CREW #1 [Archive] - NEWSARAMA

MattBrady

04-30-2003, 05:16 PM

Marvel has provided Newsarama with a five page preview of the May-shipping Crew #1, part of the Tsunami initiative, which brings together characters from Iron Man, Black Panther, and Truth in what the publisher describes as Three Kings meets Avengers.

The new ongoing is written by Priest, with art by Joe Bennett and Danny Mikki.

For more on the series, check out the <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=1945" target="_blank"> feature</a> by our friends at CBR.

Marvel’s solicitation copy for the first two issues of the series reads:

Crew #1
The Story: The events of the TRUTH limited series rock the Marvel Universe of today! In the worst neighborhood in the worst section of New York, Jim Rhodes, the one-time War Machine, will need more than his wits to achieve justice on the street. He'll need the Crew.

Crew #2
THE STORY: Three Kings meets THE AVENGERS issue #2 of this hip, irreverent, testosterone-filled action/dramedy about bad guys and worse guys! The events of the best-selling TRUTH rock the Marvel Universe of today! Four men from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds who initially find themselves pursuing self-interested goals become inspired to a collective higher cause - defending the helpless residents of a dangerous urban no-man’s land - Little Mogadishu. And they might just succeed, if they can stop fighting among themselves for just five minutes!

Click on the thumbnails for larger versions.

<center><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001006.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001006_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" alt="Crew #1, page 6" hspace="2"></a><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001007.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001007_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" alt="Crew #1, page 7" hspace="2"></a><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001008.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001008_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" alt="Crew #1, page 8" hspace="2"></a>

<a href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001009.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001009_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" alt="Crew #1, page 9" hspace="2"></a><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001010.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001010_t.jpg" width="150" height="225" border="0" alt="Crew #1, page 10" hspace="2"></a></center>

Rawle Austin

04-30-2003, 05:28 PM

With Priest at the helm, this title will have depth, character and staying power.

Unmissable!

Starpilot

04-30-2003, 05:37 PM

Looks like vintage Priest. I'm excited to find out what this series will be like.

So, it's Panther (Cole), Rhodey and Junta. I heard there were going to be four characters involved. Anyone know who the fourth is?

djshalope

04-30-2003, 05:50 PM

This looks awesome. The fourth character is the son of Isiah (Captain America) from "Truth," I believe. I heard him called Justice in interviews and so on. This series has a lot of potential.

Fan4Fan

04-30-2003, 06:01 PM

This definitely looks like the most promising of the Tsunami titles...

Makes me wish Priest were writing John Stewart over at DC... or practically anything else.

Thanks,
Fan4Fan

BlakSun

04-30-2003, 06:50 PM

Yes! Bout time they released info on this. Where's BP though? The real one?

The Marvel

04-30-2003, 06:51 PM

If Priest is writing it, I'm there. Just makes me wish that someone would give him at least one other series. The guy is the best writer in comics and he can only get one series at a time?

Somebody wake up and put this man on another title as well. This book looks great, but only one dose of Priest per month just isn't enough.

Duke Stratosphere

04-30-2003, 07:08 PM

Looks very nice. I'll buy anything Priest writes, and while I've never been a big Joe Bennett fan, I like the art in this preview a lot. Maybe the it's the inking - kudos to Danny Mikki either way.

I'm going to miss Black Panther (unless Marvel pulls a Spider-Girl on us, which I really hope happens), but at least we get The Crew. I agree with The Marvel, more Priest every month would be fantastic. His take on John Stewart would be great (Kelly's take is so-so, and Veitch's fill-in issue was simply god-awful, IMO) and I'll bet that the rest of the JLA would rock as well.

Anyone know if Priest wants more comic work? Last time I checked his web site (a long time ago) he seemed to have a lot of non-comic-related projects going.

Hdefined

04-30-2003, 07:13 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Rawle Austin:
With Priest at the helm, this title will have depth, character and staying power.<hr /></blockquote>Oh it WILL, will it? Really.

I'm still planning to check this out, but I'm rather skeptical

Kurt Avery

04-30-2003, 07:49 PM

I've never read anything by Priest, other than the occasional eight-pager in a DC Secret Files book. His stuff just never seemed to click with me.
On the other hand, this book looks pretty interesting, and it's nice to see people playing around with some concepts and characters from the forgotten (or at least less-explored) corners of the Marvel Universe.
I'll check it out.

Kurt Avery

kung-pao

04-30-2003, 07:53 PM

I wonder when Brother Voodoo will join the Crew? :confused:

Bagheera

04-30-2003, 08:03 PM

To Hdefined:
Yeah, it WILL have character and depth. And an incredible sense of humor as well. As for staying power? Well, that depends on people like you giving it a chance.

Reality check, people. The reason "Panther" had a hard time (even though it was critically acclaimed) was its lack of real jump-on points and the fact it featured a black lead. Yes, as much as it pains me to say so, black hero books are a hard sell.

Anyway, Priest's my favorite writer, and this looks great. I'm on board.

