Tuesday, December 31, 2013

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)

Saturday, December 28, 2013

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 51st 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.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

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

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

Monday, December 16, 2013

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