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Sticking "Reloaded" in the title makes everything that much more awesome.
I have to admit, Virgin Comics has this marketing thing down pretty well. This month, every single title in their line wrapped up a major story arc and "ended" nicely. Next month, every single title in their line will either feature a special stand-alone to draw in new readers, or relaunch a new story arc with much fanfare. That's kind of fun. So here's what I'm looking forward to:
Ramayan RELOADED #1. Quick, somebody photoshop the variant cover of Sita/Rama/Lakshamn so that it looks like the Matrix Reloaded posters. Pwease? Because that would be awesome. So anyway, if "RELOADED" is in any way shape or form shorthand for "MORE HANUMAN," then I will be very happy. Because if there was one thing that Rayaman 3392 A.D. suffered from, it was a serious lack of Hanuman. The concept artwork on Virgin's website (which I can't directly link to because it's embedded in a flash layout, argh) features a whole lotta Hanuman. Please let this mean that there will actually be more Hanuman in the comic!
Devi #11. Start of a new story arc. Huzzah! Now who wants to place bets on Iyam not really being dead?
Ganesha #1. Is this part of that Abhishek Singh-illustrated "India Authentic" line that they keep advertising? It looks like it. This can only be a good thing. Now why doesn't Hanuman have his own series yet?
India Authentic #2: Kaali. This makes me think that Ganesha is supposed to be #1 in this series (as opposed to #1 in a series all about Ganesha), especially since it has the same creative team as the aforementioned. Meh, Virgin, you need to label things better on your website.
Snakewoman #0. So the first story arc wrapped up after ten issues. And now we're going to leave readers with a cliffhanger ending, while we devote a monthly release to a prequel story. I dunno, I'm going to buy it, but... The blurb on Virgin's website makes it look like the prequel is just a rehash of events that have already been thoroughly explained, and thoroughly flashbacked, in the main comic story. Do we really need this?
Snakewoman: The Tale of the Snake Charmer #1. New story arc gets new subtitle and new numbering, whut? Well, okay. We can't all have as good of a new subtitle as Rayaman RELOADED. ;)
Walk-In #6. So, like Snakewoman, Walk-In just wrapped up its first story arc neatly. So this month we're getting a special stand-alone issue, written and drawn by Jeff Parker. As I have fallen in love with Astrid and Ian, and as this cover looks cute as hell, I am happy to hear this.
....Aaaaaaand there's still no sign of End of Story, which has been delayed for what, how many months now?
And The Sadhu is also getting a new series, with a new subtitle and new numbering. Ugh. I hate The Sadhu. I realize that I have yet to post about why I hate The Sadhu, even though I have a draft of a post saved on my laptop. Hmmm. Actually, I've read every single title that Virgin has put out so far, and yet I haven't posted any reviews about any of their stuff yet.
Well, now that story arcs are ending and some series are relaunching, now might be a good time to post some of those reviews.
In other news, I'm now three issues into The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, and my head is already spinning. I mean, the thing is partially written by Robin Furth, the awesome lady who wrote the Dark Tower Concordance guidebooks... Which is both good and bad. It's good because she is the ultimate fan, and she knows every little detail of the Stephen King Multiverse so intimately, that it makes the geek-wang of the rest of us mere mortals shrivel in comparison. This is bad because, well, I shouldn't have to be thinking about the inadequacies of my geek-wang while I'm trying to enjoy a rip-roaring adventure starring Roland Deschain. In short: This comic is difficult to follow. It doesn't feel like it was written for people new to the Stephen King Multiverse, or even for casual fans of the Stephen King Multiverse. This comic feels like it was written for hardcore Stephen King fans, and I need both volumes of the Concordance as well as an annotated copy of Wizard and Glass to follow along.
The thing about Stephen King's actual books was that they worked on multiple levels. A reader could enjoy Hearts in Atlantis or "The Little Sisters of Eluria" *without* understanding how those stories fit into the Dark Tower quest. King's books, even the clearly labeled Dark Tower books, stood on their own. Yes, they were a part of something larger, and yes, because of that, they were probably more enjoyable to well-versed Stephen King fans than not. But those books did not, however, actually exclude casual fans from enjoying them.
