# Comics  > Image Comics >  "Phonogram" Returns, "Morning Glories" Hits #50 in Image Comics' August 2015 Solicitations

## CBR News

Plus, the latest from "Walking Dead," Lazarus," "ODY-C" and "Outcast," and the "Jupiter's Circle" finale!


_Full article here._

----------


## Joker

Was really hoping to see Casanova show back up, but no such luck.

----------


## ysemaj

A few things for me this month: 

WE STAND ON GUARD #2
TWD #145
TREES #12
SOUTHERN BASTARDS #11
SEX CRIMINALS #13
OUTCAST #12 (A maybe, been disappointed with this series so far but hoping it picks up). 
LAZARUS #19 (The cover looks very interesting). 

So, Nowhere Men is coming back with a second arc it seems, which is quite exciting.

A skip month for a few favourites: Fade Out, EoW, Saga, Velvet.

----------


## CZor

Small month for me:

Injection
Kaptara
ODY-C
Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl (might try it, but I haven't read the previous volumes)
Rat Queens
Rumble
Sex Criminals (DID CHIP JUST NAMED HIMSELF AFTER STEVE DIKTO?! LMAO)
We Stand On Guard
The Wicked + The Divine

----------


## Dark-Flux

Four trades of the Marz/Sejic Witchblade run for under $20? That theres a bargain folks.

----------


## Anduinel

Pull:
Elephantmen #67
Lazarus #19
Rat Queens #14

Will Probably Try:
Beauty #1
Kaptara #5
Mythic #4
Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #1
We Stand on Guard #2

----------


## Samurai Jack

Well, still no Monstress. That's kinda depressing... hopefully a September solicit then.

This will be the lightest month of Image Comics for me ever. 
All I'll be getting is Outcast #12.

One thing that really surprised me is volume 2 of Wayward is 16.99 instead of the usual 12.99 or 14.99 prices.
I had already decided that I would be buying Wayward in comic issue form, because 1) I like the letters page, 2) the mythology essays in the back are exclusive to the issues, and 3) I wanted to support Jim Zub's Wayward series because I actually genuinely enjoy it and he revived Samurai Jack in 2013, which I strongly appreciate. 

Still, for those trade waiting, 16.99 is pretty expensive for only five issues.

----------


## ysemaj

> Well, still no Monstress. That's kinda depressing... hopefully a September solicit then.
> 
> This will be the lightest month of Image Comics for me ever. 
> All I'll be getting is Outcast #12.
> 
> One thing that really surprised me is volume 2 of Wayward is 16.99 instead of the usual 12.99 or 14.99 prices.
> I had already decided that I would be buying Wayward in comic issue form, because 1) I like the letters page, 2) the mythology essays in the back are exclusive to the issues, and 3) I wanted to support Jim Zub's Wayward series because I actually genuinely enjoy it and he revived Samurai Jack in 2013, which I strongly appreciate. 
> 
> Still, for those trade waiting, 16.99 is pretty expensive for only five issues.


I think 16.99 is a disgrace to be frank. There are many comics out there that are much better than Wayward, which I considered to be quite weak anyway, and they're much cheaper. I'd at least have expected it to be 6 issues to even try and justify that price.

----------


## Geralt of Rivia

A small month for me

Descender #6
Drifter #7
Lazarus #19
Low #9
Roche Limit: Clandestiny #4

----------


## Dorktron

Wow, I hate to say it but this is a dud month from Image. I guess the big news here is that Nowhere Men is returning in Fall. And I won't be getting Wayward Volume 2 at that price. That's absurd.

----------


## Groo Odyssey

Super excited about Brandon Graham and Xurxo G. Penalta's 8House: Kiem. Been waiting forever.

----------


## wwise03

These light Image months are giving me the opportunity to check out some of Boom's new offerings.  They have some great looking stuff starting in the coming months.  I encourage y'all to take a look at what they're putting out if you are finding that you have some extra room in your comic book budget. 

Several observations:

1.  Three months in a row without a Five Ghosts solicitation...that is worrisome.

2.  I was hoping Monstress was starting in August...maybe we will see it in September.

3.  Still nothing on Bill Willingham's Restoration or any of the four previously announced Nick Spencer books.

4.  I am again disappointed that Mercenary Sea has not picked back up.  When will we see it again?

5.  Two months in a row without a Fade Out solicitation.  Why did they make such a big deal about this Brubaker/Phillips 5-year deal when they are barely putting out any books?

6.  I expected to see a month long break in Southern Cross after issue 5 came out.  I am pleasantly surprised that isn't the case. 

7.  8House is getting a new title, but keeping the same numbering.  This series has me confused.  

8.  Of the new number 1's, Dark Corridor is the one I'm most likely to pick up, but $4 is a hefty price-tag for a relatively unknown creator. 

9.  I will miss Invisible Republic this month...that book is so good.

10.  The Island solicit is even more unhelpful than the solicit for issue 1.  What about that solicit makes one want to commit to an $8 price tag?

----------


## InformationGeek

> One thing that really surprised me is volume 2 of Wayward is 16.99 instead of the usual 12.99 or 14.99 prices.
> I had already decided that I would be buying Wayward in comic issue form, because 1) I like the letters page, 2) the mythology essays in the back are exclusive to the issues, and 3) I wanted to support Jim Zub's Wayward series because I actually genuinely enjoy it and he revived Samurai Jack in 2013, which I strongly appreciate. 
> 
> Still, for those trade waiting, 16.99 is pretty expensive for only five issues.


16.99 for five issues?  That sounds like something Marvel would do than Image. It's probably worst that Wayward's not even all that good (fix the dang pacing problems writer!)

