Recent Glut of 1st Appearance Creations 0

[BeholdersEye]

Is it my imagination or does it feel that Marvel and DC are pushing out mediocre new characters, often remix/reimagined (not so creative at times) variations of existing characters, and with greater frequency now, with the possible agenda of this marketing tactic to replace the "Variant Covers" they've been flooding the market with, to increase orders and sales by speculators?

I envision seeing every issue with an introduction to some new character in a cameo, then as a civilian, and then the origin in costume, heroes, villains and supporting characters alike.

I think everyone is looking for "the next" fill in the blank hot character of today, or grail key of yesteryear, so this seems like what's happening in modern comics today.

The problem I see in the market is people are hording books, flipping them and driving prices up what seems to be prematurely without the character having time to evolve, earn a fan base and capture (and captivate) and audience as was done in the past with time for people to search for back-issues instead of picking 'em up hot off the press, going to the LCS, bagging/boarding then submitting to CGC in one fell swoop.

[fastballspecial]

Its speculators feeding speculators who are slabbing books then trying to resell them. Its a vicious cycle and as fast as the market is changing I wouldn't
want to be caught holding these books.

 

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

The same thing happened in 1993. Both Marvel and DC's annuals that year featured a new character in every book. (Laughably, Marvel promoted their characters as characters that were built to last, unlike Squirrel Girl.)

The only meaningful creation to come out of those books was Hitman, but a few characters had minis or short-lived series, or appeared briefly as regulars in team books. The bottom line is that you need a writer to craft stories that make you *care* about new characters. I question whether Deadpool would become what he became if it wasn't for Joe Kelly's work. Or Wolverine, if it wasn't for Claremont, etc.

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

1 hour ago, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

The same thing happened in 1993. Both Marvel and DC's annuals that year featured a new character in every book. (Laughably, Marvel promoted their characters as characters that were built to last, unlike Squirrel Girl.)

The only meaningful creation to come out of those books was Hitman, but a few characters had minis or short-lived series, or appeared briefly as regulars in team books. The bottom line is that you need a writer to craft stories that make you *care* about new characters. I question whether Deadpool would become what he became if it wasn't for Joe Kelly's work. Or Wolverine, if it wasn't for Claremont, etc.

Probably the first time those words have ever been uttered or typed...…………………….

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

2 minutes ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

Probably the first time those words have ever been uttered or typed...…………………….

Are you disagreeing with the "only" portion, or the "meaningful" portion? Hitman had a solo series that lasted 5 years and was somewhat popular during that run. And the run has been reprinted in trades. I'm not suggesting he's an A-lister. My point was that he was the apex of importance that same out of that summer's annuals.

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

Just now, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

Are you disagreeing with the "only" portion, or the "meaningful" portion? Hitman had a solo series that lasted 5 years and was somewhat popular during that run. And the run has been reprinted in trades. I'm not suggesting he's an A-lister. My point was that he was the apex of importance that same out of that summer's annuals.

Meaningful. Obviously it's subjective, but it always amazed me that his series lasted 60+ issues as I've never met one fellow collector who admits to have read it and have never (in over 5 years of doing cons) had one person ask me for any Hitman issues or appearances. In hindsight I guess "meaningful" isn't a stretch for the time. Pretty sure that run won a few Eisner and CBG awards. 

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

7 minutes ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

Meaningful. Obviously it's subjective, but it always amazed me that his series lasted 60+ issues as I've never met one fellow collector who admits to have read it and have never (in over 5 years of doing cons) had one person ask me for any Hitman issues or appearances. In hindsight I guess "meaningful" isn't a stretch for the time. Pretty sure that run won a few Eisner and CBG awards. 

There were discussions about a television series earlier this year as well. At the very least, some people in power at DC recognize some future potential here.

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

9 minutes ago, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

There were discussions about a television series earlier this year as well. At the very least, some people in power at DC recognize some future potential here.

Which is odd considering he's appeared in exactly one new comic issue since 2007.

[JTLarsen]

9 minutes ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

Which is odd considering he's appeared in exactly one new comic issue since 2007.

He's one of those characters where they defer to the creator. In this case, Garth Ennis, who said what he wanted to with the series and then wrapped it up. Not for nothing, but it was amazing.

[Not A Clone]

It seems like they can't win, because when their weren't many new characters being introduced, everyone complained. Comes in waves. Gotta see what sticks. The good ones will stand the test of time. Their are also a lot of new writers coming in so there are plenty of new ideas. Marvel/DC offer incentives/sharing with new creations now which they never used to so creators don't have to hold their ideas back.  

