ratcreature: RatCreature is buried in comics, with the text: There's no such thing as too many comics.  (comics)
RatCreature ([personal profile] ratcreature) wrote2007-06-20 10:50 pm

Marvel: newuniversal?

I haven't seen any new issues of newuniversal (written by Warren Ellis, art by Salvador Larroca) in the last couple of solicitations, which led me to believe that it may have been a miniseries rather than an ongoing one as I thought, but then I actually read the first six issues-- I had read the first issue when it came out, but it seemed very much a comic that is better read in larger chunks, so I waited-- and it turns out that it isn't, not even the end of a clear arc, #6 just stops with a "to be continued..." So does anyone know what's up with the series? Is it on hiatus? Cancelled?

It would kind of suck if the series stopped prematurely. While it isn't exactly an awesome comic, it's not awful either, and I'm quite enjoying it so far. The story isn't original (not even in the "new twist on old idea" way), which isn't surprising since I understand it is some kind of remake of a short-lived old Marvel alternate universe (that I had never heard about) or something like that. Basically it's just an "superpowers emerge because of mysterious event, what happens next?" setup, with some mythology stuff abut the nature of those superpowers and their trigger (the "White Event") thrown in, and the art isn't memorable either (though not awful or anything), but I'd still like to see the rest. It may have taken a bit, but after six issues I'm now actually somewhat interested in the characters and the plot.

On a somewhat random and ranty note: why is Marvel so fond of pasting "new" in their titles anyway? Like, there's "New Avengers", "New X-Men", "New Excalibur", "New Warriors"... far more than DC does. I find it annoying, and it makes collecting series a pain because you first have "Team Blah" then it changes to "New Team Blah" for a bit, then it either goes back to "Team Blah" directly or first to "Fabulous Team Blah" if they feel inspired before it reverts to "Team Blah" again, possibly with messed up numbers, and if you try to figure out in which order the story lines were published a while later, you need several hours of web research to untangle the mess. Not to mention that you risk getting the wrong comics when you try to get them via mail order, because you didn't realize that the website actually offered "The Fabulous New Team Blah" (say the Volume 2 incarnation of Team Blah) when you wanted that issue of "The New Fabulous Team Blah" (say the Volume 4 incarnation of the same). Does this actually help immediate sales? I mean these restarts are just as likely to give me an excuse to drop a series from my pull list and not add the new one if I'd been already following it, as to add it when I didn't, it really depends on the artists and writers, and well the inertia of having a a comic on my list and being completist about it goes actually a long way to stick with a series through a run by a team I dislike, whereas name changes give me an easy out. And like I said, retrospectively they get really confusing fast.

[identity profile] fox-sejant.livejournal.com 2008-02-17 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
Perhaps not. My understanding is that the series will resume just later than it was originally planned.
The book of issues 1-6 is being re-released in the first week of March. That may be a prelude to the series being resumed.

[identity profile] fox-sejant.livejournal.com 2008-02-17 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
I expect that when #7 is finally released I'll have to re-read 1 to 6 so that I know whats going on in the story again.
The writer or artist for Newuniversal seems to be tied into several projects currently. That eat up his time, I'd say.

newuniversal

[identity profile] fox-sejant.livejournal.com 2008-04-09 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
From the marvel website, http://marvel.com/catalog/?date=2008-05

NEWUNIVERSAL: SHOCKFRONT # 1
The Story: Initially, there were four: A Starbrand. A Nightmask. A Justice. A Cipher. They are manifestations of god-like power on Earth, chosen by the Universe. In the wake of the cosmic phenomenon that empowered them, they have been threatened, hunted, and attacked. And now, they’re about to discover that they’re not alone. Acclaimed writer WARREN ELLIS (THUNDERBOLTS) and artist STEVE KURTH (LAST OF THE MOHICANS) bring you the return of this new universe: one experiencing superhuman power for the first time.
Parental Advisory …$2.99
In Stores: May 14, 2008 - see details

I don't know if you already knew this or not but I thought I'd share it with you.

Re: newuniversal

[identity profile] fox-sejant.livejournal.com 2008-04-09 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
You're welcome. It doesn't appear to be a direct continuation of the existing series though. The description leaves me wondering. I guess I'll find out for certain in a month when I pick it up.