Heidi over on Comicon's "The Beat" stated that she was unable to get confirmation from DC that issue #20 of "Fallen Angel" will be the last one. Which has prompted a plethora of e-mail and sparking of hope from various fans, whereas I'm just left shaking my head and wondering what the hell is going on. All I can do is pass on what's told to me. I swear to you, right hand to God, if I hear anything different from what I've been told, I'll let you know...although it could wind up being contradicted 24 hours later...
PAD
Posted by Peter David at January 15, 2005 05:56 PM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingOf course, I'm hoping that FA is saved. But it does bring to mind a question.
If the book is finished, will you be sharing some of the secrets of what was coming up and what some of the hidden meanings were, or will you save it for another series/the book's return?
I'm kinda curious because one thing I like about this board is that PAD admits to being a fan as well as a pro. If the plug got pulled abruptly, on Buffy, I think he would want to know what Joss had planned and where things were leading.
On the other hand, the one upside to FA being non-affiliated with the DCU is that, I assume, he can bring it somewhere else, somehow, someday, without having to explain the gaping hole left by the Batman x-over he can no longer refer to.
Also, writers get paid to think up stuff and we all know pieces of Project X can show up in Project Y down the road. So there might be good reason not to turn over the cards.
Oh well... Here's hoping that we never need the answer to the question.
Just FYI --
When I went to my LCS today and turned in the monthly Previews order form, I also told them "order 3 or 4 extra copies of Fallen Angel. If they don't sell by the end of that month, I'll cover the cost."
I intend to do the same with 20 unless you've said by then that (a) things are fine and set, or (b) there's no longer hope.
Just trying to help keep the book alive -- good luck.
TWL
I hope the book continues. I'm planning to pick up a copy of the S&V cross-over.
Well, everyone loves a little excitement. It's good for the heart.
Well, all I can say is, my fingers are crossed. I really do think this book would have a larger audience, if two things would happen:
1.) People could find the damn book. I don't know much about the comic book retail business, but I suspect that given the precarious position of the industry right now, most comic book stores are fairly conservative, preordering copies for guaranteed sales and possibly 1 or 2 shelf copies.
2.) People would read the damn book. It's the same with every other entertainment medium out there. There are always shows deserving of a larger audience, but much of that larger audience shrugs their shoulders and says, "I buy enough. Why should I try a book like this?" I've often found myself in the same camp, but the books I've found myself enjoying most recently are those books that I gave a chance that I might not otherwise have, e.g. Y the Last Man, Fables, Sleeper, even Brubaker's Captain America. It happens in television as well, unfortunately. "Arrested Development" is the funniest show on television at the moment, but it's ratings are weaker than it deserves, while the ratings on a show like "Joey" are consistently much higher than it deserves. Take also one of my new favorite discoveries, "Gilmore Girls." I wrote the show off for years, thinking to myself, "It's on the WB, so it's probably some show aimed at teenage girls, as with Beverly Hills 90210 before it," and yet, when I started watching, when I took that chance and gave it an honest shot, I found a smarter, wittier, more emotionally complex show than I was expecting. I've not looked back, and I've even put my money where my mouth is and bought the DVD sets. But I digress.
This book is honestly some of PAD's best comic work EVER, and yet, it's overlooked. It kills me. I'd imagine it's demoralizing to PAD as well. :-(
I also told my local comics store to order 3 copies of issues 19 and 20 for me. I can pass them off to friends who may get interested in the series if, we all hope, it continues.
Dennis
I heard DC cancelled it because they were so upset over Brad and Jen's breakup.
I'll note it would also help if comic shops listened to new customers; I've been to both the comic shops I can easily get to, and asked them to preorder and otherwise acquire copies of FA for me, and had no luck with either. I realize the industry as a whole isn't going like the gangbusters it was when I was involved in the retail side of it, but it's been damned frustrating to not be able to find what it is I want to read...
-K
Not to be morbid (I feel like I'm scanning the obits page, looking for newly vacant apartments), but Vertigo now has an "opening" after the cancellation of HUMAN TARGET: maybe they could give FA another look. Anybody have ideas how to petition Vertigo/Berger other than the obvious )email via DC's website).
