Are We getting Enough Storm

[Marvelous]

With Storm not showing in the X-Titles anymore, will we still be getting a regular dose of Storm in BP.  Will she be by his side in all his ventures or will she left back in Wakanda in future issues?  Personally I still wanna see Storm cut loose from time to time. 

[GrimSkill]

I think we will se A LOT of Storm now, and No Other X Men to get in the way or take any of the spotlight away.

It's just Storm and her Husband now,not a team full of people with problems and what not. 

[D-LO]

I think we will se A LOT of Storm now, and No Other X Men to get in the way or take any of the spotlight away.

It's just Storm and her Husband now,not a team full of people with problems and what not. 

Yeah the same problems every single year!!

[stanleyballard]

Hudlin is doing a fine job with her in this series...she is definitely getting more respect here than in the last few years of UXM...Claremont deserves a lot of credit but he needed a partner in crime to kick his ideas up a notch.....as he had in John Byrne (great chemistry).  Storm wasn't given a storyline in UXM to speak of in her last year there anyway....she was only around as one of the best leaders the team has ever had...not much else.  There is nothing to take her away from as the X writers collectively had nothing for her...no one had plans ...check the current teams.

[Marvelous]

Sorry for the misunderstanding.  Its not Storm in the X-Men or Storm in the BP books now.  I meant was, will she be in future books of BP or will she be a sideline character in his book?

cheers 

[CIENCIANO]

she's a secondary character, the main secondary character, but a secondary character at all.
if you want to see more storm, ask MARVEL for an STORM ongoing series.

this title is called BLACK PANTHER. and i don't wanna see STORM in every issue, in every panel.

[stanleyballard]

Funny that this thread was created....she is getting more shine here & because of her connection to the XMen it is very unlikely that she will ever be out of sight for more than one issue unless it's storyline dictated......she makes the news too much and is one of the mainstays from the movie franchise and known by the public.

[KIP LEWIS]

she's a secondary character, the main secondary character, but a secondary character at all.
if you want to see more storm, ask MARVEL for an STORM ongoing series.

this title is called BLACK PANTHER. and i don't wanna see STORM in every issue, in every panel.

Hmmm, on the other hand, Storm is the more popular character and it might be the thing that allows BP to continue being published rather than being canceled after 50 or so issues.

[Princesa]

I'd like to see a lot more of Storm and I think we'll be getting it. Its real early in the process and this is their first arc as a newlyweds. The best books have multiple things going on but right now its best to establish them as a duo.

[CIENCIANO]

she's a secondary character, the main secondary character, but a secondary character at all.
if you want to see more storm, ask MARVEL for an STORM ongoing series.

this title is called BLACK PANTHER. and i don't wanna see STORM in every issue, in every panel.

Hmmm, on the other hand, Storm is the more popular character and it might be the thing that allows BP to continue being published rather than being canceled after 50 or so issues.

this series sells 28 to 30 K per month, if not more, ( remember some issues have sold 45 k or even 70 k).

why are you so worried about a possible cancelation?.

if it happens, it happens, man. i don't think Hudlin would put STORM in every issue just to avoid cancelation.
the creative process must be free. with no conditions, with no preocupations of doing this or that just to avoid a possible cancelation.

[KIP LEWIS]

she's a secondary character, the main secondary character, but a secondary character at all.
if you want to see more storm, ask MARVEL for an STORM ongoing series.

this title is called BLACK PANTHER. and i don't wanna see STORM in every issue, in every panel.

Hmmm, on the other hand, Storm is the more popular character and it might be the thing that allows BP to continue being published rather than being canceled after 50 or so issues.

this series sells 28 to 30 K per month, if not more, ( remember some issues have sold 45 k or even 70 k).

why are you so worried about a possible cancelation?.

if it happens, it happens, man. i don't think Hudlin would put STORM in every issue just to avoid cancelation.
the creative process must be free. with no conditions, with no preocupations of doing this or that just to avoid a possible cancelation.

