The $40 Pull List – War of Kings #1 Special – LIVE (Transcript)
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6:30 |
Craig Reade: The time has come… welcome to the first live broadcast of The $40 Pull List! |
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6:32 |
B. Schatz: That’s right… we’re airing live from the bowels of the SPAM Corporate Annex in beautiful Nanuktuk California. I don’t know about you, but I’m nervous as heck. And this is just a little thing on the internet. |
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6:33 |
Craig Reade: Thank you all for reading. Of course, tonight we are here to discuss one of the new titles on the List this month, Marvel’s War of Kings #1. And since it is a “Special Event” – we thought we would give it a special treatment. |
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6:35 |
Craig Reade: War of Kings #1 was released ON TIME yesterday, at a cover price of $3.99. More than a usual issue, but it was a special event, so we figured what the heck. |
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6:35 |
B. Schatz: As well as a little test of this system. So far, so good. Quick introductions, for those of you just stopping by – my name is Brandon Schatz, and I’m the Newsroom Editior here at ComiXtreme. Sitting kitty-corner from me in the annex is the two-and-a-half foot wonder himself, Craig “the Craigerton” J. Reade. I’m sure he does something around here. |
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6:35 |
Craig Reade: Not usually! |
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6:36 |
Craig Reade: Tonight I figured we would start with the basic stats about the issue, and then we will move into a little more in-depth conversation.
Please excuse any hiccups we have – this is our first time using this, and we are bound to screw a few things up! |
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6:37 |
Craig Reade: A note – you are free to comment at any time, but your comments will not appear right away. At select points during the broadcast, we will post reader comments for discussion. Thanks for watching! |
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6:38 |
Craig Reade: War of Kings #1 credits: Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning Pencils by Paul Pelletier Inks by Rick Maygar Colors by Wil Quintana Letters by VC’s Joe Caramanga with Bill Rosemann editing. |
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Would you like to see a full version of the $40 Pull List done Live?
( 100% ) No!
( 0% ) |
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6:40 |
B. Schatz: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have been hanging around American comics for a while now. I’ve heard tales about contributions they’ve made to a few British publications, but seeing how we have no evidence that England actually exists, I highly doubt there’s any truth to those words. |
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6:41 |
Craig Reade: Even still, they have done an outstand job making everything they touch at Marvel simply awesome. Their reputation on both Annihilation events made this event a must-have. |
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6:42 |
B. Schatz: Not to mention sucessfully spinning off ongoing Nova and Guardians of the Galexy titles. Seriously, the fact that Nova is looking healthy enough to go beyond issue #25 in this market is an accomplishment. |
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6:42 |
[Comment From Chimpion] Good luck guys! |
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6:42 |
[Comment From Mike Jibb] The legend of England has always been fictional. |
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6:43 |
Craig Reade: You don’t have to remind me about Nova – I’ve been a geek for Nova since a bygone era.
Personally, I was also really happy to see Bill Rosemann attached as an Editor. I am often critical of Editors for the general poor story-quality and crack-pot ideas we seem to see in comics these days. Rosemann gets it - and always seems to be involved in good books. |
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6:45 |
B. Schatz: Heck yeah. And let’s not forget about Paul Pelletier. He worked a bit on Dan Slott’s She-Hulk before being pulled into the cosmic arena. He’s making a bit of a return to the books here, to stunning effect. The pencils in this book are gorgeous. |
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6:46 |
Craig Reade: Not entirely true – Pelletier did an outstanding job on Negation – the old CrossGen title. I felt perfectly safe seeing him take on a Marvel Cosmic book. He’s an old hand, and did a great job on this issue. |
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6:47 |
B. Schatz: I missed most of Crossgen… and up until Marvel Cosmic really started going recently, I stayed away from space books like the plague. Soooo… uh… yay Negation! |
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6:48 |
Craig Reade: Yay Negation indeed. They STILL need to find some way of finishing Negation War. But moving on…
Of course, like almost anything Marvel does these days, War of Kings #1 was put out with a few variant covers. Let’s take a look at those now. |
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Which War of Kings #1 cover do you like best?