One other thing --
John Stewart? Damn, people. Give the guy a Bat title for crissakes. Look what he did to T'Challa. I can only imagine how cool Batman could be. (In fact, so should Loeb...)

stlfan79

04-30-2003, 08:23 PM

I hadn't ordered this one but arghhhh Im going to buy it also.

rdcoyner

04-30-2003, 08:34 PM

Isn't there something very blaxploitation about this? This just seems so manufactured. All of these characters have their own identities that, like the article said, have nothing to do with one another. I really hope I'm wrong, but if the only thing binding them is that they're black when one is from the world of corporate espionage, the other gritty streets, another is a former international spy and the other... well he's the son of a superhero so by default he is too? It seems like the only reason they have to exist is because Marvel wanted a black superhero team - which isn't a bad idea unto itself. I think it sucks that so far such a thing, whether Larry Stroman's Tribe or Milestone Comics haven't been successful, but there has to be a better way to do this than by marginalizing a bunch of the black characters in the Marvel universe by throwing them into a "black" book. I hope they succeed in creating a good book regardless of all else but even the fact that Priest is African-American himself doesn't mean anything if the reason for the book to exist is tainted from the start. Spike Lee's Bamboozled is a good example of what I mean.

I do plan to give this a day in court because I'm interested in Priest's writing and so far I like the art but one of the points of these articles and previews is for you to form an opinion and to either get you interested or tell you maybe it's not your thing. From what I've read on this and other sites, I just have a bad feeling that this may end up doing exactly the opposite of what all involved are hoping.

Don't know why this double posted - sorry about that...

DocSamson27572

04-30-2003, 08:38 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by adam:
I wonder when Brother Voodoo will join the Crew? :confused: <hr /></blockquote>I don't know about Brother Voodoo, but this title needs Sam Jones, The Falcon to add a little class. He is by far, one of Marvel's most dignified characters, and I would love to see him given the spotlight!!

THE FALCON!!

DocSamson27572

04-30-2003, 08:44 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by rdcoyner:
Isn't there something very blaxploitation about this? This just seems so manufactured. All of these characters have their own identities that, like the article said, have nothing to do with one another. I really hope I'm wrong, but if the only thing binding them is that they're black when one is from the world of corporate espionage, the other gritty streets, another is a former international spy and the other... well he's the son of a superhero so by default he is too? It seems like the only reason they have to exist is because Marvel wanted a black superhero team - which isn't a bad idea unto itself. I think it sucks that so far such a thing, whether Larry Stroman's Tribe or Milestone Comics haven't been successful, but there has to be a better way to do this than by marginalizing a bunch of the black characters in the Marvel universe by throwing them into a "black" book. I hope they succeed in creating a good book regardless of all else but even the fact that Priest is African-American himself doesn't mean anything if the reason for the book to exist is tainted from the start. Spike Lee's Bamboozled is a good example of what I mean.

I do plan to give this a day in court because I'm interested in Priest's writing and so far I like the art but one of the points of these articles and previews is for you to form an opinion and to either get you interested or tell you maybe it's not your thing. From what I've read on this and other sites, I just have a bad feeling that this may end up doing exactly the opposite of what all involved are hoping.<hr /></blockquote>Geez, how come no one raises an eyebrow when it's an all-white superhero team? We have to label this title as blaxploitation? I would prefer this than the common practice which is the "token black guy" that exists in pretty much all super groups as well as TV shows.

minmin

04-30-2003, 08:57 PM

i'm definitely gonna check this out...

they shold introduce a 5th character... a white super hero who wants to be a black super hero...

a la eminem... =P

TRAUMA1

04-30-2003, 09:35 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> DocSamson27572
Member # 2587 posted April 30, 2003 07:44 PM
<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by rdcoyner:
Isn't there something very blaxploitation about this? This just seems so manufactured. All of these characters have their own identities that, like the article said, have nothing to do with one another. I really hope I'm wrong, but if the only thing binding them is that they're black when one is from the world of corporate espionage, the other gritty streets, another is a former international spy and the other... well he's the son of a superhero so by default he is too? It seems like the only reason they have to exist is because Marvel wanted a black superhero team - which isn't a bad idea unto itself. I think it sucks that so far such a thing, whether Larry Stroman's Tribe or Milestone Comics haven't been successful, but there has to be a better way to do this than by marginalizing a bunch of the black characters in the Marvel universe by throwing them into a "black" book. I hope they succeed in creating a good book regardless of all else but even the fact that Priest is African-American himself doesn't mean anything if the reason for the book to exist is tainted from the start. Spike Lee's Bamboozled is a good example of what I mean.

I do plan to give this a day in court because I'm interested in Priest's writing and so far I like the art but one of the points of these articles and previews is for you to form an opinion and to either get you interested or tell you maybe it's not your thing. From what I've read on this and other sites, I just have a bad feeling that this may end up doing exactly the opposite of what all involved are hoping.<hr /></blockquote>Geez, how come no one raises an eyebrow when it's an all-white superhero team? We have to label this title as blaxploitation? I would prefer this than the common practice which is the "token black guy" that exists in pretty much all super groups as well as TV shows. <hr /></blockquote>Exactly the point Doc!
The main most important thing we should look at is;

- We still have a Black Panther book out there
- Priest is writing and everyone should know by now, he's the unknown Bendis. Priest the man people recognise!!!

rdcoyner, if you've read the Black Panther stuff from the beginning of Priest run you should know he writes groups that aren't connected with just as much style as straight up Panther.
Case in point Black Panther #17
Panther, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Falcon, Black Goliath & Brother Vodoo all team up to kick arse!
Now are you telling me all these characters have everything in common, most people would never of put them in the same book together. Priest did, and he did it damn well!!!
This is why I know The Crew is gonna continue the GREAT work he's been doing on Panther. Priest throughout his run has been using 3rd tier characters to great affect (Moon Knight was also used well)!

