Graphs of Marvel Comics’ Bizarre Numbering Systems

When I was a kid, two of the first four comics I had were Spider-Man comics. One of them was ‘Amazing Spider-Man’, it was issue number 270, and it was copyright 1985. The other was ‘Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man’, it was issue number 113, and it was copyright 1986. Realising that the second issue must have been released at a later date, and not realising that they were two different Spider-Man series, I postulated that the issue numbers of comics were chosen at random. I knew that series began at issue #1, and I was sure #2 followed, but it seemed to me then that you could choose whatever numbers you wanted after #3 – eg #1, #2, #3, #57, #629, #188, #270, #113 ...

I may have been wrong then, but given Marvel Comics’ numbering systems in recent years, my theory could be argued to be somewhat ahead of its time. Since the mid-1990s Marvel has frequently, often bafflingly, re-numbered its long-running series. Below are attempts to chart those numbering systems for some of their series, graphing number of issues (in sequential order) against issue number.

Start with ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ – it may seem tricky, but compared to other series its numbering system has been generally straightforward. For over 400 issues (starting from point A in the chart below) there was a long steady climb, where its issue number matched its number of issues. The series then underwent a ‘relaunch’ in the mid-1990s (B), a word I heartily detest – I find the concept itself pretty stupid too. Even this though did not shake the seemingly incontrovertible law that issue numbers for comic series ran in sequence.

The trouble kind of started when Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada decided that he disliked the renumbering of all of Marvel’s long-running series. Consequently, these series started to have dual numbers (C) – one signalling where the issue was situated in the current series, and the other signalling what number the issue would be if the series have never been stupidly relaunched. However, the first of these numbers magically disappeared when the count for the second number allowed Marvel to publish an oversized, higher-priced 500^th ‘anniversary’ issue.

The numbering then returned to the path that the long steady climb would have taken if it had not been interrupted only marginally thrown off-course by some ‘Point One’ issues – eg #654.1 – barely perceptible on the graph below. This continued until the ‘final’ issue, #700, in which Peter Parker was ‘killed’ and replaced. (Actually there were also issues #700.1-700.5 but never mind that … ) ‘Amazing’ was then replaced by ‘Superior Spider-Man’ but that was then replaced by another stupid relaunch of ‘Amazing’ this year, with Peter Parker returning (D). Therefore, ‘Amazing Spider-Man’, despite running for over 700 issues, is now essentially back at the start again …

Next up: Marvel’s other flagship title ‘Fantastic Four’. This also had an LSC for over 400 issues (A), before it was stupidly relaunched, or ‘reborned’ if you will, as part of Marvel’s first stab at renumbering its popular, long-running series – the ‘Heroes Reborn’ debacle (B). After ‘Reborn’ divebombed, there was another relaunch under the ‘Heroes Return’ banner (C). The series would then later undergo the same dual numbering phenomenon as ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ (D), although in the FF’s case it lasted a little beyond #500, with the wrinkle that the numbers did a switcheroo from #501 onwards so that the higher number came first (E).

The LSC was then resumed as if it never halted, until Jonathan Hickman ‘killed’ off the Human Torch, and the title was relaunched as ‘FF’ rather than FF (F). But then lo and behold, an ‘anniversary’ issue came up, and Marvel wanted to have its cake and eat it too. ‘FF’ #12 was instead ‘Fantastic Four’ #600, with ‘FF’ #1-11 retroactively becoming the missing issues of ‘Fantastic Four’ (G). After that Marvel pulled a Captain Kirk, where ‘Fantastic Four’ (#601- ) and ‘FF’ (#12- ) both existed simultaneously. Both series were then started again as part of the Marvel NOW! Relaunch Hyperoverload (H), catapulting the series into a bold new era that managed to last a whole sixteen issues (I).