It's absurd that such a fine book struggles despite great efforts on PAD's behalf (and hey, DC has pitched in in recent month, and let's not forget the folks who read the series).
I didn't even know #20 was going to be the last one. This sucks.
It's unfair to always blame the comic store. True, they are often very conservative in what they buy in, but there is a limit to how much risk they can take even if they want to promote the more obscure but good stuff.
Some of the time they are actually trying to get it but the distributor is just not filling their orders. It's a running joke at my local comic store that I order stuff and it never comes in. On several occasions I've been their while they filled in their order form (after they've phoned around all their other branches only to find that they also have people looking for the same titles) so I know they are doing their best.
When the third collection of Courtney Crumrin came in I was all set to criticize them because they only had enough copies to fill their preorders but it wasn't their fault; they had ordered enough to put 5 copies on the shelves but they never received them. And they've been faithfully reordering volume 1 every month for the best part of a year...
Clearly the Powers That Bewilder at DC were inspired by your succinct and comprehensive review for Electra. "Answer--yes and no."
Just for the sake of clarification, when I posted before, I wasn't necessarily blaming the comic store. As I said, it's no secret that the comic industry is in a precarious position right now, and I don't blame stores for playing it safe.
Actually, I'd put more of the blame on customers who don't take more chances and give a book like Fallen Angel an honest shot, and that includes myself, because I'm guilty of the same pattern of behavior. As a reader, I recognize that my funds are limited, and I can't afford to buy and try everything. It's a crapshoot. Sometimes I try a book and find it doesn't work for me. Other times, I love what I see. But in not taking a chance on a new title every now and again, I might be missing out on something I enjoy, and that's why I've spent years trying to sharpen my tastes, so that I can narrow the field and more realistically take a chance on a few new books every month.
When people fall into certain buying patterns (e.g. "I'm only going to buy books with Spider-Man in them," or "I'm only going to buy X-titles" or "I'm only going to buy Marvel books," etc), that sends a message to comic stores that this book has less interest, and I can't say that the message is wrong. There's not enough of an actual interest in Fallen Angel for many stores to get behind the book. But I think the potential interest is there.
I dunno. Chalk my musings up to a frustrated fan, who sees a great book and wonders why, or why more people aren't trying it out. Alas.
Again, fingers crossed that maybe DC will show a commitment to this book.
Perhaps DC is just being a bit sneaky and know if they too readily confirm #20 is the last one, most people will just bail-out now, as #18 nicely wrapped up a lot of loose ends. I'm still hopeful though DC will continue with the best comic they publish :-)
Actually, and I pray I'm wrong, I think most people without contact with solicitations and people on the boards online have already decided that the book's been canceled since no issue has come out since #18. As result, said people won't even look for #19, much less #20, and everyone will be SOL come March. I don't want to be negative, but I think the two-month hiatus will severely hurt the chances the book will continue. Out of sight, out of mind, and all that. It's just like the unwritten rule about bimonthly books failing (most books Marvel or DC pushed that diminished to bimonthly frequency--PULSE notwithstanding--weren't far from cancellation, and said change put the final nail in the coffin).
Here's hoping I'm wrong, because PAD, I REALLY like this book.
~Gary
I hesitate to post yet again, but I feel compelled to. See, I had read all the issues of Fallen Angel up to 15, but I hadn't read 16, 17, or 18 yet even though I had preordered them. I just received them last week when I caught up with all my outstanding monthly comic orders.
This morning, I got around to reading Fallen Angel issues 16, 17, and 18.
Damned if they didn't absolutely blow me away.
Issue 18...wow. If this book doesn't get some kind of award, an Eisner or a Harvey or something, there's no justice in this world. "Hurlyburly" was stunning. It was haunting. It was heart-wrenching. It was raw emotion mixed with great action and dark themes. Issue 18 was such a satisfying conclusion, and I love when I walk away from reading an issue feeling absolutely awed by what I just read. I had that feeling three times this morning, and it makes me want to pull out all the Fallen Angel issues and read them again in sequence.
