Archie's Mega Man - Discussion Thread

[Dantemustdie00]

What a clever way of bring in a unused Robot Master design (Should've been the one they went with in the first place), I hope this Hiatus doesn't last too long

[Ryannumber1gamer]

This train just doesn't stop.

Issue 55 is out on the Archie App, and according to those on Bumbleking who bought it, oh well, things aren't very well indeed.

Basically, according to Ian, Capcom first screwed around with his initial idea, and made him put in the idea of Dr. Light having visions of the future when originally, it was one to two page stories focusing on each continuity. 

 It's not supposed to be out yet, but apparently it's online, so go for it...?

I will say that while a ton of heart was poured into this, it didn't come out exactly as I wanted. Structurally, it's a bit of a retread of MM#20, but that's because Capcom insisted on some kind of framing device. Originally, I wanted it as a stand-alone piece; something that held up all of Mega Man to behold, celebrating the legacy in an "artsy" sort of way.

(Funnily enough, MM#20 didn't go as I wanted either - I thought starting it during the Wily Wars only made it more confusing. The Time Skimmer just causes all sorts of problems - ha!)

Most of my intentions came through, and as it is it still acts as a curtain call for the series. But if you go through it and go "Isn't this basically "Rock of Ages" 2.0?" Then yeah, it kinda is. =P

Anyway - thank you all so much for reading. And don't just pass it off as "Eye-Candy, The Issue." Ever single page is very precisely designed with hints, nuances and symbolism what what my long-term plans were.

Edit: Since I guess I wasn't clear. The entire reason Dr. Light is the one having the visions is because Capcom wanted there to be a framing device. The original draft didn't have any of that - it was each page (or two-page spreads, in some cases) telling their individual stories. Either way, the main idea is still there: you have to deconstruct each page as its own story. If you look at it as "just some pin-up," you're missing out.

But on top of that, many see it as disappointing because apparently, it isn't even a story. It's just full page artwork of each series, with a very brief narration of Dr. Light's over it.

But if that doesn't worry you further, than there's two things that's got me really worried over the state of things.

Most of my intentions came through, and as it is it still acts as a curtain call for the series. But if you go through it and go "Isn't this basically "Rock of Ages" 2.0?" Then yeah, it kinda is. =P

 Ever single page is very precisely designed with hints, nuances and symbolism what what my long-term plans were.

I could go into a whole rant over this, but here's the post I did on Bumbleking.

 I haven't read the issue yet, but going off what other people have said, not only am I worried for the future, but I'm worried that the potential final issue for a bit has been turned into a glorified ad. I mean no offence to Ian, but this sounds like it has the Sonic #250 problem of most of the pages being amazing pieces of artwork, but not having any substance to them. I hope that isn't the case, but it sounds like it is.

Being honest, if this really does turn out to either be a cancellation or a reboot, I will be heavily disappointed. I won't mix words when I say Mega Man #54 was one of the best works to come out of Ian to date in my honest opinion, and I loved pretty much every element of that issue.

I just wish Archie or someone would give us a clear answer either way. We're getting a bunch of these quotes that go either way, but imply it. Stuff like "My long-term plans were". That's my main problem with how everything regarding this hiatus has been handled. Some people say it's all good, and it'll be back soon enough, while other people are already talking about the plans for the comic's future in the past tense, implying that these are not going to happen. It worries me incredibly that Archie is just screwing all Mega Man fans and trying to keep them going on false hope in order to sell Graphic Novels and then, they'll just bury Mega Man for good. I hope that isn't the case, but every time MM is talked about in the past sense, it just makes me think that this is the case.

[goku262002]

So it is either a reboot or this series isn't coming back, well great. Thanks archie you cucks.

What does he mean by framing device?

[Forte-Metallix]

Figures. This comic book was Mega Man's last leg to stand on, and Archie broke it in favor of twelve-dozen digests and Archie spinoffs nobody asked for. 

Here's hoping the upcoming cartoon fills the void in our hearts. Or Capcom actually makes a new game

 

[ElectricAngel]

It's so incredibly sad to hear about this news. I woke up today with a decent mood and now this happens. I had a feeling the hiatus was anything but. I told myself that when it comes to Archie, hiatus means cancellation. But I convinced myself it wouldn't be that case this time, since it was Mega Man. It was going strong. Ian said the sales were fine, but I guess someone decided it was time to end it. I'm not sure if Archie or Capcom is to blame, and I don't want to point fingers, but this news has me crying now.

