Ultimate Comics Walk-Up Sales For Feb 18st, 2009

From Lee Newman of Ultimate Comics, the list of top-selling books at one of their locations in North Carolina for what was released on 2/18/09. Pull lists are not included, as this is meant to capture what is being bought off the shelf.

(Ed note: I know, this is real late. It's awful "Special Olympics" of me.)

1. Deadpool #8
2. Secret Warriors #2
3. Superman: World of New Krypton #1
4. Gotham Gazette: Batman Dead? #1
5. Black Panther #2
6. Batman Cacophony #3
7. Hulk: Broken Worlds #1
8. Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #3
9. War of Kings #1
10. New Avengers: The Reunion #1

An all Big 2 week because well it was huge.
1. Jon, the company manager, loves this book and it is infecting all of us and our customers as well.
2. That Jonathan Hickman, we love him, so do our customers.

The rest of the list all smacks of Event (but then again so are Secret Warriors and Deadpool).

Employment circumstances have left my head spinning on a daily basis, leaving the blog to be not as high a priority as I'd like it to be. So this list wound up sitting in my inbox MUCH longer than it should (my apologies, Lee). 

Lee is right: a lot of that list (and the list I imagine we'd see for this week and weeks upcoming) can be classified as "event" related. But I don't know if I'd say they are all tied to the "four letter word" version of an event. Obviously, it is all in the eye of the beholder, but I believe most of the titles listed there are great concepts and stories first, event marketing second. 

Kubert's New Avengers Cover

Who the heck is the guy in the wrestling one piece?

Want To See A Spoilery Cover?

Secret Invasion #8 isn't out in American stores until tomorrow, I believe, due to the holiday. But there's already a scan of the wrap-around cover for New Avengers #50 that is displayed in the last issue of SI.

Since Blogger can't do breaks, I'll just link to the Photobucket account it was found under. You click, you've spoiled yourself, not I.

LitG NA Spoiler? Not The Whole Line-Up!

Over on CBR, Rich Johnston shares a few bits about the current Avengers storylines that get spoiled by companies other than Marvel.

One of them is a cover image that is said to show the new line-up of New Avengers.

But it's woefully incomplete.

There's at least one other notable member that, IMO, would change the mechanics of the team entirely.

So, if someone spoiled it for you by blabbing about Rich's revelations on a message board (despite Rich's efforts to make people have to choose to see them in the confines of his column), rest easier knowing that there's still a few surprises left for you.

Speaking Of Continuity Problems

Much has been made of the first issue of Final Crisis not matching up with the end of Countdown to Final Crisis. But, on this Wednesday, one writer managed to write two issues that contradict each other on continuity.

Without getting into specifics (out of respect for those who haven't read the issues yet), New Avengers and Mighty Avengers contradict each other when it comes to the timeline of Hank Pym's being replaced with a Skrull. In a big way.

If anyone can give me an explanation as to how it can be explained away as to no longer be a contradiction, please hit me with a message at schwapponline at gmail dot com.

SCHWAPP!!! Comics Week 28: Secret Invasion #2

Updated: The Marvel Swipe Club Grows One Larger!

Over in Rich Johnston's Lying in the Gutters forum, a poster has pointed out a HORRIBLY OBVIOUS photo-reference swipe job. This is the sort of thing that Marvel sent out a memo to all artists telling them not to do, in order to cover their asses legally.

I'm not running the pictures here because the poster was bringing it to Rich's attention and his column doesn't run until Mondays. He should be the first place with the image.

Update: A Newsarama poster named MartianChild has given more examples of Mack's history of swipes (dating back to before his Marvel time):

I am a fan of David Mack's work, and I find him to be a very talented writer and illustrator. But as a longtime follower of his career, over the years I have noticed literally countless times that he has swiped, or copied, or traced, or "paid homage to" other very recognizable sources, without even attempting to disquise the fact that he was swiping, or copying, or tracing or "paying homage". I direct your attention to the following examples :

This Kabuki illustration ...



... was taken from an advertisement for a bridal boutique :



This Danger Girl illustration ...



was taken from a fashion magazine editorial featuring model Frankie Rayder :



This Daredevil sketch ...



was taken from, of all places, an advertisement for Durex Condoms :


And that's just 3 samples. There are many, many, many other examples. Much of his work seems to be directly based on (or traced from) some kind of photographic reference.

Marvel Comics is bringing back Jean Grey? Again?

So, Marvel is bringing back Jean Grey, again? They've killed her and resurrected her more times than one can without making it boring. It's always, "look, X-Men, I'm back," and then, "wow, we're shocked that Jean is back! Hooray!" It has gotten tired. That's why I think they're going to go a whole different way.

JEAN GREY IS BACK! AND SHE'S JOINED THE NEW AVENGERS! BUT SHE'S STILL DEAD!

That's right, True Believer! We're bringing you the story you never thought you'd see.

Preview pages of the team on the way to a battle:

Spider-Man: Hey, why do I always have to carry Jean's corpse?

Luke Cage: Who are you, again?

Spider-Man: My name's Pe...hey...stop that! Tell me why I have to carry her?!?

Iron Fist: Look, "Pee", you know why you have to carry her.

Spider-Man: Let's pretend I don't, because I love making you guys have to say it, again.

Whole Team (other than Wolverine): BECAUSE WE ALL REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WOLVERINE CARRIED HER!

Wolverine: Look, Urine...you're pushing it, bub.

Spider-Man: For crying out...my name's not pee, it's...dammit...stop trying to trick me. Besides, I thought "pushing it" was what we caught you doing after the last brouhaha you carried her to?

Wolverine: Jean and I had a special relationship. Last time we were together, she asked me to stick...

Dr. Strange: For the last time, Logan, she asked you to stick her with her claws to kill her. That has nothing to do with this. Keep it up and I'll tell Xavier if there is ever another Illuminati meeting!

Preview pages of the team relaxing in their hideout:

Spider-Man: I'm going on patrol. Where's Jean?

Ronin: I thought you had her?

Iron Fist: Oh, not this again...

Luke Cage: WOLVERINE!

Cut to the whole team at the door to Wolverine's room:

Jessica Jones: Oh...I'm gonna puke. Fuck this, Luke...I'm taking the baby and going to Stark Tower!

Echo: What, exactly, is honorable in that? And please...don't bother telling me what he says.

Wolverine: Jean and I had a special relationship. Last time we were together, she asked me to stick...

Dr. Strange: ...her with your claws!!! WITH YOUR CLAWS!!! Not with anything else. And she certainly didn't suggest you carve an opening so that you might "six hole" her. That's it. I'm calling Tony and seeing if he has anymore "let's banish someone to another world so they can stop screwing this one (literally)" shuttles left in his warehouse.

Edit: Yes, I know that the cover they showed was for Legacy and was just teased to get people talking. But we know they'll try to recycle her eventually, folks. ;)