Marvel’s ‘Thor’ aka ’The Mighty Thor’ aka ’Thor: God of Thunder’ actually began life as a re-titling of ‘Journey Into Mystery’, so that its first issue was #126 (A). Since then its numbering has been affected by several stupid relaunches, a have-your-cake-and-eat-it, and a double Captain Kirk. The title ‘Thor’ was initially cancelled rather than Reborned in the mid-1990s (it was the lucky one), but the series reverted to its old name of ‘Journey Into Mystery’ and kept the same numbering sequence (B). The relaunch eventually came though (C), followed by a dual numbering (D), and then a cancellation and relaunch again (E).

The 600^th issue (F) was Marvel’s chance for a have-your-cake-and-eat-it, even though it was not the 600^th issue of Thor at all. It only works if you count the first 125 issues of ‘Journey Into Mystery’, but not the issues after the first Captain Kirk, because well … that would not have added up to 600, would it? This resumption of the LSC did not last long until a second Captain Kirk occurred (G), where ‘Thor’ began again at #1 (H), and ‘Journey Into Mystery’ again took over the old numbering. ‘Thor: God of Thunder’ is the most recent stupid relaunch (I), although it is enough of a clean break from what came before that it can almost be forgiven. 

‘Captain America’ has followed a similar path to ‘Thor’, beginning at #100 as a re-titling of ‘Tales of Suspense’ (A), and then undergoing a LSC up past #450. Like ‘Fantastic Four’ it got ‘Reborned’ (B), and relaunched (C), and then had a dual number for a tick (D), before it got stupidly relaunched (E) and relaunched again (F).

You would think that with so many stupid relaunches it would never regain its former heights on the y-axis. But never underestimate the power of Marvel’s have-your-cake-and-eat-it fetish, which took effect as of issue number, wait for it … the oversized, higher-priced 600 (F). (Though like ‘Thor’ this ignores that the series began at #100.) Captain America then got Captain Kirked not long after, when Captain America got ‘killed’ and was replaced, albeit by the original Captain America Steve Rogers, who himself had been ‘killed’ and replaced. ‘Captain America’ and ‘Captain America and Bucky’, which picked up the old numbering, then ran simultaneously (H and I), with the good Captain getting Marvel NOW!ed accounting for the most recent relaunch (J).

And then there is Iron Man … take a deep breath now ...

Iron Man’ started at #1 (A), and adhered to the law of the long, steady climb for over 300 issues. It was ‘Reborned’ (B), and stupidly relaunched (C), and dual numbered (D) like the other titles we have seen here. And like ‘Captain America’ it was then stupidly relaunched again (E). Alright, this is where it gets hairy …

At the same time as ‘Iron Man’ was running, a new title called ‘Invincible Iron Man’ was launched (F). Eventually ‘Iron Man’ was cancelled, and ‘Invincible Iron Man’ became the Iron Man title (G). Which would have been relatively straightforward as far as these things go until the ‘have-your-cake-and-eat-it’ phenomenon struck, and ‘Invincible Iron Man’ was renumbered, with #34 becoming #500 (H). Essays could have been written about how the hell the various Iron Man issues added up to #500; however the website Comic Book Numbering worked out the magic algebra that made it work (hint: three issues of ‘Iron Man’ were apparently not ‘Iron Man’ issues at all).

‘Iron Man’ has been stupidly relaunched one more time since then (I), but there is one more hump in the graph. Old Iron Man creators David Micheline and Bob Layton decided 25 years later to write over issue #258, releasing their own version of that issue, #258.1-258.4 last year (J).

Well, I hope all of those charts explained things. Now you can sit back and wait for Marvel’s new films Avengers 7, Captain America XL, and Guardians of the Galaxy 462.3, coming soon to a multiplex near you.

AFL Power Rankings: Round 15 2014

RISING UP

Port Adelaide’s older, shakier brother the Adelaide Crows started 2014 relatively badly, but they have lifted over the past few weeks with good wins over North Melbourne, and the Power themselves on the weekend. The win now places the Crows at #7 on the rankings, and just a game outside the eight on the actual ladder, indicating that they still have a reasonable chance of playing an elimination final this September.