( 67% ) Ron Lim Variant Cover
( 33% ) Leinil Francis Yu Variant Cover
( 0% ) |
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6:49 |
Craig Reade: First we have the standard cover by Brandon Peterson. |
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6:49 |
Craig Reade: And here is the Ron Lim Variant cover, released in a 50/50 ration to the Peterson one. |
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6:49 |
Craig Reade: And finally, there is the Leinil Francis Yu cover. |
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6:49 |
B. Schatz: (For the record, I believe England is a mythical place, existing in-between cracks in reality. It was created in a hive-mind experiment between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison in the 80s. Some claim to have been their, and Alan Moore claims to live there, but no one has able to confirm this) |
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6:50 |
B. Schatz: Nice move by Marvel getting the artist of their last big crossover to pencil for the incentive. And odd bit of sychronicity there. |
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6:50 |
Craig Reade: I’ve posted a poll where you can vote for the cover you like best. Personally I like Peterson’s – they are all basically pin-ups, which is kind of a downer, but I like the look of that one best. |
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6:51 |
Craig Reade: Sure – there are readers who buy specifically for an artist – it is always a good idea to spread the wealth a bit. |
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6:52 |
B. Schatz: Peterson’s is nice, but I feel like most of his recent stuff doesn’t feel “real”. I know that sounds weird, considering how we’re talking about a medium involving drawings, but the whole computer-rendered look really pulls me out of a piece. |
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6:54 |
Craig Reade: That I agree with. It is a problem throughout comics – “pretty” work that looks completely fake. But that is probably a debate for another time. I don’t think the other two had better feels, hence my selection. |
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6:56 |
Craig Reade: Much like Annihilation, there has been some lead-up to this event, specifically in Guardians of the Galaxy, Kingbreaker, War of Kings: Darkhawk, and the Secret Invasion: War of Kings special. Before we get into the details of this issue, let’s take a moment to discuss some of the events that lead up to War of Kings #1. |
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6:58 |
Craig Reade: Guardians of the Galaxy was the first real lead into this event. The team, if you recall, was breaking up thanks to the discovery that Mantis had telepathically compelled everyone to join. Star-Lord ended up being sent to the Negative Zone by Blastaar, and in issue #7, Drax and Gamora heard first mention of a “War of Kings” from a prophet. |
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6:59 |
Craig Reade: Since then, the new team lead a rescue mission in the Negative Zone, that found Blastaar taking over the 42 prison, and the guards and wardens there evacuating to Earth, and freeing all of the prisoners. |
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7:02 |
B. Schatz: Guardians was definitely to make mention of trouble brewing, but things have been slowly building in space for a while now. All the Negative Zone drama wouldn’t even be possible without what took place in Annihilation – and the trouble between the Shi’ar and the Kree wouldn’t be going on without the giant Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire arc Ed Brubaker wrote years ago. |
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7:02 |
B. Schatz: But I’m getting a little ahead of old man Craigerton, here. |
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7:04 |
Craig Reade: Most certainly. One of the best things about each of the Cosmic events thus-far is the continuity. Of course, you mention the Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire, which brings us to Kingbreaker, where a lot of that story continues.
Kingbreaker has thus-far focused on the reuniting of the new Starjammers group – working within Vulcan’s expanding empire to rescue Havok and Polaris, who have made it their mission to kill Vulcan. Of course, Lilandra is eager to reclaim the throne from the usurper Vulcan, and has joined their group to assist. Here we are seeing the current state of the Shi’ar, and most of Vulcan’s plans for empire are revealed. |
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7:06 |
B. Schatz: Vulcan almost seems like the Superboy-Prime of the Marvel universe – although without such on-the-nose irony. |
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7:06 |
Craig Reade:
The Secret Invasion: War of Kings special served as the bridge between the two events, and followed the Inhumans – angry after what happened in Secret Invasion, decide that it is time to take their revenge on the Kree, their creators. This great issue saw them take their city, lay waste to the retreating Skrull, and eventually move on to the Kree Empire where they trashed their creators, and saw Ronan bow to Black Bolt as the new Kree ruler. |
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7:07 |
B. Schatz: And it was awesome. Seriously, the Inhumans have been sitting in their own corner, gather dust for far too long. Getting them mad enough to kick some butt seems to have a great effect on the characters. |
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7:08 |
B. Schatz: So, the stage is set. It’s time to throw DOWN. |
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7:08 |
B. Schatz: ”…or, you know, we could discuss what Darkhawk is up to,” he said, totally blowing the transition. |
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7:09 |
Craig Reade:
Without a doubt – this is the most interesting the Inhumans have been for a while. The David Hine books were interesting – but there was way too much drama and whining. I like seeing the Inhumans as a real threat. Finally, the War of Kings: Darkhawk series has released 1 issue thus-far, and doesn’t seem connected to the main event all that much yet. We see Darkhawk struggling once again to maintain control of his amulet – only to eventually come face to face with another alien with similar abilities who seems to know all about him. I am an old New Warriors nerd, and I am glad to see Marvel paying attention to Darkhawk again as well. I can’t wait to see where this one goes. |
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Who will win the War of Kings?
