Superior Foes of Spiderman is one of the best books out there. I literally "LOL" at least once each issue. And by "literally" I mean, you know ... "literally," and not the Rob Lowe/Parks N Rec type of "literally."
I'm with you there. I never thought I'd be invested in a background minor villain like Boomerang, but he's hilarious. This is my number one title right now.
I really like Nova, but it seems like it's not moving in any sort of direction you can tell, just kind of let's do this, now let's do this, hey remember that one thing lets talk about that but just for a few minutes and then we'll talk about this......oh and I think I'm going to join the New Warriors.
I really like Nova, but it seems like it's not moving in any sort of direction you can tell, just kind of let's do this, now let's do this, hey remember that one thing lets talk about that but just for a few minutes and then we'll talk about this......oh and I think I'm going to join the New Warriors.
Agreed. "NuNova" is cute, but it sure isn't anywhere near as good at the DnA Nova title that Marvel axed back in 2010. By-the-way... STILL waiting for that explanation about what happened to Richard Rider. However, I am enjoying the Paco Medina artwork.
I'm not saying "Superior Foes" is as good as Hawkeye but it has the same sort of vibe. I wish it was getting the same sort of support from readers.
Heads up to @Mr_Cosmic and those that dig Hawk-Guy, Superior Foes, and even some FF, you may want to check out the new She-Hulk series. It kicked off with a great one & done story about lifestyle instead of superheroey stuff, and the art is very reminiscent of Allred - and while that is not a "plus" for me, but not a distraction either, and it served the story style very well.
Don't know how long it will sustain itself, but I do welcome the jade giant lawyer back to her own series.
Same. Totally enjoying She-Hulk thus far. Loved her and Hellcat going out for a night on the town and getting blitzed.
Only thing I'm not overly crazy about is some of the artwork, in particular the way they draw her from the perspective of looking at her head-on in the face.
Only thing I'm not overly crazy about is some of the artwork, in particular the way they draw her from the perspective of looking at her head-on in the face.
Here's what I'm talking about. Looks like she's got a green volleyball for a head.
She kinda reminds me of the actress that plays Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, who I always thought had a very round head. But older, more glamorous, and, well, you know ... greener.
Yeah, again, the art style is not the strong point of this book, but it strikes a whimsical note which suits the story tellig style rather well. I'm preferring the cover art over the interior, but it doesn't distract me.
Javier Pulido is freaking awesome. I like his studio mate Marcos Martin’s work better, but IMO Pulido is one of Marvel’s best artists, and considering all the talent working for them now, that’s saying something. Yeah, the roundish head looks a little odd in and of itself, but it works just fine with the overall design. Pulido is the reason I picked up the first issue, and is the main reason I'll continue with the series. (I haven't read the second issue yet, but I thought the writing in the first issue was good too.)
Only thing I'm not overly crazy about is some of the artwork, in particular the way they draw her from the perspective of looking at her head-on in the face.
Here's what I'm talking about. Looks like she's got a green volleyball for a head.
She kinda reminds me of the actress that plays Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, who I always thought had a very round head. But older, more glamorous, and, well, you know ... greener.
I'm sorry for not being sorry, but I find nothing atractive about that art. I liked his work in Hawkguy but the She-Hulk stuff I can't get into at all.
I loved this sequence. Wonderful storytelling that needs no words.
I agree. I think the storytelling in general has been excellent. I love seeing the Jennifer Walters side of the character, with all her human frailties/frustrations/weaknesses/failures on display for the reader to see. And not to mention the humor, which has been first rate. Her courtroom battle with Stark Enterprises (or whatever it's called now) team of attorneys will be hard to top in coming issues, but I'm looking forward to them giving it the old college try.
I loved this sequence. Wonderful storytelling that needs no words.
I agree. What's going on in the background is telling part of the story too. It's nice. The storytelling is great.
On the art, it is wonky for sure, and I was a fan of Byrne's original run on Sensational She Hulk. What I thought was so great about Byrne (and to a slightly lesser degree, Slott's) was it was witty AND Jennifer was rendered in a very attractive manner.
