Why does Marvel keep starting their numbers over

[QBall]

$$$$

Anticipated pre-order spikes are the only reason really. New creative team, new direction, new era can all be touted but it all boils down to the money coming in. Coupled with variant covers this still seems to be the regulation business practice.

[mrbrklyn]

They really need to do away with numbers altogether.
If one is needed, keep it in the fine print of the indicia.

Just mark them Sept. 2018, Oct. 2018, etc. Like magazines.

And they could still put 'part 1 of x' or 'first issue of a new era' on the cover to point readers to good starting points.

why ere the numbers on the covers. the dates were for the return times on the stands.

[Roo]

The Spoliers are easily avoided just by not reading the story descriptions,in the Marvel website is easy to find just the covers and years the comics were published.
The original numbering is great to me because this way i know which is the number of the comic book i am Reading,plus if i want to collect all the comic books of a character this way i can know how many issues were published before.

As well as charging a premium for a ‘new’ #1. Look at Uncanny #1 at $8! You’d think in situations such as these, where it’s supposed to be a ‘jumping on point’ that prices would be lower to entice new readers to pick up a #1

[pageturner]

As well as charging a premium for a ‘new’ #1. Look at Uncanny #1 at $8! You’d think in situations such as these, where it’s supposed to be a ‘jumping on point’ that prices would be lower to entice new readers to pick up a #1

I dont even buy issues one any more I just jump in later and if I need to see it later by it on Comixology during one of their sales.

[chongjasmine]

#1 sells well, and hence marvel does it.

[mrbrklyn]

#1 sells well, and hence marvel does it.

They seem to not know what to do so they reboot.

[Carabas]

They seem to not know what to do so they reboot.

So far Marvel has never rebooted.

[ed2962]

I'd argue that they don't do company wide reboots per se, at least not the way DC does, but they do retcons all the time. But the numbers 1's aren't about revamps/reboots as much as it's about artificially goosing sales.

[mrbrklyn]

So far Marvel has never rebooted.

Marvel never rebooted Spider-Man?

[kilderkin]

So far Marvel has never rebooted.

they might never have rebooted the mythos

But as far as it matters, they have their publishing line

[kilderkin]

I find the resets of runs, for whatever reason are more and more jumping off points for me

The higher priced issues ones are a real turn off as far as me trying out a new series, irrespective of the page count, there's only so much ill pay for a floppy, especially when I find marvel books feel a bit flimsy paper stock wise, and that's personally important to me

That's just me

Generally most number resets cause me to drop a book, price aside I've found a lot of books I was on get a new creative team that I don't want to stick with, usually I've avoided a writer and then they get put on the new book, that's just a bad luck coincidence for me

Or the artist changes and I'm a real stickler for the look of a book being consistent, that's much more important to me than the writer for my enjoyment

But it's a simple truth

They do number reboots to get a temporary sales boost, to get out a higher priced first issue, marvel do this much more than any other publisher i find, to sometimes pop out a chunk of varient that lcs need to order over large standard issues for

It's all about bigger returns as can be had

They are a business so I get that, I just think it's a bit crappy

I also find I've avoided going back and getting runs in trades from marvel coz I just have too much trouble staying on track with which run is which, especially when creative runs are in volumes and then so are trades which even the staff at the 3 lcs I go to can't always help me with

I've just found it too much bother to bother with

As for their digital, I've so far been unimpressed by the pricing of current books so I don't rely on that

[Carabas]

Marvel never rebooted Spider-Man?

Nope. Never happened. What makes you think they did?

[ed2962]

Amazing Spider-Man as a title has gotten new #1's, but they didn't actually revamp the character.

[mrbrklyn]

Amazing Spider-Man as a title has gotten new #1's, but they didn't actually revamp the character.

Wait, I haven't read Spiderman since they cloned him, but Peter and Mary-Jane Watson are still married?

[ed2962]

Wait, I haven't read Spiderman since they cloned him, but Peter and Mary-Jane Watson are still married?

No. They did a storyline a few years back to dissolve the marriage. Long story short, in order to save Aunt May's life ( who died back in the 90's but editors wanted back for some reason some years later), Peter made a deal with Misphisto. What the devil wanted in return was Peter and Mary Jane's marriage. So no one remembers that Pete and MJ were ever married.