Re-mumbering madness. After reading this,to me the problem is identified quite simply,that comics today are confusing and instead of saying that they'll try to correct this issue or at least take steps to minimize it,Brevort states that more re-numbering is likely from Marvel,because new readers need a clearly defined "jumping on point". Personally,I call bullshit on that line of reasoning and instead wish they would just come right out and say "It's a money-grab.",as that's all it is. There's nothing pointing to the "High numbering deters new readers." as most of us that are comic fans today,probably started with titles in their 60's,90's,100's,300's and in the cases of Action and Detective Comics 400-500 issue range.
Let's look at it this way,slapping on a #1 doesn't mean it's the beginning. There's still something that came before it. Most of the Marvel NOW stuff that's coming out is a direct result of events in Avengers vs. X-Men. So you might want to read that.Well,why would the Avengers and X-Men fight? Who's Hope? For that you then have to point to "Endangered Species" and "The Messiah Complex" and "Cable" for that and maybe "Generation Hope". Why is the Phoenix dangerous? Here,read the Dark Phoenix Saga for that. See? A new #1 is not clear cut fresh start nor is that a bad thing at all. You
want new readers to read this stuff....it enriches the story and generates interest in more comics. It's how a new reader discovers what they like and how even events from 30+ years ago can play into the stories today.Why in the world would you want readers to ignore this stuff?
This too,is why I think DC's relaunch will ultimately fail....because a year in and they're still having to explain themselves with why this and that are the way they are and which stories from the classic universe still count. Why? If a new reader to Green Lantern is told that "Blackest Night" still happened and they go back to read that story,then won't they be confused even more so, if you have to then explain that that particular DCU isn't the current DCU because of Flashpoint and then you have to explain that mess. So really,what's more deterring to a new reader.....the issue number in the upper left corner or having to figure out a mess that even a long-time comic fan can't explain in under a half-hour and the people who work in the industry don't even know what's what.