FALLING DOWN

Geelong’s form over the past five weeks: thrashed by Sydney, just beat Carlton, hammered bottom-ranked St. Kilda, beaten easily by Gold Coast, just beat Essendon. The Cats have not been rated this low since Round 16 2012 – that time around they soon lifted their form (despite a finals loss to the Dockers), which they then carried into a top four finish in 2013. But even the Cat Empire has to come to an end someday, and perhaps enough of their golden generation have now reached the age where the Cats may return to the pack.

ALSO OF NOTE

I am posting this on Monday because, like Collingwood and Carlton supporters, I could not be bothered with football on Sunday night. Actually the real reason was that I have been getting up early to watch those other football matches at the World Cup, and therefore went to bed before the Pies/Blues match had even finished.

 

The Finger Points Outwards - No. 84

FOOTBALL: Measuring the excitement of this year’s World Cup.

FILM/BOARD GAMES: If humans play Dungeons & Dragons, what do elves and orcs play?

AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL: The case for the Western Bulldogs to revert back to Footscray. This site agrees. I do too.

STATISTICS: Are these correlations spurious? You be the judge (but your answer should probably be yes).

BASKETBALL: Love and hate in the era of LeBron James.

ECONOMICS: Why is current wage growth in Australia so low?

AFL Power Rankings: Round 14 2014

RISING UP

The Gold Coast Suns move into positive territory this week for the first time in their history after comfortably beating Geelong for the Gary Ablett Junior Cup. The Suns’ rise from terrible to respectably average is similar to that of Port Adelaide’s in 2013, and like the Power last year they look a good chance to play in the finals. They will also be hoping that, like the Power in 2014, they continue on an upward trajectory from average to really very good.

FALLING DOWN

Meanwhile, about 80 kilometres away, the other Queensland team the Brisbane Lions has sunk to depths not seen not in Woolloongabba for some years. The Lions’ 70-odd point loss to the Dockers’ last weekend did not see them lose too many more ranking points (it was only a bit more than the margin that was expected), but they have still declined the most of any team so far in 2014.

ALSO OF NOTE

Usually this time of year I do a mid-year All-Australian team. But I have watched so little AFL since Richmond’s Demon Doomsday a few weeks back that I couldn’t even pretend to know who the best 22 have been this year, aside from the obvious picks like G. Ablett and S. Pendlebury. I will try and muster up enough interest though to sham my way through picking an end-of-year side.

 

The Wooden Finger Five - June 2014

1.       Stevie – Kasabian

Kasabian called their latest album ’48:13’? Who are they trying to fool with this ‘arty’ stance? Tom and Serge disappointed me a little bit with their most recent album, ‘Velociraptor’, which seemed a tad uninspired after the slightly-bonkers quasi-psychedelicia of the excellent ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’. The new album veers back away from trad-rock, with mixed results, but when they get their blend of the anthemic and the trance-like right, as they do on ‘Stevie’, it is Kasabian at their very best. The boys from Leicester also hit the mark on ‘Clouds’ and single ‘Eez-eh’, less so on ‘Treat’ (‘everybody knows I work it, work it like a treat’ – repeat ad nauseum).  

 

2.       Cruel World – Lana Del Rey
 

Probably nothing else Lana Del Rey does in her career will hold the same excitement for me that I felt when I first saw the clip for ‘Video Games’ on YouTube – I must have watched it seven times within 24 hours of first seeing it. Her album ‘Born To Die’ was, for me, a bit of a let-down, mostly filled with middling ballads. From my first couple of listens new album ‘Ultraviolence’ seems to me an improvement; there are a few more hooks and surprises in the tunes, and Lana actually has more than one tone in her voice. Opening track ‘Cruel World’ is a good example of this more adventurous stance, clocking in at over six-and-a-half minutes and never really knowing when to end, it is in my view the track on this album that comes closest to matching ‘Video Games’ for atmospherics.   
 

