10 Very Bad Things Spider-Man Has Done

All these were done by the main (Earth-616) comic book version of Spider-Man

1.      Let a robber get away because he felt like it (Amazing Fantasy #15 August 1962). And yes he learned a hard lesson from that one. Or did he?

2.      Killed the Finisher by returning missile to sender (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 November 1968)

3.      Caused his girlfriend’s death by shooting a webline at her falling form,  snapping her neck (Amazing Spider-Man #121 June 1973)

4.      Beat the Sin-Eater nearly to death, well after he was subdued (Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #110 January 1986)

5.      Arranged for Dr. Strange to remove his then-girlfriend Black Cat’s powers without her consent at an inopportune moment, causing her to receive a beating (Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115 June 1986)

6.      Punched a woman so hard she was killed by a single blow (Spider-Man vs Wolverine #1 February 1987)

7.      Used a henchman as a human shield, thus causing the henchman’s death (Web of Spider-Man #91 August 1992)

8.      Hit his pregnant wife so hard she went flying (Spectacular Spider-Man #226 July 1995)

9.      Made a deal with a devil that erased his marriage from the timeline (Amazing Spider-Man #545 January 2008)

10.   Has repeatedly lied to friends and family about his secret identity including violating journalistic ethical standards by photographing himself in action and selling the photos to the Daily Bugle (too many instances to cite)

My Predictions for 2014

Let's see if I can do better this time; some repeat predictions from 2013 (first half):

1. At least one more video store in Greater Victoria BC (chain or mom and pop) will announce they are closing down. 
2. Red Dwarf series 11 will be commissioned at last.
3. Seattle will launch their E & F Rapidride lines.
4. At least one video store in a county serviced by Sound Transit (King, Snohomish, Pierce) will close, beyond Blockbuster.
5. Some pro-marijuana legislation or similar legal action will happen in Canada
6. Toronto mayor Rob Ford will announce his resignation
7. There will be another high publicity controversy involving gay rights
8. The building that Toronto's closing World's Biggest Bookstore is in will be demolished or at least substantially gutted by the new owners.
9. I hope it doesn't happen, but I think Gwen Stacy will die in Amazing Spider-Man 2. 
10. In the comics, Peter Parker's return as Spider-Man will be announced.
11. A DC Comics related live action movie not involving Superman or Batman will be announced.
12. When Target opens in Victoria's Hillside Shopping Centre, overall response by the public will be lukewarm at best, given the disappointment of Saanich's Tillicum Centre branch.

My 2013 Predictions - Outcomes

Here are the results of the predictions made here (with a few extra details): 

http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-predictions-for-2013.html

1.      At least one more video store in Greater Victoria BC (chain or mom and pop) will announce they are closing down. ACTUAL: RIP Video Express, Sidney

2.      Blockbuster will announce that they will be closing down in the US. ACTUAL: Basically yes (and UK as well). Some franchises will remain open, however, because they licensed the Blockbuster name but weren't owned by Blockbuster

3.      Red Dwarf series 11 will be commissioned. ACTUAL: Despite frequent rumours of activity, some of which may be true, this hasn't been commissioned yet.

4.      The Wolverine Index trade will  get a release date, concluding the otherwise already ended Marvel Index series ACTUAL: This was released close to the time of the movie.

5.      The NDP will win the BC election  ACTUAL: The biggest shock among these predictions was that the Liberals were re-elected espite their various scandals.

6.      Seattle will, as planned lunch their E and F Rapidride lines. ACTUAL: Both have been delayed to 2014 (February and June respectively)

7.      A 51^st State in the US will be announced, likely but not necessarily Puerto Rico ACTUAL: I tried for a long shot but it didn't work out

8.      Some new gun-related legislation will pass in the US due to what happened in Newtown, ACTUAL: A bill was made as a result, but it got voted down

9.      There will be some sort of Charlton Comics related news (not related to Watchmen or to individual characters now owned by DC, though there may or may not be some other sort of DC connection) ACTUAL: No; I now think Charlton is gone if not forever then for many more years

10.   Arrow (which I haven’t seen yet) will be renewed for a second season ACTUAL: Still meaning to see, but it's back.

11. At least  one video store in a county serviced by Sound Transit (King, Snohomish, Pierce) will close, beyond Blockbuster ACTUAL: RIP Movies to Go in Lakewood

12. New pro-marijuana legislation will pass in Canada or at least in an area within Canada ACTUAL: Debatable; medical marijuana privatized in Canada

So my guesses weren't that great this year, though I was on solid ground with video stores closing. Ah well.