This book is going to be great, make sure you cope it!!!

I'm kinda dissappointed they didn't have a Priest interview to help promote this, but it seems he never gets a big push :mad:

This is why the fans need to keep faith an rep.

So grab two copies, one to read and one to store. Cause it's gonna be a classic trust!!!

"Jus my thoughts man, jus my thougts!"

Trauma an out :cool:

xerossilence

04-30-2003, 10:36 PM

i loved Black panther and many other things priest has done. his deadpool and ray book left something to be desired though. out of respect for his work i will at least pick up the first issue, even though i cant really force myelf to get interested in the premise, the characters, the art. lets hope its worth while.

(FALCON WOULD KICK ASS IN THIS BOOK!)

Xero

Greg Geren

04-30-2003, 10:58 PM

Yeah, I'll definitely buy this book. Priest hit all the right notes with BLACK PANTHER, and I enjoy team books more than solo books, so there's two good reasons right there.

And didn't CBR have a Priest interview in that spot yesterday? It started with "BLACK PANTHER is not cancelled" over and over. (Meaning that it was in effect "Continued" in THE CREW, settle down).

Anyway, whereever I saw that, Priest touched on some of the points raised here. This team may be composed of 3/4 black people, but they are still ethnically diverse. One is Catholic, one is Muslim, one is half-Jewish. Junta is Latino. Sounds more like "Blaxploration" to me.

Looking forward to this, even though it means that the BLACK PANTHER series I enjoyed so much ended at #49.

Greg

flutegirlfanrocks

04-30-2003, 11:10 PM

For some reason i only got the first 4 pages the 5th was to small to read, hopefuly this will be corected.

Hdefined

04-30-2003, 11:16 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Bagheera:
To Hdefined:
Yeah, it WILL have character and depth. And an incredible sense of humor as well. As for staying power? Well, that depends on people like you giving it a chance.<hr /></blockquote>Will you refund my purchase if it lacks any of those things?

Look, I'm just giving you a hard time. I read Black Panther loved it, but jumped off the train at issue #50 because it lacked character (well, an interesting one), depth (at the time, it just abandonned all depth from the rest of the series) and humor. Same with the Doom story he wrote in Marvel Double Shots. I've heard Panther's been pretty good since, but I'm still skeptical.

Oh, and don't guarantee something you don't know. It'll just come back to smack you in the face one day, trust me.

Duke Stratosphere

04-30-2003, 11:57 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Bagheera:
One other thing --
John Stewart? Damn, people. Give the guy a Bat title for crissakes. Look what he did to T'Challa. I can only imagine how cool Batman could be. (In fact, so should Loeb...)<hr /></blockquote>Too true - should have thought of that myself! :rolleyes:

Heck, let Priest write Forbush Man - I'm there!

Greg Geren

05-01-2003, 12:01 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by flutegirlfanrocks:
For some reason i only got the first 4 pages the 5th was to small to read, hopefuly this will be corected.<hr /></blockquote>Until it does, try this <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/CREW001010.jpg" target="_blank">link</a> .

They just linked to the thumbnail instead of the graphic. Drop the '-t' off the end and it came right up.

Another public service brought to you by...

Greg

Cloak & Dagger

05-01-2003, 12:20 AM

Getting this for sure.

But there's nothing shown here that I didn't see before. I guess it's in colour, so okay...I was wrong. There is something here I didn't see before. The pages are in colour.

Arashikage Ninja

05-01-2003, 12:28 AM

I never read any of Priest's Black Panther because he completely destroyed Deadpool. Seriously, the only person who has ever hurt Deadpool as much as Gail Simoane was Priest. However, everyone seems to like his work on Panther, so maybe i should give him a chance. But seriously.. his run on Deadpool was horrific!

05-01-2003, 05:38 AM

DrDoom

05-01-2003, 05:40 AM

Warmachine going AWOL? going evil?

AllAboutMe

05-01-2003, 07:36 AM

Christopher Priest is the reason ost seem to pick this book up, including myself. Sadly, not many folks seems to care who the characters are which is not so good. Priest on a fisrt-tier character would bring the proper exposure that Priest deserves from the glam-mags like Wizard. Until he does something more high profile, a lot of folks will not care, which is unfortunate. Black Panther was easliy the best Marvel book put out in years. Too bad fans were too busy buying the tired X-Men.
Sam JONES, the Falcon? Sam Wilson, i think you meant.
Priest ruined Deadpool? Please. Deadpool was a lost cause.

comicpanther

05-01-2003, 09:06 AM

I want my issue.

flutegirlfanrocks

05-01-2003, 10:54 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by flutegirlfanrocks:
For some reason i only got the first 4 pages the 5th was to small to read, hopefuly this will be corected.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Until it does, try this link .

