Both DC and Marvel on epic quality downslope

Is Image even still around??

Picked up a few comics last weekend, and FINALLY got around to reading a few of these books I've been picking up. I've certainly been convinced by Marvel's Secret Invasion and DC's Final Crisis that, as far as mega-company-wide crossover events are concerned, we've hit the mildewy ground underneath the bottom of the barrel.

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Marvel's Secret Invasion has quickly taken a sharp turn toward nothingness. This is the basics, according to our favorite reference spot, Wiki-wiki-wikipedia:

"It focuses on an alien invasion by shapeshifters known as the Skrulls, who have been secretly posing as various characters in the Marvel Universe."

And allegedly their influence has been felt throughout the House of M storyline, the 2004 Secret War, Planet Hulk, Annihilation, and Civil War. But not Marvel Zombies ... unless I'm speaking too soon.

And already, credibility for this storyline is thrown out the window, as issue #1 shows us a confrontation between the New Avengers team of today, versus an Avengers team that looks like they were stuck in space since the 1990s ... in the Savage Land ... a confrontation that lasts two issues, is full of sound and fury, and signifies nothing ... and it ends by way of a rampaging Tyrannosaurus.

There's speculation that the Captain America that was killed in the appropriately named "Death of Captain America" storyline is/was a Skrull, and that the real Cap was stuck in space (beats being stuck in ice for 40 yrs). Of course, remember that Iron Man put "Death of Cap's" body in the icy Antarctic Ocean; expect THAT to come back and bite someone in the ass later.

It's established that the Skrulls replacing Earth heroes don't know what other heroes are being replaced by Skrulls. And some of the Skrulls, get this ... don't even know they're Skrulls; they think they're the heroes that they're protraying! BWA-HAHAHAHA! So this could totally result in all kindsa fun Skrull mishaps!! Like, how one Skrull will probably somehow find out another hero is a Skrull, but to keep his/her own identity safe, Skrull 1 will turn in Skrull 2 ... ho-HO!!! What shee-nanigans!

There's also speculation that Iron Man, the instigator of the Civil War that shook the Marvel Universe to its core, could be a Skrull. Wow, how awfully obvious convenient Shyamalanesque convenient. That Bendis ... a comics genius, I tells ya.

And as of "Avengers: Initiative" #14, there's speculation that ALL of the Initiative trainees are Skrulls! So none of their deaths have mattered up to this point! Thank God!

So, does this also mean that Spider-Man's "One More Day" abortion event, universally panned by comics fans, might not have even happened? Clone Saga, anyone?

Oh, and Leinil Francis Yu is the purveyor of the shittiest art in comics history.

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DC's Final Crisis has a very unique selling point: In order to comprehend the entire story, you will need to have purchased and/or read ...

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..... wait for it .....

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.... seriously, 27 minutes of research later ...

exactly 249 comic books! (I accept that I may have even overlooked a few.)

Here's the breakdown:

Countdown to Infinite Crisis – 1 issue
- OMAC Project – 6 issues, and a one-shot
- Villains United – 6 issues, and a one-shot
- Rann-Thanagar War – 6 Issues, and a one-shot
- Day of Vengeance – 6 issues, and a one-shot
Infinite Crisis – 7 issues
52 – 52 issues
- Booster Gold Vol. 2 – 11 issues (at present)
- Black Adam: The Dark Age – 6 issues
- Infinity Inc. vol. 2 – 12 issues
- Crime Bible: Lessons in Blood – 5 issues
- The Four Horsemen – 6 issues
World War III – 4 issues
Countdown – 52 issues
- Countdown: Arena – 4 issues
- Countdown to Mystery – 8 issues
- Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer – 6 one-shots
- Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists – 6 issues
Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag – 8 issues
Sinestro Corps War – 11 issues
Death of the New Gods – 8 issues
Salvation Run – 7 issues
Final Crisis – 7 issues

(This doesn’t even include all of the Infinite Crisis crossovers with other titles; the post-52, “One Year Later” project that involved other titles; the "Sightings" lead-in crossovers; and, the Final Crisis miniseries tie-ins and crossovers with other titles that extend all the way to December ... for God's sakes. That's one sweet scam you got there, DC.)

As for the Final Crisis miniseries itself, it's only two issues deep, and already issue two reads like it was constructed from two pages torn from 14 different comic books and compiled in an order that probably made some sense to Grant Morrison ... and GRANT MORRISON ONLY! (As most of Grant Morrison's stories often do.)

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Yeah, there's not a whole lot to really recommend from either series. And really, lately? Not from either company. In fact, comics haven't been this underwhelming since the 1990s age of speculation and alternate covers. I'm calling, right here, that we might be on the verge of another bust in the market. And God help the comics industry if I'm right, 'cause they barely made it out of the last bust. Which is one of the main reasons I'm abandoning single issue collection and going the trade paperback collection route.