Ten New Christmas Movie Recommendations

Back in 2008 I recommended these ten Christmas-related movies:

Bad Santa, Batman Returns, Christmas Evil, Dead End, Die Hard, Eyes Wide Shut, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Trading Places

http://saneinsanities.blogspot.ca/2008/12/christmas-movies-for-holidays.html

It’s taken a while but I finally have ten more:

1.      Black Christmas: An interesting if slow paced thriller of a madman stalking women in a sorority house. Not quite the slasher predessor that some claim it to be, it’s still an interesting step in that direction, and arguably its tameness makes it scarier

2.      A Christmas Carol (1951): I’m not normally into the more sentimental Christmas stories, but Dickens’ story is darker than most and Alastair Sim gives his best known performance playing a miserly businessman who’s visited by three ghosts

3.      Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas: this live action version of the story isn’t quite as good as the animated special, but it’s still a respectable adaptation of the story of a moody creature who finds his heart; plus at least come versions of the DVD come with a really neat snow globe

4.      Die Hard 2: Die Harder: Okay this isn’t a great movie, but it’s still a cut above the usual Christmas pablum. The hero must save his family from a plane that is being held hostage by a madman who likes to work out in the nude

5.      He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special: Characters from the He-Man and She-Ra toy lines battle Skeletor once again, but this time the spirit of Christmas gets involved in the action. Did Jesus visit Eternia in some distant point in the past? This is a particularly good year to watch the special, as Lou Scheimer, who voiced Orko and other characters recently passed away

6.      National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: the best of the Vacation movies; misadventures during a family Christmas

7.      The Office Christmas Special: The status quo of an office place is shaken up during Christmas. As this special concludes the British version of The Office, it’s best watched after seeing the earlier episodes

8.      Santa’s Slay: Santa, finally released from the terms of a lost wager that forced him to do good deeds, goes on a killing spree; Robert Culp seems to have fun playing Santa’s arch-nemesis

9.      The Star Wars Holiday Special: Never released on video but easy to find online, shortly after the original movie (i.e. the fourth) Han Solo and Chewbacca attempt to get to Chewbacca’s home for Life Day (the stand-in for Christmas). Lots of bizarre stuff, with Chewbacca’s family and Art Carney being the TV movie’s main focus

10.   A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas: A movie you have to be in the right mood for, but an okay dumb jokes type Christmas misadventure with the leads trying to fix their friendship while dealing with other Christmas matters

