www.ComicBookPage.com

This is the one of the few times I've read all three of the comics you reviewed. And they're all awesome titles. [WebWiz20]

Warlord #11 - I'm buying this comic for the Mike Grell artwork and nostalgia sake. I was a Warlord fan when I was a kid. This new story has been good but it hasn't broken any new ground either. I'm kind of bummed that Mike Grell is going back to just writing after this story arc. I'll see where the story goes but if Grell doesn't come back on art I'm not sure I'll stay on board.

Nova #34 - Like Bob and John, I'm also liking this title but was suprised to see the same type of story device used here as was used in the Hulk #12 (May 2009). In the Hulk, it was the Defenders versus the Offenders, and they were sent off to different worlds to duke it out. Same sort of thing here in Nova with similar results that I won't discuss because it's spoilers. DnA obviously aren't reading the Hulk , but I don't blame them because they're busy in Marvel Cosmic. Did anyone else notice this?

Aladdin #1 - I wasn't sure about this new Radical comic but I'm on board after reading this first issue. The art is some of the best I've seen from Radical, which is already great. I got a good chunk of story and the end of this issue really left me wanting more. There wasn't a lot of story for a double-size issue, but I found myself really getting lost in the world of Shambala through the amazing artwork.

Ok so with warlord i would probably be one of the younger readers john talks about, i'm just 24, never really came across Warlord in my reading, first encounter was JL unlimited cartoon, even that to me was one of the weaker episodes (but still great), most interest i showed was in the DC direct figure released awhile ago, but even then i didn't buy it (and i buy alot of crap, not saying it was crap but saying it isn't like i don't buy stuff on a wim)

and these new Warlord books don't interest me at all, apart from the fact that John and bob talk about this book alot (can't think of a Mayo report that john doesn't say "i wish that book wasn't doing better")

I do love Mike Grells classic Green Arrow work but this just doesn't do anything for me in terms of character design, story idea (i always disliked things like savage land and hidden kingdoms in the tundra)

Now John mentions demand for the book being out there, now it could be the circles i run in. but i didn't hear anything for this book, i fact it seemed out of the blue when it did return, i remember my retailer wondering why they where doing it, Now my local is a big store, we'll move 15-20 copies of Jonah Hex or Rebels off the shelf, even moved about 10 copies of Dead Romeo thing a few months back, but he only orders 3 copies of Warlord a month and atleast one copy goes into back issues, now his got shelf space to do it, its not in the way of another book,

Now as i said it could just be my circle i run, if my LCS doesn't care for the book they won't try to sell it to me, at the same time though my LCS manager knows a spend alot of time listening to podcasts and on the boards and asks me for general reactions both my own and comic buying public at large to books, we never talked about warlord.

I'm worried at this point i'm sounding negative and i don't wish to be AT ALL, i've never read Warlord but i do respect Grells work. i'm just adding my perspective as a younger reader to this book. actully after all this talking i may pick up a copy of an issue today in my LCS just to get a better perspective after all i've talked the talk i should walk the walk

IanG wrote: Nova #34 - Like Bob and John, I'm also liking this title but was suprised to see the same type of story device used here as was used in the Hulk #12 (May 2009). In the Hulk, it was the Defenders versus the Offenders, and they were sent off to different worlds to duke it out. Same sort of thing here in Nova with similar results that I won't discuss because it's spoilers. DnA obviously aren't reading the Hulk , but I don't blame them because they're busy in Marvel Cosmic. Did anyone else notice this?

I hadn't really thought about this but you are right. It is the same send the two combatants someplace else to fight it out. But, in fairness, this sort of thing goes all the way back to Contest of Champions. So it isn't like it was original to the Hulk storyline either. It would have been nice if the editor had caught that similarity and encouraged the writers to do something a little more original.

deadpool wrote: Ok so with warlord i would probably be one of the younger readers john talks about, i'm just 24, never really came across Warlord in my reading, first encounter was JL unlimited cartoon, even that to me was one of the weaker episodes (but still great), most interest i showed was in the DC direct figure released awhile ago, but even then i didn't buy it (and i buy alot of crap, not saying it was crap but saying it isn't like i don't buy stuff on a wim)

I can understand why the property isn't something you are into. Aside from that Justice League Unlimited episode and this new series, DC hasn't done a great job selling the premise for the series over the past two decades. Frankly, while I enjoyed the JLU episode, it didn't really knock my socks off either.

deadpool wrote: and these new Warlord books don't interest me at all, apart from the fact that John and bob talk about this book alot (can't think of a Mayo report that john doesn't say "i wish that book wasn't doing better")

I do love Mike Grells classic Green Arrow work but this just doesn't do anything for me in terms of character design, story idea (i always disliked things like savage land and hidden kingdoms in the tundra)

