Biffs’ Bit: Marvel Take Over Again

In August 2019, Marvel not only had the number one selling comic, they sold 49% of all comics sold in that month! In the past it has been a close contest with DC, but at the moment they are storming away.

The big success was Absolute Carnage, of which #1 sold nearly 250,000 copies! If you are gobsmacked, so am I! It looks nice, is a fast-paced read and much mayhem ensues. So it appears this is exactly what a large chunk of new readers want. While it’s good news for the industry on one hand, I still love a good solid story with finely crafted characters that I can connect with.

Coming close to Absolute Carnage, but with print runs of only 105,000 and 100,000 respectively were House of X and Power of X. For me, these provided a better read and were more intricate stories.

Marvel’s next big push is a new look at Marvel 2099. With seven one-shots and book-end Alpha and Omega issues – a lot for one month – it might be best to pick up on your favourite character’s one-shot and then the Alpha and Omega if you cannot collect the whole series. In the case of Absolute Carnage, despite huge sales on the main series, the additional miniseries and one-shots suffered from low sales. I don’t believe this was because they were intrinsically bad, just that perhaps too many issues flooded the market in a short time period.

What About DC Comics?

I am sure that DC will come back fighting, so I am excited for their response to the current sales figures. For the last three decades, DC have led the way with various innovations in their approach to comics. Annoyingly (for DC at least), Marvel have a tendency to imitate DC’s ideas and then fare much better with them than DC do themselves.

At least this month DC Comics have the launch of one of the most anticipated series for the past five years… The Legion of Super Heroes. I, and many others of a similar age, have very fond memories of the original series from Adventure Comics, and the milestone first appearance in issue #247. There have been many highs and a few lows since 1958, but I can almost feel the excitement at the return of this iconic title. I have reserved my flight ring and expect to meet up at the club house soon. Don’t forget to order or reserve your copy now!

Image Comics Tip

There is time and space for one more mention… this is for Undiscovered Country from Image Comics. The writers are Charles Soule and Scott Snyder, so I would pick this up without knowing any more. However, here is the story brief…

America has walled itself off from the world and become shrouded in mystery over a period of thirty years. A team from the outside are in need of help with a global pandemic and decide to breach the walls, only to find a strange and deadly place.

No change there then!

There is always something exciting and new, just not always enough spare cash to buy it all!

Mission for the Month:

A smile on the face for barely a moment can make others happy for hours. Life is brief, but wonderful. Enjoy every second.