Marvel.1 or Marvel.What?

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 8:39 pm

All in all I'd have to say this .1 inititive is pretty confusing. Of the three .1 issues I've read, all three seem to be doing something different.

Iron Man seemed to try the hardest to explain Iron Man's history, but was too vauge, and probably not very helpful for those unfamiliar with the character.

Wolverine, was probably my favorite of the three, but really for the most part felt more like a one shot. You do get a good feel for who Wolverine is, and how others view him. I've read both the issue before and after this .1, and really you could have skiped the .1 and not missed anything in the story. A good issue, but more of a done-in-one than part of an ongoing story.

ASM was also a good issue, but as others have said this was more of an intro for the new Venom series. To me this felt more like a Venom #1 or #0. It made me want to check out Venom #1, but really had little to do with Spidey.

For both Wolverine and ASM it seems that the issues after the .1 continue the story line from the issue before .1. If someone wants to start the new Wolverine series I would recomend starting at #1 rather than #5.1. #6 really reads better if you've been following the story so far. ASM 655 deals heavily with issues from the series before the .1 issue. A new reader would be better off starting at the first issue of Big Time than #655.

Of the three .1 issues I've read I've enjoyed two of them, and those were both for series I was already reading and enjoying. I think these .1 issues are more confusing than they are helpful. I have a feeling that the .1 program won't last very long.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 2:45 pm

Got the Uncanny X-Force 5.1 for a buck & gave it a read.

I think it may have been (so far) the most effective Point 1 in giving a reader a true flavor of the on-going series, perhaps someone who's reading the series can confirm this. It seemed like it was.

I didn't really care for that flavor, but that's a personal preference, and it's confirmed for me that I don't need to be reading the series, but I surmise that someone who reads & likes this would be well-served by getting the series.

Post by **JohnMayo** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:20 pm

BobBretall wrote: I think it may have been (so far) the most effective Point 1 in giving a reader a true flavor of the on-going series, perhaps someone who's reading the series can confirm this. It seemed like it was.

I must be misreading or misunderstanding your post, Bob. If you aren't reading the series, how can you possibly judge if the #5.1 issue effectively reflects the flavor of the series?

Perry · Post by **Perry** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:52 pm

I assumed that the creative team was the same as the on-going and there-by a gauge on how the look and tone is reflective of both. But if that is not the case, then yeah ...

Post by **JohnMayo** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:01 pm

Remender did write the #5.1 issue and #6. My point wasn't if #5.1 was an accurate reflection of the series or not but how someone who hasn't read the series could judge that.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:56 pm

JohnMayo wrote:
BobBretall wrote: I think it may have been (so far) the most effective Point 1 in giving a reader a true flavor of the on-going series, perhaps someone who's reading the series can confirm this. It seemed like it was.
I must be misreading or misunderstanding your post, Bob. If you aren't reading the series, how can you possibly judge if the #5.1 issue effectively reflects the flavor of the series?

Read the bolded parts above. I was not making a judgment, I was making a supposition & asking a question, based on the fact that the story didn't read like a disjoint one-off (like Wolverine or Iron Man) and was written by the same writer.

And, whether it succeeds at it or not, the stated (by Marvel) intent of a "Point 1" is to give a reader the "flavor" of the series and serve as a jumping on or entry point to the series.

So, since you read both, did 5.1 capture the flavor of the series or not?

Post by **JohnMayo** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:41 pm

No offense was meant, Bob. I was just confused how you could even hazard a guess as to how well it reflected the series.

I read Uncanny X-Force #5.1 issue a few weeks and nearly 100 to 150 comics ago. I don't really recall it striking me as being a particularly great .1 issue (or a particularly bad one either). Frankly, a lot of the titles in some of the over-expanded franchises like the X-Men group of titles and the Batman group of titles tend to blur into one another.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 10:21 pm

JohnMayo wrote:No offense was meant, Bob. I was just confused how you could even hazard a guess as to how well it reflected the series.

If it's written by the same guy and is supposed to be a jumping on point, shouldn't it be reasonable to at least be able to "hazard a guess" that it reflects the series? I thought so.