Not all books are for all readers. It sounds like this isn't the sort of series you are into. (And there is nothing wrong with that.) I'm not all that much into the hidden kingdoms genre but I enjoy the blend of the modern man in the ancient world with touched of both magic and sci-fi super science.

deadpool wrote: Now John mentions demand for the book being out there, now it could be the circles i run in. but i didn't hear anything for this book, i fact it seemed out of the blue when it did return, i remember my retailer wondering why they where doing it, Now my local is a big store, we'll move 15-20 copies of Jonah Hex or Rebels off the shelf, even moved about 10 copies of Dead Romeo thing a few months back, but he only orders 3 copies of Warlord a month and atleast one copy goes into back issues, now his got shelf space to do it, its not in the way of another book,

The relaunch of Warlord was a little out of the blue. Particularly so soon after the previous out of the blue reboot of the property. I don't think there was any sort of spontaneous outcry for either relaunch but I think there is a audience from the original series that would pick this up if they were still into comics.

deadpool wrote: Now as i said it could just be my circle i run, if my LCS doesn't care for the book they won't try to sell it to me, at the same time though my LCS manager knows a spend alot of time listening to podcasts and on the boards and asks me for general reactions both my own and comic buying public at large to books, we never talked about warlord.

Your comment here reminds me why I enjoyed shopping at the Comic Gallery in Mira Mesa, CA back when I lived in San Diego. Every week when I'd go in to get my comics I'd spend some time talking to Joe. He had a knack for pointing out titles I wasn't getting that he though I'd enjoy. A lot of titles get added to my pull list this way. It seems like most stores are more like the one you shop at with the taste of the manager influencing what books get promoted and which don't.

And, please don't take that as any sort of knock on the store or manager. It isn't. People are going to promote the books they like. It is only natural. But what I liked about Joe's recommendations is they were books he thought *I* would like even if he might not. Being able to identify books that fit somebody else's taste is much harder to do.

As for not talking about Warlord and it not selling at that store, I'm not surprised. Odds are it is that way in virtually every store out there. Hence the low sales.

deadpool wrote: I'm worried at this point i'm sounding negative and i don't wish to be AT ALL, i've never read Warlord but i do respect Grells work. i'm just adding my perspective as a younger reader to this book. actully after all this talking i may pick up a copy of an issue today in my LCS just to get a better perspective after all i've talked the talk i should walk the walk

I appreciate hearing your perspective on this. DC could have done a much better job in how they launched the series. They could have generated some interest in the series but releasing a low cost initial trade of the early issues of the original series followed by releasing a few others trades in short order, say two months between volumes. After using that time to actively regenerate interest in the property via interviews and stories the like the current Captain Atom backup feature in Action Comics involving Skartaris, then they could have relaunched the series. The early stories in the first volume do a great job setting up the premise, characters and mythology of the Warlord and it is hard to recapture that initial feeling of discovery.

As it was, the relaunch was too quiet and too soon after the aborted reboot series. That gave the new series two hurdled to overcome. The first being the poor reception the Bruce Jones/Bart Sears series hand. The second hurdle was the abrupt stop of the series with the storyline aborted at the end of the penultimate issue with the final issue being a disconnected done in one story.

[WARNING-Minor spoilers of Warlord plot from original series]

I really appreciate all the attention this podcast has given the Warlord book. I was around for the Warlord's first appearance, but didn't see the book on the stands for a couple of years. When I did, I immediately began picking it up regularly and stuck with it for many years. It's one of the books I grew up with, and I remember feeling very invested in the stories, hoping for a resolution to the subplot about Morgan's son. I wouldn't have wanted to wait a quarter century for it, but having Joshua become an adult in essentially real time adds a dramatic element to the story that I don't think would have been possible had everything been wrapped up back in the 80s. Now I just hope the book continues to be published long enough for Grell to pull it off.

I think it's fair to say that in terms of marketing, for all the reasons Bob mentioned, it was a terrible relaunch. Many of today's fans don't know the character and the book, and the JLU appearance really didn't do it justice any more than the 4-issue Wonder Woman appearance a couple years ago did. The thing that served to excite me most about the series was the Mike Grell interview in Back Issue #25. Before the series was even planned, Mike gives a pretty good idea of where he wants to go with the story and I think it will explore new ground. I actually didn't even know the current series was actually being published until issue 3 was out.

I hate to see a series discontinued not because of its own merits, but because it wasn't well marketed. For those who are only interested in the book when Grell draws it, I understand he's going to continue to draw the issues he can, and has worked with artist Chad Hardin to keep the appearance of the book consistent even when Mike's not drawing it. I'm actually trying to get a grassroots campaign going to keep the book afloat, even though I don't have any experience doing that sort of thing. John and Bob have become fans of my facebook fan page "Let's Boost Sales of Mike Grell's Warlord" and I'd love to have any listeners of the show join as well. More importantly, if on the fence about this book, please give it a try for a little bit longer. I think it will be worth sticking with.