They just linked to the thumbnail instead of the graphic. Drop the '-t' off the end and it came right up.

Another public service brought to you by...

Greg <hr /></blockquote>Ok I got it thanks a lot Greg.

BoyWonder

05-01-2003, 11:10 AM

This looks good. I'm not a fan of Casper Cole, he just isn't anywhere near as interesting as T'Challa, but the rest of the Crew could be great.

Also, Priest himself admitted that he messed up on DeadPool.

goob

05-01-2003, 11:11 AM

i thought justice was from the new warriors? oh well lets just recycle the name in good ol' marvel fashion

Mellow Doubt

05-01-2003, 11:16 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Greg Geren:
Anyway, whereever I saw that, Priest touched on some of the points raised here. This team may be composed of 3/4 black people, but they are still ethnically diverse. One is Catholic, one is Muslim, one is half-Jewish. Junta is Latino. Sounds more like "Blaxploration" to me.
<hr /></blockquote>Excuse me, but did Priest actually say there's a Muslim on the team? 'Cause none of the characters on the team so far fit that description. And if you were referring to the CBR interview linked above, he just lamented the lack of solid characters in superhero comics that happened to be ethnic, be they black, Jewish or Muslim.

In case anyone takes this the wrong way, I'm asking the above because I am a Muslim. And if it turns out there is a Muslim character in the book, it's interesting to see how Priest handles him/her. Though he did drop the ball with Achebe from BP (long story).

Either way, I'm definitely picking this up. Gotta have my monthly Priest fix!

BoyWonder

05-01-2003, 12:23 PM

Re-reading the preview I notice Priest seems to be going for an urban wide-screen approach. I have to asy the artwork looks quite cool. Also, Justice the son of Isiah (from the Truth) is the muslim character.

Greg Geren

05-01-2003, 12:35 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Mellow Doubt:
Excuse me, but did Priest actually say there's a Muslim on the team? 'Cause none of the characters on the team so far fit that description. And if you were referring to the CBR interview linked above, he just lamented the lack of solid characters in superhero comics that happened to be ethnic, be they black, Jewish or Muslim.

In case anyone takes this the wrong way, I'm asking the above because I am a Muslim. And if it turns out there is a Muslim character in the book, it's interesting to see how Priest handles him/her. Though he did drop the ball with Achebe from BP (long story).

Either way, I'm definitely picking this up. Gotta have my monthly Priest fix![/QB]<hr /></blockquote>I was referring to a Priest interview that I read on-line somewhere in the last week concerning this series. I can't find the link now to save my life. I even went cache-diving and it's already purged.

Apologies to all, but if no one else read that interview, then I must conclude that it was a jalapeno-induced dream.

But for speculation's sake, by process of elimination, Rhodey is Catholic, Junta is Latino, Kasper is half-Jewish. That would leave Justice as the Muslim, and at this point the character hasn't even appeared yet, so no one outside of Priest and Marvel knows much about him yet, other than the fact that he is the son of the guy from TRUTH (which I haven't been reading).

So count this all as unsubstantiated rumor and guesswork. Unless someone else recalls reading that interview.

Greg

riotgear

05-01-2003, 01:26 PM

I don't care if the characters are all black or all white, give me a good story (which Priest usually delivers), good art (Joe Bennett is severely underrated), and something that doesn't go contrary to continuity, and I'm there.

StoneGold

05-01-2003, 01:59 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by DocSamson27572:
[QUOTE]I don't know about Brother Voodoo, but this title needs Sam Jones, The Falcon to add a little class. He is by far, one of Marvel's most dignified characters, and I would love to see him given the spotlight!!

THE FALCON!!<hr /></blockquote>That's Wilson! Sam Wilson you fool!

Nah, I'm just playin. Too much crap at work. It is Sam Wilson though.

hondo

05-01-2003, 02:25 PM

Black Panter

let's not forget the glam art that kicked off that title of Joe Jusko and Sal Velluto. I think that got a lot of people picking it up. BP has been what Hawkman is now: one of the most attractive yet underread books on the racks.

I have picked up quite a bit of the Panther series but not the whole thing and have read it in bits and pieces and can honestly say it's as inpenetrable as X-Men was a couple of years ago BUT so much more rewarding if you knew the back story kind of like LSH used ta be (still to an extent but not really <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> )

anyways...

wasn't sure I was goin to pick this up as there is only so much $$ to go around but yes I certainly will

BTW, Milestone has been mentioned here. Let me make an observation plz : This was one of the absolute best imprints out there 10 years ago. I avoided it like the plague for the same "blaxploitation" reasons stated earlier HOWEVER I picked up an issue out of a quarter bin somewhere to try it (who many people out there have gotten hooked this way ? can't tell you how many titles I've tried and liked this way) and found it very very very fresh ! The whole line was like that and I believe most if not all of the creators were black. TRY to find these issues somewhere. I am still in need of a few and they are not easy to find. Someone knows and I think of Black Panther and Priest in the same vein.