I'll admit, it's pretty cool seeing John Farson visualized in the comics. But other than that... Meh? This series is leaving me cold. Confused, befuddled, and cold.
Ramayan RELOADED #1. Quick, somebody photoshop the variant cover of Sita/Rama/Lakshamn so that it looks like the Matrix Reloaded posters. Pwease? Because that would be awesome. So anyway, if "RELOADED" is in any way shape or form shorthand for "MORE HANUMAN," then I will be very happy. Because if there was one thing that Rayaman 3392 A.D. suffered from, it was a serious lack of Hanuman. The concept artwork on Virgin's website (which I can't directly link to because it's embedded in a flash layout, argh) features a whole lotta Hanuman. Please let this mean that there will actually be more Hanuman in the comic!
Devi #11. Start of a new story arc. Huzzah! Now who wants to place bets on Iyam not really being dead?
Ganesha #1. Is this part of that Abhishek Singh-illustrated "India Authentic" line that they keep advertising? It looks like it. This can only be a good thing. Now why doesn't Hanuman have his own series yet?
India Authentic #2: Kaali. This makes me think that Ganesha is supposed to be #1 in this series (as opposed to #1 in a series all about Ganesha), especially since it has the same creative team as the aforementioned. Meh, Virgin, you need to label things better on your website.
Snakewoman #0. So the first story arc wrapped up after ten issues. And now we're going to leave readers with a cliffhanger ending, while we devote a monthly release to a prequel story. I dunno, I'm going to buy it, but... The blurb on Virgin's website makes it look like the prequel is just a rehash of events that have already been thoroughly explained, and thoroughly flashbacked, in the main comic story. Do we really need this?
Snakewoman: The Tale of the Snake Charmer #1. New story arc gets new subtitle and new numbering, whut? Well, okay. We can't all have as good of a new subtitle as Rayaman RELOADED. ;)
Walk-In #6. So, like Snakewoman, Walk-In just wrapped up its first story arc neatly. So this month we're getting a special stand-alone issue, written and drawn by Jeff Parker. As I have fallen in love with Astrid and Ian, and as this cover looks cute as hell, I am happy to hear this.
....Aaaaaaand there's still no sign of End of Story, which has been delayed for what, how many months now?
And The Sadhu is also getting a new series, with a new subtitle and new numbering. Ugh. I hate The Sadhu. I realize that I have yet to post about why I hate The Sadhu, even though I have a draft of a post saved on my laptop. Hmmm. Actually, I've read every single title that Virgin has put out so far, and yet I haven't posted any reviews about any of their stuff yet.
Well, now that story arcs are ending and some series are relaunching, now might be a good time to post some of those reviews.
In other news, I'm now three issues into The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, and my head is already spinning. I mean, the thing is partially written by Robin Furth, the awesome lady who wrote the Dark Tower Concordance guidebooks... Which is both good and bad. It's good because she is the ultimate fan, and she knows every little detail of the Stephen King Multiverse so intimately, that it makes the geek-wang of the rest of us mere mortals shrivel in comparison. This is bad because, well, I shouldn't have to be thinking about the inadequacies of my geek-wang while I'm trying to enjoy a rip-roaring adventure starring Roland Deschain. In short: This comic is difficult to follow. It doesn't feel like it was written for people new to the Stephen King Multiverse, or even for casual fans of the Stephen King Multiverse. This comic feels like it was written for hardcore Stephen King fans, and I need both volumes of the Concordance as well as an annotated copy of Wizard and Glass to follow along.
The thing about Stephen King's actual books was that they worked on multiple levels. A reader could enjoy Hearts in Atlantis or "The Little Sisters of Eluria" *without* understanding how those stories fit into the Dark Tower quest. King's books, even the clearly labeled Dark Tower books, stood on their own. Yes, they were a part of something larger, and yes, because of that, they were probably more enjoyable to well-versed Stephen King fans than not. But those books did not, however, actually exclude casual fans from enjoying them.
I'll admit, it's pretty cool seeing John Farson visualized in the comics. But other than that... Meh? This series is leaving me cold. Confused, befuddled, and cold.