The New Number One Relaunch - Do You Like It?

[Kuwagaton]

Fresh Start has been Best Start. Hulk, Sentry, Cap, and Ghost Rider are sharp. Looking forward to Shuri and Punisher, while the technically Fresh Astonishing X-Men has been very solid.

[The Negative Zone]

Fresh Start in all honesty is really what we'd expect. We all expected that the classic heroes would return in a ceremonious manner. I'm glad people are positive about the character's fresh starts. It seems like the creative teams are on target! I just wish there was some assurance that some of these books out will last longer than 12 issues.

[9th.]

I thought that we were being told they weren't going to keep doing these stupid #1 relaunches.

That was never going to work out, Idk why they would promise that

[Magneto]

Immortal Hulk is the only marvel book i'm pulling from fresh start.

[Colossus1980]

You know, if you don't like Marvel, it's entirely fine to just not read it. Wishing for it to shut down is just idiotically petty.

But you seem to have a grudge against Marvel with these old dried up rehashed characters created in the 60's and 70's. Time for Marvel to cleanse them out of publication and see how that works out.

[Dreaded Porcupine]

This is the most Marvel titles I've collected in years. Avengers, Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, Immortal Hulk. Cap and Thor. Even enjoying Sentry. Now if Marvel would bring back Spider-Woman and Ant-Man I would be elated.

[Tiamatty]

But you seem to have a grudge against Marvel with these old dried up rehashed characters created in the 60's and 70's. Time for Marvel to cleanse them out of publication and see how that works out.

I didn't say to get rid of the characters. I said I don't care about them, and that I prefer newer characters. The things that are working for me are the things that have been happening for the past couple years.

[Imago]

I've liked most of what i've read.. Avengers, Thor, Venom, Amazing Spiderman, Hulk (first time reading Hulk in a long time).. Sadly Deadpool has been a huge disappointment so far.

[jackolover]

I wouldn’t mind if the mod could change the heading to include “The Fresh Start New Number Ones - Do you Like it?”.

[jackolover]

Oh that folks actually grew up and took time to read a book versus attacking it based on who is on the cover?

Amazing what happens. Folks discover a book is more than identity politics. It's actually worth reading.

Yall enjoy your books.

Yes, that too.

I was more looking for a whether people were feeling a different style about Fresh Start. To me, it looks like editorial have told creators to go back to the starting point of the characters and delve into the mechanics that drove them to take up the mission in the first place. The buzz I get is we’ve pushed aside all the new ANAD launch and it’s like the traditionals have stepped back into a time where they have to reach into themselves and find the root of their beings. It does feel like 1961 to me, not 2018, in that we don’t have the heavy drag of the CW, the Illuminati, or the SHRA. It’s been excised away, and now all that’s left is a sort of creepy, getting back to basics. Like a wall has come down, and all the terrible stuff done to characters over the years stops, and the mental state of characters restarted at Marvel Legacy. But that’s just me. Whatever the change is I’m noticing, keep it up.

[JKtheMac]

That was never going to work out, Idk why they would promise that

Look back and you will see it was pressure from retailers. The theory is that keeping the numbers going means people with pull lists will just roll into major creative changes. In this modern world of everyone being an armchair critic that theory is not particularly convincing but to give the theory its due Marvel obviously weren’t convinced anyway and didn’t give it enough time to actually prove the theory either way.

From the context of the decision and the abrupt reversal, it felt like a final throw of the dice by Alonso but one that the publisher wasn’t fully behind.

[JKtheMac]

It has to be said, that despite this nostalgia creeping into the books, with titles being aimed at the direct market, there are still plenty of new and interesting things going on. For every status quo reset there is a Domino, returns of old dead characters have twists, like Jean without Phoenix, Xavier with a darker edge, Wolverine persistently hinted to be not quite the reset everyone was expecting.

My main concern is the way pitching seems to have shifted solidly into a editorially lead process which may mean we will get less bold choices. Even that concern can be alleviated if the creative teams are still allowed to push and innovate.

[comicscollector]

Currently i am collecting:Amazing Spider-Man,Immortal Hulk,Thor,Doctor Strange,Iron Man and Venom.
And besides those i am trade waiting Old Man Logan,X-men Red,Domino,Weapo H and Avengers.
Plus there are new comic books as West Coast Avengers,Uncanny -Xmen that look great as well,that i will be picking up the first issue at least.
So far Fresh Start have been nothing less that great to this reader.

[Raye]

I like some, dislike others, same as any other relaunch.

I think people are overstating the nostalgia thing though. It is present in some books, sure, but not all of them, and some are using surface nostalgia in a subversive way to make more of an anti-nostalgia statement. Spider-Man falls into this category imo. Though it seems all nostalgic on the surface, the underlying message, and a lot of the dialogue, is more anti-nostalgia, and I suspect some of the nostalgic things won't last. Immortal Hulk is using some deep dive continuity, but in a way that basically retcons a major part of how Hulk works on a fundamental level. Thor is also doing this, where though Thor has returned to his traditional role, it is with some significant changes. And then Thor and Loki encountered their brothers in Hel, and Thor in particular reacted to them in a nostalgic way, and vice versa, interacting with them based on fond memories of who they were, rather than who they are. And it kind of bit him in the ass, when Tyr betrayed them because his loyalties had changed over time. The point being that all the brothers were in different places now, and had to be dealt with based on the present rather than the past, including Loki who Thor decided to literally trust with his life, and Loki actually came through and helped him, to contrast Tyr's betrayal.

[JKtheMac]

Using nostalgia, even for the uncertain concept of 'anti-nostalgia' contains pitfalls. In general I trust Marvel to avoid those pitfalls, but for me personally I groan inwardly and cringe a little when I see Gambit and Rogue or MJ being pushed in marketing. It says to me that the people that were reading comics just when I was abandoning them are being aimed at.

Let's face it the average direct market reader is anecdotally in their thirties with a bell-curve that covers older and younger readers. Marvel won't aim everything at that sweet spot but they won't ignore it. The 35-45 demographic is going to be all about the nineties, and won't see it as the comic dark period that those of us in our 50s will.

If I could, I would explain to them why they are indulging in wrong-fun but let's face it that would be impossible. Nostalgia is too powerful and it contains its own second hand fun that removes critical thinking and taps straight into things we love.