This new creative team is winning me strictly on storytelling. I'm good with that, but I don't think it will attract as many readers as the previous incarnations. I admit that I honestly don't see this run going 60 issues if they stick with this art. I'll enjoy it while it lasts. I'm still 4 issues away from completing my Sensational run... I can get my pretty Shulkie from the back bins.
On the art, it is wonky for sure, and I was a fan of Byrne's original run on Sensational She Hulk. What I thought was so great about Byrne (and to a slightly lesser degree, Slott's) was it was witty AND Jennifer was rendered in a very attractive manner.
This new creative team is winning me strictly on storytelling. I'm good with that, but I don't think it will attract as many readers as the previous incarnations. I admit that I honestly don't see this run going 60 issues if they stick with this art. I'll enjoy it while it lasts. I'm still 4 issues away from completing my Sensational run... I can get my pretty Shulkie from the back bins.
The art is not wonky in my opinion. And it sounds like you don’t think the art is wonky either—only one very specific aspect of the art: You don’t like the way Pulido is drawing She-Hulk’s face. Or is there anything else about the art you think is wonky?
I would agree that She-Hulk is not drawn to look like a bulked up supermodel, but I don't need all my superheroes to look like they just stepped off a Hollywood movie set. I like Byrne’s version, sure, but I like Pulido’s version too.
The art is not wonky in my opinion. And it sounds like you don’t think the art is wonky either—only one very specific aspect of the art: You don’t like the way Pulido is drawing She-Hulk’s face. Or is there anything else about the art you think is wonky?
I would agree that She-Hulk is not drawn to look like a bulked up supermodel, but I don't need all my superheroes to look like they just stepped off a Hollywood movie set. I like Byrne’s version, sure, but I like Pulido’s version too.
By wonky I mean "askew" or "unattractive". I am not in the camp that loves this style, but I think Pulido's work is strikes the perfect tone of whimsey and it is sufficiently done.
However, throughout the history of She Hulk, she has ALWAYS been rendered in an "attractive" or "alluring" manner. It is a formula that I have grown accustomed to and prefer. Take these for instance:
(maybe this was just a weak excuse to post a bunch of hot She-Hulk pix?)
I don't think it's an oversight that Javier Pulido's version of Shulkie isn't featured on the covers (including variants)
Even Allred does a more appealing rendition of the Jade Lawyer.
But all that doesn't matter with this title, as I've said before, the writing has won me over. I just hope to see more appealing visuals sometime in the future other than the covers. That's all. I'm all in, for now. Otherwise, there may be more than one reason this "cancellation" thread has become a She Hulk thread(?).
I'll take Pulido over Greg Horn every day of the week, and twice on Sundays.
...and the other 6 artists featured?
I'm probably not going to be able to give you an answer you'll find satisfactory, but I'll try.
I'll get the easy part out of the way first. Will Conrad (the Starfox panel) is a decent artist, but he’s not in Pulido’s league. Mike Deodato Jr. (the super-modely wallpaper) is a very good artist, especially if you're looking for a pin-up, but I'll take Pulido over Deodato for a full issue of a comic every time.
John Buscema (top right) is perhaps the greatest illustrative comic book artist of all time. He literally drew the book on “How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.” I love his work. His version of the Hulk is my favorite (except for maybe Lee Weeks’), and his two covers and one issue of breakdowns for Savage She-Hulk were very good (though the Chic Stone finishes weren’t what they could have been). Very few comic book artists of any era can hold a pencil to his work. Of course, he’s dead. And even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be a good choice for this particular series.
Now it gets complicated. The remaining four artists—John Byrne, Kevin Nowlan, John Romita Jr., and Mike Allred—are all guys I have done books on/with. Obviously, I like their work a great deal. I think any one of them could have done a good job with this series (Kevin, in particular, would be a great choice if he wasn’t so slow an artist). All of these guys are super-talented, and I believe Pulido is in that same class.
Each of these guys have their strengths and weaknesses, and it really comes down to which artist is better suited for a particular job rather than which artist is better than the other. And I think Pulido is as well suited for She-Hulk as anyone.
