Thursday, September 6, 2012

Bottom Out of the Tub?

It's been quite some time since I reviewed a "traditional" comic, and I'm beginning to wonder when (if?) I ever will again.  The American Disney comics license remains in limbo despite Disney's ownership of Marvel.  This is disappointing, but, in all honesty, not surprising.  At the moment, I personally believe that the best bet for a new Disney line would be for Disney to strike some kind of deal with IDW Publishing.  IDW's handling of POPEYE and ARCHIE material has earned praise, and the folks who work there have certainly demonstrated a sufficiently sharp "eye for history" to handle the Disney comics well, should they have the chance to do so.  Unfortunately, Marvel's hogging the front of the line and doesn't appear to have the faintest sort of interest in checking out.  Indeed, it's sprawled on the floor, snoring contentedly in a sleeping bag until the next Marvel feature film is released.

As for Ape Entertainment's RICHIE RICH titles, well, I'm beginning to wonder about the viability of the ENTIRE Ape enterprise.  Several weeks have passed without any Ape releases turning up on ComicList.  At last check, the most recent note posted on Ape releases on the Ape home page was dated August 13.  No RICHIE RICH titles are listed among the "Kizoic" September and October releases (assuming that said releases ever actually APPEAR, of course).  What is going ON at the Monkey House?

It appears that I may have reached the same "tipping point" that Joe did in February...  the end of my new-comics-purchasing days.  The main difference, of course, is that I am still getting all of those classic comic-strip reprint volumes.  This seems apropos given that I'm within a month of celebrating a half-century on God's green Earth.  I've always had a bent for nostalgia; the undertow just seems stronger than normal at the moment.
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1 comment:

  1. Joe TorciviaSeptember 6, 2012 at 8:46 PM

    Chris:

    Though I’ve still officially “kicked the habit”, I will recommend IDW’s new POPEYE series. It’s the ONLY thing I’ve made an exception for since my declaration of February.

    Issue # 4 – out this past week – is the best one of the series so far, and I’d suggest everyone try it out. (Oddly, issue # 3 was the worst – by far – of the issues to-date!) # 1 was a nice re-intro to Segar’s characters, and # 2 was good but with one stroke of absolute genius that you’ll know once you see it!

    You don’t need to read the first three, as they are (…as this type of comic SHOULD BE) self-contained!

    That lone exception aside, I’m still gone… Disney isn’t doing anything to change that, and DC’s best stuff is now on DVD!

    Joe.

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