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm not the biggest Mega Man fan. I'm not well acquainted with the series. I only played Mega Man 2 on an emulator years back and recently got into the X series with Mega Man X and Xtreme thanks to the Nintendo Virtual Console service. So I'm a casual fan at best, but these comics still meant something special to me. 

Archie's Mega Man was my favourite comic book series. Nothing came close, and keep in mind, I really love my Donald Duck comics. The quality in both the storytelling and artwork was immense and it was such a joy reading it every month. I didn't dive in until the Sonic crossover, but once I started reading from issue 1, I wanted to slap myself for not starting sooner. It just blew my mind how Ian Flynn managed to take a simple series like Mega Man, with its simple stories every game, and manage to create a new world that breathes in so much life and personality into the characters. The whole main idea of having robots like Mega Man and Proto Man be able to identify with people and having this family aspect with each other and Dr. Light is just spectacular. I felt fear when Mega Man first went into battle, I cried when I read about Proto Man's past with Dr. Light, I felt anger when Dr. Wily betrayed Dr. Light. The amount of emotions I managed to feel with these stories were unlike anything I had ever read and I got so immersed in this universe. I fell in love with it. And if this cancellation is causing me to uncontrollably cry, I cannot imagine what die hard fans are feeling. 

It seems as though Ian mostly browses and respons in Bumbleking, though it's a given seeing as they are his forums. Since I don't have an account, could you pass on my message to Ian perhaps?

"To Ian Flynn,

I know how hard it must've been writing so many issues of Mega Man and trying to flesh out and piece together every game's story. I'm sure you gave joy to plenty of Mega Man fans throughout the world. I must thank you and the team for all the hard work on bringing a new life to the Mega Man characters and universe. It was an amazing ride every month, but all things must come to an end. I don't know if this is truly the end to the series as we know it, but even if it's not, my gratitude towards you and the Archie Action team is long overdue. You guys managed to create my favourite comic book ever made and I cannot express what an amazing job you did. Never in my life have I been so immersed in a comic. I laughed, cried, felt anger, compassion. Nearly every emotion was felt at some point in the comic, and I believe the way you managed to write everyone lead to some incredibly relatable and loveable characters. Proto Man and his story arc in Rock of Ages is my favourite moment in any comic book. Heck, any emotional scene with him was amazing. I really felt and connected with him, and with his recent "rebirth" story of sorts in the comic made me literally stand up and clap for him. I don't think I've ever done that when reading a comic before. What I'm trying to say is, I am truly glad and grateful that I was able to experience such stories in my lifetime. And I wish you and the team luck with any projects you are currently on, and for any future projects. You guys are the best. 

Best wishes,

-Teresa"

I'm not sure if the editing or format on that is correct since I'm on mobile... but it looks about right. I've rarely written formal letters before so.. hopefully it's fine enough. 

[Salamander]

What does he mean by framing device?

I'm not familiar with the story context here, so I might not be quite on the mark - but in general, a framing device can be described as "the reason why it's possible for the story to be told in-universe."  So, for example, you might have written a group of unrelated short stories, and you could just throw them out there like that, or you could stick in bits at the start and end and in-between them featuring a single character telling all these stories, linking them together on some level.  Or you might have an episode of a TV show that's set in the past compared to the regular narrative, and instead of just saying it's the past and that's that, you present it as one character's flashback, or it's recovered video camera footage.  In the case of this particular Mega Man book, it sounds like the framing device is "Dr. Light seeing visions of the future" when it might equally well have been presented as just a few future scenes without the need for context.  Framing devices aren't strictly speaking necessary to a narrative, but they can add a level of depth and interconnection which would otherwise be lacking.  You can read more about this idea here.

[Agie]

I've been following the comics from the beginning, and they've been some of the most wonderful stories I've had the pleasure of reading. The writing was great, and the art, while stumbling from time to time, was great more often than not.

It was this series that gave me the final push I needed to become a Mega Man fan, though I wws interested before.

Since then, I read the mangas, played the games, bought an artbook dedicated to the franchise, it was great.

