Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Mega Man #54 Preview Pages - the End is Nigh


Sample pages for the penultimate issue of Archie Comic's Mega Man are now available. Issue #54 hits newsstands tomorrow.


Via Capcom Unity:

24 comments:

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    1. Not really. It's more the Archie management's fault for making a boatload of dumb decisions that landed them in financial trouble. Mega Man being a dead IP does nothing to help.

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    2. I'm sure the fact that Sega and Capcom forced another crossover that ended up profoundly lackluster had nothing to do with it whatsoever. Nope, it's all gotta be the writer's fault.

      I'm just glad Penders got the boot before Megaman comics became a thing.

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  2. Looking forward to seeing the moment Protoman is born, so to speak.

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  3. I am not happy to see a Mega Man comic go down, but I sure am happy to see this Mega Man comic go down.

    Hopefully a new better one will emrge in the future, that or people let the series rest in peace.

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  4. Finally. I hate the artist's drawing. I prefer the first issue's artist. He was much better than this artist's drawing. Thats why I stopped read it when my favorite artist changed to a new artist. Sorry about my english.

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  5. Look at all these petulant, pissy comments.

    You'll never be happy, will you. Jesus.

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    1. Look at this big guy.

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    2. I honestly do believe it's a vocal minority though. There are probably ten times more MM fans out there that love their beloved Blue Bomber but don't take the time out of their lives to post comments on fansites.

      I do agree however, it is disheartening not seeing a single story go by without at least a handful of negative comments. I've seen comic book artists and writers personally attacked and called names, things get bashed that are still only announcements, and practically anything that gets the franchise even some exposure to people get picked apart one way or another. Relax people!

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    3. Or, most fans actually feel that the comics aren't to their liking and the negative comments on fan sites reflect what the silent majority as well as the minority of commenters feel.

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    4. Yes, look at all these petulant comments. Fewer than 10 if you don't look at this conversation, at least at my time of writing.

      Seriously, the over dramatic 'other side' is getting even more annoying at this point than people with complaints. Of course it's a vocal minority, there's barely anyone here to comment in the first place. Moreover, if someone has a criticism or complaint, why are they not allowed to voice that?

      If you're tired of seeing it, don't look at the comments. Moreover, don't look at comments on any site, as you'll find it on those as well.

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  6. Read the issue and saw that Pixiv artist's work on there with the name of Mateo M. Is that the artist himself, or someone stealing his or her works claiming as their own?

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  7. Vespa Woman is amazing. The fact that she's a discarded robot from Light just means that they paid attention to the concept of Hornet Man originally being Honey Woman.

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  8. I've been seeing a lot of hate comments for Archie Mega Man. Can someone please fill me in on why? I haven't seen any legitimate points.

    Art style? That's subjective; if it's not your cup of tea that they change artists for different arcs, OK.

    New characters? Unlike Archie Sonic, the Mega Man side characters are created to address the different questions one may raise about the series. Are there any people who are against the concept of Robot Masters? (Emerald Spears) Does that make them wrong? (Roslyn Krantz and Gil D. Stern) Should robot Masters be tools or sons? (Dr. LaLinde, Quake Woman) The only thing I'm not a big fan of is Mr. X being Xander Payne and the character of Madame Y, but I'm sure that given the time those would have worked out. What if Mr. X got trusted by the public eye and Dr. Wily made a switcheroo, making it closer to Mega Man 6? What if Archie planned that and wasn't going to RUIN FOREVER Mega Man 6?

    Plotline? Are we even reading the same series? I never thought I would get a proper build-up to the X series, an explanation for the Robot Museum, build up to Dr. Cossack, or make Super Adventure Rockman as badass as it was trying to be, yet Archie provided all of those.

    Please, I would like to hear more specific complaints.

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    1. I'm trying to be the reasonable Anon here, so I'll take this one.
      I have a lot of really minor gripes with Archie MM, most of them I can excuse due to cancellation panic or bad editorial decisions, but if there's one thing that gets under my skin it's Protoman.
      In his game appearances, Blues supposed to be mysterious and aloof; someone who's hard to read as a person, at least from the standpoint of other characters. It's never stated outright how he feels about Light, exactly how and why he ran away, or why he's so interested in Rock, but you can infer that he wants his brother to grow and learn, maybe even be something that he--with his limited lifespan--can't. The ambiguity makes him interesting.
      Now, granted, the original titles don't have a lot in the way of dialogue, and even those that do (Power Battle/Fighters, 8, R&F) mostly reinforce what we know from supplemental materials; Protoman is a loner, and by some combination of stubbornness and concern for his own well-being doesn't want his body tampered with.
      In the Archieverse however, his *entire history* is layed out for us. We see everything: from how he was built, to how he runs away, to his joining Wily and then some. He gets *so much* panel time it takes any novelty out of his appearances.
      And when he does show up? Pure angst. Protoman spends so much time navel-gazing and whining about his not having a purpose that all subtlety and mystery about him just splits and goes nuclear. I get it Ian, you like the Megas. So do I, but they're not a blueprint for how the series should be handled.
      I want to believe Flynn was building up to his game persona: smug weirdo who doles out advice and sometimes shoots at Rock for his own good, but Worlds Collide's future-Proto characterized him as a disinterested humorless jackhole so I don't know what to think. The initial backstory dump in Proto-Type I enjoyed, and was kind of bittersweet, but every subsequent appearance has made me like his character even less.
      I'm petering out here, so I'll stop. I'm tacking on a big, giant "IMHO" here, so don't take any of this personally. I don't hate this comic, there's quite a bit of it I really like (turning Gamma into a disaster recovery machine, or tying Ra Moon directly into the Stardroids for example) but it's stuff like this that dampens my feelings on the book as a whole.

