Day 210 of 365 days.
Earlier this week, Marvel Comics made the "shocking" decision to kill off Captain America in the name of a sales boost. What’s the shocking part? The world actually cared. It was in the papers. It was on the news. Non-comic book fans went into my local comic shop and bought up every single copy of Captain America during the first hour they were open on Wednesday (when the book came out), so as a comic book fan, I can’t even read it.
I hate when the real world pays attention to comic books. I really really do. Let me ruin it for anyone who isn’t into comics. Captain America isn’t dead. In fact, I’m willing to put money on the fact that Cap will be revealed to be alive before the end of my 365 days on August 11.
What does this mean for comic book fans? It means that for the next ten years we have to deal with people coming into comic books shops and trying to get money for that "rare collectors issue of Captain America, where they killed Cap off."
Here’s a hint. If they had actually intended to kill Cap, they would have cancelled his book. They did not. And the sad part is they didn’t actually even get better sales because, Marvel, in their infinite wisdom, decided to keep the whole thing a secret from the retailers so that the "shocking news" wouldn’t get out. So none of the retailers ordered any extra copies of the books, so it sold the same amount as always, its just that none of the people who might regularly care got to read it. And the people who did buy it… well, they think Cap is dead now, so they won’t be buying the next issue either.
Mark Gruenwald would never have allowed this to happen. In fact, if Gru were alive today, this news would kill him. Who is Mark Gruenwald? Gru (as the fans called him) was one of the best writers ever. He wrote Cap from 1985-1995, and is responsible for me becoming a fan of the character. He retired from the book and turned it over to another writer named Mark Waid. Tragically Gru died of a sudden heart attack on August 12, 1996 (10 years, to the day, before I started this project), and coincidentally the same week that they killed off Captain America the last time (against Waid’s wishes).
Cap (obviously) came back, but I have always blamed Gru’s death on Marvel’s decision to kill off Cap. Gru did not get better. He was cremated and his ashes dumped into the ink used to print one of stories so that he could forever be in hands of his fans (classiest move ever for a dead guy).
So all I’m saying is, Mark Waid, maybe you should like go get a check up or something.
I’ve been telling people the same thing. Preach on brotha!!
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@Mikey aka DaSkinnyBlackMan: From what I understand from Wikipedia, Ms. Marvel has already admitted in another story that Cap is still alive and SHIELD is trying to save him.
Great shot Mav. Damn, is your hair getting long, or what?
Speculators suck ass.
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Civil War: The Initiative…I have that issue and she does say that. Like you said. If they wanted to kill him they would cancel the book. The whole thing I think is a plow to drive up the price of that issue and have non fan boys coming into our sacred havens on Wednesday afternoons asking dumb questions. BLEH!!!
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I luv your comic book covers…not much on comic books, but luv your covers 😉
@Travelinjim: Thanx. Its actually not much longer than its ever been. I straightened it like a week ago, and then cut it. It really doesn’t get much longer than it is now, and I tend to leave it about where it is. It’s just that when I’m working or interviewing, I comb it and spray it in such a way as it looks much shorter. And when I wear my sunglasses up like a hairband like that, it bunches up and looks even longer.
@Sick Little Monkey: yep. And stupid ones at that. No collectors item issue is ever worth any money. If a comic is ever worth anything at all, its something no one ever cared about that was in a small print run and no one expected much to come of it. Like Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. Its impossible to predict.
@Mikey aka DaSkinnyBlackMan: Well, they think its going to drum up interest in Cap. Marvel doesn’t care about the aftermarket price of a book, since they don’t make anything. They think its going to make non-fans stick around and buy more books. Like when they killed off Superman. Only that didn’t work either.
@lrayholly: well, I can’t really take credit for this one, since I just photoshopped myself on top of a scan of one.
I’ve always liked Cap more than Superman. DC characters rally around an alien. Marvel characters rally around a man. Gods (Thor, Hercules) are willing to be led by him. Tell me that ain’t respect.