Heck, as I got into it more, I was happy to see that it was not only a faithful adaptation, but they even went outside the main games, and even adapted Super Adventure Rockman despite that that one was (and still is) a Japan-only title. That blew my mind, I will confess.

So sad to see it go, especially to pave the way for something I had little to no interest in to begin with.

Still, it was great while it lasted, and I do hope the comics will one day return. Until then, it's waiting for the upcoming cartoon and hoping, just hoping, it'll be at least decent.

Edited December 11, 2015 by SurrealBrain

[Arranos]

It's ending?

NOOOOOOO!!!

[Ryannumber1gamer]

According to Bumbleking, someone got a subscription letter about Mega Man...which confirms #55 is the final issue and the hiatus story was nothing but a load of bullshit.

Just got to reading my issue

First of all, the letter I got from Archie saying what is going to happen to my subscription clearly says this is the final issue of Mega Man, so if they are still going after the "Hiatus" story, someone forgot to tell the subscriptions department to put the finale on the down low.

Second of all, this final "arc" got progressively worse and worse for me as a reader of the comic. The firs issue seemed like a great way to end the series: We had hints of what was to come, but a sort of "Mega Man will keep fighting on and on!" letting us know that whatever threats will come, he'll be ready.

The second issue set up an arc that we'll never see, while ending the stories of some comic characters (though it does introduce a new character we will never ever get to see again)

This issue... its just a megaphone going "LOOK AT ALL THE STUFF WE WANTED TO TELL, BUT YOU WILL NEVER EVER SEE EVER!"

I mean, they even designed a young Dr. Weil for the elf war. What is even the purpose besides to go "yeah, we could have done more, but we can't"?

I must say the comic has been my favorite comic series, and I am truly sad to see it go. I doubt whatever replaces it will be as good, but hey, all things must come to an end, I guess.

The tributes at the end were nice, but I would still like to know why Archie wasn't more forward with things. Even now, the "So long... for now" is throwing mixed messages at us.

 Fuck you Archie. Just...fuck you.

[Zaysho]

I want to say there's a bit of an overreaction here, and I'm still not willing to buy this is what's happening just yet. If the book is going on hiatus, and I'm still going to believe this until I see hard proof, then the letter they sent to that subscriber might be that they're transferring the rest of their subscription over to another book so they're not paying a full year's subscription for books that aren't going to come.

I don't care if people think I'm in denial, but I always see people react a little too harshly to what's been happening with this book and they know about as much as anyone else. Has Flynn commented? Or Lovallo? If someone who actually works for Archie can confirm that this is the case, I'll drop it, but until then, I'm going to give Archie the benefit of the doubt that the book will return and they still have plans for it. If they wanted it dead and buried, they wouldn't bother with their upcoming collections, so I'm still going to wait and see. The issue just sounds like they wanted to cram some things in before the break but not necessarily begin a new storyline when it'll be a while before they get back to it and it's supposed to be a treat for the fans.

Yes, I still curse the Kickstarter fiasco because it's what caused this stupid hiatus in the first place, but I'm going to hold Lovallo and the rest to their word that this is a hiatus until I see some evidence to the contrary.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I want to say there's a bit of an overreaction here, and I'm still not willing to buy this is what's happening just yet. If the book is going on hiatus, and I'm still going to believe this until I see hard proof, then the letter they sent to that subscriber might be that they're transferring the rest of their subscription over to another book so they're not paying a full year's subscription for books that aren't going to come.

I don't care if people think I'm in denial, but I always see people react a little too harshly to what's been happening with this book and they know about as much as anyone else. Has Flynn commented? Or Lovallo? If someone who actually works for Archie can confirm that this is the case, I'll drop it, but until then, I'm going to give Archie the benefit of the doubt that the book will return and they still have plans for it. If they wanted it dead and buried, they wouldn't bother with their upcoming collections, so I'm still going to wait and see. The issue just sounds like they wanted to cram some things in before the break but not necessarily begin a new storyline when it'll be a while before they get back to it and it's supposed to be a treat for the fans.

Yes, I still curse the Kickstarter fiasco because it's what caused this stupid hiatus in the first place, but I'm going to hold Lovallo and the rest to their word that this is a hiatus until I see some evidence to the contrary.