I can certainly see Arya Stark in Javier Pulido's She-Hulk but I still like what he's doing. It isn't too far off from what Juan Bobillo did and that's a good thing.
I am digging this book, in spite of my taste for Pulido's art. Having said that, I think it's perfect for getting more girls/women into comics. Pulido is going to be far more palatable than Horn's interpretation.
JRjr and Byrne would have been fine, but nothing new. Allred, I kind of liked, but Pulido's doing something special, even if I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I'll stick with whimsical. It perfectly suits the story telling.
Admittedly, I haven't read all of the Slott / Bobillo run, Chris Eberle mentioned it was "must read" during a recent FF Spotlight episode, so I'm considering getting those trades.
Each of these guys have their strengths and weaknesses, and it really comes down to which artist is better suited for a particular job rather than which artist is better than the other. And I think Pulido is as well suited for She-Hulk as anyone.
Agreed.
Gotta say, though, Allred's version is my very favorite.
EXACTLY! Zero explanation how Starlord (and Thanos) escaped the Cancerverse (or if there has been, I missed it). If Starlord is back, then Nova should be too. And if not, then there is a story to be told that I would like to read.
Obviously off topic as this thread has become with the She-hulk chatter... Byrne's She-Hulk is one of my all time Favs, but I have enjoyed pretty much every attempt to "re-boot" Shulkie's title (especially Dan Slott's). This first issue was great. Loved the inclusion of Hellcat. If the upcoming issues are half as good, this is going to be an awesome run. Hope it lasts longer than 12 issues.
Yeah, I'm not sure why this thread became so much about the new She-Hulk series, which just launched and isn't in danger of being cancelled at least for a while yet.
To answer the question anyway, I much prefer the classical/usual interpretations of Jennifer Walters as a big bodacious babe. Byrne's version is my favorite, but even Greg Horn (who I guess isn't very well regarded?) draws a great looking Shulkie as far as I'm concerned.
I do think Pulido's art is pretty nice and I generally like it... but I'm not a huge fan of what he's doing in this series. It's definitely been okay to look at for a few issues now, but I don't think I'm going to continue much further. I'm a huge fan of Charles Soule, especially his Swamp Thing run (which is easily the best book DC is putting out imo), but the "story" here isn't doing much for me either. It's like Marvel told them "Make it a boring hipster book." Hipster isn't the best term, but you guys probably know what I mean. I can see where people would say that maybe this--the art specifically--would attract female readers. I think that's wishful thinking, and I think that making the book more exciting would be a good move for everyone. It feels like it's trying to be quirky just for the sake of being quirky, and the behavior of characters like the woman who brings her pet to a job interview and Hellcat, who seems like a caricature, just isn't interesting enough imo. It's like Soule, or the editors, are trying to force quirkiness too hard. And then when they needed some obligatory action, they have She-Hulk proactively breaking an' entering (which seems out of character) to dispose of some faceless AIM drones. Dull.
On a happier note, I read the Superior Foes of Spider-Man vol. 1 TPB last night all in one sitting. Great stuff! I really like how the comedic elements were strung together in direct conjunction with an overall plot that will continue past this first volume. This is wonderful stuff, nearly as good as Hawkeye.
Interesting that the writer of She Hulk, Charles Soule brings his real-life legal experience to Jen Walters and her courtroom adventures since he is still employed as an attorney in Brooklyn. This is shaping up to be a great new series that I can get excited about.
_________
On the topic of cancellations, I've often wondered what the paradigm is. A new title, unless it's a Hawkeye or Superior SM, is prone to losing readers every month until it hits the cancellation point. Sort of a diminishing returns model. It could almost be compared to lifting a leaky bucket out of the water. While the bucket goes up, more and more water leaks out. And as the comic issues come out, fewer and fewer readers remain. What else can the publishers do but treat every property's new series as a possible limited series? The want to get that bucket back in the water.