( 67% ) The Shi’ar (Vulcan)
( 0% ) The Negative Zone (Blastaar)
( 0% ) Someone unexpected.
( 33% ) |
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7:11 |
Craig Reade: Of course, if you are reading this now, we would love to hear your comments on the build-up thus-far to War of Kings. |
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7:12 |
B. Schatz: I think you’re one of two New Warriors fans, Craig. And heck, I’ll take your David Hine Inhumans books and raise you the last aborted ongoing by Sean McKeever. I liked that book, but in the end it didn’t really deal with the Inhumans so much as it dealt with teen angst. |
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7:12 |
B. Schatz: Not that I have anything against teen angst. Teen angst is boss, son, and don’t you forget it. |
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7:13 |
[Comment From Mike Jibb] All of the cosmic titles have been amazing lately, but I like Nova the most, so I’m most interested in what’s going to happen to him and the Nova Corps. I also definitely agree about the Inhumans. They seem more interesting to me now than they’ve ever been. I can’t wait to see Blackbolt take on some Shiar. |
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7:14 |
Craig Reade: Without a doubt. Marvel has clearly had the desire to push the Inhumans, but didn’t really know what to do with them. Good drama is one thing, but all of those books didn’t do a very good job of re-establishing for newer readers what the Inhumans are all about.
Excellent points there, Mike. Nova made the first Annihilation, and has been an excellent cornerstone of the new Marvel Cosmic Universe. He has played no role in this event so far, but you can’t help but be excited about what contributions he will eventually make when he arrives. The insane Worldmind and his new Nova Corps are going to make an appearance very soon, without a doubt. |
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7:16 |
B. Schatz: The end of this past Nova made mention of the trouble going on in space right now. I think that’s going to collide in a very messy and very awesome way. |
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7:17 |
Craig Reade: Can’t wait – the set-up to this event has been awesome, as expected. |
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7:18 |
B. Schatz: Onto the nutmeat! |
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7:20 |
B. Schatz: I don’t really think we’ll be duking it out with differing opinions on this Crai, but I have my boxing glove ready to punch you in the junk. |
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7:20 |
Craig Reade: On to the issue itself. War of Kings #1 starts us at the lead-up to the promised wedding between the Inhuman Crystal, and Ronan – the former leader of the Kree. The two were betrothed during Secret Invasion as part of an alliance, and this wedding was seen as a way of further legitimizing Black Bolt’s rule. Crystal, of course, sees it as a political marriage, but Ronan appears to feel differently. The moment where he showed up with flowers was uncomfortable and funny at the same time. It seemed a little out of character, but it worked. |
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7:21 |
Craig Reade: You watch it – if I am as short as you say, I think I am better suited to the junk-punching :P. Moving on! |
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7:22 |
Craig Reade: Of course, the wedding is interrupted in true comic form by the first wave of the Shi’ar invasion. And thus the War begins in earnest. |
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7:22 |
B. Schatz: Ronan with flowers is awesome. I love it when a book that’s going for “weight” isn’t afraid of the small laugh. The scene with Ronan with flowers was one of those, as were the mentions about Black Bolt always being so tight lipped. |
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7:24 |
B. Schatz: But definitely, when the wedding started, you could feel the gears in motion, ready to kick things into gear. You couldn’t see them right away, but still. |
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7:24 |
Craig Reade: Light moments make the “serious” ones all the better. Makes the characters seem so much more real. Ronan “courting” is just an odd thought though, but it seems to be working so far. The brute brought FLOWERS – the #1 most basic thing, instead of being more bold in his approach. |
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7:24 |
Craig Reade: It was perfect. |
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7:24 |
Craig Reade: I almost wanted to see his thought process deciding to do that. |
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7:25 |
B. Schatz: I want a 22 page one shot of Ronan on a date. I need this to happen. |
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7:25 |
[Comment From Mike Jibb] Yeah that was pretty cool. I’m sure the Ronan/Crystal dynamic will be explored more in the series. |