Dude, no offence, but it seriously sounds like you're trying to imply that this entire thing is baseless overreaction when there's so many factors to back it up. Why would a letter say the issue is the final of the series? Why would Ian, and others keep talking about the book in past tense as if it's already gone and dead? Why would #55 be a book that's literally filled with pin up pages that Ian himself has stated was created solely to get a glimpse of what his plans were if the series continued. If Archie would just come straight out and confirm it's a hiatus right here and right now, after all of this, I will take their word for it, but the last time they said it was at least four months ago, and so much more evidence has come out that hints towards either cancellation or reboot.

It's not like I want to see MM end. It's my favourite comic. It's beaten Archie Sonic, but I'm not going to deny what's literally been stated multiple times. Why would #53 and #54 say "See the rest of the story in Mega Man 4 The Game!". Why would Ian keep talking about the book, and his plans as if the book was officially fucked and those plans weren't happening? Why would #55 be dedicated to Ian literally showing off extremely brief glimpses of what he planned to show?

[Zaysho]

On 12/16/2015 at 6:11 PM, Ryannumber1Santa said:

Dude, no offence, but it seriously sounds like you're trying to imply that this entire thing is baseless overreaction when there's so many factors to back it up. Why would a letter say the issue is the final of the series? Why would Ian, and others keep talking about the book in past tense as if it's already gone and dead? Why would #55 be a book that's literally filled with pin up pages that Ian himself has stated was created solely to get a glimpse of what his plans were if the series continued. If Archie would just come straight out and confirm it's a hiatus right here and right now, after all of this, I will take their word for it, but the last time they said it was at least four months ago, and so much more evidence has come out that hints towards either cancellation or reboot.

It's not like I want to see MM end. It's my favourite comic. It's beaten Archie Sonic, but I'm not going to deny what's literally been stated multiple times. Why would #53 and #54 say "See the rest of the story in Mega Man 4 The Game!". Why would Ian keep talking about the book, and his plans as if the book was officially fucked and those plans weren't happening? Why would #55 be dedicated to Ian literally showing off extremely brief glimpses of what he planned to show?

None taken. If you feel I was being disrespectful, I apologize, but that's just how I feel. I read the same posts, and while I can see how people would come to that conclusion, it's not very conclusive for me.

I read the end copy of the recent Mega Man issues as "We're going on break, and it'll be a while before we get back, so we'll plug the games from Capcom so you can still enjoy Mega Man's adventures!" And I again view #55 as a hasty way of setting up the hiatus and giving us something without actually beginning a new storyline they can't even publish right now because the book is going on hiatus. And it sounds to me like Flynn was just as blindsided by this as anyone else, and he had to come up with something before the break, and glorified clip show was the only thing he, Lovallo, and Archie and Capcom could actually agree to. I mean, maybe I'm grasping at straws, but we were told it's a hiatus, so that's how I'm reading things right now.

I do see where you are coming from, believe it not, but I'm afraid I just see the situation differently, and I feel we don't know anything for sure beyond what's been said previously. I really like this book too. I'm not even a Mega Man fan, and I think it's great, and I even recommend it to people if I can, because it's just very well written. But I'm not seeing evidence of a cancellation yet, so I'm choosing to hold Lovallo and the rest to their word they gave us back over the Summer until I see otherwise. Simple as that.

 

EDIT: LOL

Edited June 17, 2021 by Zaysho

[kirby1up]

oh a blank white letter would that happen to be the same one I have in the photo bellow ?

 the one that more or less resembles the sonic boom one we got that we know we are going to get more story's of?

(the black spot is my foot trying to keep the paper down btw)

so yes it says its the last one of this series of "issues" but it does not mean that the archie made megaman comics are gone for good

if anything should the tv series go though Capcom may have archie comics make a comic adaption of the tv series and possibly bring back the original line up of issues as "the legacy of megaman" or something along those lines either way

true it may be a long time before the megaman comics return but even the amazing spider-man comics had a hiatus of sorts occur (the superior spider-man run) before returning as the "marvel-now amazing spider-man comics"

so don't lose hope yet

[Your Vest Friend]

Oh no, the original Archie Mega Man story is definitely done with, that much is a guarantee. The question is how it'll look on the other side of the hiatus, if it does make it out.