----------


## BaneofKings

Dark Corridor #1 - Goodfellas by Quentin Tarantino? Sold.
Descender #6
Injection #4 - Loved #1. Excellent artwork. 
Mythic #4 - Maybe. Not yet read #1.
Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #1 - New book from Gillen/McKelvie? Hell yeah.
We Stand On Guard #2
Wolf #2

----------


## Jasper Avenue

Image books dropping off and disappearing is what is making me want to switch my Image pulls to digital.  There are some series that stick to a good schedule (Black Science, Saga, TWD, etc.) but then there are some that ship so randomly that I don't even want them in my box.

Also: I have no idea why Wayward thinks it can get away with a $16.99 price point. I have a feeling that a lot of people aren't willing to pick up Volume 2 at that price.

----------


## thewarning

This entire post compressed into: Nowhere Men news, YES!

----------


## Samurai Jack

> I think 16.99 is a disgrace to be frank. There are many comics out there that are much better than Wayward, which I considered to be quite weak anyway, and they're much cheaper. I'd at least have expected it to be 6 issues to even try and justify that price.


If it's going to be 16.99, I'd say it should have all the mythology essays from each issue included. It needs to have extra material to justify why people should pay for Wayward compared to other Image paperbacks that are much cheaper. I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to make Wayward's collected volumes so much more expensive compared to Image's other series.




> 16.99 for five issues?  That sounds like something Marvel would do than Image.


It's actually a little more expensive than Marvel. At least with some five issue volumes [like Ms Marvel, All New Ghost Rider, and Ant-Man], they were 15.99.

Plus I think Marvel collected editions include all the variant covers. It was stated for the first Wayward volume that the variant covers would not be included in the trade paperback, so it probably won't be included in the second volume either.

EDIT: According to the Amazon description, volume 2 of Wayward will include the mythology essays and design artwork from the artist.
Still doesn't justify the price though... Readers shouldn't have to pay extra for that, it should be added bonus content available for a reasonable common price.

Well, I'll continue to buy Wayward in issue form in that case. Unfortunately I don't expect it to last long in sales now though...

----------


## scout

Image is a dud for me as well as there is nothing in these solicits that I'm picking up. Maybe some of the delayed books will show up that month to keep it from being a complete bust.

----------


## rac shade

Pull:

Airboy #3
Birthright #10
Copperhead #10
Deadly Class #16
Descender #6
Drifter #7
Empty Zone #3
Injection #4
Invincible #122
Jupiters Circle #6
Kaptara #5
Lazarus #19
Low #9
Mythic #4
Nailbiter #15
ODY-C #6
Pisces #5
Rasputin #8
Rat Queens #14
Rumble #6
Savior #5
Shutter #14
Sons Of The Devil #4
Southern Bastards #11
Spread #10
Theyre Not Like Us #7
Trees #12

Image Giant-Sized Artists Proof Edition: The Walking Dead #1

----------


## Jasper Avenue

> If it's going to be 16.99, I'd say it should have all the mythology essays from each issue included. It needs to have extra material to justify why people should pay for Wayward compared to other Image paperbacks that are much cheaper. I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to make Wayward's collected volumes so much more expensive compared to Image's other series.
> 
> 
> 
> It's actually a little more expensive than Marvel. At least with some five issue volumes [like Ms Marvel, All New Ghost Rider, and Ant-Man], they were 15.99.
> 
> Plus I think Marvel collected editions include all the variant covers. It was stated for the first Wayward volume that the variant covers would not be included in the trade paperback, so it probably won't be included in the second volume either.
> 
> EDIT: According to the Amazon description, volume 2 of Wayward will include the mythology essays and design artwork from the artist.
> ...


Maybe they'll include the essays and variant covers from 1-5 also? I really hope this doesn't affect sales as I think the actual series shows a lot of promise.

----------


## Samurai Jack

> Maybe they'll include the essays and variant covers from 1-5 also? I really hope this doesn't affect sales as I think the actual series shows a lot of promise.


I don't know about the variant covers, but the Amazon description for volume 2 does say it will include "profiles on mythical creatures by noted monster researcher Zack Davisson." Hopefully the essays will be included in the trades from now on, which were unfortunately omitted in the first trade paperback. [At least according to Jim Zub on his website.] I haven't checked out the first trade of Wayward yet. I might buy it one day since it's only 9.99, although I already own both Cover A and B of each of the issues that have come out [including the Phantom variant cover of the first issue].

----------


## ysemaj

> This entire post compressed into: Nowhere Men news, YES!


I was quite surprised with this tbh. Never thought that Nate would want to go back to it considering what happened to him, but hey, I'm not complaining  :Big Grin:

----------


## Frogtown

lol @ people paying retail prices

----------


## Samurai Jack

Heh, I don't pay retail prices for collected editions, but the more expensive a retail price is, the harder it will be to get a decent discount on the book. For example, the discount of the book would be what the price of the book should have been in the first place if the original retail price wasn't so expensive to begin with.

I hope that makes sense...

----------


## HellsRider

> 1.  Three months in a row without a Five Ghosts solicitation...that is worrisome.


Five Ghosts is coming back in the Fall. Frank mentioned in an interview not too long ago that they'll be wrapping up the current arc (which I think only 1 issue remains) and they'll take the summer off for the series and come back in the Fall.

----------


## Ragdoll

The Humans wasn't cancelled? Hell yes!
Morning Glories #50 should be awesome, too. I get a bit fed up with it sometimes, but if they are dubbing it the season 2 finale, I know I am in for payoff for sticking with it.

----------


## TotalSnorefest

Hey is The Surface ending with #4 already? Or did they just forget to name this trade "volume 1"?

Most excited for 8House: Kiem and Island Magazine (that cover!!). Also I'm delighted ODY-C will be back so soon, I'd figured this would take a while to return given the complexity of the artwork, so this is pretty great news.

Lastly, I love the name "Oemnibus", well played Michael Avon Oeming.

