confirmation that marvel hates omega/alpha

[Captain Primate]

A book that Joe is already making jokes about?

Can you provide a reference as to these jokes he's been making? Seriously, I'm all for complaining about what has been said, but I think its unfair to attribute something to someone that is either not true or taken out of context. I'm not accusing you of libel or anything, I just want to see the original statement.

[varo]

the quote was taken from a interview q did at nycc, where one of marvels editors pointed out that sasquatch has never looked so cool, in which joe replied "sasquatch has never looked cool" no big deal, but thats were its from.
as far as the title of the thread and your rant barnacle, i am fully aware that marvel is a corporation and corporations only stay afloat if they make money with products that sell, thanks for the lesson on finance though. but i was saying the title of this thread tongue in cheek as a joke, which is hard to relay on a message board.

it is just frustrating to hear tptb at marvel talk out both sides of their mouth.

and as far as doing my part i already have 10 copies of omega flights 1-3 pre-purchased at both mile high and midtown comics, i asked if the cashiers could hand them out to any customer that does not buy omega flight so they can read it and hopefully like it, i have also done the same at my local shop.

[cmdrkoenig67]

A book that Joe is already making jokes about?

Can you provide a reference as to these jokes he's been making? Seriously, I'm all for complaining about what has been said, but I think its unfair to attribute something to someone that is either not true or taken out of context. I'm not accusing you of libel or anything, I just want to see the original statement.

What Varo said above. In discussing Omega Flight...Joke Quesada states that "Sasquatch has never looked cool."

Dana

[Ahab]

I like the idea of sending Marvel positive feedback, as was mentioned in a previous post. Positive feedback from AF fans is going to stick in their memory more than negative, as there is already a stigma that the core group of Af fans is a prickly lot. Why not surprise them?

[Adam]

I don't think Tom's saying that we shouldn't feel frustrated, nor is he saying that we should blissfully ignore and swallow Marvel's blunders. It's just being goal oriented.

Being positive about this book could, however unlikely, help it gain readers and help it gain the favor of Marvel's higher ups. Being negative about it has no goal, it can effect no change for the better. If nothing else it helps poison people like Tom B against our "community" because we're feeding them nothing but bile.

I was a new reader and wandered onto Alpha Waves, I'd just see a lot of people feeling persecuted and angry. I can't imagine that person's going to walk away feeling more inclined to check the book out.

[Irisbleu]

Omega Flight could still become an on-going, their probally getting their sales figures now. Patience, I'm not jumping to conclusions yet.

Yes, I think we have to be patient.... We shall wait and see.... Saying that Marvel hates Omega/Alpha is maybe a bit far fetched now.

[Barnacle13]

Sure there are creators who love certain character, but if they don't like our favorites as much it doesn't mean they hate them. I've been on this site for a loooong time, and I don't think I ever remember it being as negative as it has been lately.

Why do you think that is? AF fans have been burned twice now (more so by the recent Volume Three)...Many of us are getting the feeling that we're going to be burned yet again (call us paranoid, but we do have sufficient reason to expect more).

We can all try to be positive, but there are nagging questions that Marvel has danced around (like which Alphans exactly are dead and why has the series been downgraded)...I think a few of us also dread the idea of the series coming out and that's where we might learn that they killed all of Alpha Flight, except Sasquatch (I for one will be beyond livid). Call me a pessimist, but I don't have high hopes for this series. I for one am afraid if this series is highly successful, that we will never see the real Alpha Flight again...Just various future incarnations of Omega. I'd rather see the original AF back in action, than another stand-in team (BTW Phil...Please keep any "Byrne circle jerk" comments to yourself, thanks).

Hopefully this will all change when the mini starts and folks have something else to talk about. Marvel is a corporation. In the end it means they answer to their consumers and their consumers' money. If Omega Flight sales top X-Men, Spider-man, and Avengers I guarantee Joe Q will be a huge Omega fan! We've already seen what response they have when flamed by the consumer. That has only increased their disdain for the characters and their fans.

Yet "Professional" people like Quesada and Brevoort can flame/disrespect AF and AF fans and that's okay with you? How can we keep a stiff upper lip, when they keep slapping our faces with insults to our intelligence or making constant jokes about characters we love and/or grew up with?

I think you may be reading into what I've written more than is there. Do I approve of the treatment we feel Alpha Flight and we in particular have been treated and the comments made by Marvel staff? Hell no! Do I think it gets us anywhere complaining about hurt feelings? Hell no!

I'd urge everyone here to step back take a deep breath and do something positive to make this book a success. When it is released, write Marvel and let them know what an incredible book it is.

...And if the book isn't incedible?

If the book isn't incredible then it deserves a quick 5 issue death! I won't spend my hard earned money on crap and I wouldn't recommend others do it either. If it's crap, pull it out of the bottom of your buddies bird cage if you have to have a copy...don't put money in Marvel's coffers for characters and stories you don't love.

