lipman@decwrl.UUCP (02/23/84)
Message-Id: <8402231403.AA28507@decwrl.ARPA> Date: Thursday, 23 Feb 1984 06:06:44-PST From: akov68::boyajian To: net.comics Subject: "Moriarty's" Latest Title Review I seem to be among the elite few who think that DC's STAR TREK is awful. Or that LOVE AND ROCKETS is good, but not spectacular. I'd also take A DISTANT SOIL out of the "Really Good" category and put it in the "Good" one, though I would agree with your comment about it. I feel the same comment would also apply to SUNRUNNERS and THE ALIEN LEGION. I for one *like* THE NEW MUTANTS. Re: ROM: I've been avoiding this book for a long time, until recently. It fascinates me to see what is going on in it regarding public revelation of the Dire Wraith menace. I can't figure out why Marvel is doing this. Look at it this way: (1) If the Avengers and other superhero groups (and individuals) get caught up in the Wraithwar, then the Wraiths will be expunged quickly and the ROM series will end (or at least, the character will go off to fight Wraiths elsewhere in the universe). (2) If all of Earth's superheroes aren't enough to expunge the Wraiths quickly, it will be necessary to have all of the heroes fighting Wraiths *all* of the time, or at least all of the time that they aren't fighting some other meanace [I'll let the typo stand]. This could get quite out of hand. As I said, I can't figure out what Marvel is up to. As for the two separate TT and LEGION series, it's easy. What DC wants to do is to make Baxter series out of them because they are so popular in the fan market, but because they are also popular as newstand titles, DC decided to do two separate series of each, a Mando-paper book sold through both comic shops and newstands, and a Baxter-paper book sold only through comic shops. It is in- tended that the Mando series will be consist of reprints (a year out of synch) of the Baxter series. The analogy that was brought up in the fan press was that it was akin to a hardcover book being reprinted a year later as a paperback book, so they are often referred to as such. Since we would have to wait a year to get to that point where they can start reprinting, both series will contain original material for that first year, then only the Baxter series will be original. To put it in numbers, let's say that the the first issue of the Baxter TEEN TITANS (TTB) comes out the same month as the Mando TEEN TITANS (TTM) #46 (I'm not sure of the exact number, but the illustration still holds). We then have two series of TITANS running concurrently, one (TTB) set a year ahead (real time) of the other (TTM). Now, a year later, TTB #13 hits the stands, at the same time as TTM #58. TTM #58 will be a reprint of TTB #1, #59 of #2, etc. I suppose that you can think of it as getting TEEN TITANS #58 a year early. The only problem I can see with this is that for the year that the two books feature original material, surprises cannot be planned for the Mando series, since the readers of the Baxter series will already know about it. For instance, if it was decided that in issue #54, one of the Titans would be killed and Raven never showed up in the Baxter series, we'd know that she was the one who bought the farm long before the event. On the other hand, if she never showed up in the Baxter series, we might be kept in suspense about what happens to her. I hope that this has been clear. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard) UUCP: (decvax!decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian) ARPA: (decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian@Shasta)
hutch@shark.UUCP (02/24/84)
In reply to Jerry Boyajian - | Re: ROM: I've been avoiding this book for a long time, until recently. | It fascinates me to see what is going on in it regarding public J revelation of the Dire Wraith menace. I can't figure out why Marvel is A doing this. Look at it this way: Y E (1) If the Avengers and other superhero groups (and individuals) get M caught up in the Wraithwar, then the Wraiths will be expunged quickly B and the ROM series will end (or at least, the character will go off to E fight Wraiths elsewhere in the universe). E | (2) If all of Earth's superheroes aren't enough to expunge the Wraiths | quickly, it will be necessary to have all of the heroes fighting | Wraiths *all* of the time, or at least all of the time that they aren't | fighting some other meanace [I'll let the typo stand]. This could get | quite out of hand. | | As I said, I can't figure out what Marvel is up to. According to the advance info obtained by my comics pushers: Marvel has been planning a "kiddie" line for several years now, and the tie-in with the GI Joe toys and the ROM toys is just part of this. After Secretive Bores gets over with, the Wraithwar is going to become their unifying concept for the Kiddie line. They plan to involve ALL their major heroes and groups in this, but don't expect a quick and easy solution. There is NO chance that the underground menace of the Wraiths will be "expunged quickly" since, as has been demonstrated recently in ROM, the Wraiths are far more powerful and horrible than the low-level Orcs we have seen so far. (They are degenerate Skrulls, by the way.) It is the equivalent of the Earth being actually invaded by the Skrulls or the Kree, en masse. None of this silly one or two person spy mission nonsense, this is a full scale invasion by a galactic empire. Therefore, they can drag it out until it gets even more sickening and hackneyed than the eternally overblown "Mutant Menace!" nonsense. Incidentally, the Wraithwars may be tied into the threatened but not finalized SEPARATE series of titles deliberately aimed at the kiddies. Who knows what THAT would do to continuity. Cynically in the extreme, Hutch
ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (Mike Ciaraldi) (02/26/84)
~sWraithwar Concernign Marvel kiddie books-- The ROM and Micronaut toys have been discontinued for many years (at least 2 or 3). At least GI Joe is still around. How to you get tieins to things that don't exist? Mike Ciaraldi ciaraldi@rochester
hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison) (02/29/84)
<wham! POW! KerPLOP> | Concerning Marvel kiddie books-- | The ROM and Micronaut toys have been discontinued for many years (at | least 2 or 3). At least GI Joe is still around. How to you get tieins | to things that don't exist? | | Mike Ciaraldi | ciaraldi@rochester Gee, Mike, I dunno about that. Last time I looked (which was last month when I went to see about a Vectrex) the Toys R Us in Tigard Orygun had PLENTY of Rom toys and still had a few of the Micronauts. Just because a toy is currently not being marketed doesn't stop a major push from being restarted. Usually it isn't worth it, but when you get a tie-in with major free advertising . . . Anyway, I only report what I am told, and in this case the information came from one of the several rags Marvel sends to its victims -er, I think I meant "distributors". And "Dealers". Hutch