Originally Posted by Flightpath07
- Le Messor
"Did you hear about the atheistic solipsist? He doesn't believe in himself."
- Le Messor
"Did you hear about the atheistic solipsist? He doesn't believe in himself."
Well, I feel the same way, but I guess we're presuming that a negative reaction and controversy isn't exactly what Oeming is looking for.
Fair enough, so let me put it this way, in case you're right: Risking the interest of the die-hard fans for the sake of MAYBE gathering the casual fan is a big chance to take.Well, I feel the same way, but I guess we're presuming that a negative reaction and controversy isn't exactly what Oeming is looking for.
Obviously you have to weigh potential loss against potential gain. I would think one would try to please both sides as much as possible (keeping in mind you're not going to please everyone).
Having the team half Canadian and half American is a pretty good way to go about it. The loyal fans get to see some of their favourites in action again and maybe you draw new fans by giving seldom-used characters a spotlight. Makes sense.
Having an American in the Guardian suit is not a good way to go about it, in my opinion. There was little question that it would anger most of the die-hards, and I don't see it as a draw in the U.S.
Course, I could be wrong.
An American in the Guardian suit doesn't draw me in for sure. Especially when he's the American who destroyed Heather, Puck, Shaman, Mac (well I can actually live with him being dead), and killed off the V3 crew (never really got attached to Puckette and MML).
"Well, the only person talking about love today is the preacher. And it seems noboday gets just all the learning but the teacher."
The Temptations "Ball of Confusion"
Personally, I can even see putting Pointer on the team in some respect. But I just don't see the reason to put him in that suit.
To me it smacks of marketing logic on Marvel's part: Omega Flight is the successor to Alpha Flight, therefore we need someone in the Maple leaf suit.
Basically, using the image of Guardian as a way to try and grab Alpha Flight fans or Canadians.
absolutely it's marketing, so was killing off AF, and so was doing it off panel. It's all designed to make people talk, and frankly, it's been very successful. The market has changed, a book can't just be put on the shelves and expect to sell. There has to be intrigue . Some people have to get pissed off and make noise, and people have to talk. The internet has become one of the largest media marketing tools, but the most successful internet marketing is people talking. That's why there has been such an epidemic of spam on message boards and guestbooks. In retrospect, Marvel made some very clever moves to create "buzz marketing" for this product.
Ben
i agree 100% with ben, and he is right. i'm sure all of us long-time alpha fans would like to see nothing more than mac/heather/puck/walter/shaman/snowbird in their own monthly title again, but the market is just not there right now.
this title has been given a better lead in and more buzz than the previous two combined, so the support is there, even if some form of reverse psychology is being implemented (piss off the fans and get them talking!).
just seeing the preview pages of of #1 has me believing that mike and scott are going to be treating the series roots with respect.
i think mike in the suit makes sense and i'm thrilled that sasquatch is on the team. him and beta ray bill will make quite the powerful duo.
looking at feb.' sales numbers i am wondering what type of numbers of would have to do to sustain a ongoing. i see heroes for hire, she hulk, xfactor and excalibur floating in the 25-35k range. while ant man is barely pulling 23k. lets just hope for 50k a month and there will be no doubt it will be made a ongoing. i am still curious about the pre-release numbers, i still think someone at marvel is pulling a editorial decision, rather than a sales decision.
plus came april, i will be hitting every message board known to man to create some buzz for this title.
I agree with Ben too....However, I still think it would have been far better to relaunch the original AF after their supposed death in New Avengers (Alpha Flight: Back with a Vengeance!). Strike while the iron was hot...People were talking about them and interest was at a high that it hasn't been in years.
The Collective Massacre-survivors...Heather, Puck, Sasquatch and maybe Shaman...With Snowbird, Talisman and the twins recreate the team from the ashes. All have more of an edge to them for almost being killed and losing loved ones. Bring in other characters from AF's past (like Wildchild, Diamond Lil, Madison Jeffries and some kick butt villains).
A missed opportunity that won't come again and Marvel blew it, like they've blown a lot of things.
I think 50K is being uber-optimistic, Varo...But good for you!I can see the first issue selling around 40K (like Vol 3)...Who knows after that?
Dana
ALPHA FLIGHT IS RESURRECTED, LONG LIVE ALPHA FLIGHT!
I think a kick to 50000 may start it off. She-Hulk, Ant-Man and Heroes for Hire have been averaging under 30000 for the total time of their runs, short as two may be.
She-Hulk has little to no growth potential as is, being a one-charcter series and not even a popular character at that (take away her nymphomania and...). The best way they add sales to that title is guest appearances to draw in fanboys/fangirls. The premise of the series is boring too. So all it can draw are She-Hulk fans and fans looking for the Slott story elements of day-to-day life, much like the Mary Jane series.
Ant-Man has more trouble, an even less popular hero doing even more run of the mill stuff, quite boring too. The character is limited in scope and has no 'tag' to draw in new readers (as in Flash is the fastest, Hulk the strongest). Very new recycled character too.
Heroes for Hire also goes big for titillation with no-name characters, restricted stories et al. It can grow but the premise of the book limits what can be told, so A-list stories are rare. I find it very boring.
Omega Flight and Excalibur, on the other hand, are established teams, developing team dynamics, not one-off character relationships, and can do various stories for various reasons. Being 'tied' to M-Day or Civil War only gives them a starting point, how the teams grow and develop is not set in stone, plus the characters themselves have mediocre to strong followings.
Really, if sales were the only factor She-Hulk and Heroes for Hire would have been cancelled already, but Marvel editors hope these books will find a larger market somehow. Both, however, will suffer from Initiative telling stories in the same style and system.
Keep your stick on the ice.
Live it.
While I'm quite pleased to hear that at least some form of the Flight is still alive and kicking, I wasn't too thrilled on the front that I've seen it so far... this mailman thing really just hasn't kicked up my appetite too much... I'll buy in to it all for the purpose of tossing my support towards the Flight in general, but I'm not entirely hopeful that this will turn out to be a great story. Especially since the confirmation of the deaths. I just think that this will end pretty poorly. The Inititiave in general isn't doing anything for me, and I think even my fandom for Flight is going to suffer as a consequence.
The ability to defy death can be achieved...
It is a state acquired through compassion not greed...
Well, there's gonna be a second print of the issue because the first one sold out...
Nice! OF gets a decent amount of (very well drawn) pages. The Thunderbolts story really did nothing for me (and I'm a huge Venom and Green Goblin fan). Plus the great OF action splash at the end to reinforce the series. Hopefully it'll be enough to get people curious enough to pick up #1.
wait. of what series?
i'm not following.
I assumed CW: I
wait. of what series?
i'm not following.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