[Zaysho]

Most I'm expecting is some kind of rebranding, something along the lines of a Mega Man vol. 2 that picks up where the last one left off ("Mega Man: Adventures" or something). Really not expecting big changes.

[ElectricAngel]

Well I guess it's officially confirmed now. Archie had told us when the hiatus was announced that subscribers would be given two options. One would be to transfer to another book, and the other to put it on hold until the new issues came out. It seems that is no longer the case. I really do feel betrayed now, as Archie tried covering up the fact that it was getting cancelled with "It's only temporarily!" and "It'll be back soon!". Then again, their social media probably just puts out what little info is provided. I can't blame them for misleading us, but the fact that this seems more of a last minute "Yeah okay we're actually cancelling it. Screw the hiatus." really stinks. I hope in the next Comic Con we'll be given more info about what will happen to the Archie Action brand. Unless that talk about "big plans" was just PR bull. 

[goku262002]

Oh no, the original Archie Mega Man story is definitely done with, that much is a guarantee. The question is how it'll look on the other side of the hiatus, if it does make it out.

Like I said before, reboot or it isn't coming back thats our 2 options here. its pretty fucked were losing this Megaman's comic story line for no god damned reason, at least sonic has an understandable reason for its purge this is "just 'cuz lol".

Like seriously Capcom what in the literal hell are you doing to Megaman to make this comic go full reboot if it does come back?!

[Candescence]

Or it could just be Archie's incompetently-managed finances forcing them to shut down their lesser-selling licensed stuff in favor of their in-house properties like the Archie reboot. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the most plausible. It's also kinda stupid for those who really don't give a shit about Archie, but the company would rather cut off licensed stuff in favor of their own in-house brands.

Edited December 19, 2015 by Candescence

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

So the issue's out I guess, and Ian Flynn said something in Bumbleking... http://bumbleking.com/?p=640

Today, Mega Man #55 should be available to everyone. I know it’s gotten in the hands of subscribers and some have already gotten it digitally, but today should mark the day where everyone can grab it. This has been the only series I’ve been able to totally call my own, and it’s been an honor and a privilege to work on it. I’ve worked with many incredibly talented people through Mega Man. I’ve met many amazing, passionate fans. I got to (indirectly) work with The Megas. It’s been a wild, wonderful experience.

As you go through Mega Man #55, I hope you take your time with each page. Each one was meticulously crafted, some taking two pages to script, packed with subtle details and hints of what I’d hoped to accomplish over the coming years. I really hope you all enjoy this final, loving send-off to not only the comic, but to the franchise on a whole.

I don’t know what the future holds for Mega Man comics. If and when they return, I really hope to be a part of them. Until then, we have the new cartoon to look forward to. And who knows? Maybe one day Volnutt will get off the moon, and we’ll be waiting for him with new comics in hand. Hope springs eternal.

And his twitter has many people saying thanks to him and other writers for making this series pretty cool. 

[Speeps]

I was surprised how well Flynn handled this issue. From making sure the comic had a good starting point if it were picked up again (MM4) to all the nods to pretty much everything throughout the Mega Man continuity.

Oh, and the short circuits was brilliant. I never thought I'd ever see Ruby Spears, Box Art and Captain N Mega Man on the same page.

[Candescence]

Well, Ian pretty much said in no uncertain terms that he has no idea what the hell is going on with the comic in the future - if Archie and Capcom were actually planning to reboot it, he'd probably know well in advance. So my theory that this really just comes down to Archie's financial troubles is much more probable, I think.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

blows dust off topic.

Some new news finally! Protodude is hinting that Archie Mega Man is getting reprints from Udon!

While not a continuation of the series (yet) - this is very important. Archie infamously screwed over Archie Mega Man's reprints, with Spiritus Ex Machina becoming obscenely rare and hard to get even when the series was still ongoing, the Graphic Novels taking a gigantic dip in reprint quality when Redemption released, and finally - the reprints going into total development hell for no reason with Dawn of X. 

