WLG #180: No False Starts!

By Michael A. Diaz

How do you launch a title so that it will fail?

That might seem like a really stupid question, as I am sure most people work in comics to succeed, much like any other field. Yes, there is creativity involved, but at the end of the day one can't keep putting out comics if no one is buying them. Well, maybe one can, but they won't make any money doing it, so if the comic in question is from one of the big three you can assume that the idea is for money to be made.

Creators, and companies, want comics to succeed.

At least, unless you're WildStorm comics.

Now, before anyone gets too pissed (most of all WildStorm), let me say this: I LOVE WildStorm comics. I've been a fan for several years now. I've bought The Authority, Planetary, The Establishment, The Monarchy, StormWatch (with Ellis and Raney), StormWatch: Team Achilles, Brass (look it up), Wildcats, Wildcats: Version 3.0, Manifest Eternity, Backlash, Grifter, Wildcore, Mr. Majestic, Ex Machina, The Authority: Revolution, and so on and so forth, as well as the recent relaunches of The Authority, StormWatch: PHD, and yes, even Wetworks.

Why?

Well, because simply put I happen to believe that WildStorm is putting out some of the best comics published right.

THE.
BEST.

Yes, I was upset when some of my favorite titles have been canceled over the last few years, but I know that this is a business and that if comics are not selling, well, they're going to get canceled. I didn't like it, but this is a business. Sure, I would have LOVED for Wildcats: Version 3.0 to have gone on for several more years, but it didn't happen. Ditto for StormWatch: Team Achilles, but things didn't work out that way. When I heard that these titles were coming back in one for or another I was excited. When I heard that Christos N. Gage and Dough Mahnke were bringing I got excited; when I found out that Grant Morrison and Jim Lee were helming Wildcats I was overjoyed, ecstatic even.

FINALLY, WildStorm was going to get its due with a relaunch done RIGHT.

That is, until last week when WildStorm that Wildcats #2 wasn't going to be shipping until...wait for it...MARCH.

Now, I don't have have a release schedule in front of me but I am fairly certain that the first issue came out at least four weeks ago, and March is still a good four months away, so we're looking at a good five months between the first and the second issue of the WildStorm's flagship title.

Chew on that for a second while I insert this:

Standard Disclaimer: For those of you new to the WLG experience, here's how it works: Every week I check out the release schedule from the Diamond Comics Shipping List and decide which comics that I am going to spend my hard-earned money on. Yep, my money. That's good, because it helps to maintain my objectivity. If I spend money on a comic book and it turns out to be crap I'm going to be upset.Listen, I'm just some geek that has an internet connection and stumbled across this gig where I get to ramble on about comics once a week. I've never written, drawn, inked, edited, or published a comic, so I don't know all of the intricacies of the industry. I'm sure that many people work very hard for WildStorm and are proud of the work they do there. That said, as a fan, as someone that really believed that this was finally the time for WildStorm to shine, I am more than a touch disappointed.

Five months.

Ugh.

Let's move onto to something more fun and take a gander at the comics this week and see What Looks Good...

BOOM! STUDIOS

PLANETARY BRIGADE: ORIGINS #1 (OF 3) $3.99 (Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis / Julia Bax)

What can I say, I'm a sucker for just about anything that include Giffen, DeMatteis, and a wonderful “BWAH HA HA!”

Sure, there are plenty of laughs within the pages of their other book, Hero Squared, but that book has a lot of heart and drama as well. This book has more of a focus on all that is ridiculous about superheroes and super-teams. True, I would love it if they were able to do their own special brand of funny with Justice League again, but barring that this sates my appetite well enough.

I expect to get a hilarious skewering of the typical “origins” for some of these superheroes.

I'm smiling already.

DC

THE BOYS #5 (MR) $2.99 (Garth Ennis / Darick Robertson)

OK, so what's going on here? Hughie was brought into the team because he's pretty much just a normal guy, albeit a guy who had something absolutely horrible happen to him. Now he has been recruited to join a team of operatives that keep “capes” in check. Now, I figured that one of the things about Hughie that made him so special was the fact that he was just a regular guy. In other words, he was a guy without powers looking for some justice.

Then POKE! Hughie gets injected with a needle. What does this mean? Does he have powers now, and if so, they're not permanent, right? And if not, how long do they last?

More importantly, isn't Hughie going to be really pissed that he's been injected with something that very well could alter his genetic code? I know I would be, now imagine I was pissed AND suddenly found myself with superpowers. Isn't there the off chance that with these new powers I might use them against the people that just gave them to me against my will?

MARVEL

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #1 $2.99 (Matt Fraction / Ariel Olivetti)

I think by now that it is pretty well obvious that I absolutely love the Punisher. What can I say, some things that you pick up as a kid stay with you your whole life.

I think the thing that I like most about this series is that it really doesn't have much of anything to do with the MAX series. In my opinion, yeah, the Punisher should probably exist as a a MAX title. If I had to pick that's where I would put him, but when it comes down to it, he WAS created within the context of the Marvel Universe, so he does have a place there. It will be interesting to see how he operates within the Marvel Universe now.

For those of you that didn't read it, he did make an appearance within the pages of Civil War last week and I have to say that I was a bit surprised not only to see him but also which side of the fence that he has placed himself.

Like I said, the MAX title is always going to be a favorite of mine, but this IS the Punisher and I'm more than willing to give this title a shot as well. Besides, I've been hearing some really good things about Matt Fraction, specifically about his book Casanova.

RUNAWAYS #22 $2.99 (Brian K. Vaughan / Adrian Alphona)

Co-creator Adrian Alphona is back so the next three issues will be a nice little send-off as the Brian K. Vaughan leaves the book. True, the sting is softened by the fact that Joss Whedon will be taking over the writing chores on the book, but still, this book just won't be the same without Vaughan and Alphona putting it out.

Another reason why I am geeked about this book this month is that this issue takes place after the crossover with the New Avengers, so the team, once again, is messed up. I'm eager to see how the group collects itself yet again as well as what plot lines Vaughan and Alphona decided to wrap up as well as leave hanging as the new creative team prepares to take over.

Good stuff.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #102 $2.99 (Brian Michael Bendis / Mark Bagley)

What the heck is going on? Who is Peter Parker? Who is Spider-Man? Is Gwen Stacy really back or isn't she, and if not, or maybe if so, who or what is Carnage? And who is Ben Reilly? Is Peter's father REALLY alive after all of these years?

Put simply the last few issues of this arc have raised a LOT of questions and I really don't know which way is up at this point.

Which is why this book is so much fun!

Was there something that did it for you this week? If so, stop by the What Looks Good message boards (see link below) and spread the love, my friend.
Until then,

Peace!

-Diaz