----------


## comicfiend

> 5.  Two months in a row without a Fade Out solicitation.  Why did they make such a big deal about this Brubaker/Phillips 5-year deal when they are barely putting out any books?
> 
> 6.  I expected to see a month long break in Southern Cross after issue 5 came out.  I am pleasantly surprised that isn't the case.


Fade Out was planned hiatus until Sep. Southern Cross was plan ed as a 6-issue mini and has become ongoing.

----------


## comicfiend

Image:
- Pull: Descender, Drifter, Injection, Jupiter's Circle (ending), Lazarus, Low, Nailbiter, Ody-C, Outcast, Pisces, Rat Queens, Sex Criminals, Shutter (jumps to $4), Sons of the Devil, They're Not Like Us, Walking Dead, We Stand on Guard, Wolf
- Skip Month: Autumnlands, Black Science, East of West, Fade Out, Invisible Republic, Manhattan Projects, Manifest Destiny, Saga, Sex, Thief of Thieves, Velvet, Wytches

Marvel:
- Pull: Bucky Barnes (ending), Star Wars, Darth Vader (double ship), Lando (double ship)

DC:
- Pull: American Vampire (likely drop after current arc ends due to delays/resolicits)
- Skip Month: Sandman, Suiciders

DH:
- Pull: Fight Club, Rebels

Others:
- Maybe: King
- Pull: Bunker (advance solicit), Letter 44, Spire, Strange Fruit
- Skip Month: Life After

----------


## GrifterWC

Pretty big month for me. Plus two new titles that I'll be checking out.

The Beauty #1
Bloodstrike #2
Copperhead #10
Dark Corridor #1
Drifter #7
Elephantmen #67
Lazarus #19
Low #9
Nailbiter #15
Postal #6
Revival #32
Spawn #256
Spread #10
The Walking Dead #145

----------


## Mjolnir

Disappointed Monstress is still missing from it's summer solicits, but here's hoping for September?

8House: Kiem #3 (Interesting that they changed the name)
Birthright #10
Copperhead #10
Descender #6
Drifter #7
Injection #4
Lazarus #19
Low #9
Outcast #12
Pisces #5
Postal #6
Rasputin #8
Reyn #7
Roche Limit: Clandestiny #4
Savage Dragon #208
Savior #5
Southern Cross #6
Spawn #256
Trees #12
We Stand on Guard #2

On break/hiatus...

Autumnlands: Tooth and Claw (Really hopes this returns in September)
Black Science
Dying and the Dead (Is this really finished? Was seven issues it?)
East of West
Five Ghosts (Looking forward to it's return in the fall)
Invisible Republic
Manifest Destiny (With it's already solicited books having been delayed here and there, issues #17 and #18 are slated for July 15 and 22. Those will get delayed into August and possibly September)
Nameless (Has Morrison said this book is done with issue #5?)
Rise of the Magi (I think this one is not coming back. HUGE delays to get it's first arc done with and issues 6 and 7 STILL aren't out yet. Art in my opinion is not that great to warrant these kinds of delays)
Secret Identities
The Tithe (Loved the first issue and looking forward to reading the other 3 issues of the first arc)
Velvet (Great book, but the delays and non-solicits are not surprising)
Wytches (Makes sense to have this come back in the fall)

----------


## comicfiend

> Dying and the Dead (Is this really finished? Was seven issues it?)
> Manifest Destiny (With it's already solicited books having been delayed here and there, issues #17 and #18 are slated for July 15 and 22. Those will get delayed into August and possibly September)


Dying and the Dead was recently disclosed as a 7-issue mini; massive delays already afoot with latest projected shelf dates of: 3 3/18>6/10, 4 4/29>7/8, 5 5/20>8/5, 6 6/24>9/2, 7 $4.50 45p 7/29>10/7

Manifest Destiny latest projected shelf dates of: 15 3/18>6/10, no April, 16 5/20>7/8, 17 6/17>8/5, 18 7/22>9/2

Velvet latest projected shelf dates of: 11 3/18>6/17, 12 4/22>7/15, 13 5/27>8/12, no June, 14 7/29>9/9

----------


## Mjolnir

> Dying and the Dead was recently disclosed as a 7-issue mini; massive delays already afoot with latest projected shelf dates of: 3 3/18>6/10, 4 4/29>7/8, 5 5/20>8/5, 6 6/24>9/2, 7 $4.50 45p 7/29>10/7
> 
> Manifest Destiny latest projected shelf dates of: 15 3/18>6/10, 16 5/20>7/8, 17 6/17>8/5, 18 7/22>9/2
> 
> Velvet latest projected shelf dates of: 11 4/22>6/17, 12 4/22>7/15, 13 5/27>8/12, noJun, 14 7/29>9/9


Man, when you look at the original solicit dates and then look at the new ones, it's really amazing isn't it? With Dying and the Dead, this was my first exposure to Ryan Bodenheim's work. It's good, but is he really this slow by trade or has their been any indication that he has other things going on in his life?

With Velvet I've just come to expect that Steve Epting is really that slow. Is he working on anything at Marvel or DC that would keep him from getting this out sooner?

And Manifest Destiny, well, the art is great so I can understand some of the delays, but they're not that bad like other books. 

And with Five Ghosts, Chris Mooneyham's art is fantastic, but he put out 4 Predator: Fire and Stone books over 4 months last year for Dark Horse while working on Five Ghosts. So I think it's been about catching up ever since.

----------


## cc008

Deadly Class #16
Descender #6
Drifter #7
Lazarus #19
LOW #9 
Southern Bastards #11
Savior #5

----------


## JJ Fiegel

> Man, when you look at the original solicit dates and then look at the new ones, it's really amazing isn't it? With Dying and the Dead, this was my first exposure to Ryan Bodenheim's work. It's good, but is he really this slow by trade or has their been any indication that he has other things going on in his life?