Overwhelm them with a positive response rather than the now typical, "Why does Marvel hate Omega/Alpha and us?" that they've been seeing. If I'm growing tired of it Marvel has to be well past their threshhold of tolerance. Let's vow to lighten up and be positive about the book, rather than always turning to the negative. I think it'll get us farther in the long run!

OK! Rant over!

Tom

Let's all be chipper cheerleaders? For a book not-so-subtly disquised as an Alpha Flight book, that has several non-Canadian heroes on a Canadian super team (apparently, for the sole reason to try and boost sales)? A book that's been downgraded from ongoing to mini (for some possible scary reasons)? A book that Joe is already making jokes about?

Tom, you may be tired of what you deem is negativity here, but don't you think some of us are tired of double-talk and potshots from these "supposed" professionals"? You can break your pom-poms out now...I'm going to wait and see if it's worth the effort to dig them out of the closet.

Dana[/quote]

I'm tired of the double talk and potshots, too. But I think it serves no purpose to blast Marvel, Joe Q., or Tom B. How does that get us the Alpha Flight ongoing we all want? I'd much rather see the originals back at it than a horse faced god knock off and a Cap wannabe. I just don't see it happening any time soon. And for the record I still don't see why it matters what Joe Q. thinks about the book. I don't base my purchasing decisions on his feelings and I doubt anyone else does. A little positivity from the group though may open his eyes up ever so slightly to the fact that we're not just a bunch of bitter whiners.

I'm sure the move to a mini was a business decision. It's our job to show him it was the wrong decision. If 200 people just keep hammering on him for that decision it does nothing but further alienate him from this loyal fanbase. If we tell him what we do like about the series and promote it, maybe just maybe he'll hear us. Inprobable, but more likely than crying foul.

[Barnacle13]

the quote was taken from a interview q did at nycc, where one of marvels editors pointed out that sasquatch has never looked so cool, in which joe replied "sasquatch has never looked cool" no big deal, but thats were its from.
as far as the title of the thread and your rant barnacle, i am fully aware that marvel is a corporation and corporations only stay afloat if they make money with products that sell, thanks for the lesson on finance though. but i was saying the title of this thread tongue in cheek as a joke, which is hard to relay on a message board.

it is just frustrating to hear tptb at marvel talk out both sides of their mouth.

and as far as doing my part i already have 10 copies of omega flights 1-3 pre-purchased at both mile high and midtown comics, i asked if the cashiers could hand them out to any customer that does not buy omega flight so they can read it and hopefully like it, i have also done the same at my local shop.

Varo, as I've already said I think your idea of purchasing 10 copies to pass out to nonbuyers is a great one. It might win a new reader or two. I'm frustrated too! It just doesn't seem to me that a constant airing of my complaints will get me anything. I'm not trying to give Business 101 lessons either. I'm just trying to get us (and me as a part of us) to focus on the positive things we can do to impact the success of this series. Hopefully folks won't get frustrated with me for trying to keep it positive. I've seen some great ideas here, we just have to make them all work. And to do that will take effort. Effort better spent than complaining about Joe Q's or Tom B's pot shots. Again I could care less what they think about AF, OF, me, AlphaFlight.net, etc.

[varo]

i am extremely positive about this book. i really feel with the combination of oeming and kollins we will get a very good rendition of a supergroup based in Canada with ties to the original alpha.

the blatant blunders by the higher ups at marvel have me scratching my head though. thus some of the criticism. we have never just came out and attacked marvel, we have usually just reacted to negative news.

i apologize for some recent negative posts, i know they are getting old, its just that if i went to a automotive forum and complained there they may look at me like i have 3 heads. so this seemed like the best place to vent.

[Canucklehead]

"Q: Who has been given the task of coming up with superhero teams for each of the 50 states, and to what degree will those slots be filled with new characters?

TB: There’s no specific mandate to work out precisely what teams are going to be where just yet, so we’re going to let this idea grow organically and see where it takes us. Dan Slott will be dealing with some of this in America’s favorite comic book series, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE."

Newsarama.com

Edit: On the lighter side, OF is mentioned in Wizard Magazine's "50 things that have changed during CW". We're #38! I don't know if that's good but I like exclamation marks!!!!!!!

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazi...985.cfm?page=2

[Mokole]

"and others"? More than Talisman and Guardian in time?

[Mokole]

With the reader and retailer reaction to the climax of Civil War, and the general interest in precisely what comes next for Tony Stark's Fifty State Initiative, it only made sense to us to promote Avengers: The Initiative to a full ongoing series, rather than just a limited,"

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stori...3/06/index.htm

Ah that Tom B, pointing out indirectly that it wasn't fan response or demand or pre-orders that had any weight, but editorial decision making alone!

Still, Omega Flight has history, team, writer/artist strengths, and other advantages to change their minds...

