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Post by sabongero on Apr 27, 2018 11:34:13 GMT -5
Spin-off series & the concept & reason behind it: Popular characters and popular teams spin-off other multiple titles just because there is so much more stories to tell about them at the same time, and of course, sales and it is a money-maker.
Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man (later shortened to The Spectacular Spider-Man) was a spin-off of The Amazing Spider-Man. According to Gerry Conway, the concept and origin of the series was:
Spectacular Spider-Man was in response to the fact that I had a deal to script several ongoing [series] for Marvel at the time. Stan [Lee] wanted me back on Spider-Man, in particular, but I didn't want to take Amazing Spider-Man from Len Wein, who was by this time the regular writer, so Stan saw it as an opportunity to launch a second Spider-Man title, which was something he'd wanted to do for a while. ... the full, original title was "Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man." The notion was we'd focus more on the supporting characters and Peter's social life, but before we could really develop that I left Marvel again, not long after that.
Another Spider-Man spin-off is Marvel Team-Up in which comics journalist Jonathan Miller summarized this spin-off title in an article:
The series was admittedly formulaic; either Spider-Man or that issue's guest-star would encounter a menace and then by sheer chance cross paths with another hero who would lend a hand. The title's guest-stars were an equal mix of A-list characters whose presence was likely to increase sales and fledgling heroes being given exposure in the hopes of launching them into stardom but who for the most part continued to languish in obscurity.
Web of Spider-Man (volume one) was a another Spider-Man spin-off that replaced the Marvel Team-Up series, and the third Spider-Man title on newsstands at the time.
The Punisher War Journal (first volume) spun-off from the then popular Punisher regular monthly series. It feature the vigilante, Frank Castle's exploits.
There are many other series that spun-off from a multitude of popular characters, or popular teams (Batman comes into mind particularly). Please share those spin-off titles/series and share comments on their concept and origin or reason behind the spin-off series. Thanks.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2018 12:02:56 GMT -5
Superman: Man of Steel was created to make the Superman titles (Superman. Action Comics. Adventures of Superman) a weekly experience. 48 issues a year vs 36.
Superman: Man of Tomorrow was created to have a Superman title out during skip weeks. 52 issues vs 48.
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 27, 2018 12:27:34 GMT -5
The Punisher: Armory. A series which lasted ten issues over a four year period devoted solely to Punisher's guns. No stories, no artwork beyond detailed drawings of Frank Castle's weapons, just gun porn. Reason behind it? I shudder to think.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Apr 27, 2018 12:39:16 GMT -5
I was around for X-Men Vol. 2, I assume spinning off the longer running Uncanny X-Men. And while I am no comic historian, with the initial issue having something (yeah yeah I have them all) like 9 different covers for #1, I would imagine the goal was making bank. Which I guess really is always the motive. But in this case, just the only I am sure of.
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Post by sabongero on Apr 27, 2018 12:40:03 GMT -5
The Punisher: Armory. A series which lasted ten issues over a four year period devoted solely to Punisher's guns. No stories, no artwork beyond detailed drawings of Frank Castle's weapons, just gun porn. Reason behind it? I shudder to think. Oh man, I'd want to read that, and other comic books in the same format, basically a whole issue dedicated to the weapons utilized by a superhero/superheroine, or an entire issue dedicated to the detailed illustrations of their base and its contents. |
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Post by sabongero on Apr 27, 2018 12:42:28 GMT -5
I was around for X-Men Vol. 2, I assume spinning off the longer running Uncanny X-Men. And while I am no comic historian, with the initial issue having something (yeah yeah I have them all) like 9 different covers for #1, I would imagine the goal was making bank. Which I guess really is always the motive. But in this case, just the only I am sure of. Wow! There was nine different cover issues for that issue!?!?! No wonder it sold eight million copies during the speculation boom era. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Apr 27, 2018 12:51:03 GMT -5
I was around for X-Men Vol. 2, I assume spinning off the longer running Uncanny X-Men. And while I am no comic historian, with the initial issue having something (yeah yeah I have them all) like 9 different covers for #1, I would imagine the goal was making bank. Which I guess really is always the motive. But in this case, just the only I am sure of. Wow! There was nine different cover issues for that issue!?!?! No wonder it sold eight million copies during the speculation book era. I maybe exaggerating. But each cover featured a certain portion of the final cover. And then that one cover was the complete panoramic picture that the other covers made up. Kind of like a puzzle. It mostly featured the various X-Men into two different teams and then a Magneto centric cover. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 27, 2018 16:11:09 GMT -5
The first ones that came to mind are the classics, all Superman spin-offs: Superboy (which began in 1949), Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen (1954) and Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane (1958), because apparently - judging by the longevity of all three series - there was a market for stories about an adolescent Superman (understandable, I suppose) as well as his annoying buddy and scheming girlfriend (a little less understandable, to me at least).
