| Posted: 12 March 2018 at 6:41am | IP Logged | 4
|
post reply
|
|
Here in the UK, we have a title called THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL, usually reprinting 3 US strips.
It is constantly relaunching/renumbering. Next month it will do the same:
1st new-look issue, right?
Yet it'll be reprinting the third part of a Black Panther tale.
It's not a major issue, but anyone who may be hooked by the "1st new-look issue" tagline (and the fact it'll be a #1) may, if picking up a Marvel title for the first time, be wondering why the third part of a Black Panther tale is in there.
Reprint titles should, in my view, only relaunch at #1 if the reprints are first issues, too.
Regarding renumbering, Panini Comics (the successor to Marvel UK) do relaunch titles on a regular basis, so it seems they are following the lead of the US.
Yet it never used to be that way. Marvel UK began in 1972 (most of their output has been reprints, but they did some original stuff, too). SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY began in 1973 and ran until 1985. It clocked up a rather eerie 666 issues.
It never renumbered (obviously). It had a few name changes, here are some of them:
SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN WEEKLY SUPER SPIDER-MAN TV COMIC THE SPIDER-MAN COMIC
But name changes aside, it resisted the temptation to renumber. I did buy a lot of issues. Not only was Spider-Man featured, but countless heroes such as Dr. Strange and the X-Men had backup strips.
I think 666 issues is quite an achievement. Yes, that's 666 weeks rather than months, but it's still a good number to go out on (and I'd wager Mephisto or someone used their magic to make it end on its 666th issue!).
|
