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It hit me like…would saying “a freight train” be too cliche? Probably so, but that’s exactly what it felt like.

I was reading the newest issue of The Mighty Avengers (#11) where all of the Avengers were captured by Doom and thought there was no way for them to break free of the energy that was holding them.

Until The Wasp reminds everyone that Doom has magic powers as well, which piques the curiosity of Spider-Woman.

And then Spider-Woman gives it a shot. Maybe I should really say “Spider-Woman” at this point.So she gives it a shot at breaking free and guess what? She was able to set them free. So she’s even more powerful than Ares? Hmm…

Now what has been the major issue that Stark, Xavier, and the others of the Illuminati have had with the realization of Skrulls being their midst? That they have been completely undetectable. And it seems to me that the best way to do this would be…magic.

Skrull magic, baby.

It so totally fits. Now before you go saying that it can’t be magic, Dr. Strange said the “Elektra” Skrull was undetectable to “his” magic in The Illuminati #5.

Is the magic of the Skrull race possibly different from the human race? What evidence is there that they are the same?

This is my running theory. You have been warned.

What do YOU think?

UPDATE: Newsarama has an interview with Bendis up today (4-2-08) which makes it sound like it’s probably not Skrull magic:

“These Skrulls are much more powerful than what’s been seen before. There have been giant leaps in genetic and scientific engineering as far as how the Skrulls are doing what they’re doing, and what they can do. That is a direct relation to things we’ve already shown. We’ll also rewind and show exactly what moment it was when they figured out how to do better stuff and where they got it from, but yeah, they’ve got their shit together. They came with a plan, and the plan is being executed, and it’s being executed well. They knew there were things they had to do to get past things where shape shifting won’t work – like Wolverine. He smells Skrulls. Or used to. They’ve improved on every level.”

Sigh. Oh well. It’ll still be interesting to see how they have evaded detection for so long…

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“Reader Poll on Comics Retailing - Please email me your responses. The best response received by 11:59 on Sunday, February 17th will win a prize pack of free comics. I’m not sure yet how many or which ones, but it’ll probably be worth about $50.00 or so, so please send your best responses along with your name and address”

He updated the poll to announce this:

“A big thank you to the anonymous donor who is providing a copy of ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY VOL. 1 by Ellis/Hitch/Neary/Depuy to the prize pack being given to the writer of the best response to the Comic Book Galaxy Comics Retailing Poll.”

So what are you waiting for? Got over to CBG and give Alan a piece of your mind! Thanks for the opportunity, Alan.

Click here - http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/blog/2008/02/reader-poll-on-comics-retailing-as-you.html

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Weird.

Oh well.

Here’s what I am getting though. Enjoy!

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CHOSEN #5

“Captain America is dying. The super-soldier treatment through which Steve Rogers became the Sentinel of Liberty blessed him with tremendous strength, speed, intelligence and slowed aging. But the human body can only take so much, and after the long years spent serving his country, Steve’s once-frail frame is finally breaking down. Can he be replaced? Is that why U.S. Marine Corpsman James Newman has been seeing Cap in his head during pitched combat in Afghanistan? Award-winning writer David Morrell and artist Mitch Breitweiser present a stunning vision of Captain America in modern-day wartime, facing the greatest - and final — challenge of his life.”

INCREDIBLE HULK #112

“Part 1 of “The Incredible Herc” Hercules … Ares … S.H.I.E.L.D. What more could you ask for?”

MIGHTY AVENGERS #6

“The shocking conclusion to the Ultron terror as the Avengers reassemble and go on the offensive. It’s now or never for an Ultron butt-kicking. How on Earth will Tony Stark survive this??? And how does this connect to the startling Skrull infestation that may have taken over the Marvel Universe? The next big clue to the truth is HERE!!”

WOLVERINE FIREBREAK ONE SHOT

“A brand-new, stand-alone story by X-MEN’s Mike Carey and OMEGA FLIGHT’s Scott Kolins! Everyone knows that Wolverine is an expert tracker, but what about when he’s been blinded? The fighting Canadian must lead a vacationing family out of the woods, using only his 4 remaining senses and the help of that same family. Things get more complicated, however, with a visit from Advanced Idea Mechanics. Also, as an added bonus: a special back-up story by Macon Blair (24Seven) and Vasilis Lolos (Pirates of Coney Island).”

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #20

“‘Our War,’ Part 5 (of 5) The epic WWII storyline comes to its chilling and tragic conclusion as Wolverine and Captain America part ways, taking their first steps down the paths they will follow for the next sixty years - one to his death and one back to where he began.”