Anyway, I didn't care for the issue, so I'm certainly not going to start picking up the series. I was making the assumption that someone who read and loved 5.1 might also enjoy the series. Maybe not.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 3:28 pm

Someone at Newsarama shares my misgivings about the "Point 1" initiative:
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/marvel- ... 10413.html

stardog · Post by **stardog** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 5:31 pm

BobBretall wrote:Someone at Newsarama shares my misgivings about the "Point 1" initiative:
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/marvel- ... 10413.html

I read this earlier...good article. I'm behind on Uncanny X-Force so I didn't realize that they sandwiched the .1 in between issues of a continuing story. Ridiculous. The Thor issue was a complete waste and it does scream cash grab having all of these .1's right before actual #1 issues. Not to mention that the .1's aren't a good jumping on point to begin with, which we've already discussed extensively.

spid · Post by **spid** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:39 am

I still think the idea was a good one, and I have enjoyed what I have read so far. My only gripe is that I am a direct subscriber of several books from Marvel, and I did not get the .1 issues through those subscriptions. I also do not get Annuals so it is not completely surprising, but it is kind of annoying.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:49 am

I thought the following cartoon was pretty funny on the subject. Warning! Uses strong language:

http://www.the-gutters.com/comic/98-aaron-felizmenio

Danscomics · Post by **Danscomics** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:20 pm

Bob, you said you wanted to see numbers so here you go.

http://www.indignantonline.com/2011/04/ ... ike-a-dud/

With the sole exception of Hulk, retailers ordered less copies of the “jump on” issue, than the regular series. If you figure people picking up the title would also pick up the “.1” introductory issue, this is a flaming disaster and there aren’t going to be a lot of these comics finding their way into the hands of new readers. It smacks of very low buy-in from the retail community.

Or, there’s the rose-colored glasses view that only new readers would pick up a “.1” issue and that the numbers of the regular title are higher because it reflects the belief that some of the new readers will pick up the next issue.

I will be interested to hear what John's analysis is when he does his report, but it doesn't look good. I would also like to hear how many of these are still sitting on the shelves like Bob asked in another thread to see if my results match (still having all of the ones I bought except 1 Amazing Spider-Man 654.1).

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 3:19 pm

from CBR ( http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=31903 )

On the topic of #1 issues, I wanted to ask about the results of the Point One initiative. Sales estimates have been hitting the web for March books, and a few people have noted that the Point One comics haven't registered numbers as strong as the regular monthly titles. Does that mean the initiative didn't do what it was meant to – namely drawing in some new readers to the regular titles?

Brevoort: I’ve seen some of the internet chatter about this over the last few days—and honestly, these people don’t really know what they’re talking about. First of all, as I always say, as I always say, the numbers that you see released online are not accurate. They never have been, and they never are. The Point One books have done terrifically for us. Many of them have performed at a level slightly higher than the monthly issues, and even the weakest of them sold at around the level of the monthly book. That’s a massive success! And so we’re going to be continuing with that program – we’ve got another flight of Point One issues ramping up for later on in this year. I also have to say that I think our creators and editors really did a bang-up job on them – the quality level throughout was very high.

I’ve seen some people complaining about the "Amazing Spider-Man" Point One issue being about Venom, and I have to say, I think they’re missing the point a little bit. These were designed to be self-contained, stand-alone stories that give readers a sense of where the series is right now, and which drop hints or portents for the future. That "Amazing" issue did just that, at least in my opinion. And given that we’d just done a Spidey launch a few months earlier in Big Time, it made sense to us to focus on Venom, and putting him back on the canvas in a major way.

Plus, there’s a lot of promotion that comic fans may not notice, from the shelf talkers and point of purchase units, in addition to the marketing we did with mainstream outlets—heck, the Point One initiative was mentioned on USAToday.Com just this week.

Finally, speaking to retailers at the recent Diamond summit, our SVP of Sales, David Gabriel, received numerous requests to make the Point Ones a regular thing, so overall our retailers seem to both have liked them and been able to sell them. (And a DC Exec I won't name congratulated C.B. Cebulski on the program at WonderCon, and said that they wished they had thought of it.)

did that come across as a bit defensive to anyone....?

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 3:57 pm

Given their 0.1 issues of Alpha Flight & Ghost Rider, it mystifies me why the ASM Point 1 was not Venom 0.1.....

And his "the numbers that you see released online are not accurate. They never have been, and they never are." rant, I know that John never purports them to be absolutely spot on captures of every unit moved. They are an indication.

If he's saying the Point 1's moved more copies than the regulars & the #s show the opposite, I'm guessing it's because they gave away more Point 1s.

The REAL success/failure will be if sales on the titles increase (without further gimmicks) over time or continue to drop following the normal trend.