District X #1 Sort of a spoiler

On 14 May 2004 01:04:17 GMT, Dan McEwen <dannyboymcny.RemoveThis@hotmail.com>
wrote:

 >"teepee" <no-email.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in
 >news:yPednVQ0g-UVMz7dRVn-tA@nildram.net:
 >
  >> A spoiler for a spoiler....
  >>
  >> I really quite like the premise of this comic, but I would have
  >> enjoyed it a hell of a lot more with a different cover. Do the editors
 >
 >I'm not sure I get your point. Wrong type of gun or something? I
 >thought he's used handguns in the past, though I admit to never having
 >cared enough about Bishop to notice. That said, I liked the first issue
 >and hope that the series makes me like Bishop.

I *think* that he was assuming that, given the "reveal" of Bishop at
the end, it was supposed to be a surprise - and thus that including
him on the cover is a pretty big spoiler.

Given that Bishop was featured in the preview story in X-Men Unlimited
though, I don't think his involvement was supposed to be a secret -
just the way he was revealed to the cop at the end was supposed to be
dramatic, or whatever.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

Laura M. Parkinson <stormfeather.TakeThisOut@charter.net> wrote in
news:dp88a0p8hv3mls4p5reeaqul342ba0s6c9@4ax.com:

 > On 14 May 2004 01:04:17 GMT, Dan McEwen <dannyboymcny.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com>
 > wrote:
 >
  >>"teepee" <no-email.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in
  >>news:yPednVQ0g-UVMz7dRVn-tA@nildram.net:
  >>
   >>> A spoiler for a spoiler....
   >>>
   >>> I really quite like the premise of this comic, but I would have
   >>> enjoyed it a hell of a lot more with a different cover. Do the
   >>> editors
  >>
  >>I'm not sure I get your point. Wrong type of gun or something? I
  >>thought he's used handguns in the past, though I admit to never having
  >>cared enough about Bishop to notice. That said, I liked the first
  >>issue and hope that the series makes me like Bishop.
 >
 > I *think* that he was assuming that, given the "reveal" of Bishop at
 > the end, it was supposed to be a surprise - and thus that including
 > him on the cover is a pretty big spoiler.

OK, I guess that makes sense.

 > Given that Bishop was featured in the preview story in X-Men Unlimited
 > though, I don't think his involvement was supposed to be a secret -
 > just the way he was revealed to the cop at the end was supposed to be
 > dramatic, or whatever.

I agree. Of course, I knew that Bishop was going to be in it. Even in
the "On Sale" section of x-books, it specifically says "DISTRICT X #1:
All-new Marvel Knights X-Series starring Bishop!" I never thought it
was supposed to be a secret.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

"Laura M. Parkinson" <stormfeather DeleteThis @charter.net> wrote

 > I *think* that he was assuming that, given the "reveal" of Bishop at
 > the end, it was supposed to be a surprise - and thus that including
 > him on the cover is a pretty big spoiler.

This was indeed my point. But for the cover I wouldn't have known Bishop was
in it, and would have enjoyed the surprise, and clearly that was the
author's intent, judging by the way it was written.Otherwise why the big
reveal?

But as you say, it's not much of a reveal if his presence had already been
shouted from the rooftops by the marketing people. So why write it as one.

Other than that, quite promising.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

teepee wrote:
  >> I *think* that he was assuming that, given the "reveal" of Bishop at
  >> the end, it was supposed to be a surprise - and thus that including
  >> him on the cover is a pretty big spoiler.
 >
 > This was indeed my point. But for the cover I wouldn't have known Bishop was
 > in it, and would have enjoyed the surprise, and clearly that was the
 > author's intent, judging by the way it was written. Otherwise why the big
 > reveal?

Frankly, it was clearly *not* intended to be a surprise for us.

However, what was a surprise was that I would like the book as much as I
did. I just may have a new favourite, and I've never been much of a Bishop
fan in the past. Kudos to David Hine.
--
-=[ The BlakGard ]=-
"Somewhere there's danger;
somewhere there's injustice,
and somewhere else the tea is getting cold!"<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

In message <er6dnSWSX_7xozndRVn-vg.RemoveThis@nildram.net>, teepee
<no-email.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> writes
 >
 >This was indeed my point. But for the cover I wouldn't have known
 >Bishop was in it, and would have enjoyed the surprise, and clearly that
 >was the author's intent, judging by the way it was written.Otherwise
 >why the big reveal?

It's not meant to be a big reveal. They've always promoted this as a
Bishop series. Hell, they trailed it with a Bishop story in the last
issue of X-MEN UNLIMITED.

The "reveal" is simply a pacing device to make you feel like you've
reached a natural break point at the conclusion of issue #1.

--
Paul O'Brien

THE X-AXIS - <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.thexaxis.com" target="_blank">http://www.thexaxis.com</a>
ARTICLE 10 - <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ninthart.com" target="_blank">http://www.ninthart.com</a>
LIVEJOURNAL - <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.livejournal.com/~paulobrien" target="_blank">http://www.livejournal.com/~paulobrien</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

"Paul O'Brien" <paul.RemoveThis@SPAMBLOCK.esoterica.demon.co.uk> wrote

 > It's not meant to be a big reveal. They've always promoted this as a
 > Bishop series. Hell, they trailed it with a Bishop story in the last
 > issue of X-MEN UNLIMITED.

