Op/Ed – What’s the Point of Marvel Point One?
When Marvel Comics recently announced their new Point One initiative, it was touted as “the perfect jumping on point for new readers” and promised to set up the next year’s worth of stories in those titles. There was to be a major advertising push behind these book and readers new and old could expect big things. Now that we’re a couple of months in to this new initiative, I’m left wondering what the point of it all really is. First and foremost I’m a Marvel Comics fan. I love comics, but probably about 80% of what I read comes from the House of ideas. I say this merely to illustrate this isn’t coming from a DC fanboy looking to crap on all things Marvel. I’ve looked at the Point One initiative objectively, and as a result, have been left scratching my head a bit.
When the news first came down, a lot of readers were skeptical about the so-called “advertising push” these books would ride in on. It’s no secret that comics advertising is kind of a joke, so the collective eye roll from comics fandom was pretty well justified. As was expected, the books were promoted solely in Marvel comics, so the choir once again heard the message while the non-converted heard nothing. How a new reader was supposed to learn about Captain America #615.1 is beyond me, but it seems like a bit of a stretch. For the comics reader who doesn’t read Captain America, is this Point One issue really that big an incentive as to make him or her say “Okay, well, NOW I’ll give this acclaimed book a shot. It IS the perfect jumping on point, after all.” Probably not. Tony Barry of Superfly Comics and Games had this to say:
“By and large, the only people buying the Point One books were the people already reading those titles; regardless of how we displayed or hyped them. The Spider-Man issue was a bit of an outlier insofar as it advertised the first appearance of the new Venom (even though it actually ended up being the second). As a jumping-on point for new readers (Spider-Man/Venom aside), the Point One initiative fell flat.”
So the elusive new reader was by and large not wooed by the shiny new things. If a new reader did come along (And really, some had to. Every comic is someone’s first.), would they have been satisfied with the issue as what it was advertised to be? Were these comics ideal jumping on points? Was the stage set for a year of exciting stories? Those results were certainly mixed. The clear winner is Hulk #30.1. It had just the amount of exposition to let new readers know who Red Hulk is. It came at the end of one arc and before the next. It established a new antagonist for Red Hulk and the next issue of the main title was a DIRECT follow-up. That’s a perfect score if ever there was such a thing.
Others didn’t score so high in that department. Wolverine #5.1 was okay, but it had less than nothing to do with the current “Wolverine Goes to Hell” arc, or the “Demon Wolverine fights the X-Men” that followed it. Thor #651.1 wasn’t even handled by the regular creative team (as were a few others). Plus, it came before the last issue of the current and served little more than a means to reintroduce Grey Gargoyle. Sure, he looks to be a player of interest in Fear Itself, but as jumping on point to Thor, this one was a bust. It featured an intact Asgard in Broxton after nearly a year of stories showing Asgard in ruins before the Aesir left in this month’s Fear Itself #1. Even continuity-wise it made no sense. Invincible Iron Man 500.1 was essentially a retelling of Tony’s origin, albeit in a new way. Still, there was nothing of import there with the exception of he now knows he had sex with Pepper. Captain America #615.1 was also a decent enough read, and while it did set the stage for some upcoming events, namely Steve Rogers’s return to the Captain America uniform, it didn’t do anything for the ongoing story and Bucky’s current woes. It was more of a prelude to the upcoming Captain America #1 (Now THAT sounds like it might be a pretty good jumping on point.) The same can be said for Amazing Spider-Man #654.1. That issue read like Venom #1. Spider-Man wasn’t even in it. Yes, it set up some stories for the next year, but they certainly weren’t Spider-Man’s.
In all fairness, this is a good Magneto story.
Taking that problem to the next level, solicitations recently revealed upcoming #0.1 issues of Alpha Flight and Ghost Rider before their first issues. Apparently, a new #1 issue just isn’t the same kind of jumping on point it used to be, so these books (which, sadly, are almost doomed for cancellation by issue 12, anyway) need a Point One issues BEFORE the #1. Thor has a relaunch coming up soon and both Wolverine and Uncanny X-Force are in single-digits, a mere five issues out from a #1 issue, what I would imagine to be a pretty solid entry point into those series.
