Mail Call For 2.23.26
There was a recent variant cover that I forgot to look for on New Comic Book Day, and the next week when I remembered to look for it, it wasn’t at the shop.
Therefore…
Guillem March Variant
As much as I’ve been a nearly lifelong fan of comics, there are many aspects of fandom and being a fan that are kind of foreign to me. To be clear, I’m not finding fault, I just find it kind of puzzling.
For an example relevant to the cover above, a lot of fans – and this happens in other fandoms as well – will see a single image, with little or no additional context, of a new character and make that their entire personality.
I saw a lot of that in the months leading up to the debut of Absolute Zatanna.
While my reaction to the announcement of the character was, “Huh. Neat. Interesting design.” a lot of fans completely lost their minds, instantly getting to work on fan art, fics, and cosplay.
Of course, a lot of that was due to the specifics of the design, and there was a lot of “Mother” involved in it, which is a whole other thing that I don’t really understand, and with this cover in particular a lot of people eagerly volunteered to get stepped on…
I don’t really have a point, and I don’t mean to seem judgmental, and I do at least kind of get it in this particular case of a new take on an existing beloved character, but that sudden “I am all-in on this” response to a single image always takes me aback as someone who needs to see a bit more before getting too invested in something.
The last time I responded to a new character in this way was way back when I was twelve, with Buckaroo Banzai. I was definitely all-in on him, but even that didn’t happen until I’d read the Marvel adaptation of the movie.
I guess my enthusiasm for a new character always remains tempered until I get more than just a look.
And for the record, Absolute Zatanna has actually proven to be an interesting new character.
Anyway, cool cover featuring an interesting new character, so I bought it.
More stuff will be showing up, so check back soon for the next Mail Call.
Born and raised in the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Jon Maki developed an enduring love for comics at an early age.