Why is it in danger of being cancelled? Because most comics get canceled, before they hit a 75, let alone a hundred.  Only a handful make it.  If BP is going to make it, Reggie isn't going to be totally ignore reader's desires.  (Though I doubt most reader are demanding to see Storm in every issue.)

[blkyoda]

We see more Storm now than we did in the X-books. Then again, the recent sales numbers are a bit odd when you consider the old 'Storm is a more popular character' bit. Storm and BP's wedding generated huge sales. Then the next issue *POOF* all gone. That is a shocking drop off after such a big and well hyped event. Most other books keep a least a FEW of the new readers after such a major crossover (both Civil War and Storm).
The point is I theorize 1 of 2 things. 1.) Storm is NOT as popular as many of us might've thought, I mean if her popularity can't translate into SOME of her fans picking up Bp, at least for the first post wedding arc, then she's not that popular.
Or theory 2.) That something about the writer of the comic or the comics reputation really really turned off new readers. I find that kindof hard to imagine, the wedding issue got pretty positive reviews all over, and for the issue to have such a huge leap there HAVE to be some casual fans that just picked up the issue. However I think it's a very bad sign that essentially nobody new who picked up the wedding issue decided to stick around for the follow-up. Either way, I think Storm's role has been fine, but it seems pretty clear to me that 'more' or 'less' Storm doesn't have much of an impact on the book's overall numbers.

**********************

85. BLACK PANTHER
08/01  #35 - 19,465
08/02  #48 - 19,496
======
08/05  #7  - 42,905  ( +21.7%)
09/05  #8  - 46,239  (  +7.8%)
10/05  #9  - 40,173  ( -13.1%)
11/05  #10 - 31,987  ( -20.4%)
12/05  #11 - 29,327  (  -8.3%)
01/06  #12 - 27,933  (  -4.7%)
02/06  #13 - 26,054  (  -6.7%)
03/06  #14 - 28,809  ( +10.6%)
04/06  #15 - 28,361  (  -1.6%)
05/06  #16 - 28,091  (  -1.0%)
06/06  #17 - 27,993  (  -0.3%)
07/06  #18 - 69,912  (+149.7%)
08/06  #19 - 28,372  ( -59.4%)
             6 mnth  (  +8.9%)
             1 year  ( -33.9%)
Whether last issue’s high sales were due to Civil War or the wedding, one thing’s for sure: they didn’t stick around. BLACK PANTHER goes straight back to its normal range. With all the hype, and the introduction of a major character from a much more popular book, this really has to be seen as a failure, at least in direct market terms. Interestingly, a belated CIVIL WAR tie-in storyline has now been announced.

[Gooch]

board not the same without blkyoda pissing in the cheerios,    welcome back blk!!!!

[Rutog98]

That's because most Storm fans are not giving the book a chance. They just feel that Hudlin is going to slaughter the character and have her play a supporting role to BP. They feel that she will lose her position as Marvel's premier female character. Honestly, Storm is easily one of the most complex characters in Marvel and many Storm fans know a tremendous amount of her character (I know about every inch of it personally. lol). I say do a huge story with Storm really doing something awesome that would appeal to the  fanboy side of Storm fans regardless as to how they feel about Hudlin. This would be a very strong incentive for them to pick up the story and maybe change their mind about Hudlin seeing as many of them are not giving him a chance. He can probably win a number of them over with such a story well executed. There was such an allergic reaction because Storm is a very popular character and many readers care about her. In a way, this reaction was a good thing because everyone knows now that Storm really has a following. I agree, however, that many gave their opiniions in an offensive manner.  I say use the fact that people care so much to create a story that would really just attract these readers to improve readership number of the title. When you consider the facts I am about to provide, you will see that there was definately a basis for concern.

I also had grave concerns about this union.  I am just more open-minded and giving the book a chance. I think some of the strong reactions that were outright rude were not all meant to be racist, to be honest. Some I definately think were racially motivated, but certainly not all of them. Many of the strong objectors where/are as I am, a long time Black fans of Storm.I think people worded their feelings and objections wrong.