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t see Alonso and co. sitting atop a pile of money mocking the fans who shelled out for these issues. It just seems to me that the initiative was mishandled and that there was a lack of direction across the line. Some of them were essentially one-shots while others were preludes and a couple achieved the goal by leading into new stories, though those issues weren’t at all stand-alone, so a current reader would need them in order to get the full story he/she was invested in. Regardless of the audience or the intent behind the initiative, Marvel got to publish two issues of some of their top-tier books. They win, no matter what. That’s not to say I see these books as some dastardly plot to exploit readers. It’s just hard to pinpoint exactly what the point was outside of simply selling more comics, which can (and is) easily done by way of ancillary one-shots and minis.
In the initial press release, David Gabriel was quoted as saying, “Marvel is absolutely committed to providing new readers with easy entry points into all our comic book series and Marvel: Point One is the next step in our new reader initiatives.” Sure, wolverine #5.1 was easy to read, but it was a one-shot. The $2.99 price point was a good move here, but it feels like a bait-and-switch seeing as how most of these titles are priced at $3.99. It’s one step forward and one step back. It’s looking like this is an initiative Marvel intends to support, so we’re no doubt in for more Point One issues. The best we can do is hope to enjoy them, new readers or not. for those of you on the internet that are convinced your favorite comic companies hate you and want to exploit you, looks at it this way; you’ve got the potential to score two issues of some of your favorite books in a month and some of these Point One issues are doing what they said they would in setting the stage for new stories, so you could definitely be putting a few in the “win” column.
The problem with comic publishers continually trying to create new jumping on points for non-readers is that non-comic readers aren’t aware they’re even being marketed to. In this case, the people Marvel told about this initiative were people who were already reading comics. Non-readers, generally speaking, don’t scour comic news sites or go to comic book conventions.
The best opportunity publishers have to reach a new audience is to make deals with movie studios and/or theaters and find a way to do cross promotions. Honestly, I’m not sure even that would work because of the “comics are for kids” mentality that most people possess, but it’s certainly the best shot they have.
I applaud publishers for trying to make comics accessible to everyone. They get an A for effort, but an F for concept/execution.
The Thor issue is perhaps the best example of how this was not really handled all that well – the “perfect jumping on point” for Thor came right before the last issue in a story arc, and 2 issues before the END OF THE SERIES. So really? I should jump in for this 1 issue completing a story I’m unaware of, and then follow it up with the end of the book?
And the real shame? It was a decent enough story.
Congrats to Marvel for getting an extra $10 out of me for these one shots.
If there are people you’d like to introduce to the Marvel mythos, would you consider these to be good introductions?
*Some* of them. Unfortunately there’s no way to tell which until after you’ve already sunk your money into them. Pick up Spider-Man, Hulk, and maybe Cap if you’re looking for those. The rest are mostly regular one-shots – except for Iron Man which was just a glorified ‘Saga.’
Eh, it was a decent story, but not something I would hand to someone who’s trying to get into Thor because of the movie.
There’s the real rub… Ultimate Thor would likely be the easier sell for a new reader.
Though, Jeffro, I’d argue that the answer to your question is: roughly 60% of them. For the most part, barely, these have been good issues to hand to people and say “Here. Get into these characters.” I’d say the Uncanny X-Men issue is one of those. Or the Red Hulk issue, the perfect .1 in my mind. But what about Avengers 12.1? It deals with SWORD, an Avengers roster including Moon Knight and Protector with NO explanation as to who they are, and the return of Ultron from space. What new reader is going to give two shits about ANY of that? TERRIBLY executed.
Just read Avengers 12.1, and, even though it’s not my favorite title, I’d have to disagree with your assessment, K-Whack.
SWORD’s existence (and Cap’s reaction) was handled pretty well in regards to “who’s on what team and how do they fit all that into their schedule?”.
It showed classic Avengers villains and how they handle getting their asses kicked regularly.
It tied in Ultron as a sever threat, with Tony finally admitting the fact that closed the first storyline of this series.
If the goal was to explain who/why Moon Knight is on the team (of a different Avengers title, btw), then it would be a free “Avengers Saga” that you’d toss out with your CBN when you open your comics bag.
It set up the next storyline well.
The art was by Bryan Hitch.
Why AREN’T comics advertised in other medium? Wouldn’t Superman comics be a good choice to advertise during commercial breaks of “Smallville” (well, they would have been . . . RIP Smallville!) How about advertising posters at the local Cineplex, especially when a major comic-book-to-movie flick comes out? SyFy channel would seem to be an ideal place to solicit. How about in the pages of Entertainment Weekly? Geez, people. If you want your industry to grow, show a little incentive and get the word out there (and, say hey, by the way – - local comic book stores could try more and better advertising and cross promotions as well!)