[ygogolak]

2 hours ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

Which is odd considering he's appeared in exactly one new comic issue since 2007.

Umm, he died at the end of the series.

It was basically a different iteration of Preacher, which lasted almost the same amount of issues.

[Red_Hood]

4 hours ago, fastballspecial said:

Its speculators feeding speculators who are slabbing books then trying to resell them. Its a vicious cycle and as fast as the market is changing I wouldn't
want to be caught holding these books.

 

I would say its opportunists feeding speculators.  The biggest margin for myself as a dealer is selling this modern stuff.  The quality books like hard to find in nice grade silver and bronze age books doesn't even bring a sniff compared to this week to months old paper.

[fastballspecial]

Yeah I can agree with that. I am guilty of it as well occasionally.

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

41 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Umm, he died at the end of the series.

It was basically a different iteration of Preacher, which lasted almost the same amount of issues.

That was like two reboots ago! 

[the authority]

I love/loved Hitman...as much, if not more, than Preacher. He was hilarious, tough, and familiar all at the same time. The comic was character driven and had guest appearances by people who were simply out of his league. This kept the book grounded. I have at least 5 copies of his 1st appearance and #1 from the series. It's a book well worth reading and is a permanent fixture in the PC. 

On a different note, I'm glad that they're introducing new characters. It was common practice when I was growing up. The original X-men series produced countless new faces and a lot of them are still around today. Some new stuff is  and some is rock solid. For every Deadpool there are hundreds and thousands of characters that just didn't connect with readers. Still worth trying imo. 

[BeholdersEye]

8 hours ago, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

The same thing happened in 1993. Both Marvel and DC's annuals that year featured a new character in every book. (Laughably, Marvel promoted their characters as characters that were built to last, unlike Squirrel Girl.)

The only meaningful creation to come out of those books was Hitman, but a few characters had minis or short-lived series, or appeared briefly as regulars in team books. The bottom line is that you need a writer to craft stories that make you *care* about new characters. I question whether Deadpool would become what he became if it wasn't for Joe Kelly's work. Or Wolverine, if it wasn't for Claremont, etc.

I think you're right on the money about Wolverine and Deadpool, same goes for DC's Lobo.  It feels similar to the Sports Card hobby where there's way too much speculation driving prices up on "prospects" as if they were established "hall of famers" - - so, to see comics like Ms. Marvel, Silk, Spider Gwen, Cosmic Ghost Rider, etc. come out of the gate strong without a meaningful story arc nor years to establish the character, have books priced at $200+ seems too premature.  Look at X-23, from NYX #3, it did take a while before that book went up.  Same for The New Ant-Man (Scott Lang), as I remember Marvel Premiere #48 being in dollar bins despite the Byrne/Layton artwork for the longest time.

[Coolio McCool]

It's getting close to Youngblood days, a new new character on every page. The sales are to speculators and the prices aren't sustainable, Kingpin's little sister isn't likely to have a big fan following anytime soon.

[Lazyboy]

17 hours ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

Meaningful. Obviously it's subjective, but it always amazed me that his series lasted 60+ issues as I've never met one fellow collector who admits to have read it and have never (in over 5 years of doing cons) had one person ask me for any Hitman issues or appearances. In hindsight I guess "meaningful" isn't a stretch for the time. Pretty sure that run won a few Eisner and CBG awards. 

Wow, 5 whole years of doing cons in a ridiculously speculative market and you haven't had any requests for books featuring a character who died in 2001? How very, very strange.

I'll bet you haven't read the series. I'm guessing that you've never actually asked anybody else if they've read it.

[ygogolak]

1 hour ago, Lazyboy said:

Wow, 5 whole years of doing cons in a ridiculously speculative market and you haven't had any requests for books featuring a character who died in 2001? How very, very strange.

I'll bet you haven't read the series. I'm guessing that you've never actually asked anybody else if they've read it.

What does this add?

[RockMyAmadeus]

19 hours ago, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

Or Wolverine, if it wasn't for Claremont, Byrne etc.

Fixed.

Claremont didn't like Wolvie, and wanted to get rid of him. Byrne was the one who turned that around.

On a related note, there have been some people suggesting that Wolvie was a "hit right out of the gate." It would be really nice if people didn't try to retcon actual history to fit their narratives. 

Wolverine was NOT a "hit right out of the gate." It took several years, and John Byrne, for Wolvie to become as popular as he became. 

After his first appearance in Hulk #180-182? He didn't show up again for another 6 months, and then only in the pages of GSXM #1, as part of the team.