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The Cipher 07/07/10

July 8th, 2010 by | Tags: , , , ,


Casanova 01. words by Matt Fraction, art by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, colors by Cris Peters, cover by Gabriel Ba. Preview.

I’m living in that 21st century, doing something mean to it–Do it better than anybody you’ve ever seen do it

I used to really love Casanova. It wasn’t my introduction to Matt Fraction (I think that was Last of the Independents?), but it was the first book of his that I really genuinely liked. Something about it–the superspy stuff, dimension hopping, interesting storytelling–clicked with me and I ended up buying every issue, plus the hardcover of the first series. This post is full of hyperbole and mistakes I wouldn’t make today, but it shows you how high I was on this comic at the time.

This year sees the return of Casanova, but maybe return should be in “douchebag quotes.” It’s being re-serialized from the very beginning, recolored and re-lettered, and the entire series is going to get the deluxe treatment out of Marvel. On the one hand-great! I loved reading these. On the other hand–it’s not 2007 any more. I buy comics differently. If I leap into this, which I have read and liked and appears to be improved, I’m looking at possibly quadruple dipping on this series. I bought the originals, bought the trade, and bought the originals for the second series. I could buy the new issues, but what I really want are the trades of the stuff I’ve already read (with the new colors and etc).

There’s a dilemma for you. Support in singles after having already supported in singles or be selfish and buy the trades several months down the line?

(I’m buying the trades because this really isn’t a dilemma at all, but if you haven’t read Casanova, give it a look.)

What’s 4l! buying?!
David: Amazing Spider-Man 636, King City 10
Esther: Batman and Robin 13, Secret Six 23, Batman Confidential 46, Red Robin 14
Gavin: Batman & Robin 13, Secret Six 23, Avengers: Children’s Crusade 1, Avengers: The Origin 4, Hawkeye & Mockingbird 2, Hit-Monkey 1, Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier 1, Irredeemable 15

Book-wise, I just got Shade the Changing Man: The American Scream, Human Target: Chance Meetings, Hellblazer: Hooked, Batwoman: Elegy, The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century, and One Piece 54. I didn’t own Human Target: Final Cut, so I went ahead and grabbed that trade. I haven’t read Shade before, or at least not to my memory, so I’m starting in on that. And HellblazerHellblazer is just good. Let Tucker convince you. He’s right. So yeah, it’s a heavy Milligan week for me, but I can’t complain. And I get King City and One Piece and a follow-up to one of the top three greatest Spider-Man stories of all time? Comics should always be this good.

(If you’re not reading Amazing Spider-Man: Grim Hunt, you’re making a mistake. The last page this week is on bomb status.)

Tell me what you’re buying and how you liked it.

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12 comments to “The Cipher 07/07/10”

  1. Yeah, felt exactly the same about Casanova. The original Image hardback for vol.1 is a lovely book, so I’m keeping it, and buying the new singles. I may feel like I’m being gouged after a few months, and quit.


  2. DC:
    Definitely getting B&R #13. Looking forward to the conclusion of Great Ten. Red Hood/Red Robin, Secret Six

    Marvel:
    Children’s Crusade

    Other: irredeemable


  3. Bought the originals and the 1st trade on Cassanova. Still love ’em. But I don’t see myself going back just for color and putting two issues together into one book so that it can be charged at a higher rate. And that first arc is 7 issues. How’s that going to work with this new format? :raise:

    Anyway I’m heading out to grab the newest for Secret Six, iZombie, Scalped, G0dland, Weird World of Jack Staff, Thor and the Warriors Four and Young Allies

    Sadly I don’t have the extra funds to buy any new trades until Friday…
    :frown:


  4. You are not gonna regret getting Shade.

    Well unless you do what I did, order the third volume off Amazon, and have it arrive with a busted spine and bent all the fuck over itself. Then you might regret getting Shade.

    (grabbing a light week – spidey, B&R, FF Annual, and Doom Patrol. Bam.)


  5. Fraction was gracious enough on… Word Balloon? Some podcast or another – to say that he doesn’t expect anyone who bought it first time out to get the Icon editions. I’ll get the trade if it has the new v1 Moon/v2 Ba pages, though.


  6. I’m surprised sales for the Image series were quite so underwhelming – it’s easy to forget the blorg-a-sphore is not the comics-buying public.


  7. “And that first arc is 7 issues. How’s that going to work with this new format?”

    The original first issue was double-sized, so the new first issue is the old first issue + a new back-up story. Then they break down as follows:

    New #2 = Old #2 + 3
    New #3 = Old #4 + 5
    New #4 = Old #6 + 7

    Aside from the fact that I really, really liked the original color schemes, I’m a bit lost as to where there’s really a complaint to lodge here. Putting the book out in color from Icon will allow the book to continue. Keeping the book at Image won’t. It’s not even a price raise. Two issues of the original Casanova would have been $3.98. Either buy it if you want to or don’t if you don’t. I don’t think Fraction or anyone else will be judging anyone who avoids double-dipping on the singles. And since Marvel is clearly aware that with the Icon books, there’s as much money to be made in a trade as in singles, unless the book bombs horribly I think a trade is probably foregone, though I could certainly be wrong on that last part not being a part of the number-crunching myself.


  8. @Jason Michelitch: And since Marvel is clearly aware that with the Icon books, there’s as much money to be made in a trade as in singles, unless the book bombs horribly I think a trade is probably foregone
    Yeah, I nearly said, the whole “support the singles or there might not BE a trade” doesn’t seem to necessarily apply for Big 2 creator-owned stuff.


  9. I’m definitely not going to jump back in for the rereleased floppies. I’ve got the originals, and Fraction signed a copy of the vol. 1 hardcover at Wondercon last year. I suppose the new material could convince me to buy another collected version of vol. 1 if I found it on sale (seriously, those half-off booths at Wondercon are where my wallet goes to die). I’m looking forward to a matching HC of vol. 2 that will have, I guess, new pages and the full color, and then I’ll be all up for vol. 3.

    I’m with Jason — whatever gets the subsequent volumes an audience and financing, great. However, I tend to resent the addition of new pages, though, because that seems like an attempt to trick me to double (now triple, on v1) buy. But I can live with it.


  10. No Shadowland #1? Come on, guys! Show Daredevil some love!


  11. @Two-Bit Specialist: Nah man, death to bad comics.


  12. @david brothers: Diggle writes a fun Bullseye, at least give him that