3.       The Fragile Army (album) – The Polyphonic Spree
 

I never listened much to the Polyphonic Spree after their first album, and by God, now do I regret it. I regret even more not seeing them perform in the late-2000s, which would be just after ‘The Fragile Army’ album was released. No longer a novelty pseudo-cult in white robes, the Polyphonic Spree had turned into an excellent indie-pop group, using their 20-something vocalists to create some joyous and sublime harmonies for their catchy tunes. Single ‘We Crawl’ – probably the reason I did not pay much attention to this album when it first came out – is actually for me one of the weaker tracks. Better are tracks three through five – ‘Get Up And Go’, ‘The Fragile Army’, and ‘Younger Yesterday’, along with ‘Light To Follow’, ‘Watch Us Explode (Justify)’, and closer ‘The Championship’.
 

4.       So Now You Know – The Horrors
 

Anyone who has listened to the Horrors’ two most recent albums, ‘Primary Colours’ and ‘Skying’ will know pretty much what to expect from their new one ‘Luminous’. Like much of the Horrors’ output, this is a brooding track that sounds like it was recorded in a tunnel, but this one stands out for its infectious chorus, pleasant synth, and rowdy guitars, that will have you singing along even as you lurk alone moodily in an alleyway.
 

5.       Love Goes To Buildings On Fire – Will Hermes
 

Wait, isn’t that a song by the Talking Heads? Yes it is, but it is also the title that Will Hermes has taken for his new book about the New York music scene of the mid-1970s. Most people who are interested in picking up this book will already know a bit about Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, the New York Dolls, Blondie, Television, the Ramones, and Talking Heads themselves. The stories that may be less well-known are those of Grandmaster Flash and the beginnings of hip-hop, and the main jazz and salsa figures of that period. The book even follows composer Philip Glass through the triumphs and tribulations of his four-part opera’ Einstein On The Beach’. Looking behind the scenes of the punk icons was naturally of the most interest to me, but it is good that Hermes chose to take a more expansive view of the city and its music, often through personal recollections. CBGB sounds like it was a real dive. 

BEER!![14] – Kaiserdom: Limited World Edition 2014

Name:  Kaiserdom Premium Lager: Limited World Edition 2014.

Brewery: Kaiserdom

Place Of Origin: Germany.

Type: Not a premium lager, but a pilsner apparently.

Alcohol Content: I thought I had blown this point by stupidly recycling the can 20 minutes before I began writing this. Fortunately, the internet is here to tell me it was 3.7%.

Why I Bought It: It’s a huge can advertising the World Cup. I couldn’t help but imagine cracking it open at 3am as I watched the Socceroos.

Taste: Pretty bad to begin with actually, it tasted a bit like alcoholic Dettol. But it got better as I got further down the can, and by the end was fairly drinkable.

What I did while drinking it: Didn’t watch the Socceroos actually. I watched the replays of the matches from the night before – Japan v Cote d’Ivorie, and Uruguay v Costa Rica. Is that Costa Rica in the photo there trudging off the pitch at half time before mounting their comeback?

What I did after drinking it: I was a little pleased that I wouldn’t feel compelled to drink another of them until 2018.  

The Finger Points Outwards - No. 83

TELEVISION/BOOKS: Rolling Stone interview Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

VIDEO GAMES: Long video games are now less long.

ECONOMICS/MUSIC: The hidden cost of Gangnam Style.

FILM/SOCIAL POLICY: Morgan Freeman’s authoritative voice does not mean his views on race and inequality are right, argues this columnist.

AFL Power Rankings: Round 13 2014

RISING UP

Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney were diabolical in 2013, but have become merely bad in 2014. Both teams scored a win on the weekend, and have gained about 30 rankings points each in 2014; that is, they are considered about five goals better. This week is the first week neither of them have been ranked last since Round 14 2012.

FALLING DOWN

St. Kilda’s 96 point loss to Geelong, coupled with GWS’ comfortable win in Brisbane, sends the Saints to the bottom of the rankings for the first since I started compiling them. Apart from Brisbane, the Saints’ have lost the most ranking points so far in 2014.

ALSO OF NOTE

Hawthorn, Sydney, Fremantle and Port Adelaide are now the clear top four teams – will they be the preliminary finalists in 2014?