Originally Posted by
juggalord
In the three decades that I've been reading comics, I've lived through some pretty awkward & terrible storytelling. The Clone Saga. One More Day. Maximum Security. Teen Tony Stark. Heroes Reborn. Honestly? Secret Wars takes the cake. It has become literally done the one thing those other stories could not. It has shaken my faith in Marvel comics. It's not one thing with a specific tipping point, but a combination of factors that has lead to my crisis of faith here.
1. THE BUILD UP: Secret Wars has been in the works for a very long time. Marvel has spent the better part of 2 years setting up this story, the consequences of which would never be as epic as we could imagine. Even before Secret Wars #1 would hit shelves, the hype was crazy and the rumor mill was in overdrive.
2. THE SHIPPING SCHEDULE: Marvel starts things of big with the book double shipping; two months in a row, I think. Not a bad way to start. What Marvel giveth... Marvel taketh away. The event should just about nearly be over, but it's not even 2/3 through yet. On a huge event like this, one that affects their entire publshing side, it's unthinkable that the core series is months behind schedule. At this point, I don't even believe that it'll be finished in 2015.
3. THE EXTRA ISSUE: Did somebody not think this out?!? I get that there's still more story to tell. I get that they want to do it justice and not rush the ending. What I simply DON'T get is how this wasn't figured out before the mini was announced. These people are supposed to be pros. There's supposed to be a certain level of planning and editorial oversight. Thus far, Secret Wars has become a situation of the tail wagging the dog. It's taken a life all its own, writer & editor be damned.
4. WHAT IF? WHY BOTHER? IS MORE LIKE IT.: I won't pretend to know the ending of Secret Wars or the shape of the ANAD landscape. Like everybody else here, I'm just along for the ride. That's why it upsets me to see Marvel ditch almost all of their ongoings in favor of nearly 6 months worth of books that probably won't matter. I won't judge the quality, as that's pretty subjective, but I will assert that this has been nothing but a sleazy cash grab designed to play on our nostalgia. At the end of the day, it all rings hollow if little or none of it moves the chains forward. A really great example here is "X-Men `92" where we're expected to believe that this is a tie-in series just because somebody tosses in the word "Doom" once in a while. It feels cheap. A buzzword does not a tie-in make.
5. THE X-MEN #600 PROBLEM: I bring this issue up to specifically illustrate what's wrong with this event. If Marvel could publish this book as-is, without alteration, then there's something there that suggests that the Secret Wars event itself will amount to a whole lot of nothing. It bothers me that Marvel can hit the pause button for half of the year, sell several hundred issues of filler stuff, and then just unpause without so much as a, "Back to you your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress." I get that there are going to be changes in the ANAD world and that #600's delay will make more sense once we read it. However, its placement as a post-SW issue baffles me. The idea that they can just publish the next logical issue as if Secret Wars didn't happen devalues the event.
6. ALL-NEW, ALL BLOATED?: Exactly how big is their final ANAD lineup going to be? At this point, they must be up to 62+ ongoings. Is that their largest lineup of in-continuity books? It would seem so. Worse than that, I don't think that there's an end in sight. I wouldn't be shocked to see nearly 70 ongoings announced before 2016 begins. Marvel has always sold tons of books, but not his many were ever both in continuity and ongoing. If DC's nu52 has taught us anything it's that trying to please everybody will only result in a lot of cancelled books. ANAD hasn't even started yet and I'm already sick of it. The Secret Wars cash cow continues. The post Secret Wars 2015 Marvel will have nearly 3x as many in-continuity ongoings as the 1984 Secret Wars. Let that sit with you for a moment. Marvel completionists will have to decide on rent & food or comics.
7. SECRET...WHAT WAS THIS ABOUT AGAIN?: Things were already getting pretty slow due to some exposition heavy issues, but the delay has really hurt the pacing of the book. The delay between issues might not be as huge as that of the 6-issue Kevin Smtih "Spider-Man/Black Cat" mini that ran from 2002-2005 or the 6-issue "Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk" mini that ran from 2005-2009. However, I will literally have to go back and re-read what's already come out just to refresh my mind. This event was supposed to be epic and unforgettable. So far, it's been pretty pedestrian and unmemorable.
For the TLDR crowd, let me sum it up. Too much hype. Stupid delays. Bad planning. Months of filler. Questionable impact. Pandering for a buck. Limp instead of epic.
Here's a bonus #8 & #9 for ya'.
8. EFFECT PRECEDING CAUSE: It's bad enough that the event is delayed. Starting ANAD before the event is actually over is another. We'll be months into ANAD before Secret Wars #9 even ships. I remember when it happened with the first Secret Wars mini back in the 80s. I hated it then. I hate it now.
9. EIGHT MONTHS LATER: Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. DC really beefed it with their "One Year Later" jump back in 2006. Marvel is looking to repeat that mistake nearly 10 year later. With an eight month jump, they can literally explain away any change. This will end up making continuity more confusing or odd. On top of that, shouldn't we be allowed to see the aftermath of Secret Wars? Jumping ahead eight months might be convenient for Marvel, but it's hell on readers. They could always do flashbacks or gap filler issues, but this sort of non-linear storytelling doesn't work as well in comics as it does for movies. Like DC's own OYL, this will end up a muddy mess 12 months from now.
When all is said and done, does X-Men #600 even matter? Will anybody remember where they left off after 8 or 9 months? Secret Wars will wash it away. Secret Wars is an excuse for Marvel to shake up their publishing lineup without actually rebooting. Secret Wars is an excuse to jump ahead months into the future and write whatever they want, allowing them to figure out that nasty continuity thing later. X-Men #600 won't matter because Marvel just about closed that chapter of their history as of May 2015. Complete or not, they're moving on anyway. Publishing #600 is just a courtesy. I hope not, but I fear that we probably wouldn't miss it if it didn't ship. Thank you, 8 month jump, said nobody.
Instead of asking whether or not Secret Wars has lost its momentum, we should be asking whether or not the event had any legs in the first place. I'm not so sure. In hind sight, I think that we should've known better. Hickman is great with slow burn epics. His awesomeness can't really be packed into a mere 8 or 9 issues. That this even should feel this troubled is hardly surprising. This sort of event mini format doesn't feel very Hickman-like.