[Le Messor]

And for the record I still don't see why it matters what Joe Q. thinks about the book. I don't base my purchasing decisions on his feelings and I doubt anyone else does.

Right now, I'm imagining reviewers saying things like:
"So bad, even the head of the company panned it."
"Not even the company liked their own book."
"No confidence in their own product; how good can it be?"

BTW, like Varo, if I can't whine here, where can I whine?
I only know (face-to-face-ish) one person who's heard of Alpha. Who told me a few days ago that he'd just heard about this new Omega Flight mini-series.
Where was Marvel's publicity machine?
And I am not that machine! I'd assumed the guy would already know about the series.

- Le Messor
"Decide what you want; decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work."
- H.L. Hunt

[Garry/Al-Fan]

...I'm concerned about why there is a less-than-optimistic feeling about the content of Omega Flight. I find the suggestion for Kolin's artwork helps, gives it more volume. Unless the fight with The Wrecking Crew is just horribly executed (and there should still be time to fix this, if that's a problem), I don't see how OF #1 could completely miss the mark. I just can't believe this could be messed up royally, still go to press, and be published. Jeez, I hope not.

I'm more worried about a powerhouse named "Daisy" in # 2. I'm just not feeling that, right now. I'm glad that USAgent is going to save Toronto, but I hope we hear some news about what the Alpha Flight characters are going to do.

I hope somebody connected with the book has something to post to quiet these fears.

Ben, any word about when that article in the paper will be published?

Will anybody be getting a preview/rough copy of OF# 1 before it goes on sale? [I'm assuming there are such things]

[Flightpath07]

Wow.
Hey, welcome me back, fellow AF/OF fans! I had surgery a couple of weeks ago, and have not had much chance to get to my computer until now.
(in case you are wondering, I had my soul removed, because apparently as an Alpha Flight fan, I do not need one anymore! lol - just kidding!)

Ah, i have missed the rantings so much! lol

Seriously though, it is good to be back.

Now, on to business...(Sorry if I am long-winded, I have a lot of catching up to do)...
I like a lot of what cmdrkoenig67 has had to say in this subject (and in others on this board). Very thoughtful and interesting and intelligent stuff, yet still passionate. Love it. Is it cynical and bitter? No question! But i still agree with most of it.

SmurfInABlender wrote:
The thing is it is impossible to get the glory of the original series. I Honestly though V2 was a good attempt at gettign Af back, I thought it was a very interesting comic.. Of course granted it still had room to grow and was written in a short sighted way but still it was nice to see some new ideas thrown in there.

I agree, Smurf. I enjoyed Volume II immensely (although i am missing a few issues of it). Was it like Volume I? No. And that made it interesting, because it was different, yet still entertaining, and still delaing with the heroes that we all love. It was AF.

SmurfInABlender wrote:
As long as the AF characters are kept alive i'm happy. But they Killed them.. and in return for doing that we got an Ongoing series... which that was also killed. So the three we can hope for are Sasquatch Northstar and Aurora.. and hopefully Kyle Gibney to take over the Guardian spot for a while.

Yay! Another Kyle Gibney reference! Go Kyle!
And I agree, I think we all agree...being downgraded felt horrible to us. We deserve better. AF deserves better. But, we have to live with what we get, because apparently complaining to Marvel only pisses them off, it doesn't make them change anything.

Ahab wrote:
I like the idea of sending Marvel positive feedback, as was mentioned in a previous post. Positive feedback from AF fans is going to stick in their memory more than negative, as there is already a stigma that the core group of Af fans is a prickly lot. Why not surprise them?

I can agree with this. Positive reinforcement is a good thing. So, as soon as they do something Positive (sorry, but downgrading from ongoing to mini is a Negative, and dissing fans is a Negative) I will be sure to tell them how great they are. However...as fans, we are Expected to be emotional (fans=fanatics). If they want an emotional response from us when they do something that we like, then they have to expect and accept that we have every right to be angry with them (and express it to them) when they do something that they do not like. It is a two-way street. Nuff said.

Varo wrote:
i am extremely positive about this book. i really feel with the combination of oeming and kollins we will get a very good rendition of a supergroup based in Canada with ties to the original alpha.
the blatant blunders by the higher ups at marvel have me scratching my head though. thus some of the criticism. we have never just came out and attacked marvel, we have usually just reacted to negative news.

i apologize for some recent negative posts, i know they are getting old, its just that if i went to a automotive forum and complained there they may look at me like i have 3 heads. so this seemed like the best place to vent.

That's right - we do not attack the company, only there policies and attitudes that alienate the fans and contrive to make the series sell Less (potentially). They need to positively reinforce their Own Series - why should we be responsible for doing that? They are a money-making company - if they are not putting enough effort into promoting OF...think about that. When you really stop and think about that...it is a little scary, what that says.

And..."hip-hip-hooray" for the 3-headed automotive monster! Will this creature be appearing soon in it's own monthly title from Marvel? lol

cheers!
good to be back.