Hey! I’m late! Sorry! (On a related note, I’m getting tired of that E.R., they don’t have Linda Cardellini or George Clooney.) Of course, in the course of comics and pop culture, being late isn’t always a terrible sin. ‘Dark Knight: The Master Race’ is something like six years late as of this juncture, and not so long ago, we had the first issue of a new Hawkeye volume before the last issue of the previous one. Given the trade paperback focus of modern comics (and the DVD/streaming focus of TV), lateness of the product isn’t the kiss of death that it might have once been, leading to today’s query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) is still waiting for Marvel to release ‘Miracleman: The Dark Age’, and I’m starting to think it’ll never happen, asking: Given the choice of getting your fave-rave pop culture late or not at all, are you “better late” or “never?”
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Never. The wait rarely exceeds expectations. So I just use my imagination instead. You should see my “Black Hole II” because it’s pretty awesome.
It depends on the circumstances.
If something is held off because they want to bring a more polished product, I’m more than willing to wait. For example, there are numerous games that were rushed out unfinished just to make the deadline that would have been amazing if they had just held off and polished the product before releasing it. Instead, we get some half-finished game with bugs that even patching doesn’t fix, broken game mechanics and “required” content released as paid DLC (I don’t mind paid DLC, but not if it is required to play the game I already paid for, only if it is additional content that supplements the main game).
On the other hand, if something is made just for the sake of making it without any effort to making it fitting of the franchise or property it belongs to (for example, most of the “Highlander” sequels), then I’d rather not have it at all.
I agree, never. After waiting about 2 years for the last issues of “The Twelve” and “Rising Stars,” I can say, it was nice to read the final issue, but not worth the wait.
I am sure the readers of “All Star Batman” feel the same way.
It depends on how self-contained each installment is.
If I get a piece of a story where understanding it relies heavily upon remembering what was in the previous piece umpty-ump months/years ago, and getting even some minor measure of fulfillment or resolution requires waiting for the next piece to come some umpty-ump time from now, then why should I even bother? It’s a “Never,” or at best a “Maybe after it’s all done.” Which is one reason why I won’t be reading any George R. R. Martin anytime soon.
But if each piece has something to offer me enjoyment as a work on its own, then sometimes late is great. I never once considered dropping a Paul Grist book, despite the near-guarantee of delay and lateness, because from Kane to Jack Staff to Mudman, each issue is sure to be a joy to read on its own.
Secondary issue: How to define late?
Mage: the Hero Discovered came out in the mid 80’s, and Matt Wagner promised two more story arcs. It wasn’t until the late 90’s until part 2 came out, and now the 10’s for part 3. Not a speedy delivery, but I’ll say “better late than never.”
But I’m expecting each individual issue of this third part to ship on its advertised monthly schedule. If there are significant delays in this schedule, though, I might have to revise that to “maybe Never would have been better.”
Long wait usually never pays off but when it does, its the best thing ever.