The Four Color Media Monitor

Arcamax published a pretty dumb "holiday gift guide" for some GN collections and movies based on comics, and here's some of the most ill-advised "recommendations" in the article. For example:

Keeping with our movie theme, how about the DC Comics Book and DVD/Blu-Ray Slipcase Set ($145.99)? This huge collection features six graphic novels plus the animated movies based on those GNs, namely "Batman: Black and White," "Death of Superman," "Batman: Year One," "Justice League: Origin," "JLA: Earth 2" and "Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortal." That's a pretty classy package that can stand on your bookshelf for all to admire.

Recommending that giant joke from 1993 is not a sign they're serious about the best products you could buy. But the mass purchases of DC's terrible misuse of Superman by speculators in hopes it'd make big money one day were even worse. DC surely knew this, but did it matter? Not if they kept quiet and made nary a complaint about how speculators were making a joke out of comicdom.

Now, here's where they go all sugar-drenched about Civil War, while alluding to the upcoming motion picture:

As you may have heard, Marvel's Phase Three will include a film titled "Captain America: Civil War." That movie should tell, in condensed form, a huge "event" story that Marvel published a few years ago by the same name. In it, the U.S. Congress of the Marvel Universe passed a law forcing all superheroes to unmask and register with the government. Captain America found this a gross violation of civil liberties and refused to cooperate, drawing others of like mind to support him. Iron Man, on the other hand, thought it was a pretty good idea, and drew others of like mind to his side, which set about trying to arrest the first side. Hi jinks, and by that I mean fisticuffs, ensued for many, many issues.

Sound interesting? Marvel thinks so, as it's publishing an 11-volume boxed set of all the major Civil War series in March of 2016 ($500). Yes, that's a lot of money, and it won't be out in time for Christmas. But for a set that big, a promissory note might be acceptable.

Well that's just the problem: only Marvel truly thought so. And in the end, they're bound to be the only ones who think their planned sequel - proving they're still sticking firmly to the precedent set by Secret Wars in 1984 - is "interesting". But fisticuffs between heroes, far more than villains, has become an insulting cliche long ago. And why should anybody spend $500 on such a worthless crossover turned out by editors with no respect for organic storytelling? A box set of the Avengers stories from 1963-93 would make a far better choice for something staggeringly expensive to recommend. But 2006's Civil War would not make a gift so much as it would make an insult to the intellect. It's not something worth buying for anybody you'd hope to encourage to try superhero comics.

Labels: Avengers, Batman, Captain America, crossoverloading, dc comics, golden calf of death, marvel comics, msm propaganda, politics, Superman