kimik

No, but there is recency bias. When this was announced she was at a peak and there was positive buzz going into the Harley film. Covid killed that, and then SS 2 did not deliver. Her star may not be shining as bright right now which would mean DIS could replace her. It happens all the time.

It is a gorgeous cover. I chased it and now have to dump the regular 1s or toss them in a couple of long boxes in the back of storage.

Actors/Actresses go through phases where they are bankable and where they are not. I guess my day job bleeds into the rest of the day too much as I tend to look at everything via a business case (can it sell) and the dollars and cents outcome.

Has there been any word whether the new Robbie film is still in development? Or, has the more recent Harley and SS 2 box office results curtailed DIS interest?

Yes, but they need to go beyond the original SW characters and build multiple layers of SW goodness. For example, a few more HR related shows + movie trilogy (not that I would have a vested interest in that ). They are expanding the Marvel universe, now they need to do that with SW. Otherwise, why do you need to subscribe to D+ for only one new show every few months?

I think the issue with this series for most is that it is too focused on the Marc/Steven character development and does not have enough action in it. I am fine if that sets the table for next season and beyond. However, if this is 6 episodes and done, then it was a waste and they should have just gone with more action. After episode 5 you have a better understanding of Marc, and why Steven. That being said, what Marvel appears to be using D+ for is to build up the profile of lesser characters so that the general public knows and cares about them when they show up on the big screen. This is a smart approach and should pay dividends for them longer term as it cultivates a broader audience. Now if they could only get their act together with more Star Wars D+ content and a new trilogy........

Episode 4 was used to set the stage for episode 5 and then 6. It will become a bit more clear after you watch 5 where this is going. I was kind of with 4 until I watched 5.

So, if the critics hate this film, does it matter any more? It sounds like the issue for some is that they were only allowed to go half Raimi by the studio, not full Raimi, and for others the issue is that it did not follow the standard simple and glib Marvel formula. That being said, this one may end up like IM 3, which had the highest box office gross out of the three movies by a longshot.

While they may kill the variants, I doubt it will be extremely violent. This is a DIS film, after all, and I can't see them allowing that.

Different earths also. Awesome. So Marvel delivers multiple first apps to profit from again!

Tec #395 has always fetched a premium in my experience. I would have expected $80-$100 before the sad news, so this is in line with where it should be in the current market. A month from now it will likely be back to normal pricing.

It is great that you and others here love the film. I am not arguing that. To each their own. The Batman is not a 1st solo of a new franchise, it had how many Batman movies before it. I guess those don't count? Saying this is a totally 1st solo of a new franchise does not apply as it has the fan base that was cultivated by the other films preceding it just like Spider-Man. Both characters are the top properties for their respective super-hero IP stables. However, from a corporate perspective, the fact that this film with their top property did not even hit BvS levels, which was considered a failure for WB, and was not far from being doubled by a 3rd tier property in Aquaman, speaks volumes. You can't argue that WB/DCCU is not underperforming Marvel now. It is not even on the same playing field. As a Batman and DC fan first and foremost, I want them to succeed and be competitive with Spider-Man and other top Marvel properties. The only way to do this is to bring in new decision makers that can pull the DCCU out of the funk it has been in for a while now. Or, to have DIS/AMZN/AAPL acquire the new merged media company and run it properly. If I performed this poorly with declining returns when launching new products/offerings at work, I would have been fired a few years ago.

So the final box office was just under $760M worldwide for DC's flagship character, while Sony's, err Marvel's, flagship character does $1.892B and more domestically in the USA than the Batman did worldwide. That large of a difference should lead to some changes on the WB cinematic side. There is no way that a Batman film should fail to top $1B worldwide, and they have done it twice in a row with BvS and now this film. Hopefully the Discovery exec team has enough power to make the necessary changes in the new merged entity. As a Batman fan it is sad to post this, but based on box office performance, this cover accurately predicted the current state of the DCCU roughly 10 years ago

Isn't it funny how many actors/actresses want to jump in now that the first movie was a huge success...........

I like the fact that they are using this film to introduce a number of other properties in to the D+/MCU. It seems like it is being used to set up the next Phase?

I hear that Trank is being considered now and that this will be a sequel to his 2015 film.

The time to speculate on any new book is with pre-orders at a discount. Upon release you sell enough to recover your costs + an acceptable profit, reinvest the original capital + profits into the next spec book, and then sell off the rest over time while holding some for max potential returns. It is a formula that works well if you have enough storage space to do it.

Between Captain Carter #1 1:25 and Sandman Universe Nightmare Country #1 1:100, it has been a nice month for ratio variants.

Are the WotBH ratios starting to pop? Nice.

Sad news for comic fans. Adams ushered in the shift from the old guard (Kirby et al) to the new generation of comic artists in the 70s through 90s. I would put him as more influential from an artwork perspective than Kirby, as the Adams influence (see Jim Lee) is still strong today. I had a great time with him at a Calgary Expo a decade ago when he spent 20-30 minutes doing a commission for me and talking me through the different techniques he was using. RIP Neal and my condolences to his family.

Nice. Will we see the Living Mummy as well?

Hopefully Amazon or Discovery/WB picks it up then. I am hoping they cover the entire run and then some with the adaptation over multiple seasons. I think it has a shot if the show develops a following. Look at Lucifer, as an example.

Will depend on cost of booth which seems to go up every year. And the cost of doing the show. I heard that some of the out of town vendors were questioning whether they would return due to increased booth costs, increased shipping costs, and the fact that the show was slow for them this year on older books. It sounds like some of them may be passing on Edmonton in the fall, which is fine by me. I did hear that the Stompede Grounds will be raising the cost of the venue next year for FanExpo. This will be passed through to the attendees and the vendors. The cost for next year is a smidge lower for us with the 20% discount for renewing prior to the end of the show yesterday. If we did not, it would have been a significant increase.

They are already in for pressing. Just need to be graded after that. Maybe Zach was a local volunteer?

One of them, Zach, came by our booth near the end of the show looking for consignments. I do have some GA books that will be heading their way later this year, but I need to grade them first. I am not sure that it was a great show for them. They should have contacted some of the local stores in advance to help promote that they would be there to accept submissions.