Bodenheim is notoriously slow. Their last series together, Secret, was hit with massive delays at issue 2 as well. Secret was supposed to be an ongoing, but it had been delayed so much that it was truncated to 7 issues. Frankly, I figured based on what happened with Secret that Hickman would not have sent TD&TD to print without a guarantee that it would be smooth sailing.

----------


## Tayne Japal

Nothing new to add to my list.  I'll probably pick up Starve digitally somewhere down the road.

----------


## AstroWolfboy

Sons Of The Devil ( Looks good , but I might trade wait it - Reasons being I heard it was like the TV show True Detective)

Wolf ( Whats this ? I like that cover)

----------


## gantz_alien_killer

still no Clone. *sigh

----------


## Mjolnir

> Bodenheim is notoriously slow. Their last series together, Secret, was hit with massive delays at issue 2 as well. Secret was supposed to be an ongoing, but it had been delayed so much that it was truncated to 7 issues. Frankly, I figured based on what happened with Secret that Hickman would not have sent TD&TD to print without a guarantee that it would be smooth sailing.


Man that's too bad about Bodenheim. I don't know what kind of relationship Hickman has with him these days, but if I'm him, friend or not, after Secret and now Dying and the Dead, I'm not ever working with Bodenheim again until he has at least 4 or 5 issues in the can BEFORE the first issue is ever solicited and/or a guarantee that he can keep at least a bi-monthly schedule because it's pretty obvious he CAN'T do monthly. Privately I wonder if Hickman now wishes he went to somebody else to draw this story. 

I read the first two issues of TD&TD and loved them, but sadly I won't finish reading this series until all 7 issues are out. I'll buy them, but just won't be bothered to read it until it's all done. It's sad too because I think the original idea for Hickman was to have this book be a lot longer than it originally is now intended to be. But with such a delay on all the rest of the issues, I guess Hickman probably went back and tweaked his scripts so now it wraps up in seven issues rather than whatever he possibly envisioned it being. I wonder if it ever came up or was an idea where Hickman would have a talk with Bodenheim and say we need a new artist to finish this story if you can't go on in a timely manner.

----------


## Mjolnir

> Dying and the Dead was recently disclosed as a 7-issue mini; massive delays already afoot with latest projected shelf dates of: 3 3/18>6/10, 4 4/29>7/8, 5 5/20>8/5, 6 6/24>9/2, 7 $4.50 45p 7/29>10/7
> 
> Manifest Destiny latest projected shelf dates of: 15 3/18>6/10, no April, 16 5/20>7/8, 17 6/17>8/5, 18 7/22>9/2
> 
> Velvet latest projected shelf dates of: 11 3/18>6/17, 12 4/22>7/15, 13 5/27>8/12, no June, 14 7/29>9/9


Where did you find those new dates by the way?

----------


## comicfiend

> Where did you find those new dates by the way?


Updated every Sunday at http://www.comiclist.com/index.php/l...endedForecast/

What surprises me about Dying and the Dead is that it was still solicited every month even when it was knowingly grossly late. For Secret it ended up taking well over a year at one point yet the solicit was never cancelled and resolicted.

----------


## Tayne Japal

> still no Clone. *sigh


I thought Clone was finished for the time being?  I'm sure there would be a big announcement if they were to continue on with the story.

----------


## AwesomeUsername

> Nameless (Has Morrison said this book is done with issue #5?)


I've been wondering that as well. Two months without a new issue solicited. And after re-reading the solicitation for issue #5 today, maybe it is the final one.

----------


## Cap10nate

I'm not even sure what all Image books I'm reading anymore with their release schedules.  This month I'll be getting Lazarus, Southern Bastards, and Invincible.

----------


## Fuzzy Barbarian

Still not done crying into my pillow for Alex + Ada, but I might pick up We Stand On Guard or Wolf... okay, most definitely We Stand On Guard  :Smile:

----------


## Evan Meadow

> Hey is The Surface ending with #4 already? Or did they just forget to name this trade "volume 1"?


If you look at the numbering of The Surface on the cover you can see it was always meant to be a 4 issue mini. That's Image's biggest problem with numbering. They try not to let you know certain books are minis nowadays because apparently more people will pre-order/buy them if they think its an ongoing. Dynamite has the same problems with some of their books. They don't label something as a mini, then when the final issue notice gets hit with issue 4 or 6 they go "It was always meant to be that long."

----------


## capuga

> Well, still no Monstress. That's kinda depressing... hopefully a September solicit then.


From twitter just now:

Marjorie Liu ‏@marjoriemliu  4m4 minutes ago
For weeks now I've been gazing lovingly at Sana Takeda's character designs for MONSTRESS: all women of color, dressed to kill. Literally.

----------


## Iam Fear

Black Science Volume 3 for me, and at 300 pages for $25 I might get the Oemnibus.

----------


## BogSurfer

> Image:
> - Cancel: Wolf ($3.50 for 24p?)


My gut is telling me this means 24 pages of art, which is comparable to most Image books. Kot's books at Image tend to be ad free too.  Still beats 3.99 for 20 pages from Marvel. 

Anyways, looking like the following for me:

The Humans
We Stand on Guard
Descender
Wolf
Deadly Class
Material
Outcast
Southern Bastards

Maybe:

8House
Island

----------


## Mjolnir

> If you look at the numbering of The Surface on the cover you can see it was always meant to be a 4 issue mini. That's Image's biggest problem with numbering. They try not to let you know certain books are minis nowadays because apparently more people will pre-order/buy them if they think its an ongoing. Dynamite has the same problems with some of their books. They don't label something as a mini, then when the final issue notice gets hit with issue 4 or 6 they go "It was always meant to be that long."