BTW, it's amazing to me that I never hear people talk about his buddy book over at Acclaim : Quantum & Woody. Pencils by Mark (yes he's black too and a great underrated artist) Bright. The cult of fans knew about it then too but it still didnt get as much attention as it deserved.

I just hope The Crew hangs on. It also sort of reminds me of Busiek's T-Bolts in it's new Marvel group book spin. Here's hoping it's good AND it gets the recognition it deserves. :D

Salt_Gravy_Hates_U

05-01-2003, 02:32 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Arashikage Ninja:
Seriously, the only person who has ever hurt Deadpool as much as Gail Simoane was Priest. However, everyone seems to like his work on Panther, so maybe I should give him a chance. But seriously. His run on Deadpool was horrific!<hr /></blockquote>:mad: Ugh, if you didn't like Priests run on Deadpool, you'd probably hate BP. Oh, and In my opinion the Gail Simone Deadpool was the funniest and most action packed the series has EVER been. With the Udon crew drawing it, the book was easily in my top 3. Then came agent X and it was ok at best and I contemplated dropping it. I was a little upset at the past few issues crummy art, lame story, you know the reasons people don't read comics. Then along came Evan Dorkin proving once again he is, the funniest man in this genre. Everyone should rush out and grab the latest issue, it's laugh-out-loud, pee-your-pants funny. Too bad his run is only for like 2 issues though. Hey MARVEL bigwigs, how's about offering Dorkin one of those shiny exclusive contracts eh?

Mike Cruz

05-01-2003, 03:54 PM

I think Priest, whether he's writing a first tier character or not, is a great writer. From the 5 page preview, the art looks decent. I'm getting physically ill anyway with with the way a number of the companies have mandated that their resemble Manga.

Secondly, I love Priest's depth of storyline and character. A number of writers in the industry don't write, they add dialogue to a plot and submit this as story.

I enjoyed Priest's Falcon mini-series in the 80's; and I greatly enjoyed Black Panther during its recent run. He brought the character to new heights and the man made me feel good about buying a comic that was worth every penny I spent on it.

As for the Deadpool and Ray titles, well not every character is going to be a hit. Frankly, I thought the worst writer on the Authority was Mark Millar.

Priest, like Busiek, comes from the Silver Age school of writing comics: good character + good story = great comic.

-Mike

Mike Cruz

05-01-2003, 04:16 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hondo:
[QB]Black Panter

let's not forget the glam art that kicked off that title of Joe Jusko and Sal Velluto. I think that got a lot of people picking it up. BP has been what Hawkman is now: one of the most attractive yet underread books on the racks.

I entirely agree, but I still feel that Johns is still cutting his teeth. His story lines, while good, don't seem to have a whole lot of depth and is assuming largely that the readership is already familiar with the character and his/her background from 1)appearances in other titles and 2)a dependency on a visually iconic legend.

Only the Flash has much depth, background, and a large supporting cast.

I have picked up quite a bit of the Panther series but not the whole thing and have read it in bits and pieces and can honestly say it's as inpenetrable as X-Men was a couple of years ago BUT so much more rewarding if you knew the back story kind of like LSH used ta be (still to an extent but not really <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> )

I disagree with you on this one. Claremont is a highly proprietary writer. Priest's storie do not approach anywhere near the density of Claremont's stories in the early to mid 90's. His plots and subplots are heavy, overlapping and more than occasionally confused me into forgetting what the story was actually about.

I began picking up Black Panther during the Malice storyline and, with some exception, I was fully on board and had a reasonable knowledge of who was what, and what was going on.

kung-pao

05-01-2003, 04:25 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by DocSamson27572:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by adam:
I wonder when Brother Voodoo will join the Crew? :confused: <hr /></blockquote>I don't know about Brother Voodoo, but this title needs Sam Jones, The Falcon to add a little class. He is by far, one of Marvel's most dignified characters, and I would love to see him given the spotlight!!

THE FALCON!!<hr /></blockquote>Brother Voodoo is a must! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> Who's the Crew going to go to if they need help with anything mystical or unexplainable? Dr Strange? Nobody’s seen Dr Strange in years. I can’t even remember the last comic he was in. Brother Voodoo has been in previous Black Panther issues and Priest would definitely have fun writing him. Have you seen the Devil’s Advocate? Remember Delroy Lindo played a character named Phillipe Moyez – he was Keanu’s first client when he went to NY. That’s how Brother Voodoo needs to be. He’s the Dr Fate/Dr Strange of the Crew.

<a href="http://www.bet.com/articles/1,,c1gb6016-6765,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.bet.com/articles/1,,c1gb6016-6765,00.html</a>

April 11, 2003 -- The Haitian government has officially declared voodoo a religion…

Broother Voodoo’s time is now :mad:

Dan20

05-01-2003, 06:01 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by kung-pao:
Dr Strange? Nobody’s seen Dr Strange in years. I can’t even remember the last comic he was in. <hr /></blockquote>Amazing Spider-Man, not too long ago.
And he had a short story in the last issue of Marvel Double Shot.

jawaplumber

05-01-2003, 06:03 PM

This might be a decent series, but I really have no intention of picking it up unless it sounds like Priest is doing some interesting work with Isiah's son that I can't miss. I know that's not very supportive of me, but at the same time there are so many other new projects out there now that I have far more interest in, something eventually has to be sacrificed. If one of those other new series isn't to my liking, though, I may make room for The Crew. Again, it's just not on my priority list. I didn't read much of BLACK PANTHER and I don't care much for Joe Bennett.

