Big Time and the fresh start -- the new sales results and predictions mega-thread

[Karl Cook]

I don't know about that. I was very much "Venomed Out" by the mid-90's and this is the most excited I have been about the character since the days of Michelenie/Bagley. Mostly because of the fresh "black ops" approach with Flash in the suit and also with the team of Remender/Moore. The setup in ASM #654.1 has me interested enough to pull the first few issues of the series and I think most fans will give it a look. I expect the series to do considerably better than the last few go-rounds.

Whilst I haven't read ASM #654.1 I do agree with the rest of your post.
I'll certainly be giving it a look.

[oldschool]

Whilst I haven't read ASM #654.1 I do agree with the rest of your post.
I'll certainly be giving it a look.

I was pleasantly surprised, 'Pool----as I said, I have not been terribly interested in Venom for quite a while and really never warmed to Mac Gargan in the suit over the last 5 years or so. If you are going to give the new series a peek, you migh want to give ASM #654.1 a peek; while hardly essential (I am sure it will be recapped in Venom #1 plus it's not a complicated backstory), it was very well done and will serve as a nice primer. Let me know what you think!

[Karl Cook]

I was pleasantly surprised, 'Pool----as I said, I have not been terribly interested in Venom for quite a while and really never warmed to Mac Gargan in the suit over the last 5 years or so. If you are going to give the new series a peek, you migh want to give ASM #654.1 a peek; while hardly essential (I am sure it will be recapped in Venom #1 plus it's not a complicated backstory), it was very well done and will serve as a nice primer. Let me know what you think!

I had a look at it in the LCS but the art put me off so I decided not to buy it.
Looking forward to Venom #1 though.

[oldschool]

I had a look at it in the LCS but the art put me off so I decided not to buy it.
Looking forward to Venom #1 though.

Cool.....I think Tony Moore is one of the more exciting artists coming up today and think he will be a great fit with Remender writing!

[Karl Cook]

Cool.....I think Tony Moore is one of the more exciting artists coming up today and think he will be a great fit with Remender writing!

From what I've seen, it's certainly looking solid. Also, Uncanny X-Force is excellent!

[Blade X]

I think that might have more to do with moving the character away from his familiar characterization. Venom sold pretty well back in the day, back when it was Brock in the suit doing his whole "Lethal Protector" bit. Then he got overexposed, and Marvel decided to put him to bed for a while. Then when they brought the character back, they had that whole "Brock's not an interesting character" schtick about them, and tried to make things more about the symbiote and turning it into a rip off of the Alien concept. Venom seemed to capture people's interest more when he was a darker version of Spider-Man, and not a globby monster.

You pretty much nailed why Venom is not as popular as he used to be, and why he can't carry/support his own book. Overexposing the character back in the 90's is one of the main reasons why the character is not as popular as he used to be, and should serve as a strong warning why overexposing popular characters is a bad thing in the long run.

[Blade X]

Is there a single title that you believe in?

In the current market, very few. I think that the new FF and ALPHA FLIGHT series will be decent sellers.

Save this post.

SW

Let me guess. The pre-orders for VENOM #1 are pretty damn good, thanks to the limited edition variant covers. Let's see how long that pony will last after the race has started.

As you already know, sales to retailers don't always equal sales to walk in paying customers.

So by all means, please do save this post, and let's see if this series is still around a year from now.

[oldschool]

You pretty much nailed why Venom is not as popular as he used to be, and why he can't carry/support his own book. Overexposing the character back in the 90's is one of the main reasons why the character is not as popular as he used to be, and should serve as a strong warning why overexposing popular characters is a bad thing in the long run.

Except that this a different character and status quo altogether. I am not predicting that this will be a roaring success (who knows?) but I don't thi k you can apply the old logic here either.

[Blade X]

I don't know about that. I was very much "Venomed Out" by the mid-90's and this is the most excited I have been about the character since the days of Michelenie/Bagley. Mostly because of the fresh "black ops" approach with Flash in the suit and also with the team of Remender/Moore. The setup in ASM #654.1 has me interested enough to pull the first few issues of the series and I think most fans will give it a look. I expect the series to do considerably better than the last few go-rounds.

I don't consider the black ops approach to the character as being "fresh" or original, since this was done with the character back in the 90's when Larry Hama was writing the LEATHAL PROTECTOR mini series.

I'm also torn on the whole idea of Flash being the new host for Venom. On one hand, I like that Flash is a superhero now. OTOH, I think that it is a bad idea to make Flash a superhero. IMO, I think that Flash should have just been given some souped up bionic legs and become a police officer and later joined Code Blue police task force.

[Blade X]

Except that this a different character and status quo altogether. I am not predicting that this will be a roaring success (who knows?) but I don't thi k you can apply the old logic here either.

Despite the status quo change, I still think that most fans will still see this as the same old Venom.

[oldschool]

Despite the status quo change, I still think that most fans will still see this as the same old Venom.

Based on what? He has a new host, a new persona and look as well as a completely new mission. He is not obsessed with "eating Spidey's brains" and has the added dimension of (right now) having a finite number of missions in the suit. This is all pretty fresh and different stuff; not sure what else you would look for to differentiate it from "old Venom" and still keep the name.

Why do you think "most fans will see this as still being the old Venom?"

[Karl Cook]

Despite the status quo change, I still think that most fans will still see this as the same old Venom.

I certainly wouldn't. I like the idea of Flash becoming Venom, it doesn't sound like the "same old Venom" to me.
You're entitled to your opinion but I disagree.

[Blade X]

Why do you think "most fans will see this as still being the old Venom?"

Based on the unimpressive sales of the last few Venom series which had new and different directions.

[oldschool]

Based on the unimpressive sales of the last few Venom series which had new and different directions.

Except they didn't. I can see this will be another example of trying to have a discussion with you when your mind is clearly made up and you choose to superimpose your (mystifyingly unsupported) opinion onto "most other fans" so I will take my leave. Enjoy your day.

[Blade X]

Except they didn't. I can see this will be another example of trying to have a discussion with you when your mind is clearly made up and you choose to superimpose your (mystifyingly unsupported) opinion onto "most other fans" so I will take my leave. Enjoy your day.

Correct me if I'm wrong (because I didn't read the series), but in the Way VENOM series, Eddie Brock was not Venom.

And in the ANTI VENOM mini series, Eddie Brock wasn't even bonded to the Venom symbiot, but had his own newly created type of symibot and went into a different direction for the character.

That is why I said those series had new and different directions, but still had unimpressive sales. I wasn't trying to be flippant or anything. I was just trying to keep my answer to your question short and sweet.