God yes, THIS! ^ I've been suckered in by this practice on more than one occasion and then felt I needed to see the mini through rather than trade wait. I hate when publishers don't acknowledge that a book is a mini from the start. I know they want to sell the singles, but if it's a mini, at least with me I trade wait. However, with recent books RunLoveKill and Savior, at least they were honest from the start, and I decided that even though they were 8 issue minis, I would get the singles. With Dying and the Dead, I've been wondering if it really was supposed to end with 7 issues or go beyond that, but if it was a planned mini, that's one I would have trade waited. With Trees, I rolled the dice because early on Warren Ellis said it would be an 8 issue mini with the possibility that it could continue on if sales were good. I'm glad I bought the singles because we're getting more issues now. 

Intersect I noticed had it's issues 7 and 8 cancelled? Is the book done now? Were sales not that great that Image cancelled the book after 6 issues?

----------


## BogSurfer

> Intersect I noticed had it's issues 7 and 8 cancelled? Is the book done now? Were sales not that great that Image cancelled the book after 6 issues?


I don't believe Image really cancels books. I think it's more up to the creators to decide if a book is worth their time and energy if they're not getting much of a return on it, sales-wise.

----------


## Detox

Pull:

Birthright #10
Deadly Class #16
Descender #6
Drifter #7
Lazarus #19
Low #9
Postal #6 
Pisces #6(maybe)
Rat Queens #14
Reyn #7
Southern Bastards #11
Southern Cross #6(maybe)
Trees #12

----------


## Mjolnir

> I don't believe Image really cancels books. I think it's more up to the creators to decide if a book is worth their time and energy if they're not getting much of a return on it, sales-wise.


Which is what happened with Umbral of sorts I think. Issue #12 was it's last and Antony Johnson released a statement that said that sales weren't good enough to continue, but hope in the future to finish the story somehow. Joe Harris though when I asked him at last September's Rose City Comic Con here in Portland about his book The Great Pacific whether or not the book would continue after issue #18, he said, and I'm paraphrasing, that the book wasn't cancelled, that him and artist Martin Morazzo were taking a break from the book for a while, that the final arc took a lot out of both of them, but that the two of them were planning on releasing a new comic sometime in 2015. When issue #18 came out, Harris had a letter in the back of the book that said a long the lines that he was sad to see the book stop here. That him and Morazzo had at least two more arcs they wanted to tell that were supposed to take place before the final one that we got (which again, signals to me that sales weren't good and that Harris wanted sometime kind of ending that he could be happy with that readers might be happy with too. The ending was left sort of open ended). That they hope to return to the story again in the future and reiterated what he told me last September that a new book between him and Morazzo would be out sometime in 2015 and that Image would announce it soon (which they haven't yet).

It's a funny thing with these creator owned books. You buy into them hoping that these tales will have a natural life with a beginning, middle, and end (like novels or book series), but if they don't do well enough, they get cancelled or finish a lot sooner than intended and it feels like an incomplete story. 

I've been lucky with all of the books I get from Image, that I haven't had this problem really (with the exception of Proof, Umbral, and Great Pacific). Only a small handful of the ones I do get are plagued with big delays. All the others I read are books where sales are good, they come out in a timely manner, and I keep my fingers crossed that they will have a natural ending with supported sales.

----------


## gantz_alien_killer

> I thought Clone was finished for the time being?  I'm sure there would be a big announcement if they were to continue on with the story.


They are on hiatus while they figure out the next arc of the story. im not opposed to that but i think its been six months now or more. I need me some clones.

----------


## scout

> They are on hiatus while they figure out the next arc of the story. im not opposed to that but i think its been six months now or more. I need me some clones.


I loved Clones and it's crazy twist last pages!

----------


## Evan Meadow

> I don't believe Image really cancels books. I think it's more up to the creators to decide if a book is worth their time and energy if they're not getting much of a return on it, sales-wise.


Or in the case of C.O.W.L., they say they found they had written their ending by the 11th issue. But RunLoveKill is only 8 issues? Didn't know that. Knew that about Savior. And yeah, Intersect being apparently over at 6 was a very big surprise.

----------


## Evan Meadow

> They are on hiatus while they figure out the next arc of the story. im not opposed to that but i think its been six months now or more. I need me some clones.


I'm waiting to see if Ghosted is about to pull the same thing with how #20 is described.

----------


## El Sombrero

Southern Bastards
Injection
Deadly Class
Descender

Very excited about all those.  No-brainers to continue.

Will try:

The Beauty - not that excited by the solicit text, I like the art though
Dark Corridor - kind of the same as above
We Stand On Guard
Wolf

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## Dorktron

> Or in the case of C.O.W.L., they say they found they had written their ending by the 11th issue. But RunLoveKill is only 8 issues? Didn't know that. Knew that about Savior. And yeah, Intersect being apparently over at 6 was a very big surprise.


This is pretty much the main reason I trade wait now. I used to pick up singles that cost a lot more, only to find out that the series was a mini (which I rarely like as much as ongoings) or that sales flopped and they had to rush a half-assed finale. Yes, I understand the irony in this and the argument against trade waiting (although I think it is way, WAY overstated) but, honestly, why take the risk? For me, it isn't worth it anymore.

Also, has anyone heard anything on Prophet Earth War? It's been missing for 3 or 4 straight solicits.

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## wwise03

I always assume that every book is a mini-series unless the initial solicit specifically says in no uncertain terms that the book is an ongoing book.  If it is an ongoing book, Image and the creators will brag about that in the solicit.  

I don't even trust interviews in which creators say that the book is intended to be an ongoing book.  For instance, Chris Pires did an interview for two new books (one with Dark Horse and one with Boom).  In the interview, he describes the books as ongoing books.  However, the solicits clearly state that they are both miniseries.

----------


## Samurai Jack

> From twitter just now:
> 
> Marjorie Liu ‏@marjoriemliu  4m4 minutes ago
> For weeks now I've been gazing lovingly at Sana Takeda's character designs for MONSTRESS: all women of color, dressed to kill. Literally.


