REVIEW: Avengers & X-Men: AXIS, #2

[Mikekerr3]

is CBR going to get in trouble for this low review?

Since I have the feeling that they added at least one star to the revue to make Marvel happy I doubt it.

[Mikekerr3]

The success or failure of this event hinges on its ability to deal with those issues in a compelling way.

the success or failure of this event also depend on RR getting characterization and plotting right, He doesn't give a damn about the former and is stinking, so far, at the latter and getting worse with each issue

[Emerald_616]

Thank you CBR for deciding to be completely honest with your reviews.

Marvel has only accelerated their schedule of events to the point where there is no break between them anymore. Hopefully this will speed the buyers along to event fatigue and we can finally start seeing some change in Marvel's output. It's been so stale since Infinity/All-New Marvel NOW

[Anduinel]

Thank you CBR for deciding to be completely honest with your reviews.

Marvel has only accelerated their schedule of events to the point where there is no break between them anymore. Hopefully this will speed the buyers along to event fatigue and we can finally start seeing some change in Marvel's output. It's been so stale since Infinity/All-New Marvel NOW

They're not really giving the retailers a chance to breathe on this one either. Brian Hibbs pointed out recently that the weekly schedule pretty much means the retailers are going to have to have their orders in on nearly the whole event before they have any solid feel for how the first issue is going to sell.

"AXIS" is a nine-issue series, with each issue being $5. These nine issues of "AXIS" come out in just a three-month period. Retailer initial orders for the ninth and final issue of the series are due less than two weeks after the release of issue #1, basically making it impossible to order this series on anything other than a speculative basis.

We're at least three issues in before we have even the slightest chance of having any scrap of real and practical data upon which to base our orders -- in other words we're placing orders that are, at best, wildly stabbing guesses at how many people might be interested.

[AcesX1X]

Someone should repost it over there.

done, thank you emma's midriff for the suggestion.

[Baron of Faltine]

While i'm in general likeing AXis at whole, I think that as happened often in recent Marvel Events, the ancillary offshot are BETTER than the main course.
For me the best part of Axis were the Magneto and Loki series so far(is interesting that we got a weird sensed explanation of the whole Doombot thing not on FF but on Loki. Also i think they should REALLY give Valeria Richards a comic. She is essentially mad scientist version of hit girl!), while the review higlighted the weakest point of the main series. I'm particulary saddened by the drawings and graphical oddities, since we all know Kubert DO know how to draw some terrific things.
On good side Axis would lead some more cool Villain themed series. Ya know with Hobgoblin(promising series indeed), Loki, Magneto, and perhaps Apocalypse getting their own series, when do you think would be ok for us to have a Dr Doom series?!?

[useridgoeshere]

It's a shame for the comic shops that are probably going to end up with a lot of unsold stock due to the orders for all 9 issues having to be in before #1 hit the shelves.

If the idea that the big digital sellers are generally the big paper sellers is true then you're definitely right. Sixis was sandwiched between Ms. Marvel and Uncanny X-Men at #5 on Friday's Comixology chart, so not exactly lighting things up like an event should. (I think Death of Wolverine was #1 with Injustice and one of the Batman things in there as #2 and #3)

[troynos]

They're not really giving the retailers a chance to breathe on this one either. Brian Hibbs pointed out recently that the weekly schedule pretty much means the retailers are going to have to have their orders in on nearly the whole event before they have any solid feel for how the first issue is going to sell.

Smart on Marvel's part because it basically means good sales for the event since there is no means of the retailer calculating what the drop off would be over the course of the event. How many people want to drop it after the second issue but really can't now because the retailer (and customer's pull list) have already been filled out for the entire event.

Basically, it's a nice way for Marvel to say the event was a hit when by the end people will be tired of it (like most of Marvel's events lately).

The bad part is that retailers will probably end up with a lot of extra books that no one wants.

[cc008]

It hasn't been all that great, but stuff is actually happening which is cool. And Deadpool starts appearing next issue, which is the main reason I'm reading.

[DakenGirl]

Spot-on review.

That was refreshingly brutal.

Agree with you both.

[Anduinel]

Smart on Marvel's part because it basically means good sales for the event since there is no means of the retailer calculating what the drop off would be over the course of the event. How many people want to drop it after the second issue but really can't now because the retailer (and customer's pull list) have already been filled out for the entire event.

Basically, it's a nice way for Marvel to say the event was a hit when by the end people will be tired of it (like most of Marvel's events lately).

The bad part is that retailers will probably end up with a lot of extra books that no one wants.

Yup. It doesn't exactly feel like a new move, since avoiding the normal monthly sales attrition by pumping out issues faster than retailers could reliably adjust for was something Marvel did back when they started double-shipping some titles, but this seems like it's pushing matters. It may serve Marvel well in the short term, but it also has the potential to make retailers order more conservatively for the summer event, especially if AXIS doesn't ultimately perform as well as expected.

[Rosebunse]

It hasn't been all that great, but stuff is actually happening which is cool. And Deadpool starts appearing next issue, which is the main reason I'm reading.

True, but I think that's the problem for a lot of reviewers who aren't fans of Magneto, Deadpool, and Loki. They have to buy extra books and care about characters they normally wouldn't have to for an Avenger's event. It does feel like cheating on Marvel's part so that they can boosts the sales of books that, while great, have been struggling.

However, I find that I can't hate Axis. I can't. I like it, it's been fun, and the real action will be once the inversions start.

[sungila]

AXIS #1-#2 & #1 Logan Legacy was a triple slap sobering up that I think I really needed. Time to drop some titles and reassess where the true value in the X-Books remains. I truly do hope some X-Fans are really sincerely digging 3/4 of the titles that I just can't find anything redeeming about.

[Mikekerr3]

It's also the second part of a story that is nine parts long (not including all of the supplementary material).

For the most part, reviews of single issues, especially by long game writers like Remender, are useless.

If anything, it should be reviewed as a second chapter of a longer story. But, oh that's right, that would be pretty stupid.

So should review, part of the reason for winch is advising people whether to spend a lot of money, only be done after the whole event is finished? If that was so we would not have had the first "star wars' review yet.

When they sell them as individual issues you can review them as such especially when many of the problems can't be fixed with later issues, the are will still be so so, and the righting in #2 will still show a lack of understanding the characters and giving a damn about those characters

[rctroh]

I don't understand why CBR hates Rick Remender So much

Personally, I really enjoyed AXIS than any other events that marvel shoot this year.