Comic Book Noise

making noise about comic books

The Curse Strikes Again!

Posted on | January 12, 2012 | 1 Comment

Apparently the Coward Curse (where comic books I like and have on my pull list die a relatively quick death) has struck again. The Source has announced the cancellation of six titles:

Blackhawks
Hawk and Dove
Men of War
Mister Terrifc
O.M.A.C.
Static Shock

The only one I didn’t have on my pull list was Static Shock because I have no confidence that DC would do the title right and, from all that I’ve heard, I was correct. I liked all of the titles I was getting (obviously) but I can also see why most of them were cancelled.

Blackhawks should have been DC’s version of GI Joe, which is what I thought. Instead of introducing the team and showing them as bad asses in their first storyline (or at least semi-competent), Blackhawks started out with a Team Under Siege story, but since no one knew or cared about the team members, it was pretty boring and confusing. When one of the characters is infected with a life-threatening illness but no one can even remember their name, then maybe you should have started with a different story.

Hawk and Dove had pretty artwork (remember that I am an unapologetic Rob Liefeld fan), but I didn’t like the story that Sterling Gates had put together. Of course, Rob will probably get the blame for the failure, but that’s just because haters like to hate.

Men of War was a good title, but it was one of the more expensive ones and that’s why a lot of people were going to pass on it. However, I think the book also suffered from not facing a familiar threat. There was a superbeing in the first issue that I thought was going to be someone we had at least heard of, but it wasn’t to be. If the story had passed on the superpowered aspects and was more like the backup features, then it might have reached a different audience.

Mister Terrific was just getting good. Like the other books, the first storyline was weakened by having an unfamiliar villain as the main bad guy. Once they started the Mister Terrific In Space story, it looked like the book was going to start getting good, but now it won’t get the chance to show what it could be.

O.M.A.C. was a really good title and most of the people who read it said they liked it. I guess people don’t like to try new things or they don’t like the fact that Dan Didio wrote it. I don’t get understand why this one isn’t selling better.

These are some of the reasons why I think the books didn’t sell better, but they were all pretty good books and if given time I think they would have found their audiences. However, don’t think the fact that half of the books cancelled had “diverse” lead characters wasn’t lost on me, but that’s a podcast topic for another day.

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Comic Book Noise 266: 999

Posted on | December 31, 2011 | No Comments

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Host Derek Coward presents his 999th podcast with a look at the comic books he has bought recently from Marvel, DC, Red 5 and IDW.

Category: Comic Book Noise

Comic Book Noise 265: Black Jack

Posted on | December 21, 2011 | 5 Comments

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Host Derek Coward talks about Pluto, Monster, Black Jack, and Lex Luthor’s baldheadedness. There is also a contest at the end of the show.

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More Nexus On The Way

Posted on | December 7, 2011 | No Comments

image

Mike Baron posted this on Facebook: “Mike Baron and Steve Rude are working on a new Nexus story.”

He gave no other details except that it will be published by Dark Horse.

In the comment section, he also revealed there’s a six issue Badger series in the works and he has posted some art on his fan page.

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Indie Comic Book Noise 320: Cobra Civil War

Posted on | November 27, 2011 | No Comments

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Host Derek Coward talks about the GI Joe titles which currently make up Cobra Civil War, The Bionic Man #4, Atomic Robo: The Ghost of Station X #3, Sergio Aragones Funnies #5, Peanuts #0, and the No Hero TPB.

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Comic Book Noise 264: Fantastic Four #600

Posted on | November 27, 2011 | No Comments

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Host Derek Coward talks about Fantastic Four #600, Superman #3, Justice League Dark #3, Aquaman #3, Blackhawks #3, All-Star Western #3, I Vampire #3, and Plastic Man: On The Lam TPB.

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Comic Book Noise 263: Justice League #3

Posted on | November 27, 2011 | No Comments

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Host Derek Coward talks about Grifter #3, Justice League #3, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #3, Red Hood and the Outlaws #3, DC Universe Presents #3, Wonder Woman #3, and Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #2.

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Comic Book Noise 262: Battle Scars #1

Posted on | November 20, 2011 | No Comments

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Host Derek Coward was pretty cranky when he recorded this episode, but he talked about Battle Scars #1 and a bunch of DC comic books. He also decided to drop one of the DC The New 52 titles.

cover to battle scars 1

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You Have Reached… Episode 9

Posted on | November 15, 2011 | No Comments

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Aaron, Bruce, David and Derek have returned with an extra-long episode featuring guest stars as well as discussions on iOS5, issues of DC’s The New 52, Cheating in games, preferred social networks, comic books, bad movies, the weather, music and more.

You Have Reached... Cover Art for Episode 9

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Comic Book Hero: The Greatest Cape Release Date Announced

Posted on | November 8, 2011 | No Comments

I’m not sure if I ever mentioned it on the podcast or not, but I am a HUGE fan of the Grey Dog Software games that are put out by Adam Ryland. (However, I should note that I haven’t played any of their other games.) The ones that he does are based around professional wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts. They are text based simulators that are extremely fun. Total Extreme Wrestling (which used to be Total Extreme Warfare) lets you be a professional wrestling promoter (a la Vince MacMahon), Wrestling Spirit lets you become a professional wrestler, and World of Mixed Martial Arts allows you to be the promoter of an MMA organization. Once again I have to stress that they are a lot of fun.

Earlier this year, Grey Dog Software announced that Adam Ryland is working on a game that lets you guide the career of a superhero called “Comic Book Hero: The Greatest Cape”. Here is the official announcement. I am looking forward to it, because even though the title contains a pun that makes me think it will be a little wacky (and we all know how I feel about wackiness), the Developer’s Journal makes it seem a lot more serious. If you like text based games where you have to actually think and not just mash buttons, then this may be a good game to check out.

They recently announced a release date of Monday, November 21, 2011. However, there will be a demo coming out Tuesday, November 14, 2011. This is definitely on my “to get” list.

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