With Marvel resetting series to come out with an new #1 issue simply because a new creative team comes on or the character moves to another city (?), it also gives frugal or bored readers a jumping off point. So in their drive to keep creating false "jumping on" points, they may be losing readers who want to jump off at the same stop/start.
It would seem that one way you could check how well a title is going to do long term would be to see what issues 4, 5, and 6 are doing instead of basing it off issues 1, 2, or 3. I regularly purchase via DCBS now and often I've already ordered the first three issues of a title before I've even had a chance to read the first issue. By that time, if I decide to drop the title, I've already bought the first 3 issues, so Diamond has my stats in the database. Not to mention speculators that often buy #1 issues like precious commodities. Even some hobbyists and collectors may tend to purchase multiple #1 copies and/or variant covers, so that probably throws off the numbers too.
Some titles are anomalies of course, like Hawkeye for instance, have actually had a few months where their book has seen increases over the previous month (although I think with all of the recent issue swap shenanigans, Team Hawkeye may be starting to lose some of the goodwill credit they had during the first 12 issues of that title).
Just some thoughts I've had on tracking titles. Again, big props to @Chuck_Melville for providing the sales info in this thread.
Comments
However, I am enjoying the Paco Medina artwork.
Don't know how long it will sustain itself, but I do welcome the jade giant lawyer back to her own series.
Only thing I'm not overly crazy about is some of the artwork, in particular the way they draw her from the perspective of looking at her head-on in the face.
She kinda reminds me of the actress that plays Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, who I always thought had a very round head. But older, more glamorous, and, well, you know ... greener.
On the art, it is wonky for sure, and I was a fan of Byrne's original run on Sensational She Hulk. What I thought was so great about Byrne (and to a slightly lesser degree, Slott's) was it was witty AND Jennifer was rendered in a very attractive manner.
This new creative team is winning me strictly on storytelling. I'm good with that, but I don't think it will attract as many readers as the previous incarnations. I admit that I honestly don't see this run going 60 issues if they stick with this art. I'll enjoy it while it lasts. I'm still 4 issues away from completing my Sensational run... I can get my pretty Shulkie from the back bins.
I would agree that She-Hulk is not drawn to look like a bulked up supermodel, but I don't need all my superheroes to look like they just stepped off a Hollywood movie set. I like Byrne’s version, sure, but I like Pulido’s version too.
However, throughout the history of She Hulk, she has ALWAYS been rendered in an "attractive" or "alluring" manner. It is a formula that I have grown accustomed to and prefer. Take these for instance:
(maybe this was just a weak excuse to post a bunch of hot She-Hulk pix?)
I don't think it's an oversight that Javier Pulido's version of Shulkie isn't featured on the covers (including variants)
Even Allred does a more appealing rendition of the Jade Lawyer.
But all that doesn't matter with this title, as I've said before, the writing has won me over. I just hope to see more appealing visuals sometime in the future other than the covers. That's all. I'm all in, for now. Otherwise, there may be more than one reason this "cancellation" thread has become a She Hulk thread(?).
I'll get the easy part out of the way first. Will Conrad (the Starfox panel) is a decent artist, but he’s not in Pulido’s league. Mike Deodato Jr. (the super-modely wallpaper) is a very good artist, especially if you're looking for a pin-up, but I'll take Pulido over Deodato for a full issue of a comic every time.
John Buscema (top right) is perhaps the greatest illustrative comic book artist of all time. He literally drew the book on “How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.” I love his work. His version of the Hulk is my favorite (except for maybe Lee Weeks’), and his two covers and one issue of breakdowns for Savage She-Hulk were very good (though the Chic Stone finishes weren’t what they could have been). Very few comic book artists of any era can hold a pencil to his work. Of course, he’s dead. And even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be a good choice for this particular series.
Now it gets complicated. The remaining four artists—John Byrne, Kevin Nowlan, John Romita Jr., and Mike Allred—are all guys I have done books on/with. Obviously, I like their work a great deal. I think any one of them could have done a good job with this series (Kevin, in particular, would be a great choice if he wasn’t so slow an artist). All of these guys are super-talented, and I believe Pulido is in that same class.
