There's something vaguely amusing about the fact that Marvel Comics' latest event has borrowed its title from a much older comic book event, one thirty years older in fact, that was ls. ched not to sell comic books, but action figures. I have no idea if the book itself is any good, but I do know an irritating cash grab when I see one, and in fact I fell for several, even as recently as two years ago when I purchased Infinity and, after being blown away by the artwork, was appalled at how incoherent it felt without the tie-in books. Sure, there were all the "in case you're just checking in" blurbs on the first pages of every issue after the first one, but it really just wasn't very readable, certainly not in the way that Mark Waid's and Chris Samnee's Daredevil is readable. Hickman is now writing Secret Wars which is reason enough for me to say, "um, no thanks."
Right now, I'm actually reading Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel Seconds, and while this doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly renounce superhero comics and turn into some sulking hipster that decries all things mainstream (especially since Lee O'Malley apparently doesn't hire a very good proofreader, assuming he has one at all), it was just so refreshing to read something that doesn't feel so blatantly like a product being sold, but read more like an actual story, which is kind of why I got into comic books in the first place.
I'm sure that countless other geeks and enthusiasts have written much longer pieces on this very same topic, with much more earth-shaking realizations, and in truth this post was originally conceived as a lament as to how audiences have rejected Hollywood's one recent attempt at originality (Brad Bird's Tomorrowland), and have instead embraced retreads of properties that are decades-old (Mad Max: Fury Road and Jurassic World) but I think that would be better off over on my other blog, and I have quite a bit more to say on that.
I will admit that there is a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel for me, as I am looking forward to David Marquez (of Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man fame) being promoted to the Marvel Comics A-list, but really, the fact that yet another "status-quo shattering" event has smashed sales records yet again means that we can probably look forward to yet another "event" in a year or two.
I honestly miss the time when people read comics because talented writers and artists told good stories, and not because ten thousand titles were all tied into each other, promising the end of (insert comic book universe here) as we know it.
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