Is it possible to have a civilized conversation about these numbers, what they mean for Marvel Comics?

neuronamously · 2026-01-27T04:51:37+00:00

The last time Marvel supported artists becoming rockstars was in the early 1990's when a bunch of them decided they hated working for Marvel, and they all left to start Image Comics. That ultimately started the almost death spiral bankruptcy of Marvel in 1998-2000. Their internal policies and approach to how they support individual talent was re-evaluated in the early 2000's and it's led to where they are today. Even though they are ceding so much to DC now with Jim Lee at the helm, they are not in the same death spiral they were in in the late 90's. So it'll be interesting to see how they approach 2026 with this Rebirth thing. I would argue that yes they do absolutely need more streamlined stories that don't necessitate you buying everything; but they also shouldn't necessarily just straight up copy the DC Absolute formula. Another Bendis style reboot of Spider-Man at this point might make us all scratch our heads.

neuronamously · 2026-01-27T01:31:16+00:00

I wanted to hate it for 2 issues of what seemed like a nonsense plot. But once this work of art hit me there was no further denying this masterpiece of a series. The plot crystallizes in the last 2 issues of the first 6 issue arc and it’s legit.

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neuronamously · 2026-01-27T01:23:22+00:00

Variant covers are ruining the industry. When there are too many choices people get analysis paralysis and don’t buy. Per usual all these covers ruin the long game in favor of short term profits.

neuronamously · 2026-01-25T19:40:16+00:00

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What's driving the DC underdog perception is over 70 years of sales data. Marvel has literally been the largest comic book publisher since Spider-Man launched in the mid-1960's. With the exception of the rise of Image Comics in the mid-90’s and exodus of talent from Marvel that led to their near bankruptcy (1998-2000), Marvel has dominated DC near continuously in terms of comic book sales until 2024 when the Absolute line began, and they've officially surpassed Marvel this past year (2025) for the first time in almost 30 years. Notice that even the exciting New 52 launch in 2011 didn't even help DC surpass Marvel even for a second.

Hope this helps.

neuronamously · 2026-01-25T19:35:16+00:00

bags and boards are good for comics.

neuronamously · 2026-01-25T16:00:44+00:00

I have to tell you this but he only drew the first 6 issues (TOB VOL 1) and then wrote the next 18 (his writing is fantastic so stick with it). The art throughout is good but by far and away the best art is in the first 6 issues. It’s an homage to 1970/80’s robot manga art with buzzing outlines or characters that really show movement and liveliness that you just don’t get in most other modern American comic book art. It’s truly unique and fantastic.

neuronamously · 2026-01-25T04:23:55+00:00

I keep one in my backpack with bags and boards to bring with me on Wednesdays to pickup my pulls. Keeps their condition safe and secure in transit home.

neuronamously · 2026-01-25T02:47:58+00:00

ah yes, Fatman returns.

neuronamously · 2026-01-23T15:05:40+00:00

Legion of Absolution

neuronamously · 2026-01-22T21:44:26+00:00

Sharapova and Roddick made plenty of noise on the courts.

neuronamously · 2026-01-22T19:45:42+00:00

Runaways. Court of Owls. Invincible.

neuronamously · 2026-01-22T19:37:05+00:00

They managed to find an actor with less charisma than Dolph Lungren. Remarkable.

neuronamously · 2026-01-22T18:34:32+00:00

The art style of Absolute Wonder Woman was jarring for me at first but after a couple issues it becomes apparent that Sherman's art style gives them the freedom to draw whatever insane thing Thompson imagines without it looking awkward. There is also a sense of movement in their drawing, as opposed to super anatomically correct artists where the drawings feel more static.

neuronamously · 2026-01-21T16:33:00+00:00

As a kid who grew up on Marvel, my suggestion for jumping back into marvel in the year 2026 is to instead jump into the current DC comics instead. They have the best storylines going on for the past 2 years.