All Marvel. What can I say?

Tell me what’s on your pull list!

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You might be asking, “How?”

I’ll explain after the jump…

You see, when DC announced the All Star line, there was serious excitement and hype about the two intial offerings, All Star Superman and All Star Batman & Robin.

The titles were being created by two superstar creative teams: Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on All Star Superman and Frank Miller and Jim Lee on All Star Batman & Robin.

That’s a lot of creative power, especially the combination of  Morrison and Quitely. Miller and Lee did interest me on All Star Batman & Robin but not as much as Morrison and Quitely on All Star Superman.

Now, despite the name recognition and the creative power behind both of these creative teams, here’s where the screwup comes in: None of these creators can keep a monthly schedule.

How could DC editorial not know that? How could they think that they could start both of these series off half cocked?

All Star Batman & Robin suffered a 5-6 month delay between, what was it, issues #3 and #4? And All Star Superman still ships behind, though not to the same extent as All Star Batman & Robin did.

My question to DC is this: What was the rush? Why was there no planning for these series? Planning to avoid delays and keep a top notch product continually on the shelves each and every month?

How This Could Have Been Avoided

This is how all of the delays, fan frustration, and retailer loss of income could have been avoided:

1. Get the scripts written and approved first. Determine how many issues each creative team will commit to and get all of the scripts from the writer first. Read them. Edit them. Get them rewritten. Edit them again. Make sure full approval is complete for all of the scripts. Then…

2. Send the scripts to the artist. Have the artist complete 60-75% of the art for the issues that he or she is commited to doing. Folks, Frank Quitely delivers gorgeous art, but he’s no John Romita, Jr. or Mark Bagley when it comes to speed. Same for Jim Lee. How could DC editorial have not realized this?

3. As the artist is completing the pages and they are approved by editorial, send them to the rest of the creative team so they can start working on them.

4. Once you have 40-50% of the series completed, in its entirety (written, pencilled, inked, colored, and lettered), then solicit the series in Previews and collect the orders.

The most irritating, unprofessional aspect of all of this is that both of these series could have been handled this way. This could have happened and let me tell you why:

Neither of these series were ever on a time table.

These series were created as stand-alone recreations of the characters. They had no baggage to carry, there were no stupid crossovers they had to fall in line with, nor did they have to wait for any other series to complete before they could have launched.

The world was their oyster and DC editorial still screwed it up. These creators could have taken all of the time they needed to insure a strong launch and continuing monthly issues to keep the momentum going.

But I guess that was all too proper to do.

This really irritated me when I picked up the latest issue of All Star Superman (#9) and thought to myself, “Shouldn’t this run by Morrison and Quitely be done by now?” Checking DC’s site, All Star Superman #10 won’t ship until February 6. Folks, this was supposed to be a monthly series, remember?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve loved reading every issue of All Star Superman. Every one. I quit getting All Star Batman & Robin because the writing was horrible. It seemed like Miller was trying to channel Bendis and it just stunk on so many levels. I may give it another chance in the future…probably if I find it in the quarter bins or find the trades real cheap on eBay.

When it comes to issues like this from the major comic publishers, I don’t blame the creators. They’re simply trying to do the best they can. I blame editorial, plain and simple. Editorial have the power and control to fix these kinds of problems. By not doing all that is possible to get monthly series like these out in a timely manner, it’s just outright disrespect to the readers as far as I’m concerned.

Love to hear what you have to say about it. Tell me if I’m wrong. Tell me if I’m crazy. What do you think?

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http://atasteforthetheatrical.com/deathtrap/default.htm

Thanks, Robert!

It looks like Heath Ledger is set to steal the show. I really want to see his Joker.

Watch the trailer and stop by here to tell me what you think!

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Now to work on that Marvel Online Comics post…

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Whew.

Another 3 1/2 months of school and this will be done, baby!

Ok. Alright. Time to blog! See you soon!

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With finals bearing down on me, it’s been really hard to get a free moment to post anything, but hopefully I’ll be able to post my reasons for how DC screwed up the All Star line this weekend.

After finals are over, expect more frequent updates to the blog. I have lots to say and will try to work ahead on some posts.

There are several things that I want to address when I get my Christmas break, such as Marvel’s online comics and their treatment of Z-Cult, what they really should be doing instead, as well as DC, and some other hot topics that have surfaced recently. Right now I don’t have the time to address some news as it happens, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t address it eventually. I’m just a little slow right now.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon!

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