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Post by mikelmidnight on Mar 10, 2024 19:08:46 GMT -5
Millennium sucked, by most standards you can imagine and the Manhunter spin-off comic was at its best for the first 4 issues, then started a slow downhill trajectory. I liked it, for the most part; but, I always had the feeling that the subsequent stories weren't as good as that initial battle, with Dumas, and Ostrander never really got it back to that level. Once Doug Rice departed, the art was less interesting, which was the main reason I was hanging on. Ostrander resorted to reviving Dumas, for the finale, then Shaw became cannon fodder for Eclipso; but, like most of the others, got better.
I rather liked Mark Shaw as the Privateer (despite the nonsensical eyepatch). I was not a fan of this era of Englehart's writing unfortunately. The only Millennium crossover I liked at all was the All-Star Squadron, since who the Manhunters were, was fairly obvious, and I had no problem tying together the two heroes to bear the name.
Also, as documented by Bob Beerbohm, retailers were actually hoarding Kirby's and Neal Adams' books, so DC thought they were selling less than they actually were. We can only imagine how comics history might have been different without this fraud.
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Post by kirby101 on Mar 10, 2024 19:10:56 GMT -5
It has been said that Marvel was in dire straights by the late 70s and that Star Wars saved the company.
As for DC, with all the cancelations, price changes, book try outs, it's obvious that they didn't have a stong idea of what to do, and where making decisions on the fly.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2024 19:16:11 GMT -5
It has been said that Marvel was in dire straights by the late 70s and that Star Wars saved the company. I was chatting with Jim Shooter a few months ago at a convention and he reaffirmed that was exactly the case. |
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Post by driver1980 on Mar 11, 2024 6:21:30 GMT -5
Any views on this comment: Millennium sucked, by most standards you can imagine and the Manhunter spin-off comic was at its best for the first 4 issues, then started a slow downhill trajectory. I liked it, for the most part; but, I always had the feeling that the subsequent stories weren't as good as that initial battle, with Dumas, and Ostrander never really got it back to that level. Once Doug Rice departed, the art was less interesting, which was the main reason I was hanging on. Ostrander resorted to reviving Dumas, for the finale, then Shaw became cannon fodder for Eclipso; but, like most of the others, got better. DC never really made a long term success out of Kirby's idea...which was done solely to fulfill his page commitment, in his contract, after they cancelled his other books. That was why you saw him do stories in First Issue Special and things like Justice, Inc; and The Losers. They kept cancelling his books, despite respectable sales, relative to DC's other titles. The problem was that DC felt that since they were paying him more than other people, his books should have proportionately greater sales. sucks? Nooooooo! I’ll challenge you to a Loser Leaves Town match for that comment!  |
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 11, 2024 7:13:57 GMT -5
They should place Millennium and War of the Gods in a steel cage match to the death.
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Post by driver1980 on Mar 11, 2024 7:26:53 GMT -5
They should place Millennium and War of the Gods in a steel cage match to the death. I enjoyed Millennium as a kid because, possibly for the first time, I felt a sense of dread for the DC heroes. The threat felt bleak. And it gave me one of my favourite Batman comics:  |
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 11, 2024 8:56:47 GMT -5
I felt a sense of dread for DC comics future.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 11, 2024 9:27:58 GMT -5
The problem with Millennium was that it promised all of these sleeper agents, who would destroy the heroes and most of them turned out to be minor characters, who were easily removed from their series; or, dupes acting under Manhunter influence. The sense of danger that was in the marketing fell flat, with the first issue. Then, things revolved around finding new characters, who had no history to give them weight and were pretty thinly sketched, within the crossover linking mini. Once they were assembled they were a pretty underwhelming bunch. John Ostrander made pretty good use of the issues he had to sacrifice, for the tie-ins; but most felt like they were interrupted for two months and nothing much came of it, afterward. Crisis changed things, Legend launched a bunch of great new titles; Millennium gave us the New Guardians, who quickly disappeared, even with their own series.
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Post by driver1980 on Mar 13, 2024 15:09:20 GMT -5
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Mar 13, 2024 15:42:47 GMT -5
One of the last "big" comic warehouses left standing, and the last in NYC from what I understand, is closing this summer. The Comics Journal has an article about Joseph Koch closing his comics warehouse and the end of his long strange comics odyssey. I vividly remember the Koch ads in comics for back issues and such from my early days of collecting, so the name has been ubiquitous through my own comic collecting journey.   -M |
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 13, 2024 19:11:05 GMT -5
I went there maybe 6 years ago. It was indeed a warehouse.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 13, 2024 20:47:53 GMT -5
One of the last "big" comic warehouses left standing, and the last in NYC from what I understand, is closing this summer. The Comics Journal has an article about Joseph Koch closing his comics warehouse and the end of his long strange comics odyssey. I vividly remember the Koch ads in comics for back issues and such from my early days of collecting, so the name has been ubiquitous through my own comic collecting journey. -M I got all kinds of cool stuff from him: my first Avon Phantom paperback novels (the first two in the series), a paperback edition of Robert Mayer's Superfolks, my Don Newton Black Terror original, a Gray Morrow Black Terror plate, from a portfolio he did, a Will Eisner piece, down for the National Cartoonists Society (not an original, but a print of a sketch), various comics. I used to get the big newsprint mail order catalog, with mixed listings. Great stuff. |
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Mar 13, 2024 21:01:04 GMT -5
Apparently Koch will continue to be a seller but his focus in on pop culture stuff not comics now, and most of the contents of that warehouse are going to be sold off, most to auction houses, over the next few months. The rent in Brooklyn made keeping the warehouse no longer viable.
-M
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 14, 2024 0:42:37 GMT -5
Apparently Koch will continue to be a seller but his focus in on pop culture stuff not comics now, and most of the contents of that warehouse are going to be sold off, most to auction houses, over the next few months. The rent in Brooklyn made keeping the warehouse no longer viable. -M That has been a 30 year trend for most retail rents. The 90s was the big Ground Zero, as that is what drove a lot of mom and pops out of business, before online alternatives to selling. It's just continued on, as they can't compete with online sellers, or chains, due to overhead. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 14, 2024 4:43:05 GMT -5
Apparently Koch will continue to be a seller but his focus in on pop culture stuff not comics now, and most of the contents of that warehouse are going to be sold off, most to auction houses, over the next few months. The rent in Brooklyn made keeping the warehouse no longer viable. -M That has been a 30 year trend for most retail rents. The 90s was the big Ground Zero, as that is what drove a lot of mom and pops out of business, before online alternatives to selling. It's just continued on, as they can't compete with online sellers, or chains, due to overhead. The time I went there , I passed a few floors where they had sweat shops. |
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