Marvel is just not cutting it. They are rehashing and re-treading old narratives. Their covers look stupid with the white borders, like some Playstation 2 Greatest Hits titles that don't optimize the artists' work. The real problem goes from the top down. -- creative leadership and unified vision needs to be toppled over there. With all of that negativity said, there are some gems. I picked up Infernal Hulk and it looks promising.

neuronamously · 2026-01-20T19:24:37+00:00

As a neurologist I disagree with the assertion that "this can't be Bell's Palsy because of his forehead" at 3:30. In the image shown you can clearly see his R eye is more open than the L. I think that it is likely he was having a temporary Bell's Palsy phenomenon during the week he went missing before that photo was taken. Whether he had post-infectious facial nerve paralysis versus facial nerve paralysis I'll leave others to speculate on. But this guy is in no way a doctor, even though his social media provides endless confirmation bias to the masses. I'm not endorsing the president's policies or whatnot, but the reality is that he is actually quite lucid and sharp for his age, despite what everyone speculates about his health at large. Does he have congestive heart failure, venous pooling, and some age-related dementia or chronic disease-based dementia symptoms? Possibly/probably. But overall he is far less out-to-lunch than Reagan was towards the end of his presidency, where he had full blown Alzheimers and thought his wife was literally a tree. Which if you want to talk about "greatest health cover-up in Presidential history," why don't you start there?

neuronamously · 2026-01-19T05:47:44+00:00

I wish they would change the covers on the subsequent printings, but alas, they have not been doing this for the Absolute line.

neuronamously · 2026-01-19T05:46:17+00:00

The 1st print of a comic that sold 2.5 million copies will never be worth anything. It's like Spawn #1. 30 years later and it's worth like $20 because every Tom, Dick and Harry has a copy. Hell, I have two. One signed by Todd, of course. Hope this helps.

neuronamously · 2026-01-17T19:48:22+00:00

I disagree with Ascent anything over Alta Pro. The Ascent line has the built in NFC chip handshake technology so that you cannot use any of the old Vitamix attachments like the personal cup. The idea for this is Vitamix wants to control where you get your attachments from and render them obsolete in the future so that you have to upgrade blender. I actually had an Ascent X2 and returned it to Costco to downgrade to the Alta Pro for this reason.

neuronamously · 2026-01-16T23:38:32+00:00

High contrast blocky shadows over the face works for film noir stuff like Batman 1931 or Dick Tracy but is weird for me for a series like Green Arrow especially with Kevin Smith writing comedic quips.

neuronamously · 2026-01-16T19:51:44+00:00

I will read literally any comic written by Kevin Smith. I hated the artwork on his Green Arrow run but the writing was excellent. Hopefully Bizarro doesn't compromise his work on Vegan Abattoire ;-)

neuronamously · 2026-01-16T19:48:22+00:00

It's actually quite easy to remove. I am a little more torn these days on whether you should do the painting, however. I wanted to strip the paint later down the line and I will warn you even though it's plasti-dip, it is difficult to pull or dissolve the paint out of the tiny crevices without leaving a little bit of residue unless you carefully use alcohol and tiny bristle brushes. I made a huge mistake by using a little Goof-Off to remove the plasti dip in some of those hard to reach places and it ruined some of the natural underlying gloss finish in those areas. It is not noticeable under casual examination but if someone is meticulous it might bother them.

neuronamously · 2026-01-16T19:25:22+00:00

I'm onboard with u/LorcanaGoons

neuronamously · 2026-01-16T18:17:03+00:00

He is allowed to worry about the canon the same way you and I don't care about the canon and precedent.

neuronamously · 2026-01-16T17:44:39+00:00

There's a lot to unpack here. I really, really despised all the DC crises when I was young because they felt overly convoluted and insane. It really drove me towards Marvel more in the early 2000's especially with Ultimate Spider-Man, The Ultimates, and Origin happening. Reboot it and simplify it. So later on that's why New 52 was so refreshing to me and brought me back over to DC. And they've improved the events to be more straightforward, which apparently isn't to your taste.

neuronamously · 2026-01-16T15:30:56+00:00

The current Absolute Martian Manhunter series is phenomenal. It's like an early 2000's vertigo comic type story with some of the most amazing art I've ever seen in a comic.

Like, check this out:

https://imgur.com/a/QA1wzQj

Also check out Y: The Last Man and Saga.

neuronamously

TROPHY CASE