So, how long before Marvel solicits an Avengers #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Joe Quesada?
That’s what I’ve been wondering after seeing the remarkable order figures for DC’s relaunched Justice League. Don’t get me wrong; the fact that it’s the first comic for the relaunched DCU likely factors into such high orders as well, as does the all-star line-up of characters, but… the massive orders for JL are really coming from the pairing of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, right? And the only teaming Marvel can really counter that with is Bendis and Quesada – if only because Quesada is the only true big name artist Marvel has that isn’t already rolled out on a fairly regular basis, and could therefore have the same effect as Lee’s rare appearances.
I mean, we’ll almost certainly have a new Avengers book of some sort next summer to coincide with the movie, I think we can all agree (Mighty Avengers is still available as a title, after all)? The only question might be whether or not Joe can get enough time to draw an opening arc… or maybe, whether Bendis is still enough of a draw on the title to measure up to Johns’ first solo take on the Justice League.
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:59 am
ENOUGH WITH THE QUESTION MARKS IN THE TITLE OF THE ARTICLES. Go back to High School Senior Journalisim and start with the basics Mr. McMillan.
August 23rd, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I wonder how many articles include the phrase “Don’t get me wrong” in the last few months.
August 23rd, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Not sure even Bendis and Quesada can live up to Jim Lee + Superman + Batman + relaunch of the entire DCU (plus, it’s returnable, right?)
But lets check again in 6 months and see if it’s still 100K+ and still on time with Jim Lee on art…
August 23rd, 2011 at 12:42 pm
That wouldn’t be even close to the JL buzz:
1.Bendis has been writing Avengers already way too long, whereas Johns is a new writer to the property.
2. Avengers relaunched twice already under Bendis + “star artist” teams, diminishing returns would come into play.
3. DC got there first and Marvel would look yet again like they’re just trailing in the wake, something that doesn’t build buzz.
4. Movies don’t sell comics for crap.
August 23rd, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Why would readers get that amped by a new Avengers book by Bendis? Nothing noteworthy about that at all.
And the notion that Queseda on art could even come close to equating to reader excitement over Jim Lee on art is pretty delusional.
August 23rd, 2011 at 12:59 pm
What if Marvel could get Bendis+Neal Adams in Avengers?
August 23rd, 2011 at 1:03 pm
I don’t believe Marvel is worried about beating Justice League #1.
I think they’ll aim to beat Justice League #2 and on.
August 23rd, 2011 at 1:14 pm
How about a Spidey with Sarah Palin on the cover?
August 23rd, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Bendis writing a Real Avengers book without Wolverine and Spider-Man maybe. Classic real line up of Real Avengers. Marvel real Avengers evil, a monster (she-hulk), or just ignore them.
August 23rd, 2011 at 2:02 pm
You know, pre-orders to retailers doesn’t mean that this book is doing gangbusters yet. Give it a few months to see if this over-ordering to placate the hype machine doesn’t result in a lot of unsold product in the quarter bin.
August 23rd, 2011 at 3:56 pm
I would say Alan Moore and Todd McFarlane.
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:15 pm
If they announced Bendis + big-name artist on New X-Men #1 that would probably bring in some numbers.
Not that I have any interest in Bendis or X-Men
August 24th, 2011 at 7:37 am
I’d say Mark Twain and Leonardo DaVinci could pull down some pretty big numbers…
August 24th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
The only thing Marvel has to do is NOT re-boot all their books and alienate their readership with the desire to streamline their books for the sake of updating what they are licensing out to kids who are smarter and more savvy in today’s consumer market. DC Comics spent too many years protecting the child-like whims of children over the age of 40 and candy-coating the superhero sub-genre of comics with outmoded, out-dated intellectual properties that don’t take any sort of risk creatively. Now, they’ve painted themselves into a corner of the market share they can’t get out of because their product is SUB PAR at best!
DC fails to out-sell Marvel mainly because they are inconsistent with their content. Nothing sticks long enough for readers to care. Readers don’t care enough to stick around because they know that things will re-boot in 4 or 5 years and everything they cared about won’t matter anymore!
All Marvel has to do is keep writing consistently more engaging, more socially relevant comics that doesn’t patronize intelligent young readers and they’ll keep beating the pants off of DC Comics. You can’t take crap and paint it gold and say its new because it’ll still smell like crap.
DC doesn’t have to worry, though. Marvel/Disney is now on the same track, homogenizing their content by putting round edges on all their corners and eliminating the chance for growth and creativity.
Look at the X-Men Re-Genesis as a definite nail in Marvel’s coffin from a creative standpoint Instead of doing something new, they’re just saying it’s “new” and adding a bunch of half-warm corpses back to their line because they think putting Nightcrawler back in play will bring back alienated readers who were fans of Nightcrawler.
WRONG! Write something original that means something and people will come back! Stop making everyone Jean Grey, you idiots.
It might also help if they got rid of Brian Bendis. I think I’d blow my brains out the day he’s allowed to write Uncanny X-Men or any other team book for that matter. He’s ruined the Avengers and turned them into a pathetic superhero version of Total Sell-Out with their “candid interview” bits. He’s re-hashing crap he wrote nearly 20 years ago.
Either way, get out your “THE END IS NIGH” placards. These money hungry idiots are murdering your childhoods because Hollywood is a callin’…