AQUAMAN Subscriptions Saved

I might have missed it being stated elsewhere, but after Didio hinted that there might be a change as to whether the Aquaman subscription was being killed, I can confirm it is no longer the case.

I called the company that handles the subscriptions and they indicated that, not only was the cancellation reversed, but subscribers would be getting an extra issue tacked on to their subscription to make up for the confusion.

Interestingly enough, when I asked them about the Green Lantern: New Guardians sub I had a letter telling me was being moved to GLC, they could find no record that GL:NG was having its subscriptions cut off. They're going to look into it to make sure, but it might well be another book that is surviving, albeit due to a miscommunication, rather than a change in plans.

New 52: Aquaman

I'll flesh this out in a later post, but just to get my initial reaction up here immediately:

Why did I have to pay $3 for Geoff Johns to literally lecture a section of the comic book reading audience on how Aquaman isn't the joke they think he is, especially when a good portion of that group probably skipped the book on the shelf to begin with?

For my money, we got about three-to-five pages that should have been in this book...and they were the ones that just featured the new-big-bad rising from the deep.

Any other writer, the next issue would not be leaving the shop with me. But, then again, few other writers would be bold enough to expect their audience to pay $3 to be told (much more than shown) how the character is much cooler than the people making fun of them for buying the issue think.

At least the art is strong, even if some of the coloring effects are a bit much.

Would Atlantis Chronicles Be Made Today?

Rich Johnston linked to an NPR article about Aquaman that brought a question to mind. OK, it was a question that had already come to mind many times before, but I never got around to blogging about it.

If you're like me, you've been a fan of comic books since the early 1980s. During that time, it seemed like companies would give some of the most unconventional mini-series the green light. There didn't seem to be so much pressure on sales that retreads that were guaranteed at least mediocre sales were put out instead of new ideas that might turn into winners.

If you're like a lot of other fans, you came to comic books in the early-to-mid 1990s. During that time, it seemed like companies would give some of the most unconventional series and mini-series the green light. There seemed to be the feeling that anything that you slapped a "#1" on would sell enough to justify giving new ideas a shot.

In the recently completed 2000s (and, to be fair, the late 1990s), it seems like Marvel & DC Comics sometimes sacrifice fresh ideas for lower risk/reward projects. Each failed project seems to be taken more as an indication that the market just won't support new ideas, rather than the ideas they chose to put in play didn't resonate with the target audience.

A perfect example of this attitude, I think, would be the Second Feature idea at DC Comics. The approach with the properties that weren't selling enough on their own seems to be that the ideas are fine, but the market can't support them as stand-alone series. It is, also, how they've put out a few new projects (retreads, but still something new), albeit with no real metric to gauge interest in them. Other than a nice PR cushion to price increases, it hasn't really succeeded. I'm not talking about the quality of the stories, but the development of new, salable product.

Mind you, I'm just shooting out thoughts here with zero research. I'd really like to hear what you think in the comments.

It's All Goodie In The Hoodie

Oh, what the heck...I'll do my part to spread the word on the attempt to save the Aquaman hoodie. Not exactly ready to commit to by one myself, but I'm thinking 'bout it.