QCCBob

05-01-2003, 09:20 PM

It's not going to sell. It's not because there's a black lead or team. It's not because Marvel won't hype it. It's not because of the art. It won't sell because Priest doesn't sell. I swear it seems like every person that buys his books is online. He killed Power Man/Iron Fist, Hawkman, Deadpool, BP, and, if his sales don't sink the book, the company folds like Q&W. Sorry to the 12,000 fans that actually like his work, but the man doesn't sell.

gwangung

05-01-2003, 09:32 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> It's not going to sell. It's not because there's a black lead or team. It's not because Marvel won't hype it. It's not because of the art. It won't sell because Priest doesn't sell. I swear it seems like every person that buys his books is online. He killed Power Man/Iron Fist, Hawkman, Deadpool, BP, and, if his sales don't sink the book, the company folds like Q&W. Sorry to the 12,000 fans that actually like his work, but the man doesn't sell. <hr /></blockquote>That's why they call it the Priest Curse.

Seriously, while Priest books are right up my ally, I understand why he doesn't sell. He can be a bit obtuse at times, demanding the reader work to pick things up, and he refuses to put clues to the story in 2000 watt spotlights for the reader to pick up (and there are times when that really is needed). A lot of vital clues get tossed off and look like minor bits....

jawaplumber

05-01-2003, 09:58 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by QCCBob:
It's not going to sell. It's not because there's a black lead or team. It's not because Marvel won't hype it. It's not because of the art. It won't sell because Priest doesn't sell. I swear it seems like every person that buys his books is online. He killed Power Man/Iron Fist, Hawkman, Deadpool, BP, and, if his sales don't sink the book, the company folds like Q&W. Sorry to the 12,000 fans that actually like his work, but the man doesn't sell.<hr /></blockquote>I'm not so sure that Priest has been the biggest problem with the books Bitter Bob here mentioned, but he IS right, Priest himself doesn't sell consistently except to his small online following. I've enjoyed some of his work in the past but he writes in a style that isn't one I prefer. Still, I'll keep an eye and an ear on THE CREW. For now, I'm happier with some of the other Tsunami books (MYSTIQUE, NAMOR and SENTINEL had excellent first issues, HUMAN TORCH was fun, and even though I doubt I'll keep buying it, RUNAWAYS was well-written).

wraith

05-02-2003, 12:26 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by QCCBob:
It's not going to sell. It's not because there's a black lead or team. It's not because Marvel won't hype it. It's not because of the art. It won't sell because Priest doesn't sell. I swear it seems like every person that buys his books is online. He killed Power Man/Iron Fist, Hawkman, Deadpool, BP, and, if his sales don't sink the book, the company folds like Q&W. Sorry to the 12,000 fans that actually like his work, but the man doesn't sell.<hr /></blockquote>A few quick points.

1. I agree with you, tat tis book (and the other tsunami books for that matter) will not sell.

2. Power Man and Iron Fist were already in danger of being canceled before Priest and Bright took over the book. Shortly after they took over PM/IF, sales started to gradualy increase, but the book was canceled due to company politics.

3. Priest's best selling book (and like his BP,Q&W,and PM/IF work, a dam good book) was the Spider-man and Wolverine one shot from te late 80's (that's the book where Ned Leeds died). Last time I checked, te book was valued at $25.

4. I think that if Priest would go back to writing straight super hero stories, like he did/used to in the 80's (when he wrote the excelent Falcon mini series,PM/IF,and the Spidey/wolverine one hot),his stuff would sell a whole hell of a lot better.

abelp

05-02-2003, 12:27 AM

actually, i think that mr. priest HAS written some john stewart stories for dc. if i recall correctly, mr. priest used to go by the pen name "james owsley". under this name, he wrote a series of green lantern stories for "action comics weekly" which featured john stewart. one of the major plots involved star sapphire killing katma tui, who was an alien green lantern and john stewart's lover at the time.

someone might want to double-check the "james owsley" connection and correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought i'd pass it along...

Wildfire

05-02-2003, 01:47 AM

I'm looking forward to this more for War Machine than Priest, being a huge Iron Man mark. In general I find that Priest is good for a little whiel, but his titles tend to lose steam as the months go on ( Steel is a good example of this)

I'll be curious to see if there is a good in character reason for James Rhodes to be War Machine again... last time he appeared in IM, I believe he was running a salvage business.

-- Joe

Bagheera

05-02-2003, 02:46 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by QCCBob:
It's not going to sell. It won't sell because Priest doesn't sell. He killed Power Man/Iron Fist, Hawkman, Deadpool, BP, and, if his sales don't sink the book, the company folds like Q&W. Sorry to the 12,000 fans that actually like his work, but the man doesn't sell.<hr /></blockquote>Wow. Let's have the negative viewpoint.

Seriously, you and jawaplumber are misinformed. Denny O'Neill was told "PM/IF" was being cancelled -- no matter what -- halfway through Owsley's/Priest's run. That precipitated Priest to mindlessly kill off Iron Fist. He, Bright, and O'Neill were seriously pissed off.

