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Did you ever run across something, and you're not sure quite what it means? It seems like there's a lesson to be learned, but it's not clear whether the lesson is We Can Do This Better, or if it was Pointlessly Banging Our Heads Against The Wall Is Fun!
"Wildstorm: Armageddon" and "Wildstorm: Revelations" fall into that unclear category.
Comic Book Resources - CBR News: WWC: Wildstorm Panel gets Scary with "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash":
Now, it's undeniable that DC's "52" actually worked more or less the way DC wanted; I would argue, however, that it's entirely unclear why it worked, given what happened after. It's also undeniable that "Countdown" is not working the way they wanted; sales started lower, and are declining precipitously across the board, because they've foolishly tied every single title into Countdown, so if Countdown slides, it takes everyone with it. It's also undeniable that the reboot of the Wildstorm universe failed miserably -- in part, I suspect, because of the odd mix of complete reboot (Gen 13, with new origin stories and brought forward 20 years) mixed with soft reboot (by way of recasting, Wetworks and Stormwatch PHD) and reboot in name only (Authority) along with oddball new titles (Midnighter, Grifter and Midnighter, Welcome to Tranquility) managed to confuse readers both new and old as to how it all fit together. Having almost destroyed Wildstorm Universe's sales with the reboot, and mauling the main DC Universe's sales with massive line-wide crossovers where figuring out who is doing what, where, and when and how (or if) it all fits together is almost impossible, they seem to have decided to combine either the best or worst of all worlds with a combination universe reboot/crossover/crossover-reboot-to-follow.
On the upside: lesson at least partially learned, because it's short; Wildstorm: Armageddon constitutes six issues over six titles in 12 weeks, and Wildstorm: Revelations (the crossover-reboot-to-follow) is apparently going to be another six titles over 12 weeks, following directly after.
On the possible downside: lesson maybe partially unlearned; is the idea that you'll need to read all six titles to understand what happens in any given title? Because I'll tell you right now, I have just about ZERO interest in reading Midnighter:Armageddon or Wetworks:Armageddon or anything in Wildstorm Universe except MAYBE Tranquility:Armageddon (strange title, that). And if I have to read both Armageddon and Revelations to understand what's happening in the main Welcome to Tranquility title, I may be a bit peeved. And if I have to read ALL of Armageddon and Revelations to understand what's happening in the main Welcome to Tranquility title ... well, that's just not happening.
(Purely a side note: they've just finished having Midnighter yanked around the past against his will in his own title, and now it's happening to him again across all the title? He gets ganked into the future and the past to fix things before they happen? What is he, Wildstorm's equivalent of a time lord in extremely form fitting spandex?)
Also, given the metaseries titles and allusions, I'm assuming that terribly terribly Biblical things will be happening. But Batman kills The Beast in Batman 666! How can Armageddon possibly come about? Does that mean that there's more than one Antichrist? Does that mean that there's more than one Heavenly Host? How can that all possibly work? And what about Naomi?
(EDIT: The cover of Tranquility:Armageddon can be seen on the Comicon.com site. Apparently, it's not just Midnighter getting yanked around; it's superheroes in all of the titles, which makes a bit more sense in terms of reader loyalty. The team on the cover of Tranquility:Armageddon is ... wildly improbable, let's say. Several people from different points in Tranquility's timeline. I must admit, I am curious to see how they manage that one.)
"Wildstorm: Armageddon" and "Wildstorm: Revelations" fall into that unclear category.
Comic Book Resources - CBR News: WWC: Wildstorm Panel gets Scary with "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash":
...The previously announced "Armageddon" series was mentioned, which will sweep through six different one-shot comics. "Midnighter: Armageddon," "Tranquility: Armageddon," "Wetworks: Armageddon," "Gen 13: Armageddon," "Stormwatch PHD: Armageddon" and "Wildcats: Armageddon" are the six titles. The books are all written by Chris Gage, with cover art by Mike McCone. The respective regular series will not be interrupted.
"I've read five of the first six scripts," WildStorm Editor Scott Peterson said. "If it's not the best thing that Chris Gage has ever written, then it's as good as his best ever."
The Armageddon series starts off with Void appearing to Midnighter, telling him he has to come with her, and that she can't explain anything further. Suddenly they're in the middle of London and it's completely destroyed. It's the near future. Void tells Midnighter that he has to stop this, and then she disappears. The six issues will ship every other week....
Now, it's undeniable that DC's "52" actually worked more or less the way DC wanted; I would argue, however, that it's entirely unclear why it worked, given what happened after. It's also undeniable that "Countdown" is not working the way they wanted; sales started lower, and are declining precipitously across the board, because they've foolishly tied every single title into Countdown, so if Countdown slides, it takes everyone with it. It's also undeniable that the reboot of the Wildstorm universe failed miserably -- in part, I suspect, because of the odd mix of complete reboot (Gen 13, with new origin stories and brought forward 20 years) mixed with soft reboot (by way of recasting, Wetworks and Stormwatch PHD) and reboot in name only (Authority) along with oddball new titles (Midnighter, Grifter and Midnighter, Welcome to Tranquility) managed to confuse readers both new and old as to how it all fit together. Having almost destroyed Wildstorm Universe's sales with the reboot, and mauling the main DC Universe's sales with massive line-wide crossovers where figuring out who is doing what, where, and when and how (or if) it all fits together is almost impossible, they seem to have decided to combine either the best or worst of all worlds with a combination universe reboot/crossover/crossover-reboot-to-follow.
On the upside: lesson at least partially learned, because it's short; Wildstorm: Armageddon constitutes six issues over six titles in 12 weeks, and Wildstorm: Revelations (the crossover-reboot-to-follow) is apparently going to be another six titles over 12 weeks, following directly after.
On the possible downside: lesson maybe partially unlearned; is the idea that you'll need to read all six titles to understand what happens in any given title? Because I'll tell you right now, I have just about ZERO interest in reading Midnighter:Armageddon or Wetworks:Armageddon or anything in Wildstorm Universe except MAYBE Tranquility:Armageddon (strange title, that). And if I have to read both Armageddon and Revelations to understand what's happening in the main Welcome to Tranquility title, I may be a bit peeved. And if I have to read ALL of Armageddon and Revelations to understand what's happening in the main Welcome to Tranquility title ... well, that's just not happening.
(Purely a side note: they've just finished having Midnighter yanked around the past against his will in his own title, and now it's happening to him again across all the title? He gets ganked into the future and the past to fix things before they happen? What is he, Wildstorm's equivalent of a time lord in extremely form fitting spandex?)
Also, given the metaseries titles and allusions, I'm assuming that terribly terribly Biblical things will be happening. But Batman kills The Beast in Batman 666! How can Armageddon possibly come about? Does that mean that there's more than one Antichrist? Does that mean that there's more than one Heavenly Host? How can that all possibly work? And what about Naomi?
(EDIT: The cover of Tranquility:Armageddon can be seen on the Comicon.com site. Apparently, it's not just Midnighter getting yanked around; it's superheroes in all of the titles, which makes a bit more sense in terms of reader loyalty. The team on the cover of Tranquility:Armageddon is ... wildly improbable, let's say. Several people from different points in Tranquility's timeline. I must admit, I am curious to see how they manage that one.)
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