As most folks recuperate from the wonders of New York Comic Con, some new issues came out last week that beg for commentary. I’m here to provide some
Walking Dead # 115 : I’m as happy as anyone else that this series has been around for ten years and is celebrating its anniversary. It’s how they chose to celebrate that upsets me. This issue, which kicks off a multi-part storyline, was released with 14…that’s FOURTEEN different covers. At $3.99 each, diehard fans and collectors are being asked to pay close $60 for a single 22-page story. That’s just really a rude way of saying thanks to the fans who have made the franchise what it is.
AFTERLife With Archie #1 Of all the completely inappropriate things that could be done to Archie (even MORE inappropriate than, say, changing the art style to make him look realistic), this one takes the cake. I’m truly amazed that they greenlit this series (although the letters section claims Jon Goldwater was excited to do so). Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (who incidentally also wrote the revamped Carrie film coming out this month) has in fact written a pretty amazing story involving all the beloved characters of Riverdale, but it’s way WAY darker than anything I’d want to put in the hands of the average Archie reader. The first issue sets up the story in a way that seems logical, but there’s zero humor involved, tongue-in-cheek or otherwise. The artwork by Francesco Francavilla is adequate (when it’s not smothered in black ink, which most of it is), but in no way reminiscent of the art style that fans of Archie have come to expect. I credit Aguirre-Sacasa for a compelling story, but it’s almost sacrilegious in its own way. The first issue has four variant covers, the least offensive of which shows Hotdog wearing a bloodied collar.
Other comics that came out last week with 3-4 or more covers for the exact same issue include:
Superman/Wonder Woman #1
Lords Of Mars #3
Owl Vol.2 #4
Red Sonja Vol.5 #4
Warlord of Mars #28
Infinity #4
Thor God Of Thunder #14
Crossed Badlands #38
George RR Martins Skin Trade #3
and basically ANY title put out by Valiant or Zenescope.
I had previously noted that back in the 1990’s, gimmicks like this created a glut in the market that made most of our collections financially worthless. Back then, the gimmick was mostly used to launch a new series or promote a special storyline. The vast majority of the issues mentioned don’t really rate so many covers. I’d much rather have a comic with brilliant writing and great artwork surrounded by just ONE cover.
Case in point :
THE SHAOLIN COWBOY #1 : Writer/artist Geof Darrow has an amazing story enhanced by impeccable artwork set in a post-apocalyptic world, and Dave Stewart did a fine job coloring it. This one definitely merits picking up.
CRYPTOZOICMAN #1 : Writer Bryan Johnson and artist Walter Flanagan, fresh off of the AMC series “Comic Book Men”, have created this bizarre series involving animorphs. Johnson’s story is a little hard to grasp at first, but Flanagan’s artwork is truly amazing. I keep hoping Flanagan will soon give us the long awaited sequel to “Batman: The Widening Gyre” under Kevin Smith, but until then, this series showcases some great work on his part.
More titles coming soon.