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@Mikey aka DaSkinnyBlackMan: agreed. And he’s more readable, to me, than Batman is. Though honestly, I hadn’t been reading his book lately. I was very much enjoying him in Avengers and Civil War (at least until the last issue)
Mav – if it makes you feel any better check out the speculators paying upwards of $200 on this issue. Are they ever going to be disappointed when they find out he’s not really dead, and that Marvel did a massive overprint on this issue, and more copies should be hitting the stands in the next few days of the same printing!!! Fools. I can wait a few days to check it out.
But my one complaint is that he needs to get his head out of the 40’s. America isn’t about moms apple pie anymore
But Captain America didn’t really represent the American people anymore! I mean, he didn’t have a MySpace page, he didn’t know who won American Idol, and he’d never been to a NASCAR race. Hell, all he did was sock Hitler in the jaw!
OMG SO STUPID.
@[AJ]: it does make me feel a little better, yeah. I revel in others misery. On the other hand, I weep for my friends at the comic shop who are going to have to deal with these people for the next decade, and for myself since I’ll have to stand there and listen to people trying to resell the book at the store. *sigh* Anyone want to buy a copy of Superman #75 mint in bag?
@Mikey aka DaSkinnyBlackMan: well, that’s what I like about him. I think the interplay between the Punisher and Cap’s two different versions of America was gold. Cap isn’t about representing America, he’s about rediscovering an America that has passed him by.
@MegaBee: exactly. Cap is interesting because of his eternal culture shock.
good points and i agree
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Yes, but you look so good there!
@lrayholly: well, thanx. But Day 163 was still better.
Yeah, that’s because there were LOTS of You!
Hi! I have seen the "365 days" group, and I ask permission to translate the rules in Portuguese!
I have already start, but if that have some problem, please tell me.
I’ll be starting today my 365 photos!
PEACE!
@ctgruhn: look in this thread for the discussion on translations.
really cool….you do comic books justice 😀
@pi c’s: thanx. You know, I really didn’t expect anyone to think much of this one. I didn’t even think of it as a comic spoof. Just a backdrop for the story I wanted to tell.
I’d love to start reading comics, but I wouldn’t know where to start. The closest I’ve come is V for Vendetta (which I know is a graphic novel! But I loved it.)
@gimmie_shoes: Well, it all depends. What do you want to read about? There are other things like V for Vendetta, or there are totally different directions you could go.
I think I’d like to read something a bit like V – I tend to really like the very dark dystopian type stuff.
@gimmie_shoes: oh, well, there’s a lot of dark stuff available. A lot of the old DC vertigo stuff is really good. I’d highly recommend Preacher. If you’re looking for dystopian future type stuff and something still going on, you might want to check out Y, the Last Man
Thanks, I will check those out – I think I need to up my inner geek a bit!
Very cool. As always..
@Marcela P.: thanx. Don’t stay away so long this time.
The only reason I got Captain America is because I had all the Civil War issues in my pull list at my local comic store. But it does say in the initiative that he’s still alive… go figure. Civil War has been a great run and has really stirred things up in the Marvel Universe. Some things fo the good, some for the bad, but that’s how wars go. I’m just glad that spidey lost that ridiculous "Iron Spider" costume and has now returned to the black costume for a while (regardless of it’s obvious tie in with the movie).
@Stephen Poff: well, New Avengers show that to have been a ruse. But still, he’ll certainly be back before the Cap movie comes out next year.
I’m getting back into the groove. It was just hard to keep up with posting everyday. I was working so much that every moment I had free went to Tam and Claire.
Hope everything’s been going well for you and yours
@Stephen Poff: so you’re keeping up with the project then? I saw you had a long barage of photos recently, but they mostly seemed to be other things.
i hear you.
flickr.com/photos/kurtz433/416013326/in/set-7215759416080…
@( kurtz ): very cool shot.