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    2. I originally thought it was going to be some time traveling shenanigans with Mr X being future Wily. I have no quarrels with him being at least someone for right now, as after all Mr X was apparently a big name at the time of MM6, so he'd have to have existed in some way.

      Archie has yet to let me, as a reader, down in terms of research. They do their homework before making anything.

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    3. @Anon:TLDR, They didn't write Protoman the way you personally wanted him to be written, so it's not good.

      No, but seriously, thanks for being reasonable about your personal issue with the comics. I can understand not liking a certain characterization, even if I can't agree with this example here. Personally, I love the way they've been writing Protoman. He's a thematic foil to Dr. Wily. What Wily could have been if he wasn't so petulant.

      Blues was personally close to Dr. Light before feeling slighted and hurt, turned towards revenge, but, unlike Wily, has finally come around to the idea that Dr. Light still loves him, even after what he's done. Now his problem is that he can't forgive himself for what he's done, even though everyone else already has. I like that. It makes him feel relatable. Much moreso then just "I'm aloof and mysterious."

      I can understand the appeal of "aloof and mysterious." but those kinds of characters are generally fun because people project their theories onto them. I much prefer getting to know a character and what makes them tick to endless theorizing.

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    4. That makes sense, "Reasonable Anon." I do mostly agree with your case, and I hope this month's "Red Shift" will develop Proto Man into the games' persona. I think they're doing a decent job developing the character, but I think he's been stuck as Break Man for too long. I think they were really going somewhere with his conversation with Quake Woman, so I hope her message sinks in and he turns from angsty antihero to loner guardian.

      We'll see what happens to him this month. I hope that the story resumes from here after the hiatus and doesn't reboot. Come on, Mega Man 4 has been built up since Volume 4, and we're starting to get some buildup for Mega Man 7, 8, and 9.

      Hopefully, Proto Man will eventually become who you want him to be.

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    5. @Alex Hutchins: I'm not gonna sit here and detail every instance of disapproval I had/have with this particular comic.

      I will say this though, the same way you spin a positive light on things like *original characters* and *plot* I can shine negative light. For example a myriad of humans and political issues as a format is not necessarily an indication of good content in plot and keeping with an established theme while making it deep, I think the human political and emotional involvements the way presented in the comic with specific key original characters adds unnecessary drama and feels like an attempt at artificial depth, (it doesn't seem to come naturally, and doesn't meld with the classic aesthetic all that well). How can I explain this more consist........... OK take the Anon above me for example, he has a problem with how forced the development of Proto Man feels, he thinks that the subtlety of his character in the games contributed to his mysterious appeal, because of the overwriting of his character. I think that is indicative of the general writing style of the original characters, themes and overall comic a lot of the time. Not nessisarily just that though I also don't like the writing either. (I won't get into the details here).

      As for the build up to X, I have two problems with that 1. Why are we talking about the build up to X at this stage in the classic timeline? It makes it feel like the comic can't maintain interest on its own and is forced to piggy back off of other series, this is made even more evident from the infusion of Sonic crossovers/references. 2. The prospect of a Classic to X connection just is enough to pique my interest, it has to be well developed to keep me interested, needless to say if that cannot be done I prefer it if writers left that area alone. Classic and X aren't necessarily similar in style, Classic would need time to evolve, mature and climax to properly transition into being compatible with X, which it would need to be able to build up to X. Prior to that, the best Classic could do is subtle nods to the X series, and even then that should have its time and place. Timing and pacing is key, something I don't think the Archie comics does well. If you take art style for example even it will show how greatly Capcom intended to contrast the two series as time went on.

      http://i.imgur.com/DYrBUVc.png

      Excusing the artstyle shift (as even within the same series there are art style shifts), you can clearly see an atmospheric difference, a difference in intention and character, just by looking at these two images. Obviously one is going for a more mature dark angle, not only in look but in character. I think you'll find that a common contrast between the Classic and X series. In other words if Classic and X were to crossover and work a compromise in style would need to happen, and I think in a case where Classic is the one building up it should more naturally shift its aesthetic to fit X more.

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  9. The series on it's own was good, but the crossovers screwed everything up. The first cross-over makes absolutely no sense thanks to the second one, which the second one then further compacts the problem. It was too damn early in the comic's general timeline to do either one.

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  10. Hot dang, look at all those cameos in Wily's lab

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    1. Seriously! This is what I'm talking about with Archie, they do so well with the small details. A casual fan might wonder why he's not working on MM6 Masters. Well, World Tournament of course. So good seeing the 5 Masters represented in some small way. They're my favorites.

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  11. If they everybody hated this comic so badly, then they also hated Ariga's version so badly as well too.

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  12. I don't think many of the issues people bring up are enough to "hate" the comic. But then internet folk must have strong opinions on everything, you either worship something or despise it.

    The comic has some definite flaws, primarily in the crossover department. I don't think X was one of those, however, as that one specific "crossover" concerning the Wily Bot was very well separated by the boundaries of time. It was nice getting a brief look at X. I just prefer the series when it focuses on Mega Man and the issues of his world.

    It's a damn shame it's coming to an end, even with flaws. No one should want a good classic adaptation to fail, that's just depressing.

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