Nice job as always gents.

I personally tried the new Warlord series and it just didn't grab me enough to keep with it. As you know, much like yourselves, I don't drop books b/c of budgetary issues, this was purely about not finding it engaging enough to keep me coming back. It's hard to pinpoint why, but I think it's a little bit of not going home again. For me, the whole look and feel and cadence of the book just felt like I was taking a trip on the wayback machine. And I just found myself thinking, "I would much rather go back and re-read the Warlord stuff from back in the day." Which is what I'm planning on doing.

Nova continues to be a solid series, but to me it's a distant second to Dan and Andy's work on Guardians of the Galaxy. I agree with you that this particular issue wasn't a great jumping on point, nor did it have too much to do with Reign of Kings as far as I could gather.

Your review of Aladdin has piqued my curiosity, I may seek these issues out at a con sometime this year. For me, I've generally given up on Radical books (save for Remender's ASTOUNDINGLY good Last Days of American Crime) after being burned one too many times. This is definitely a publisher where we don't see eye to eye on, as I know you both generally adore what they put out, whereas for me I've tried most of it and have yet to come away with a story I felt was worth my hard earned dollars. Just a to each, his own kind of thing.

Wood wrote: For me, I've generally given up on Radical books (save for Remender's ASTOUNDINGLY good Last Days of American Crime) after being burned one too many times. This is definitely a publisher where we don't see eye to eye on, as I know you both generally adore what they put out, whereas for me I've tried most of it and have yet to come away with a story I felt was worth my hard earned dollars. Just a to each, his own kind of thing.

I think you're right & Radical just does not put out things that are your cup of tea. I think Remender's LDOAC is a book that could have been published by Vertigo with no changes, whereas most everything else Radical has done could not have been. I like the "it's not like everything else I am seeing" aspect on most Radical books (save Freedom Formula, which didn't click for me).

Same with Warlord, it is unlike anything else DC (or pretty much anyone else) is publishing, and it does have an old school feel to it, but that's why I like it.

Judging on sales of both Radical (in general) and Warlord, I'd say there are far more people out there in the "I just don't get it" camp than there are in the "I think these are cool" camp.

deadpool wrote: and these new Warlord books don't interest me at all, apart from the fact that John and bob talk about this book alot (can't think of a Mayo report that john doesn't say "i wish that book wasn't doing better")

I'm not sure it's an age thing (as I was pretty young when I first got into Warlord), but more of a subject matter thing. I always liked Sword & Sorcery stuff (Conan, Kull, Thongor, John Carter, etc) so Warlord was more in that general vein, maybe closer to John Carter than Conan.

That said, I can totally appreciate the fact that some people have no interest in this genre, which would seem to translate into the "I heard the concept and it totally does not interest me". You're either going to dig a premise or not. if something's general plot summary is completely uninteresting to you, no need to waste your time in trying it out.

BobBretall wrote: I'm not sure it's an age thing (as I was pretty young when I first got into Warlord), but more of a subject matter thing. I always liked Sword & Sorcery stuff (Conan, Kull, Thongor, John Carter, etc) so Warlord was more in that general vein, maybe closer to John Carter than Conan.

That said, I can totally appreciate the fact that some people have no interest in this genre, which would seem to translate into the "I heard the concept and it totally does not interest me". You're either going to dig a premise or not. if something's general plot summary is completely uninteresting to you, no need to waste your time in trying it out.

Oh yeah totally agree, genre is a BIG part of it. i do like certain Sword and Sorcery matirial but it has to really hit me, like horror its not a genre i delve into unless it speaks to me.

the reason i brought up age is more reference to my reading knowledge of the character, not really knowing who Warlord is yet knowing "Slingers" over at marvel despite not reading it because it was around when i started reading

Wood wrote:
Your review of Aladdin has piqued my curiosity, I may seek these issues out at a con sometime this year. For me, I've generally given up on Radical books (save for Remender's ASTOUNDINGLY good Last Days of American Crime) after being burned one too many times. This is definitely a publisher where we don't see eye to eye on, as I know you both generally adore what they put out, whereas for me I've tried most of it and have yet to come away with a story I felt was worth my hard earned dollars. Just a to each, his own kind of thing.

I got to admit i got burnt on Radical before they even started, the production company i work for (although in fairness it may not have been us but a company we are connected to at the time) got a notice from them that was an essay basically talking about how Comics can help your film get turned around alot quicker. (it even talked about $1 issues to boost sales to show to studios!)