Well marketing aside, surely that ending is written like it is a big reveal.
The fact that it's nothing of the kind seems somewhat absurd to me.
Obviously I'm on my own with this one though...<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

 >I really quite like the premise of this comic, but I would have enjoyed it a
 >hell of a lot more with a different cover. Do the editors even read their
 >comics?
 >

It's the trend of comics these days to have covers that have absoultely nothing
at all to do with the story that's inside. Most covers lately are pin-ups. For
example the latest issue of Ultimate Fantastic Four sports a cover of Invisible
Woman with a bunch of photographers surrounding her, in the issue she's nowhere
to be found. Plenty of Spider-Man covers are just Spider-Man in different poses
from crouching on various rooftops to swinging on his web. I wouldn't mind a
return to comics that have covers that advertise what's going to happen in the
book youre picking up, I think it would generate a little more interest in an
issue if there was some sort of adequate teaser to interest a person.
Jason<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

 >
 >On 14 May 2004 01:04:17 GMT, Dan McEwen <dannyboymcny.RemoveThis@hotmail.com>
 >wrote:
 >
  >>"teepee" <no-email.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in
  >>news:yPednVQ0g-UVMz7dRVn-tA@nildram.net:
  >>
   >>> A spoiler for a spoiler....
   >>>
   >>> I really quite like the premise of this comic, but I would have
   >>> enjoyed it a hell of a lot more with a different cover. Do the editors
  >>
  >>I'm not sure I get your point. Wrong type of gun or something? I
  >>thought he's used handguns in the past, though I admit to never having
  >>cared enough about Bishop to notice. That said, I liked the first issue
  >>and hope that the series makes me like Bishop.
 >
 >I *think* that he was assuming that, given the "reveal" of Bishop at
 >the end, it was supposed to be a surprise - and thus that including
 >him on the cover is a pretty big spoiler.


I honestly doubt this, anyone who's known something about the title since it
was announced knew it was a title that was going to prominently include Bishop.
I think the problem he had was having a cover with Bishop on it and then really
not having him in the book itself.
Jason<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

  >> I *think* that he was assuming that, given the "reveal" of Bishop at
  >> the end, it was supposed to be a surprise - and thus that including
  >> him on the cover is a pretty big spoiler.
 >
 >This was indeed my point. But for the cover I wouldn't have known Bishop was
 >in it, and would have enjoyed the surprise, and clearly that was the
 >author's intent, judging by the way it was written.Otherwise why the big
 >reveal?

It wasn't really a big reveal, pretty much everyone who knew anything about
the series before it hit stands knew Bishop was in it. Unless you don't pick up
Previews, never come to the internet to find out about comics, or even read
Wizard, then I can't see there being a huge problem with you knowing Bishop was
in the book because of the cover. As for how they made his appearance look in
the book, I didn't think they made it out to be a huge reveal in the sense that
it was supposed to be a surprise, just more of a dramatic, timed entrance.
 >
 >But as you say, it's not much of a reveal if his presence had already been
 >shouted from the rooftops by the marketing people. So why write it as one.
 >
 >Other than that, quite promising.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >


Jason<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

Paul O'Brien <paul DeleteThis @SPAMBLOCK.esoterica.demon.co.uk> wrote in message news:<csydDqDLeUpAFwyi DeleteThis @esoterica.demon.co.uk>...
 > In message <er6dnSWSX_7xozndRVn-vg DeleteThis @nildram.net>, teepee
 > <no-email DeleteThis @hotmail.com> writes
  > >
  > >This was indeed my point. But for the cover I wouldn't have known
  > >Bishop was in it, and would have enjoyed the surprise, and clearly that
  > >was the author's intent, judging by the way it was written.Otherwise
  > >why the big reveal?
 >
 > It's not meant to be a big reveal. They've always promoted this as a
 > Bishop series. Hell, they trailed it with a Bishop story in the last
 > issue of X-MEN UNLIMITED.
 >

I felt similarly about Lady Deathstrike in X2, the big reveal of her
right before her battle with Wolverine had its thunder completely
stolen by showing the moment in the trailers for the movie. Watching
the movie, suppressing my knowledge of who Yuriko Oyama is, there is a
slow build to the reveal (Yuriko cracking her knuckles, batte with
Cyclops etc) that is a foregone conclusion because it was advertised
in the promotions (trailers, posters etc).

I watched it with someone who didnt know about the character and he
had the same "That would have been a much cooler moment, if I didn't
know it was coming" response.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

"Jason" <theuspsclerk.RemoveThis@aol.com> wrote

 > I honestly doubt this, anyone who's known something about the title since
it
 > was announced knew it was a title that was going to prominently include
Bishop.
 > I think the problem he had was having a cover with Bishop on it and then
really
 > not having him in the book itself.

I really knew nothing about this title before I saw it in the shop. All I
saw was a comic that had a structure that read like a big reveal, but a
rather pointless reveal given the cover.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

"teepee" <no-email.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:JbWdnV3XfuaLxTjdRVn-hA@nildram.net...
 >
 > "Paul O'Brien" <paul.DeleteThis@SPAMBLOCK.esoterica.demon.co.uk> wrote
 >
  > > It's not meant to be a big reveal. They've always promoted this as a
  > > Bishop series. Hell, they trailed it with a Bishop story in the last
  > > issue of X-MEN UNLIMITED.
 >
 > Well marketing aside, surely that ending is written like it is a big reveal.
 > The fact that it's nothing of the kind seems somewhat absurd to me.
 > Obviously I'm on my own with this one though...
 >
Yup, go and stand in the corner. I read it as the big reveal to the
characters, not the reader.

D.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler 

"Donnacha DeLong" <donnacha.RemoveThis@NOSPAMsortedmagazine.com> wrote in
news:40a5fb66_2@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com:

> Yup, go and stand in the corner. I read it as the big reveal to the
> characters, not the reader.
>

What were your thoughts on the book as a whole? I liked it.
It might have been interesting if Bishop was teamed with the abrasive cop
rather than his politically correct partner. I also liked the artwork.
Hopefully, others will try this book and stick around.


--
 >> Stay informed about: District X #1 Sort of a spoiler