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7:26 |
Craig Reade: Without a doubt. That relationship has wheels – even if it is just a prolonged “I want you, I hate you” thing, and they never end up together, the drama works well. A nice character piece in the background – something DnA have excelled at. |
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7:27 |
B. Schatz: In this series, and in the online comics Marvel will be rolling to go along with the series. You can check out more on those by hitting this link: |
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7:27 |
B. Schatz: http://www.comixtreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45866 |
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7:27 |
Craig Reade: For my part, I am digging the Medusa/Black Bolt symbiosis. The two have always been great together, and they way she just exudes the raw rage of the entire group at the end is outstanding. |
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7:28 |
B. Schatz: I know one of the people the online comics will focus on is Crystal. |
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7:29 |
Craig Reade: Naturally. Hopefully with that comes a little work on Ronan, and her opinions (and how they evolve) of him. |
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7:30 |
B. Schatz: And speaking of some nice online content, over at the Marvel website, they’re going all out for War of Kings – and have posted an incredible time-line site for the series. |
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7:30 |
B. Schatz: http://www.marvel.com/war_of_kings |
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7:31 |
B. Schatz: Its a beautiful piece of work, and helps keep track of where everyone involved is at all times. |
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7:31 |
Craig Reade: I did take a look at that earlier, and it is quite pretty. It is light on content now, but the time-line and intergalactic map set-up they have is simply gorgeous. Marvel needs to promote that more in the issues themselves. |
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7:32 |
B. Schatz: Nerds love maps, and this is one sweet map. |
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7:32 |
Craig Reade: I can’t argue there. |
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7:33 |
Craig Reade: Overall, I think it is safe to say that we both enjoyed this issue. I can’t see it being dropped, but that is something that will be discussed when we do our regular column prior to the first Wednesday of next month. |
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7:33 |
Craig Reade: We are getting ready to wrap things up here, so last chance for comments! |
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7:34 |
B. Schatz: Make sure to check http://comixtreme.com for updates about when we’ll be doing the next $40 Pull List. We’re looking to do it live, just like this… so it should be interesting. And terrifying. And awesome. |
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7:34 |
Craig Reade: I did want to thank everyone who took the time to join us here today. If you missed the discussion, the transcript will remain up and you can reply to the thread as normal.
We would love to hear your thoughts! What do you think of this format, would you be interested in seeing something like this again? Reply to the thread and let us know. |
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7:35 |
Craig Reade: Thanks to Mike for your excellent comments, and quickly, we have to wish Chimpion, the cX Mascot, a Happy Birthday. He came into being 3 years ago today. Happy birthday, little guy. |
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7:35 |
[Comment From Mike Jibb] It was cool, but it was a little slow sometimes. There must be a way to speed up the discussion a little. But I did enjoy the discussion. Nice work guys. |
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7:36 |
B. Schatz: It’ll come with a bit of practice. :) I know I want to be more awesome next time. |
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7:36 |
Craig Reade: That’s all about practice, really. Part of the draw of this format is the live discussion – we have to avoid too much writing in advance. Future installments will be a bit quicker, when we get our rhythm down a little better :) |
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7:37 |
B. Schatz: Typing with boxing gloves on make things hard to. I don’t know how Strong Bad does it. |
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7:37 |
Craig Reade: That’s it tonight. Thanks for reading – see you around the board!
And do remember to visit http://www.x-worldcomics.com for your monthly pre-orders. Thanks to everyone for reading! |
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7:38 |
B. Schatz: Thanks a bunch! We’re oot! |
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7:38 |
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