While Dawn of X going into hiatus fit in with the reprint issues Archie Sonic was facing with things like Sonic Universe, it was quite a different situation, if only because Archie Mega Man didn't have any of the legal rights issues that Archie Sonic was facing, meaning where Archie Sonic was a legal minefield filled with random changes required to reprint material, Archie Mega Man had none of these issues and still received massive graphic novel delays, even though Dawn of X, Legends of the Blue Bomber, and The Ultimate Betrayal were all solicited. They just never dropped for whatever reason.

Later on, Archie announced manga-styled omnibuses of the series, called Mega Man: Master Edition, each one containing 12 issues a pop, but when the first one was due to come out, it once again failed to materialise, with Archie seemingly just not wanting to release anything from Archie Mega Man, holding onto the license for god knows how long, and leaving it in limbo.

Last year, Archie finally lost the license to the series, and thus all Archie Mega Man issues were delisted from digital storefronts as a result, making the entire series totally inaccessible other than long out of print graphic novels. 

So, compilations, graphic novels and omnibuses coming back via Udon is a massive deal, not only bringing the series back into relevancy, but perhaps allowing for much higher quality standards of printing, and a full re-release of the series this time, start to finish. Perhaps if it's successful, we could even see a continuation?

The only thing left in limbo other than seeing the announcement for ourselves is where Worlds Collide and Worlds Unite will fall into place. Both crossovers took up issues in Archie Mega Man, with Unite in particular having a unique crossover story between Classic Mega Man and X. With two willing publishers between IDW and Udon, perhaps we'll see an agreement to get both of those series reprinted as well? Worlds Unite similarly never managed to finish reprints because SEGA ripped the license away from Archie shortly after the second volume of Worlds Unite.

[Zaysho]

4 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Later on, Archie announced manga-styled omnibuses of the series, called Mega Man: Master Edition, each one containing 12 issues a pop, but when the first one was due to come out, it once again failed to materialise, with Archie seemingly just not wanting to release anything from Archie Mega Man, holding onto the license for god knows how long, and leaving it in limbo.

I actually had to look up which collection this was; I'd forgotten about it entirely. Since it was announced in late 2015 I can see it being one of those things they had planned and really wanted to do (remember that Archie Sonic art book, among so many other things that just vanished?), but everything came to a screeching halt when the imprints were gutted to funnel resources toward the Archie relaunch.

I swear, that Kickstarter is probably among some of the worst and stupid fucking things this publisher has done. You can almost track from the moment they cancelled it to when most of their imprints started to collapse. It wasn't even just Action. Horror got it bad for a while too and I don't think the two main books (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Afterlife with Archie) ever resumed when they relaunched it as Madhouse. Honestly regret ever giving this company any benefit of the doubt years ago considering I basically saw all this shit happening in real time so I edited my last post accordingly lol

 

I am curious about the crossovers. Assuming this does happen (and I think it might actually be a pretty decent chance if it involves Udon), would Sega even agree to reprinting those? They don't have anything in some kind of legal gray area (to my knowledge?) but the first one does at least reference stuff like Mecha-Sally and the second is straight up just the reboot universe, so I wonder if that'd cause some weird issue with IDW or whatever. I think you sorta need to have them since parts of the comic just cut off and cut back in, despite the crossovers being in a "sort of canon but not really" place but I dunno if they'd just get skipped or even have issues revised to remove references/connections to the crossovers.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

1 hour ago, Zaysho said:

I am curious about the crossovers. Assuming this does happen (and I think it might actually be a pretty decent chance if it involves Udon), would Sega even agree to reprinting those? They don't have anything in some kind of legal gray area (to my knowledge?) but the first one does at least reference stuff like Mecha-Sally and the second is straight up just the reboot universe, so I wonder if that'd cause some weird issue with IDW or whatever. I think you sorta need to have them since parts of the comic just cut off and cut back in, despite the crossovers being in a "sort of canon but not really" place but I dunno if they'd just get skipped or even have issues revised to remove references/connections to the crossovers.

Worlds Collide would be easier, even if they had to go full on "nuke" with the Archie universe, they could easily just edit out Mecha Sally, and have Mecha Sonic leading his forces to world conquest, still getting the point across. 

Worlds Unite might be dicier, but it depends on how SEGA feel about allowing post-reboot reprints. IDW is certainly not against them as they reprint Disney and TMNT material from other comic publishers, so it ultimately just comes down to getting SEGA on-board with it, and if Udon can do it, probably a decent chance.