New 52 Sales to November 2013

This analysis focusses mainly on the period of Jun to Aug-13 in relation to Jul-Sep-11.
The 1st 6 months are covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-52-sales-trends-listed-in-order-of.html
The next 3 months are covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2012/07/new-52-sales-trends-part-2.html
The 1-year mark is covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-52-sales-trends-one-year-later.html
New 52 Sales to Nov-12 are covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-52-sales-to-november-2012.html
New 52 Sales to Feb-13 are covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-52-sales-to-feburary-2013.html
New 52 Sales to May-13 are covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.ca/2013/06/new-52-sales-to-may-2013.html
New 52 Sales to Aug-13 are covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2013/10/new-52-sales-to-august-2013.html
Full spreadsheet upon request
Pardon the appearance. If I made the spreadsheet look nicer other blog posts would suffer
Some text refuses to stay on one line when pasted into the blog
Listed in order of #1 sales (same as September 2011 order except for Justice League #1)
TITLE	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK		Nov-13%		NOTES
	Jul-11	Jul-11	Aug-11	Aug-11	Sep-11	Sep-11	Aug-13	Aug-13	Sep-13	Sep-13	Oct-13	Oct-13	Nov-13	Nov-13		Sep-11
Justice League			171,344	1	46,650	43	######	4	78,200	15	98,491	6	x	x		45.1806		JL #1 came out at the end of Aug; sales carried over into Sept
Justice League	43,545	32	42,587	29	46,650	43												Row partly repeated to compare with JL of America 59-60
Batman	51,385	22	-	-	188,420	1	######	3	######	5	######	2	######	1		66.66065		Jul #712
Action Comics	40,205	41	39,923	38	182,748	2	42,603	34	50,146	27	39,620	51	46,550	29		25.47223		Jul-Aug #903-904
Green Lantern	86,007	5	-	-	141,682	3	59,176	20	48,263	37	57,109	26	54,322	25		38.34079		Jul #67
Flash					129,260	4	38,860	43	31,838	84	38,190	58	41,838	36		32.36732
Superman	36,646	45	-	-	118,376	5	42,155	35	43,631	46	39,580	52	39,295	44		33.19507		Jul #713
Detective Comics			39,729	37	103,392	6	61,448	18	49,200	34	59,310	24	64,392	17		62.27948		Jul-Aug #880-881
Batman: The Dark Knight					98,389	7	45,584	27	31,653	89	43,382	38	41,634	37		42.31571		CANCELLED
Batman and …	55,172	20	52,704	18	85,242	10	55,707	21	49,917	28	52,060	31	53,374	26		62.61467		Jul-Aug #25-26; Batman and Robin until #19
Green Lantern: New Guardians					84,033	11	34,473	57	x	x	35,417	70	32,069	66		38.16239
Batgirl	22,619	96	22,695	106	81,489	12	37,707	48	x	x	36,666	63	40,752	41		50.0092		Jul-Aug #23-24
Wonder Woman	29,720	59	29,223	60	76,214	13	34,747	55	31,367	95	34,308	77	33,532	60		43.99717		Jul-Aug #613-614
Green Lantern Corps	60,836	10	53,272	16	74,769	14	36,229	52	x	x	37,312	61	38,369	49		51.31672		Jul-Aug #62-63
Teen Titans	23,138	91	27,459	68	73,765	15	31,742	64	31,633	90	34,536	76	32,395	65		43.91649		Jul-Aug #99-100
Aquaman					72,272	16	44,140	31	36,355	61	42,408	40	41,264	38		57.09542
Batwoman					72,228	17	26,223	76	x	x	25,609	103	25,987	87		35.97912
Red Lanterns					66,546	19	29,623	67	x	x	30,771	86	27,786	80		41.75458
Justice League Dark					62,856	20	64,041	16	26,786	113	45,401	37	38,760	47		61.66476
Nightwing					62,717	21	40,522	40	x	x	39,853	49	44,039	32		70.2186
Green Arrow	25,568	82	23,883	96	55,512	28	26,150	78	26,855	112	24,620	106	29,591	74		53.30559		Jul-Aug #14-15
Swamp Thing					54,757	29	22,695	93	25,831	122	21,724	123	21,141	105		38.60876
Supergirl	20,001	107	19,764	120	54,052	31	24,747	83	x	x	23,321	112	25,377	88		46.94923		Jul-Aug #66-67
Catwoman					53,670	33	24,262	85	x	x	35,134	72	29,471	75		54.9115
Red Hood and the Outlaws					50,501	39	28,821	68	x	x	27,128	97	30,632	68		60.65622
Birds of Prey	27,102	71	26,043	80	50,466	40	19,934	111	x	x	18,382	143	22,751	96		45.08184		Jul-Aug #14-15
Superboy	22,102	98	20,563	113	50,047	42	20,235	104	x	x	18,341	144	21,449	103		42.85771		Jul-Aug #9-10
Stormwatch					46,397	44	10,969	168	x	x	10,067	225	9,881	194		21.29664		CANCELLED
Suicide Squad					44,981	47	22,166	94	x	x	27,762	96	27,067	82		60.1743
Animal-Man					41,446	57	21,634	98	x	x	20,554	130	19,710	113		47.55586
Batwing					41,382	58	11,584	158	x	x	11,114	207	16,157	131		39.04355
All Star Western	10,521	169	10,369	199	39,313	65	15,276	134	x	x	14,378	178	13,937	153		35.45138		Jul-Aug Jonah Hex #69-70
COMMENTS
New 52 titles not published during this three-month period are not shown above, though they are shown in previous posts where published
Info derived from The Comic Chronicles; other sites may have different sales figures; rankings listed are for *all* publishers
To keep this list managable Annuals, minis, and titles launched after September 2011 are not covered
Multiple Issues/versions of Batman, Action, Detective, Batman and Robin, Dark Knight, Flash, GL, JL, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman published during Sept 2013; only the highest selling noted above
Not published in Sept/13: New Guardians, GL Corps, Batgirl, Batwoman, Red Lanterns, Nightwing, Supergirl, Red Hood, Birds, Superboy, Stormwatch, Suicide Squad, Animal-Man, Batwing, All Star
Catwoman only published as 2nd printing of #23 Aug/13
Justice League not published in Nov so % is Oct; assuming two issues in Dec Nov stts will be added next update
In the past, when sales dropped to certain points the date was noted. However, some titles enjoy bumps due to zero issues, crossovers, or general interest so only their current state is now noted except for 4-digit titles
Flashpoint had already started in July 2011, hence the absence of the previous Flash series
The final issue of Justice League of America and first of Justice League came out the same month, hence the double listing above
Titles selling below relaunch levels: Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Birds of Prey, Superboy; Batman and… lower than Batman and Robin Jul/11 but not Aug/11
Selling at less than 50% of Sept/11: JL, all Superman Family titles, all GL titles, Flash, Batman Dark Knight, Wonder Woman, Titans, Batwoman, Swamp Thing, Birds, Stormwatch,   Batwing, All-Star
All the Bat-titles except Batwing tend to have low attrition
Batman is currently DC's highest selling of the above titles and Stormwatch its lowest
For percentage of Feb sales over Sept sales, August sales for Justice League#1 were included in Sept sales of same; not a perfect solution but as accurate as we're likely to get
Batman at > 100,000 copies
Justice League & Batman are currently selling more than double their pre-renumbering figures
The #7 issues of Blackhawk and Men of War became the first new 52 titles to dip to 4 digits; Mr. Terrific joined them with #8, Stormwatch with #25
Proponents of the new 52 can use these stats to show that sales are overall healthier than they probably would have been without the reboot
Opponents of the new 52 can use the same figures to show that sales  are gradually slipping and the reboot was probably a bandaid solution in the long term
Overall trend in Nov/13 was up, not down