Next, we have "Hawkman." Well, I don't know if you'd been reading it when Priest took over, but that book was being handed the pink slip well before he took the reins. He wrote THREE issues. Ummm. That book was in the gutter well before Priest came on board.

Okay, "Deadpool?" Well, there's no defense. Priest was offered the title because "Panther" was so hilarious. But he admits on his website that his work there sucked. He just didn't put his heart in it.

And HE killed "Panther?" Were either you or jawaplumber buying that title? I'm not even going there. That's been dealt with over and over and over. Your claim is ludicrous.

Quite frankly, Priest has had some hard luck in the past. He's been given books no one wants, and his one famous accomplishment -- namely "Spider-Man vs. Wolverine" -- never led to a better job. Yet Lobdell writes some CRAPPY "Nick Fury" and "Excalibur" stories and gets the X-Men. Just an example.

Priest does sell. He sells to an audience who's tried his stuff and realized its greatness. If you're not interested, fine. Buy the latest issue of "Wizard" and then tell me what's cool. Cool?

jawaplumber

05-02-2003, 07:19 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Bagheera:
[QUOTE]Wow. Let's have the negative viewpoint.

Seriously, you and jawaplumber are misinformed.
Priest does sell.

He sells to an audience who's tried his stuff and realized its greatness. If you're not interested, fine. Buy the latest issue of "Wizard" and then tell me what's cool. Cool?<hr /></blockquote>First of all, I didn't outright take the same stance as Bob did, I never said Priest was the major problem with those books. They had plenty of others before and/or outside of Priest. I never said he killed PANTHER, all I said was I didn't read much of it. Also, I never said Priest wasn't good or couldn't appeal to others. I simply said that he doesn't appeal to me and that right now, he doesn't sell on a consistent basis except to this online following. I'm sorry, but that's just the truth. That's not being negative, it's just being honest. I understand you have a lot of loyalty and faith in Priest, but there comes a point where you have to face facts.

And the next time you're gonna get on my back about something, try reading my posts all the way through, pal.

jawaplumber

05-02-2003, 07:23 AM

Please disregard this...double post

jawaplumber

05-02-2003, 07:31 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Bagheera:
[QUOTE]Quite frankly, Priest has had some hard luck in the past. He's been given books no one wants, and his one famous accomplishment -- namely "Spider-Man vs. Wolverine" -- never led to a better job. Yet Lobdell writes some CRAPPY "Nick Fury" and "Excalibur" stories and gets the X-Men. Just an example.<hr /></blockquote>Lobdell got the X-Men gig because he was a yes man and nagged the Marvel editors. He campaigned for the job. Priest, probably feeling he didn't need to stoop to that level, never took that sort of route. It has nothing to do with luck, trust me.

QCCBob

05-02-2003, 09:25 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Bagheera:
And HE killed "Panther?" Were either you or jawaplumber buying that title?<hr /></blockquote>Obviously not, since it was clearly purchased by only you and about 11,999 others like the majority of his books. Perhaps you should consider buying multiple copies. If you all bought three, he might have a title that isn't in danger of cancellation for it's entire run! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Seriously, I pushed BP, I even recommended it on these boards awile back. I didn't say he sucked, I said he didn't sell. BUT, if he's so great, how come he couldn't save any of those books?

BoyWonder

05-02-2003, 10:45 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by QCCBob:

Seriously, I pushed BP, I even recommended it on these boards awile back. I didn't say he sucked, I said he didn't sell. BUT, if he's so great, how come he couldn't save any of those books?<hr /></blockquote>You are right he doesn't suck, but he doesn't sell. For some reason Priest always gets characters that aren't particularly popular or books that are in danger of getting tanked before he even begins. The danger with the Crew is that it is full of 2nd stringers.

I would love to see him work on big characters. I think he would do really well on Uncanny X-men or Avengers. The 24 000 people who read BP probably aren't reading X-men or Avengers, but would probably pick those titles up if Priest wrote it. If Chuck Austen wrote the Crew I doubt anyone would care. In fact Austen wrote the War Machine mini series and no one cared!

reg hollis

05-02-2003, 01:33 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by xerossilence:
PLEASE dont correct my gramar, spelling, punctuation et cetera. i know it's faulty. but pointing out my shortcomings concerning the english language serves no purpose whatsoever in arguments about comics.
<hr /></blockquote>That's GRAMMAR not 'gramar'!

Greg Geren

05-02-2003, 03:02 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Greg Geren:
[QUOTE]
Apologies to all, but if no one else read that interview, then I must conclude that it was a jalapeno-induced dream.

So count this all as unsubstantiated rumor and guesswork. Unless someone else recalls reading that interview.

Greg<hr /></blockquote>OK, it was a snippet from digital-priest.com, reproduced on the CBR message boards by Loren.

The excerpt in question (now that nobody but me cares)
"It's a quirky, urban macho wiseass book, starring a Catholic, a Muslim and a Jew brought together in common purpose. "

Here's a link to the topic: <a href="http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55498" target="_blank">Priest on "THE CREW" and BP's cancellation.</a>

I, for one, am glad to find out that I am not in fact insane.