Now in all fairness i have heard nothing but wonderful things about Radical books and will hold nothing against the books itself. and by the sound of it i'm the the one really losing by not reading these books but i can't get that thought out of the back of my mind

deadpool wrote: I got to admit i got burnt on Radical before they even started, the production company i work for (although in fairness it may not have been us but a company we are connected to at the time) got a notice from them that was an essay basically talking about how Comics can help your film get turned around alot quicker. (it even talked about $1 issues to boost sales to show to studios!)

Not the first time I have heard things like this (e.g. Radical is doing comics to get them made into films). This is something leveled against Boom! sometimes also.

For the most part, I don't care. If it's a good comic, it's a good comic. In fact, I LIKE seeing good comics turned into films. I don't mind seeing a good film idea turned into a good comic that in turn helps the film actually get made. It's all good if I get to see an entertaining story/art combination.

Wood wrote:For me, I've generally given up on Radical books (save for Remender's ASTOUNDINGLY good Last Days of American Crime) after being burned one too many times. This is definitely a publisher where we don't see eye to eye on, as I know you both generally adore what they put out, whereas for me I've tried most of it and have yet to come away with a story I felt was worth my hard earned dollars. Just a to each, his own kind of thing.

Jason, I'm surprised to hear that you've been "burned one too many times" by Radical. How could you look at at a title like Hotwire and put that back down on the shelf? The Steve Pugh artwork in that book was a site to behold. Also City of Dust was a heck of a lot of fun to read. It was sci-fi with some traditional horror monsters mixed in. I admit not all their titles are for me either like FVZA and Incarnate. I could see if the painted style of comic book artwork doesn't work for you. That painted artwork is the house style for Radical. I have to thank Bob and John for turning me on to Radical. It's good stuff.

On the general Warlord topic, I'm entertained enough by it but I could use a little more storytelling, as in words on the page. I've found the issues to be a bit sparse with actual text. I think that can be a barrier to new readers. That being said it still a four out of five for me on Bob and John's ratings scale. I'll continue to support as long as it keeps my interest. I have yet to see one iota of marketing or advertising for Warlord. It would help if Mike Grell would do an interview or two. Hey, why not an interview on the Monthly Previews Spotlight Interviews episode, just saying.

IanG wrote: On the general Warlord topic, I'm entertained enough by it but I could use a little more storytelling, as in words on the page. I've found the issues to be a bit sparse with actual text. I think that can be a barrier to new readers.

I think this is a very fair (and accurate) criticism of Grell's style on Warlord.

May change when they bring in another artist.

IanG wrote:

Wood wrote:For me, I've generally given up on Radical books (save for Remender's ASTOUNDINGLY good Last Days of American Crime) after being burned one too many times. This is definitely a publisher where we don't see eye to eye on, as I know you both generally adore what they put out, whereas for me I've tried most of it and have yet to come away with a story I felt was worth my hard earned dollars. Just a to each, his own kind of thing.

Jason, I'm surprised to hear that you've been "burned one too many times" by Radical. How could you look at at a title like Hotwire and put that back down on the shelf? The Steve Pugh artwork in that book was a site to behold. Also City of Dust was a heck of a lot of fun to read. It was sci-fi with some traditional horror monsters mixed in. I admit not all their titles are for me either like FVZA and Incarnate. I could see if the painted style of comic book artwork doesn't work for you. That painted artwork is the house style for Radical. I have to thank Bob and John for turning me on to Radical. It's good stuff.

On the general Warlord topic, I'm entertained enough by it but I could use a little more storytelling, as in words on the page. I've found the issues to be a bit sparse with actual text. I think that can be a barrier to new readers. That being said it still a four out of five for me on Bob and John's ratings scale. I'll continue to support as long as it keeps my interest. I have yet to see one iota of marketing or advertising for Warlord. It would help if Mike Grell would do an interview or two. Hey, why not an interview on the Monthly Previews Spotlight Interviews episode, just saying.

Fair question. It started with their launch. Speaking again only for my personal tastes, their first two series (Hercules and Caliber) should have been home runs for me. Arthurian Legend and Greek mythology are two of my favorite aspects of fiction. But, again speaking only for me, they TOTALLY flubbed. I disliked them both, quite a bit.

I also tried Freedom Formula and FVZA (ordered the first issues) and they too failed to grab me. So I figure 0-for-4 was just about enough to move on.

Now to be fair they got me back b/c of Remender and Tocchini. That said, Last Days of American Crime is decidedly different (in appearance and tone) than anything else I've ready from Radical, so that still keeps me skeptical about trying other stuff from them.

Wood, seems like the "what makes the average Radical book different" that I personally love so much is something that you personally hate. I'm suspecting you should steer clear of Radical in general.

Since the only thing you have liked is Remender's LDOAC, and that is pretty much a Vertigo book (atypical for Radical), you may want to stay away from anything they do that someone does not tell you "Gee, that looked very much like it could have been published by Vertigo".