COMICS PORTAL: To (Almost) Everything, There Is a Season!

One of the biggest trends (and growing) is the method of releasing a comic in “seasons” instead of with ongoing numbering!

Let’s be real here–the 2024 Space Ghost reboot has been a smash-hit for Dynamite Entertainment! Based on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon, the comic redefined the “Guardian of the Spaceways” for a new generation of fans and beyond. Indeed, the series has actually been so successful that it is returning in a new (second) volume, with a new #1. Lucky for us, the same creative team is on-board for another round of cosmic adventure.

The new #1 will continue where the previous series left off, with Jonathan Lau on art, Andrew Dalhouse on colors, and Taylor Espositio providing the lettering. It will be a good jumping-on point for new readers who may have missed the first volume. In fact, the opening issue will find Space Ghost and Blip menaced by a planet full of amusement parks and the sinister Toymaker. Meanwhile, Jan and Jace are confronted by a mysterious figure from their past.

Scripter David Pepose said: “Because you demanded it… the adventures will continue in our epic second volume of Space Ghost! This relaunch is a testament to the incredible passion and dedication of all the readers, retailers, and press, who have championed our series from the very beginning. Space Ghost has been one of the most rewarding books I’ve ever had a chance to work on. I can’t wait for fans to see what we have in store for you next!”

So, why begin a new season with a new number one? This was their best move, according to Dynamite CEO Nick Barrucci: “It was not a decision that we made lightly, but in the comics market, it is still the best way to grow a readership to relaunch with a new #1 at times.  We have had a great year plus an annual, 13 issues total, and felt that this was a great opportunity to relaunch with a new #1.”

Several artists will return to work on the book’s covers, including Alex Ross, who will provide a new original cover for the new volume. Other variant covers will be created by Francesco Mattina, Jae Lee and June Chung, Byorn Barends, and Michael Cho. It all hits the stands in July of this year.

Of course, Dynamite isn’t the only company making this happen. Star Wars: The Mandalorian launched a second season for that book as well. Then, too, Nights from Image also debuted a second season, but this book didn’t restart with a number one. Instead, it continued the ongoing numbering. DC previously launched a second season for Naomi back in 2022. Hit-Girl also had a season two from Image, and Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Two came out from DC as well.

As I’ve mentioned previously in this column, you restart the numbering of a comic with a number one, and you’re almost guaranteed to have higher orders. I know there are many collectors out there who literally scan the industry every single month to see if a new number one is going to hit the stands, then they order a goodly number just to make sure they have enough to add to their collection.

Sadly, though, the second issue, even of a second season, just doesn’t pull in the same attention. The old industry standard was to order high on the debut issue, then cut your number in half for the second release, then again cut the next one in half, and so on and so on. That’s why the later issues are so very hard to find! People just out of habit don’t want leftover copies cluttering up their stands, so they order much less as time goes on.

Of course, it’s not only the collectors who pay attention! When you relaunch a series, the comics news industry wants to jump on board as well! Not only do number one’s sell, they draw the attention of other fans as well!

It will likely always be thus as long as paper copies rule the roost! It’s a different ballgame when digital comics are involved… no one cares if you make a copy of a file!

Since I’m not really a big collector who has boxes and boxes of issues “just in case,” I very rarely buy more than one copy of a book I enjoy. I do like to have them in some sort of order, and when you start re-“seasoning” your titles, it becomes kind of a pain to keep them in a timely order so you can read them in sequence should you decide you want to do that.

It wasn’t all that long ago that the vast majority of comics fans went to their local comics shop to get that week’s “stash,” then returned home to dive into reading them. I used to keep them in that same order—by the week. That wasn’t always the easiest way to find the books I wanted when I wanted them, but it helped me when it came to realizing just how long I had all those books and exactly when certain titles hit the stands.

The numbering wasn’t a big deal to me at that point. It mattered more what else was going on when that issue came out. I don’t know if I still think that’s the best way to do it, though.

See, now I have to not only remember the number of the issue, I have to keep track of the new season as well! I don’t think I like that as much!

I do understand the need for new number one’s, though. Those collectors carry a lot of influence in the comics industry!

I remember when a certain Indie title I was really enjoying reading was coming to its conclusion. I saw the creator at a convention, and I paid him to send me that next issue when he had it out. He wanted to know what condition I wanted it in. I knew the cost would be influenced by that, but I wasn’t collecting it. I only wanted to read it. I told him to send me the one that was in poor condition, that maybe the collectors wouldn’t want (with all the pages in the right order and readable, of course).

A couple of months later, I got my issue in the mail. No, it wasn’t in prime condition. But, hey, I got to read the story, which made me very happy!

I guess I’ll mostly be a story guy as long as I read comics! But we do need collectors around, too—oh, yes, we do! So, “seasons” or not, whatever works—I just want the great storytelling to continue, and I can be flexible when it comes to numbering and sequencing!

What do you think? Does it matter to you if your comics come out in seasons? Or would you rather they come in ongoing numbers? Is there a better way to keep track of the books? Whatever your opinions or thoughts, be sure to share them in the space below!

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