That's cool there's finally an update on Monstress since January... as long as it comes out in September it should be fine. Really want to own and read the first issue! I'd probably even buy the Cover B and C variants if they're available!

Edit: Looks like Monstress will release sometime this fall and will have a super-sized first issue, according to her twitter.

----------


## Trilipush

Here's mine:

8House: Kiem #3
Injection #4
Island Magazine #2 (Emma Rios's cover is just wow)
Material #4
Wolf #2

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## Alhazred

8House: Kiem #3
Airboy #3
Descender #6
Injection #4
Invincible #122
Island Magazine #2
Kaptara #5
Lazarus #19
Material #4
Nailbiter #15
Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #1
Rasputin #8
Rat Queens #14
Rumble #6
Sex Criminals #13
Southern Bastards #11
Starve #3
Sunstone, Vol. 3 OGN
We Stand On Guard #2
Wolf #2

----------


## HellsRider

Looking at the solicits closely, why is The Fuse with the start of the third arc $3.99? Why the increase? More material possibly?

----------


## Sumney

> Still not done crying into my pillow for Alex + Ada, but I might pick up We Stand On Guard or Wolf... okay, most definitely We Stand On Guard


Right?? I love Alex+Ada. I was already deeply saddened when I saw that issue #15 would be the final one, but issue #14 completely destroyed me. I was hoping at least one of them would have a happy ending. I wonder if it was always supposed to end so badly or if it's a rushed ending.

----------


## comicfiend

> Looking at the solicits closely, why is The Fuse with the start of the third arc $3.99? Why the increase? More material possibly?


Likely in order to keep the series going based upon projected numbers. $3.99 is the 'norm' price for most comics today. Marvel has very much tried pushing that to $4.99 with some blowback. Several other series have recently raised their cover price; ones I'm aware of (some of these price changes occurred awhile back):
- from $2.99 to $3.99: Revival (#27), most DC/Vertigo/Marvel titles, Afterlife with Archie (#7)
- from $3.50 to $3.99: Fuse (#13), Shutter (#12), Pisces (#2), Rat Queens (#11), COWL (#9)
- from $2.99 to $3.50: Jupter's Legacy>Circle, Velvet (#6), Lazarus (#10)

----------


## comicfiend

> Autumnlands: Tooth and Claw (Really hopes this returns in September)


I hit up Kurt on FB; he replied it'll return in Oct or Nov to allow some lead time.

----------


## capuga

> Right?? I love Alex+Ada. I was already deeply saddened when I saw that issue #15 would be the final one, but issue #14 completely destroyed me. I was hoping at least one of them would have a happy ending. I wonder if it was always supposed to end so badly or if it's a rushed ending.


It's been planned as a 15 issue series since the beginning.

----------


## Hi-Fi

Is 'They're Not Like Us' supposed to be a mini? I don't see it here.

----------


## comicfiend

> My gut is telling me this means 24 pages of art, which is comparable to most Image books. Kot's books at Image tend to be ad free too.  Still beats 3.99 for 20 pages from Marvel.


I hit up Ales on FB, he replied that page count may vary (whatever the right amount), issue by issue. As well, for those that have been getting Winter Soldier, as the solicit hinted towards, its wrapping with #11 (as planned).

----------


## Samurai Jack

Having read the preview for The Beauty #1 earlier today, I'm really looking forward to it! I really like Jeremy Haun's art and the story concept reminds me of Superior Iron Man. I don't care for the cover though, so if I do buy it I'd get Cover B, and then trade wait the rest.




> Looking at the solicits closely, why is The Fuse with the start of the third arc $3.99? Why the increase? More material possibly?


I'm not sure why so many Image comics are raising their prices to 3.99. I feel like Image is the last comic publisher to still have a majority of 2.99 or 3.50 comics, while almost every other comic publisher makes all their comics 3.99 and over by default. If any of the ongoing Image comics I've been buying raised to 3.99, I'd drop them and then trade wait.

----------


## wwise03

> Is 'They're Not Like Us' supposed to be a mini? I don't see it here.


It's probably just a skip month.  Most Image books skip a month or two in between arcs to allow the creators to get ahead a little bit.

----------


## wwise03

> I'm not sure why so many Image comics are raising their prices to 3.99. I feel like Image is the last comic publisher to still have a majority of 2.99 or 3.50 comics, while almost every other comic publisher makes all their comics 3.99 and over by default. If any of the ongoing Image comics I've been buying raised to 3.99, I'd drop them and then trade wait.


I imagine books that aren't selling as well, but have a loyal fan base (like The Fuse in all likelihood) are going to $3.99 so that the book can keep going.  My guess is The Fuse is selling between 6,000 and 8,000 copies regardless of whether it is $3.50 or $3.99.

----------


## Samurai Jack

> I imagine books that aren't selling as well, but have a loyal fan base (like The Fuse in all likelihood) are going to $3.99 so that the book can keep going.  My guess is The Fuse is selling between 6,000 and 8,000 copies regardless of whether it is $3.50 or $3.99.


What I don't understand is how three of Image's longest running series: Invincible, Walking Dead, and Spawn are still 2.99. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing at all, but some Image comics have suddenly switched from 2.99/3.50 to 3.99 almost instantly. The Empty went from 3.50 to 3.99 after only three issues. For August's solicits, Mythic #4 went from 2.99 to 3.99. Pisces #1 was 3.50, and now it's 3.99 for every issue.

In the case of The Fuse, at least it went through two whole story arcs before raising the price, but it doesn't make any sense for The Empty, Mythic, and Pisces. I just don't see the point of paying 4 bucks for these new series when you can pay 3 bucks for long running series such as Walking Dead and Spawn. The new comics are not new-reader friendly in terms of price.

