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JLAFan wrote:As a #1 issue, Cyblade was a pretty dismal flop, IMO.

A #1 should have everything you need woven into the issue itself and not be so reliant on a "Pilot" book that came out quite some time ago.

I agree entirely. It failed as a #1 issue. Heck, it didn't do all that great as a #2 issue. This is clearly being written for the trade and as such, it will probably be another few issues before we really see where it is going and what it is about.

Unfortunately I think you and Bob are the exception and not the rule. Most people are probably like me and dropping this like a hot potato.

Skyhawke wrote:Unfortunately I think you and Bob are the exception and not the rule. Most people are probably like me and dropping this like a hot potato.

I think Bob did drop Cyblade based on the #1 issue. I can't say that I blame him. If it doesn't improve over the next few issues, I'll probably drop it too.

I tend not to drop something based on a single bad issue. If I did that, my pull list would be fairly short.

Normally I agree with you John as I tend to weather out certain creative teams or story arcs but my disappointment from Cyblade was pretty big.

Top Cow isn't a very big company. They can't afford to get things wrong. The whole point to the pilot season promotion is to build up interest in their product. To me they built up all this capital of publicity on a first year of this promotion only to waste ever single drop of it on a mediocre issue.

To me if this is how they handle it, it really makes me wary and unsure I even want to read Troy Hickman's and Twilight Guardian which won this years pilot season.

Skyhawke wrote:Normally I agree with you John as I tend to weather out certain creative teams or story arcs but my disappointment from Cyblade was pretty big.

Top Cow isn't a very big company. They can't afford to get things wrong. The whole point to the pilot season promotion is to build up interest in their product. To me they built up all this capital of publicity on a first year of this promotion only to waste ever single drop of it on a mediocre issue.

To me if this is how they handle it, it really makes me wary and unsure I even want to read Troy Hickman's and Twilight Guardian which won this years pilot season.

You are right. It does defeat the entire point of doing the Pilot Season when the first issue is so inaccessible to new readers. I see that as a reflection of the overall emphasis that isn't being places on accessibility across the industry.

Personally, I don't think I would have picked Cyblade to go to series based on the Pilot Season issue. I'm also not sure how well Twilight Guardian will work as a series.

Maybe what they should do in the Pilot Season issues is have a page or two of text selling the initial arc of the first year or so of the series. No spoilers, just the basic idea of what to expect.

Part of why I'm going to stick with Cyblade is because I don't really expect it to last even a full year. By the time the first arc is finished, I half expect it to be canceled.

Skyhawke wrote:Normally I agree with you John as I tend to weather out certain creative teams or story arcs but my disappointment from Cyblade was pretty big.

Top Cow isn't a very big company. They can't afford to get things wrong. The whole point to the pilot season promotion is to build up interest in their product. To me they built up all this capital of publicity on a first year of this promotion only to waste ever single drop of it on a mediocre issue.

To me if this is how they handle it, it really makes me wary and unsure I even want to read Troy Hickman's and Twilight Guardian which won this years pilot season.

I can't speak to Troy's abilities as a writer, but he's a funny and witty guy. I love that he refers to himself as the OTHER Hickman.

Wood wrote: I can't speak to Troy's abilities as a writer, but he's a funny and witty guy. I love that he refers to himself as the OTHER Hickman.

I think he is a very talented writer. My concern about Twilight Guardian, which I thought was one of the best single issue stories I'd read in a long time, is that the nature of the concept doesn't seem like it would play well over the long term. I see it as more of a movie property than television property if that makes sense.

I've really enjoyed Try Hickman's work on Common Grounds and City of Heroes.He hasn't done a whole lot but what he has done is usually very good.

Skyhawke wrote:Normally I agree with you John as I tend to weather out certain creative teams or story arcs but my disappointment from Cyblade was pretty big.

I will not drop an on-going series from my pull-list because of a single bad issue or even a single arc (in most cases). There generally has to be a sustained period of time during which I am not enjoying the title before I pull the plug (New Warriors is a case in point here, and I only dropped it right before Marvel canceled it.)

However, for a NEW series vying for a slot on my pull list, I am much more harsh. I think that a new series should be able to grab me with a decent 1st issue, and if they cannot, then I'm out. The reason for this is once I give them that slot on the list I am making a 6-10 issue commitment which is ~$20. So, did I just read something that looks like it will be worth investing $20 in over the long run? If the answer is "No" then the book fails my first issue challenge.

JLAFan wrote:

Skyhawke wrote:Normally I agree with you John as I tend to weather out certain creative teams or story arcs but my disappointment from Cyblade was pretty big.

I will not drop an on-going series from my pull-list because of a single bad issue or even a single arc (in most cases). There generally has to be a sustained period of time during which I am not enjoying the title before I pull the plug (New Warriors is a case in point here, and I only dropped it right before Marvel canceled it.)

However, for a NEW series vying for a slot on my pull list, I am much more harsh. I think that a new series should be able to grab me with a decent 1st issue, and if they cannot, then I'm out. The reason for this is once I give them that slot on the list I am making a 6-10 issue commitment which is ~$20. So, did I just read something that looks like it will be worth investing $20 in over the long run? If the answer is "No" then the book fails my first issue challenge.

That is a fair point.

These days a new title has to launch strong it is wants readers to give it a shot. There are so many titles out there that many readers aren't going to give a title that is either just "okay" or worse a chance. I can understand that. I completely agree that a first issue really ought to sell the concept and execution of the series.

Too many first issues of a story arc seem to read like the opening act of a television show. Potentially entertaining but far from a complete story. It seems like in many cases, Cyblade being a prime example, writers are completely ignoring the fact that the issue is being sold as a discrete unit and really needs to stand alone if they want people to come back for the next issue.

I guess I'm just conceding that some writers are writing for the trade and feel like I should give them that first story arc to sell me. I'm not suggesting others do this, but for me it seems to work.

And, as I mentioned in the episode, on my first reading of Cyblade, I was very confused and uninterested. So I can completely see where you guys are coming from. Had I not read the Pilot Season issue and then re-read the first issue, I'd still be right there with you guys.

It is titles like Cyblade that make me really appreciate how accessible a quarterly title like Love and Capes is.