do a thing where Japan had a totally different outlook on mutants, and he did show how some people were making big strides in mutant acceptance akin to minorities in the Western World having cultural influence.

=-=-=

X-men #5: Pretty good, I'm liking Battle for the Atom though I'm a bit confused by the time travel rules. I swear Beast said there would be no paradox at some point?

Oh, and I caught up on this series. Good stuff, worth checking out. One of the better cape comics out there IMO.

Manhattan Projects #14: Intrigue and betrayal continue. What more can you expect from genius misfits. :-)

Avengers #19: Great stuff. Really liking Infinity. Personally I'm enjoying the fact that the Avengers have a scale problem, where they alone simply cannot fight off the Builders.

Locke and Key Alpha #1: Apparently there's one more over-sized issue left. Will have to do a reread. Loved so many of these characters, and the art is just perfect. Gotta hope the door's open to revisit these characters....Well if Joe Hill is like his dad it's almost a guarantee. :-)