Upon comparing Storm to the Black Panther, she is not only a more popular character, but she has had the benefit of years and years of top notch character development. This is all thanks to Chris Claremont who tends to want to portray women and ethnic characters at the highest of levels. (Storm happens to be both!) So she got the full measure of his genius. Black Panther, on the other hand, doesn't have anywhere near the depth of character Storm has earned over the years. I mean read stories like "Life/Death" and you will see what I mean. I think what many feel is that they should have courted for some time while BP got characterization that put him up on Storm's level to make him worthy of her. This way, they are two equally yoked characters. I feel this is why so many brought up Mary and Peter and Jean and Scott and Reed and Sue. These relationships ripened over time and the marriage was very appropriate. There was a very strong bond of friendship and everything that should come prior to marriage.

There are many layers to her character. This is why she is so great and also why the character is inherently difficult for writers who are not thorougly aware of herr background to write.  I'll tell you, as a Storm fan, I was very upset myself when T'challa ended up rescuing Storm in Dickey's rewriting of their history as children. He undermined many innate and fundamental aspects of the character that I and other Storm fans love so much. She never had to struggle to control her powers. Her unity with life itself gives her an innate understanding of the workings of the forces of nature. She has a spirital, mental and physical resonance with the life force of the Earth (or whatever planet or heavenly body she is on or in proximity to). She never had to struggle like Magneto or Xavier or most of the other mutants had to in order to gain a profound understanding of her powers. She should have been able to flatten those people with her powers purposely and easily. This spirituality also goes into her character personality. That inner serenity she is renouned for as well as possessing the extreme opposite of that serenity in her temperament if properly motivated. Despite this, I still give BP a chance and continue to read it. Other Storm fans did not like the marriage and stuff this what Dickey really did nothing to improve their disposition and assauge their concerns.  They feel that Storm may be written down because she is paired with a character who does not have nearly as rich a history and characterization background as she has had the benefit of for years.

I am by no means saying that Hudlin is doing a bad job of writing the BP character. Its just it will take years of writing BP to bring the character up to par to where Storm is. This is also partly why many fans felt Wolverine was more suitable for Ororo. I VERY heartily disagree with them here. He had his sites on Jean who was already spoken for for many years. To have him and Storm now become an item would really be a slap in the face to the Storm character considering she was present during the whole Scott/Jean/Logan love triangle. However, Wolverine is perhaps the foremost character of Marvel and does share long and profound friendship with Storm. He also has a very deep side to him that Claremont developed and delved into for years. I don't know what is being done with him in his title or if he is being written with any depth right now since I don't read about him. I honestly don't care about the character. My personal feelings aside, the two would have made sense save for the Jean thing which I find unforgivable and completely nulls and voids all of the positive. lol!


Chris Claremont said it best for years. "The hardest part about putting Storm in a relationship is who is good enough for her?" lol! This lady has turned down gods who have offered her a throne in their kindoms and rulers of entire dimensions who offered her a throne by their side. Then she has that rich history and character development.

I really want Storm and Black Panther to work. I am rooting for them.

Reading this title, I really think Hudlin has every intention of keeping Storm her own person. I think there are awkward (spelling?) moments sometimes like in September's issue which I have already said my piece on and don't really want to go on about it. However, I maintain high hopes.

Wolverine and Storm would have been the absolute PITS!

[stanleyballard]

Agreed.  Think that the idea of Wolvering and Storm came from the movie with the makeover of both characters played by actors who really didn't fit Claremont's comic version....Hugh Jackman is too tall and almost pretty and Halle Berry is too perky and not ethnic enough in looks or accent, wooden performance, etc.  But that is where the beginning of a Storm/Wolverine pairing came....the commercially successful movie franchise!!!!

Storm is popular within the framework of the XMen and not as an indivdual ...only Wolverine stands apart commercially.  Thus, sales will rise based on a great story that ties them back to the X franchise...and down the line she should be able to hold her own.