So, I have to give thanks to Peter. It's not a sunny happy fun time book, but it challenges the reader to think, to feel, to continue reading. It's a fantastic book, and I'd hate to see it go.
When are the Eisner/Harvey nominees announced? Maybe DC would be willing to keep the book around if it got nominated for a prestigious award, kinda like Fox with "Arrested Development," when it won Best Comedy Series last year.
I'm hoping FA is saved. If it isn't... beg them for Supergirl. I'd love to see what you do with the new one (find Linda springs to mind)
Anyway, good luck, Lee...
Furioso, if I recall correctly, FA was not put under the Vertigo imprint because it would then have far less sales then it would have with the DC bullet on it.
Me, I think the company needs to market it more. We need to see more posters in comics shops with blurbs from magazines like ,Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, CBG, etc.
I also think they need to get the book a better artist. Even a guest shot or guest storyline with someone like Alan Davis, Adam Hughes, Carlos Pacheco, or whoever, might draw in more readers that might stay for the writing.
It's unfair to always blame the comic store. True, they are often very conservative in what they buy in, but there is a limit to how much risk they can take even if they want to promote the more obscure but good stuff.
In my smaller town here in Iowa, one of the two main comic book stores shut its doors in December. Since I always got great service and the store was nicely arranged, and it was in a location where it seemed like rent would be reasonable, I suspect it was simply a matter of not enough people here are buying comic books (to state the obvious).
I am one of those here who tried FA but didn't like it. I am sorry for PAD's sake and all of you as fans that it is not continuing. But I would also say it is not fair to blame the "customer."
PAD has a lot of fans, but as Supergirl demonstrates, more than the core PAD fans have to buy a comic for it to survive (I have every issue and was disappointed it ended). FA was well written, but for whatever reason it did not continue to grow as all of you hoped. As someone commented on another thread, the more "adult" nature of this book made it harder to recommend to a broad audience. I don't think PAD could have told the story he wanted without writing it as he did, so my comment is not to "blame" PAD for it failing. I suspect that it is such a difficult time that even the best writers can struggle to find new readers for a comic book (rather than just shuffling around the same readers between titles and books).
Jim in Iowa
(Sorry, slightly off topic)
For those who love Madrox, ComicsNexus named it one of their top 10 miniseries.
http://comicsnexus.insidepulse.com/article.php?contentid=30836
While I am sorry FA appears to be done, I am hoping that frees PAD up to write an ongoing Madrox series.
Jim in Iowa
In my smaller town here in Iowa, one of the two main comic book stores shut its doors in December.
Dude, you're from Iowa? I had no idea!
I don't think you need to apologize for not enjoying Fallen Angel. Just because you like 99% of someone's work doesn't obligate you to like the other 1%.
Dude, you're from Iowa? I had no idea!
Glad to clear that up for you.
Jim in Iowa (or is that Idaho, or is it Ohio? Everyone seems to ge them confused with each other)
Kind of reminds me of the masked wrestler that the announcer told us was "from parts unknown".
His name? "Mr Atlanta".
Hmm, according to the solicitations for April 2004, there's no listing for FA #20 in the DC listings.
Are we bimonthly now, PAD, or is something screwy going on beyond what we already know?
~G.
Peter: Any chance on FALLEN ANGEL going to IDW?
So what does everyone think of the new Fantastic Four trailer (just put up at apple.com today)?
"5 go into space..."
That's a slightly more dramatic change than "Greedo shoots first."
"1 will be bad...."
Ugh. Who writes that stuff?
About all I can say is that Human Torch looks ok. More like a ball of flame than a human torch, but the flying scenes look ok.
I guess it just doesn't look like FF to me. Sue and Reed are too young, and Alba as Sue in particular is waaaaay too young.
Besides, where's the Underdweller?
Yeah, it's bimonthly because, y'know...why not? Price hikes, "adults only" labels, stops, starts, stops again. I'm amazed it took this long.
PAD
For what it's worth, Randy Lander of The Fourth Rail reviews named "Hurlyburly" as his pick of the best storyarc of the year.
http://www.thefourthrail.com/features/0105/bestof2004partone.shtml