5. Elsa Bloodstone Has 1 Comic Appearance In 2023
This makes sense though. Werewolf By Night was one of the only universally well-received Phase 4 projects. Why would Marvel ever want to follow up on its MCU success stories when they have such important storylines to set up like the millionth heroes vs heroes event and killing off beloved characters so they can revive them two months later (it's funny how many different characters this could be referring to, huh?).
Plus, I mean, who even likes badass female redheads in comics? Besides...you know...Mary Jane Watson, Jean Grey, Rachel Summers, Black Widow, Starfire, Poison Ivy, Mystique, Angela, Red Sonja, Firestar, Medusa, Madelyn Pryor, Hope Summers, Barbara Gordon, Red Monika, and Hawkgirl (and that's not even close to all the characters I could have named).
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4. Investment Advice: Go Hard For The Ronin
Marvel recently announced that they will be releasing a comic continuing the story of the Ronin. If you do not know, the Ronin, created by Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki, first appeared in the Star Wars: Visions anthology on Disney+. The character has been incredibly well received by fans and seems to be the breakout star of Visions, having already made the leap over to comics last year and getting a prose novel from Penguin Random House.
Investors would be wise to pick up his first comic appearance (or the virgin variant from NYCC 2022) in case the Ronin continues to get mainstream recognition and becomes a bigger part of the galaxy far, far away.
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3. Transformers #1 Selling BIG
The initial estimate is that more than 153,000 issues were ordered by comic shops. That's like three relaunches of Amazing Spider-Man worth of comics! Who knows if that excitement is truly sustainable, but it is awesome to see a property from outside the Big Two doing so well.
It does not hurt that the writer and artist on the series is Daniel Warren Johnson, who is just a phenomenal creator. His work on both Extremity and Beta Ray Bill is tremendous.
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2. Rob Liefeld Does An Homage To His Own Crap
For year Rob Liefeld has been a subject of controversy in the comics world. Part of this has to do with his transparent attempts to deny writer Fabian Nicieza his credit for co-creating Deadpool. In other instances, it's because he drove adored writer/artist Louise Simonson out of Marvel after she helped make him a huge success. Mostly, however, the controversy comes from people wondering how he keeps getting work when he exhibits the same understanding of anatomy as a blind person. One of his most infamous covers is this stupendously terrible depiction of Captain America which, like this meme or a William Hung music video, just looks worse the longer you look at it.
Well, recently, Rob unveiled his new variant for the upcoming Captain America #1. Because if there is one thing comics needed more of, its homages to terrible art that make Captain America look like he just got a terrible boob job.
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1. Fables Is In The Public Domain (Maybe)!!
For years and years, the creator/owner of the acclaimed comic series Fables, Bill Willingham, has been fighting with DC Comics over a variety of issues, including royalties, contractual obligations around licensing, and much more. Well, after years of runarounds and duplicity from the publishing giant, Bill has told DC to go F!@# themselves and released his comic into the public domain!
That should, in theory, mean that anyone and everyone is now able to do whatever they want with any of the characters, locations, and worlds that appeared in Fables. Now, DC has released a statement explicitly to the contrary, but a huge part of the murky world of copyright law is demonstrating an intention to defend a copyright claim. So just because they are making the claim does not inherently mean they have a leg to stand on. Either way, it's good to see writers and artists continue to push back against these greedy publishers.
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Recommended Reading: Dennis Hopeless' Spider-Woman run
Hopeless took a decidedly back-to-basics approach, separating Jess from the high stakes of Avengers stories and focusing on a small core cast. Both volumes of Hopeless’ run are a revelation and provide Spider-Woman with a level of depth and nuance rarely seen in prior works.
Jess is rendered in an incredibly human way, as a woman still trying to figure out what her place in the world is and who are the most important people in her life. This dedication to uncovering who Jess is as a person takes the story in some completely unexpected, yet wonderful directions, including becoming a mother and entering into a relationship with reformed villain Roger Gocking, aka The Porcupine.
The stories related to the latter plotline are especially beautiful and contain some of the most emotionally resonant stories in modern Marvel comics. Filled with heart, humor, and gorgeous art, Hopeless’ run on Spider-Woman is a must-read for any true comic book fan.
P.S. For investors, this run started off with the highly controversial Menara variant that still sells for BIG money.
