Oh, Blue Beetle was cancelled after 36 issues.
You know what never made it to 36 issues? Nextwave. Automatic Kafka. Dozens of other series that were about pushing comics forward, doing something different or fun or interesting. Not a third rate Spiderman-ripoff superhero book that hasn’t even had it’s original creative team in at least a year. The book obviously sold well enough to sustain it for 3+ years, and the only reason it’s being cancelled is because you couldn’t get more readers to buy yet another middling superhero comic. There’s nothing else to it. There was no genius there, nothing that was being overlooked. Nothing that will be missed in three months when everyone forgets about it. King City 2 may never come out. Marvel Boy 2 will never come out. So Blue Beetle was cancelled, huh? Shove it up your ass.
And while we’re sticking with geek talking points this week, this is the only well-thought-out criticisim of the Watchmen trailer I’ve read yet. It’s not fan-whingeing, there’s thought and insight behind it.
18 comments
11/19/2008 at 3:05 pm
Rich
“…. the only reason it’s being cancelled is because you couldn’t get more readers to buy yet another middling superhero comic.”
I can’t agree with you there. Most of what dominates the sales charts fits the above description perfectly. Mediocre superhero books can fly off the shelves, as long as they star icons and/or have an event tie-in. A superstar writer helps (though as your examples note, doesn’t guarantee sales — e.g., ‘Nextwave’).
‘Blue Beetle’ was better than you’re giving it credit for here, imho, at least under Giffen/Rogers.
11/19/2008 at 6:56 pm
sean witzke
I read a few of the early issues and can barely remember them. Even so, Giffen and Rogers have been off it for a long time. I guess I’m just pissed that half of my google reader is writing about this – and the series went on for 3 years! – when I know that if Criminal was canceled tomorrow only a fraction of those people would care.
Sure, most of the superhero books are mediocre at best, but that’s always been true. And Blue Beetle had direct tie-ins to Infinite Crisis, so it had a leg up already. 3 years(!) for a book thats hardly unique in this marketplace isn’t something I want to read complaints about. Manhunter I can understand, as it so much going for it. It was doing something nothing else at DC was. But Blue Beetle?
11/19/2008 at 7:30 pm
Rich
I don’t think that ‘Infinite Crisis’ tie-in was really relevant for BB for the past couple years. The first three post-IC issues all sold 40K+, but it’s been under 20K since #11 (except #20, the Sinestro Corps War tie-in issue). Another Internet fave that just didn’t have a broader audience in the long run (just like ‘Manhunter’ and ‘Amazing Spider-Girl’ I guess).
Hopefully ‘Criminal’ is safe given TPB sales and Bru’s status at Marvel. I’m more worried about ‘Jonah Hex’ at this point, though it may be safe if it’s treated as a de facto Vertigo book.
11/19/2008 at 8:45 pm
Tucker Stone
I’ll care about Blue Beetle getting cancelled when I get over the loss of Solo. That will be about ten years after never.
11/20/2008 at 2:27 pm
legitsquare
I would like to physically fight you. You are sad little dweeb.
11/20/2008 at 3:10 pm
sean witzke
Yeah, there’s gonna be more of those…
11/20/2008 at 3:38 pm
Spike
But dumb F*ck.. you’re missng the point in your comments ( I’m refering to the short sighted Sean)
Blue Beetle has been consistently praised by creators, and by Comic review sites. Unfortunately there are “fans” that only read the big event books and tie ins.. and or will follow blindly whatever 10 books Bendis and Geoff Johns is writing. Great character books with not so great sales will be disappearing more and more and fun original little books will be forgotten.
11/20/2008 at 3:42 pm
sean witzke
Be an adult and curse here. And I’m not missing the point at all. Blue Beetle is being canceled because of it’s own fans, not DC’s marketing. The corporation gave it more than it’s fair chance at 3 years. Anyway, if you haven’t noticed – I could give a fuck.
11/20/2008 at 5:38 pm
jared
hahahaha someone sounded the wheezy battlecry & dcu fanboys have unleashed the “motherf*ckin” dogs of war. oh noes! watch out! (by the way, the “f*ck” is me refering to this goofy berk calling himself “spike”) but i gotta say, the ‘physically fight’ you comment is the funniest-yet-saddest thing i think i’ve seen on the internet in quite a while. way to go there, chachi
fact of the matter, & the point sean’s making is that better books got much shorter runs. so quit crying & making the lamest threats over books that mercifully went on longer than they should have.
-J
11/20/2008 at 10:18 pm
Jim Kingman
Every other generation has their own cancellation of Blue Beetle. Some handle it better than others.
Those of us who had Sonic Disruptors ripped out from under us? We are truly suffering. Still. Forever.
11/20/2008 at 11:26 pm
Mark Kardwell
Bring back Ted Kord.
11/21/2008 at 4:24 am
AERose
One of these days I’m going to have to have someone explain to me what’s so good about Manhunter. Granted, I never bothered to read it from the beginning, but I think I started around 25 and… uh, meh? It seems to be a better written Starman, but Starman sucked anyway. As though its built on a series of novel concepts that aren’t terribly novel (superhero lawyer, legacy superhero, superhero with at least one homosexual in the supporting cast, superhero who deals with ISSUES, etc.). The writing never grabbed me. (Art was good, though.)
11/21/2008 at 10:36 am
strangeink
Aw, you flatter me, sir. I was just indulging in a little fannish mental masturbation, and feel I rambled when I could have been more succinct. But I do appreciate your…appreciation.
11/21/2008 at 12:44 pm
sean witzke
@strangeink hey man, it’s true – you seem to be the only blogger that put any thought into a negative judgment of the trailer. I’m stilling holding out hope, if only for the crazy set detail and Dave Gibbons, but I’m all for people not liking it, as long as it’s not a knee-jerk fan reaction.
11/21/2008 at 1:59 pm
strangeink
You know, I have no real issues with what I’ve seen so far – even the time distortion utilized during the admittedly more beefy action gags. It looks visually spectacular and based on what Snyder has said about fidelity to the characters being his top priority, I think it will be a relatively fine adaptation of the comics.
I suppose my issue is that for someone who has expressed that he couldn’t get the psyche-bomb plot device in there because to explain it properly would take time away from the characterization, he has apparently deviated so haphazardly from Rorschach’s characterization in the comics; IMO Rorschach’s voice is a significant tell as far as his character is concerned.
Again, as has been pointed out to me, I may be spittin’ in the wind on this and when the movie comes out I’ll be blown away by how well they nailed Kovacs.
11/21/2008 at 2:02 pm
strangeink
Oh, and Blue Beetle was a fine comic that did last longer than I thought it would – as the market’s shown, if it ain’t a superhero the CBS-shopping clientele have grown up with, they just won’t give it the numbers it needs to survive in a market place like this. I’m actually shocked books like Sleeper and Scalped have lasted as long as they have in that kind of environment.
11/21/2008 at 5:03 pm
Christopher
In defence of Blue Beetle, it was one of DC’s only books with a non-white lead character, and the comics rack did just get a little whiter.
Granted, he had a full-face-ethnicity-hiding-mask.
But? “Shove it up your ass.” is pretty appropriate.
11/21/2008 at 7:37 pm
sean witzke
@Strangeink – I think you really nailed it with comparing Rorschach to Anton Chigurh. Alan Moore seems to think along the same lines – in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a72aqEwjYOg he’s talking about how is voice is like that because he NEVER talks, instead of being a forced rasp.
@Christopher – Y’know I didn’t even think about that – but to be honest, no one else seemed to bring it either so I don’t know if that’s why people are so vocal about it being cancelled. But it makes sense.