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Post by Jesse on Apr 27, 2018 16:26:11 GMT -5
There were tons of Batman spinoffs in the 90s. I don't think I could even list them all.
Wasn't Vertigo's Lucifer a Sandman spinoff?
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Post by rberman on Apr 27, 2018 16:30:02 GMT -5
All the Archie comics...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2018 16:46:14 GMT -5
Any character that debuted in an anthology title that received their own solo title.
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Post by Jesse on Apr 27, 2018 17:02:11 GMT -5
Deadpool could probably be considered a New Mutants/X-Force spinoff. Same as X-Factor and Generation X. In fact like I mentioned with Batman earlier I think their are probably too many spinoffs of the original Uncanny X-Men title to list.
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Post by badwolf on Apr 27, 2018 17:16:32 GMT -5
Wasn't Vertigo's Lucifer a Sandman spinoff? Yes, in fact the first was a miniseries called Sandman Presents: Lucifer. |
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Post by Batflunkie on Apr 27, 2018 17:32:26 GMT -5
The Punisher: Armory. A series which lasted ten issues over a four year period devoted solely to Punisher's guns. No stories, no artwork beyond detailed drawings of Frank Castle's weapons, just gun porn. Reason behind it? I shudder to think. Didn't Marvel do one for Iron Man? Think it was meant to ride off of the success of that. It's pretty good for both fans of the series as well as writers for the book, serving as kind of a blueprint I don't read Punisher except for Punisher 2099 and Space Punisher (which is stupidly amazing), but I did notice a page in Punisher Armory where Frank had a drokkin' cassette tape of Belgian New Beat (one of the many compilations, New Beat Take 2, to be more precise).  Always pegged him as a classic rock aficionado, so that was kind of surprising to me |
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 28, 2018 0:04:07 GMT -5
The Punisher: Armory. A series which lasted ten issues over a four year period devoted solely to Punisher's guns. No stories, no artwork beyond detailed drawings of Frank Castle's weapons, just gun porn. Reason behind it? I shudder to think. They actually did that, for a time, in the Executioner novels that spawned The Punisher. In the 80s, in the various related titles (Able Team, Phoenix Force, Mack Bolan: The Executioner) they would have an end page with different firearms. They also published at least two War Books, filled with guns and equipment, including Bolan's War Wagon. Thing is, the Punisher is filled with so much outlandish nonsense that it was laughable. I saw one Punisher comic where they had a laser aimpoint sight on a grenade launcher. A grenade launcher fires its projectile in an arc, not a straight, ballistic line. There is no rifling. They would also have them on shotguns, which is virtually useless. With a shotgun, you have an effective range of about 50 yards or less and a laser sight isn't going to improve aiming. Shotguns are for close range, where you just need to point the barrel in the right direction. They also didn't know how kevlar worked. Kevlar fibers, alone, won't necessarily stop bullets. "Bullet-proof" vests have heavy trauma plates that help stop rounds, depending on the kinetic energy. The higher the velocity and caliber, the less effective they are. Tim Truman's Scout series, as well as Airboy and the other 4 Winds-produced comics, at Eclipse, had plenty of gun lovin'; but, Truman knew better about the subject and they tended to be used properly and were drawn more accurately. Same with Mike Grell, in Jon Sable. The difference is that those guys had actually fired weapons, vs a good chunk of the people working on the Punisher, over the years. |
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