Greg

zeraze

05-02-2003, 10:32 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Bagheera:
[QB]To Hdefined:
Reality check, people. The reason "Panther" had a hard time (even though it was critically acclaimed) was its lack of real jump-on points and the fact it featured a black lead. Yes, as much as it pains me to say so, black hero books are a hard sell.
[QB]<hr /></blockquote>Wasn't the whole "Black and White" story arc in BP supposed to be the latest jump on point for new readers? This could have worked if Marvel bothered to promote it on-line or in any of their comics. It's not that difficult as shown here:

<a href="http://www.zentertainment.com/article.php?sid=7914&mode=thread&order=0" target="_blank">http://www.zentertainment.com/article.php?sid=7914&mode=thread&order=0</a>

MERIDIAN #34 shows how a jump-on point should be plugged with a series recap, preview art, and lots of positive reviews.

With all the money from blockbuster films and video games, Marvel couldn't find the funds to effectively promote a superb comic like Black Panther? Something reeks in the House of Ideas.

As for the black leads dooming comics, how about getting the books into supermarkets, drug stores, video rental shops, and other places beyond the direct market? That's where you'll find customers open to new ideas like a smart, noble Black superhero. After all, BLADE was a hit film because it was directed to people (e.g., moviegoers) who believe that Black superheroes can be cool.

zeraze

zeraze

05-02-2003, 10:56 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by jawaplumber:
[QUOTE]Still, I'll keep an eye and an ear on THE CREW. For now, I'm happier with some of the other Tsunami books (MYSTIQUE, NAMOR and SENTINEL had excellent first issues, HUMAN TORCH was fun, and even though I doubt I'll keep buying it, RUNAWAYS was well-written).<hr /></blockquote>On that note, here's how my must-pull Tsunami list stands:

MYSTIQUE, too many damn X-spinoffs on the stands already - PASS

SENTINEL: See above

HUMAN TORCH: Horrid art, nuff said

NAMOR: Maybe (Issue #1 is 25 cents, after all)

RUNAWAYS: A Tsunami comic with an ORIGINAL concept instead of rehashes of decades-old superheroes and supervillains. Of course, this goes on my pull list.

Of course, with THE CREW coming out, this will join RUNAWAYS and THE QUEST as the only Tsunami titles worth checking out.

zeraze

jawaplumber

05-03-2003, 11:38 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by zeraze:
[QUOTE]]On that note, here's how my must-pull Tsunami list stands:

MYSTIQUE, too many damn X-spinoffs on the stands already - PASS

SENTINEL: See above

<hr /></blockquote>Ok, fair enough about too many X-spinoffs, but did you actually try reading MYSTIQUE or SENTINEL? They were both far better than any of the other secondary X-books (with the exception of EXILES). I think they will both thrive, while crap like WEAPON X isn't long for the world. SOLDIER X and AGENT X are already on the path to cancellation, as well.

J.C. Bakken

05-04-2003, 12:33 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by abelp:
actually, i think that mr. priest HAS written some john stewart stories for dc. if i recall correctly, mr. priest used to go by the pen name "james owsley". under this name, he wrote a series of green lantern stories for "action comics weekly" which featured john stewart. one of the major plots involved star sapphire killing katma tui, who was an alien green lantern and john stewart's lover at the time.

someone might want to double-check the "james owsley" connection and correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought i'd pass it along...<hr /></blockquote>Wow, a Priest thread, and noone pics this up. Oh Well. Yes, dude, Chrispthoer Priest is the one and only James C. Owsley aka Jim Owsley, once a editor of Spider-Book, and was a writer of Web of.. at the time Spidey vs. Wolvie came out. It was him and Tom DeFalco who resolved, the first time, the Hobgoblin saga.
Later on, not sure when, he changed his name to Christopher Priest.

No need to thank me, just send me a check or something :D

Wade_Williams

05-24-2003, 03:06 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Wildfire:
I'm looking forward to this more for War Machine than Priest, being a huge Iron Man mark. In general I find that Priest is good for a little whiel, but his titles tend to lose steam as the months go on ( Steel is a good example of this)

I'll be curious to see if there is a good in character reason for James Rhodes to be War Machine again... last time he appeared in IM, I believe he was running a salvage business.

-- Joe<hr /></blockquote>

Wade_Williams

05-24-2003, 03:11 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Wildfire:
I'm looking forward to this more for War Machine than Priest, being a huge Iron Man mark. In general I find that Priest is good for a little whiel, but his titles tend to lose steam as the months go on ( Steel is a good example of this)

I'll be curious to see if there is a good in character reason for James Rhodes to be War Machine again... last time he appeared in IM, I believe he was running a salvage business.

-- Joe<hr /></blockquote>Ignore the double post, my bad

I'm with Wildfire on this. Jim Rhodes is such an under used character and what little he has been at the helm of has been disappointing (think back to that nasty 12 issue War Machine run of the MAX series). Having just finished reading "The Crew#1" I was pretty impressed, I like Priest's Dark take on Jim Rhodes' persona, its a pretty bold move, hopefully we'll see this reflected in the rest of the series.

here's hoping