I guess if Wayward, the only 3.50 ongoing I'm currently buying, raised to 3.99 at the start of its third arc, it wouldn't be bad... but I think I would be tempted to stop buying it monthly. Almost all comics are 3.99 now, and for a creator-owned comic, I think the price should invite people to read their stories, not be the same price as almost every single other current comic. Though I don't know who is in charge of cover prices.

If I was in charge of my own creator-owned comic, I would want to make it affordable for my readers, and I would keep it at 2.99 for each issue. Of course there are profit complications as well, and if your comic isn't selling maybe you need to raise the price... but why would people pay more for the comic if they weren't buying it before for less?

----------


## Mjolnir

> I hit up Kurt on FB; he replied it'll return in Oct or Nov to allow some lead time.


Damn, that's a long time for the book to be off. Issue #6 was originally supposed to out April 15th and then saw delay after delay. The first five issues shipped pretty much on time and then saw the almost two month delay. Hopefully with this long of a lead in, the book the next 5 or 6 issue arc will be on time. Wytches too is taking a lengthy time off and won't be back until (Snyder said) late fall/early winter. Wytches was always never on time and should have finished in March, but didn't see Issue #6 until May 20. Five Ghosts, well, we all know that one, but new issues are supposed to be solicited again this fall.

----------


## Dorktron

> What I don't understand is how three of Image's longest running series: Invincible, Walking Dead, and Spawn are still 2.99. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing at all, but some Image comics have suddenly switched from 2.99/3.50 to 3.99 almost instantly. The Empty went from 3.50 to 3.99 after only three issues. For August's solicits, Mythic #4 went from 2.99 to 3.99. Pisces #1 was 3.50, and now it's 3.99 for every issue.
> 
> In the case of The Fuse, at least it went through two whole story arcs before raising the price, but it doesn't make any sense for The Empty, Mythic, and Pisces. I just don't see the point of paying 4 bucks for these new series when you can pay 3 bucks for long running series such as Walking Dead and Spawn. The new comics are not new-reader friendly in terms of price.
> 
> I guess if Wayward, the only 3.50 ongoing I'm currently buying, raised to 3.99 at the start of its third arc, it wouldn't be bad... but I think I would be tempted to stop buying it monthly. Almost all comics are 3.99 now, and for a creator-owned comic, I think the price should invite people to read their stories, not be the same price as almost every single other current comic. Though I don't know who is in charge of cover prices.
> 
> If I was in charge of my own creator-owned comic, I would want to make it affordable for my readers, and I would keep it at 2.99 for each issue. Of course there are profit complications as well, and if your comic isn't selling maybe you need to raise the price... but why would people pay more for the comic if they weren't buying it before for less?


I agree, the price creep is very frustrating. I am still at a loss as to why people choose singles over trades given the increasing price difference. Most first volumes from Image can be bought brand new online for 5 USD. That is barely over the price of ONE single issue for some of these books.

----------


## TotalSnorefest

> I agree, the price creep is very frustrating. I am still at a loss as to why people choose singles over trades given the increasing price difference. Most first volumes from Image can be bought brand new online for 5 USD. That is barely over the price of ONE single issue for some of these books.


It's a weird double-edged sword I guess. Those cheap trades do allow for easy sampling of a series, and Image really dominates the trade market - plus they're more likely to end up in regular bookshops. But you gotta wonder if the practice isn't somewhat cannibalising sales of the single issues. If things like letter columns or singles-only backmatter are of no importance to you as a reader, it becomes very easy to wait at the very least on the first trade. However that means that the creative team isn't getting as many monthly sales to keep afloat, but rather they need to rely on one trade to perform well after about half a year; and its cheap too so the returns won't be tremendous.

Image's model allows for a lot of freedom, but the lack of an upfront page rate means any money made will only appear after a comic is released. That's a lot less stability in order to retain the rights, that's a trade-off creators will need to make. So higher issue prices are almost inevitable...

Also, I've heard once that Image takes basically no fee for single issue sales besides production cost, they charge a fee for trades though. While I'm not sure if that's always the case, it might explain why they push trades so much? Pure speculation on my part here! Sounds like a good businessmodel, they could probably run on sales of Walking Dead trades alone haha.  :Wink:

----------


## Dorktron

> It's a weird double-edged sword I guess. Those cheap trades do allow for easy sampling of a series, and Image really dominates the trade market - plus they're more likely to end up in regular bookshops. But you gotta wonder if the practice isn't somewhat cannibalising sales of the single issues. If things like letter columns or singles-only backmatter are of no importance to you as a reader, it becomes very easy to wait at the very least on the first trade. However that means that the creative team isn't getting as many monthly sales to keep afloat, but rather they need to rely on one trade to perform well after about half a year; and its cheap too so the returns won't be tremendous.
> 
> Image's model allows for a lot of freedom, but the lack of an upfront page rate means any money made will only appear after a comic is released. That's a lot less stability in order to retain the rights, that's a trade-off creators will need to make. So higher issue prices are almost inevitable...
> 
> Also, I've heard once that Image takes basically no fee for single issue sales besides production cost, they charge a fee for trades though. While I'm not sure if that's always the case, it might explain why they push trades so much? Pure speculation on my part here! Sounds like a good businessmodel, they could probably run on sales of Walking Dead trades alone haha.


Indeed, you raise some good points. For me, my preference towards trades is more about reading preference and getting bigger chunks of the story at once rather than getting one chapter each month. I would gladly pay 15-20 USD per trade for Image titles that I follow and I think others would too. This similar situation happened about a decade ago in the anime industry. They would release one disc every two months with 3-5 episodes on the disc until the show was completely released. That model didn't work out so well due to higher customer costs and a prolonged release schedule (causing people to lose interest in the show) so they changed their business model to release complete series in 1 or 2 box sets for a higher price. That has been the standard anime release model for quite some time now. I could see comics, especially creator-owned series, taking a similar path in the future.