Each of these guys have their strengths and weaknesses, and it really comes down to which artist is better suited for a particular job rather than which artist is better than the other. And I think Pulido is as well suited for She-Hulk as anyone.
JRjr and Byrne would have been fine, but nothing new. Allred, I kind of liked, but Pulido's doing something special, even if I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I'll stick with whimsical. It perfectly suits the story telling.
Admittedly, I haven't read all of the Slott / Bobillo run, Chris Eberle mentioned it was "must read" during a recent FF Spotlight episode, so I'm considering getting those trades.
Gotta say, though, Allred's version is my very favorite.
If Starlord made he back, he should have too.
I'm a Byrne man, m'self when it comes to all things Shulkie. :)
PS>Yes, I'm yankin' yer chains with the Brian Pulido/Javier Pulido reference. :)
And if not, then there is a story to be told that I would like to read.
To answer the question anyway, I much prefer the classical/usual interpretations of Jennifer Walters as a big bodacious babe. Byrne's version is my favorite, but even Greg Horn (who I guess isn't very well regarded?) draws a great looking Shulkie as far as I'm concerned.
I do think Pulido's art is pretty nice and I generally like it... but I'm not a huge fan of what he's doing in this series. It's definitely been okay to look at for a few issues now, but I don't think I'm going to continue much further. I'm a huge fan of Charles Soule, especially his Swamp Thing run (which is easily the best book DC is putting out imo), but the "story" here isn't doing much for me either. It's like Marvel told them "Make it a boring hipster book." Hipster isn't the best term, but you guys probably know what I mean. I can see where people would say that maybe this--the art specifically--would attract female readers. I think that's wishful thinking, and I think that making the book more exciting would be a good move for everyone. It feels like it's trying to be quirky just for the sake of being quirky, and the behavior of characters like the woman who brings her pet to a job interview and Hellcat, who seems like a caricature, just isn't interesting enough imo. It's like Soule, or the editors, are trying to force quirkiness too hard. And then when they needed some obligatory action, they have She-Hulk proactively breaking an' entering (which seems out of character) to dispose of some faceless AIM drones. Dull.
On a happier note, I read the Superior Foes of Spider-Man vol. 1 TPB last night all in one sitting. Great stuff! I really like how the comedic elements were strung together in direct conjunction with an overall plot that will continue past this first volume. This is wonderful stuff, nearly as good as Hawkeye.
_________
On the topic of cancellations, I've often wondered what the paradigm is. A new title, unless it's a Hawkeye or Superior SM, is prone to losing readers every month until it hits the cancellation point. Sort of a diminishing returns model. It could almost be compared to lifting a leaky bucket out of the water. While the bucket goes up, more and more water leaks out. And as the comic issues come out, fewer and fewer readers remain. What else can the publishers do but treat every property's new series as a possible limited series? The want to get that bucket back in the water.
With Marvel resetting series to come out with an new #1 issue simply because a new creative team comes on or the character moves to another city (?), it also gives frugal or bored readers a jumping off point. So in their drive to keep creating false "jumping on" points, they may be losing readers who want to jump off at the same stop/start.
It would seem that one way you could check how well a title is going to do long term would be to see what issues 4, 5, and 6 are doing instead of basing it off issues 1, 2, or 3. I regularly purchase via DCBS now and often I've already ordered the first three issues of a title before I've even had a chance to read the first issue. By that time, if I decide to drop the title, I've already bought the first 3 issues, so Diamond has my stats in the database. Not to mention speculators that often buy #1 issues like precious commodities. Even some hobbyists and collectors may tend to purchase multiple #1 copies and/or variant covers, so that probably throws off the numbers too.
Some titles are anomalies of course, like Hawkeye for instance, have actually had a few months where their book has seen increases over the previous month (although I think with all of the recent issue swap shenanigans, Team Hawkeye may be starting to lose some of the goodwill credit they had during the first 12 issues of that title).
Just some thoughts I've had on tracking titles. Again, big props to @Chuck_Melville for providing the sales info in this thread.
Damn, that's some pretty art.