----------


## TotalSnorefest

> I could see comics, especially creator-owned series, taking a similar path in the future.


Yeah it'll be interesting to see how things develop. Graphic novels in particular basically ARE the businessmodel of most small press publishers. Doesn't help floppies either that, Image and Boom aside, they're usually of lower quality than trades. Plus trades look better on shelves and take up less space.
However I feel like digital could make episodic content work; Dark Horse is gonna release Kelly Thompson's new graphic novel chapter-by-chapter online for example. Also if digital prices ever drop, it makes more sense to go for full issues and also get any backmatter stuff. Will be interesting to see how the industry will change in the coming decade or so.  :Smile:

----------


## comicfiend

> Is 'They're Not Like Us' supposed to be a mini? I don't see it here.


They’re Not Like Us #7
story: Eric Stephenson
art / cover: Simon Gane, Jordie Bellaire, & Fonografiks
August 26 / 24 pages / Full Color / Mature Readers / $2.99
ISSUE SEVEN: GOING UNDERGROUND

----------


## Dark-Flux

> What I don't understand is how three of Image's longest running series: Invincible, Walking Dead, and Spawn are still 2.99. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing at all, but some Image comics have suddenly switched from 2.99/3.50 to 3.99 almost instantly. The Empty went from 3.50 to 3.99 after only three issues. For August's solicits, Mythic #4 went from 2.99 to 3.99. Pisces #1 was 3.50, and now it's 3.99 for every issue.
> 
> In the case of The Fuse, at least it went through two whole story arcs before raising the price, but it doesn't make any sense for The Empty, Mythic, and Pisces. I just don't see the point of paying 4 bucks for these new series when you can pay 3 bucks for long running series such as Walking Dead and Spawn. The new comics are not new-reader friendly in terms of price.
> 
> I guess if Wayward, the only 3.50 ongoing I'm currently buying, raised to 3.99 at the start of its third arc, it wouldn't be bad... but I think I would be tempted to stop buying it monthly. Almost all comics are 3.99 now, and for a creator-owned comic, I think the price should invite people to read their stories, not be the same price as almost every single other current comic. Though I don't know who is in charge of cover prices.
> 
> If I was in charge of my own creator-owned comic, I would want to make it affordable for my readers, and I would keep it at 2.99 for each issue. Of course there are profit complications as well, and if your comic isn't selling maybe you need to raise the price... but why would people pay more for the comic if they weren't buying it before for less?


Simple really. These books arnt selling enough to keep afloat at $2.99.
Walking Dead, Invincible and Spawn are amongst Images best selling titles so their creators can afford to keep the prices at $2.99.

For other books, theyll launch at $2.99 and the readership eventually settles. If this number isnt enough to keep the book going the creators are forced to bump up the price or risk cancellation.

Sure, some readers may drop the book once it raises to $3.99, but its likely the book will still pull in similar numbers despite the price hike. If the extra dollar the creators get offsets the money they lose from readers dropping the book then they may be able to keep the series running a while longer.

Remember, the vast majority of comic creators do it as a second job. Many Image books are passion projects. Nobody goes into it expecting to get rich. They do what they can to keep the book, tell their story and cover their costs. Any profit they get is just kind of a bonus.

Personally im more wiling to spend $3.99 on the little guy who more often than not has a more creative and personal story to tell than I am on a Big 2 comic that has Warner or Disney money behind them.

----------


## Samurai Jack

> Indeed, you raise some good points. For me, my preference towards trades is more about reading preference and getting bigger chunks of the story at once rather than getting one chapter each month. I would gladly pay 15-20 USD per trade for Image titles that I follow and I think others would too. This similar situation happened about a decade ago in the anime industry. They would release one disc every two months with 3-5 episodes on the disc until the show was completely released. That model didn't work out so well due to higher customer costs and a prolonged release schedule (causing people to lose interest in the show) so they changed their business model to release complete series in 1 or 2 box sets for a higher price. That has been the standard anime release model for quite some time now. I could see comics, especially creator-owned series, taking a similar path in the future.


Heh, I am so glad those anime marketing days are over. I bought 9 DVDs of Death Note with each disc having four episodes, minus the last one with had the final five episodes. Around the same time, I also bought the first four Hellsing Ultimate DVDs, which basically had one 45-50 minute episode for 20 bucks or more. Nowadays most anime will be released in 11-13 episode sets, which is far more affordable if you wait for discounts and sales.




> Personally im more wiling to spend $3.99 on the little guy who more often than not has a more creative and personal story to tell than I am on a Big 2 comic that has Warner or Disney money behind them.


In most cases, if you are start a creator-owned comic at Boom or IDW, the cover price will be 3.99 by default, and usually only have 20 pages of story content. Fortunately for Image, the story content may increase in page count due to the lack of ads and still be 2.99 or 3.50. However, if an ongoing Image comic is 3.99, like every other major comic publisher, financially it just doesn't make much sense to me to pay that kind of money when you would save so much money waiting for it in a trade or hardcover.

Of course, there are some comics that will be priced at 3.99 that I will personally want to support and buy every single issue of with the hopes that it doesn't get cancelled and can go on for a long time. For me, that was Samurai Jack. I bought every single issue, including the subscription variants and incentive covers for the early issues. Even with the 20 pages of story content for 3.99 and paying double to get the subscription variants for every issue, it was absolutely worth it. It was a comic I willingly wanted to support, no matter the cover price I had to pay to do so.

----------


## Hi-Fi

> Theyre Not Like Us #7
> story: Eric Stephenson
> art / cover: Simon Gane, Jordie Bellaire, & Fonografiks
> August 26 / 24 pages / Full Color / Mature Readers / $2.99
> ISSUE SEVEN: GOING UNDERGROUND


Oh. Wow. Guess I can't read.

Thanks!

----------

