Absolute Remains Strong
New comic releases, big swings, and Dungeon Crawler Carl by the numbers
Another Wednesday is here, dear reader, which means the end of the year creeps ever closer.
Also:
New comics.
IF YOU READ ONLY ONE COMIC THIS WEEK
ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #1
Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Even before this issue hit store shelves, DC Comics announced it was heading back to print.
That should tell you something about the Absolute line right now:
It’s hot.
The bigger question is whether readers embrace Absolute Green Arrow the same way they’ve embraced:
the oversized spectacle of Batman
The political tension of Martian Manhunter
or Superman’s heavier social themes
With Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque behind this one?
I’m leaning toward yes.
ON THE READ PILE
G.I. Joe #22
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Andrea Milana & Lee Loughridge
Publisher: Skybound Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
Now that Skybound has firmly established the Energon Universe and its various factions, it feels like the real acceleration starts here.
The JOEs and Cobra are hunting Energon across the globe, and it’s probably only a matter of time before Transformers and G.I. Joe start crossing paths more aggressively.
Because once shared universes start expanding, they rarely stay contained.
ULTIMATE IMPACT REBORN #1
Writer: Christopher Condon
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
So… is the Ultimate Universe gone or not?
That seems to be the question Marvel keeps asking itself in public.
At a certain point, world-shattering events lose a little impact if readers suspect the world is coming back anyway. Still, I respect a company willing to take big swings—even if I’m occasionally reading out of morbid curiosity.
And honestly?
Sometimes the weird swings turn out to be the good ones.
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL BY THE NUMBERS
Dungeon Crawler Carl is absolutely on fire right now, and the numbers surrounding the franchise are starting to look less like “cult success” and more like a full-scale media machine.
$13.2 million — raised by the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG + Unstoppable campaign from Renegade Game Studios
6 million+ — copies sold across the first eight books
$2.63 million — raised by the Dungeon Crawler Carl: Crocodile graphic novel campaign
200,000 — subscribers to the WEBTOON adaptation
21,000+ — paid subscribers on Matt Dinniman’s Patreon
730 pages — length of The Butcher’s Masquerade
And if that somehow doesn’t feel like enough:
Action figures, trading cards, plushies, and a live-action adaptation in development at Peacock through Fuzzy Door Productions are all on the horizon.
At some point, “niche” stops being the right word.
Cheers,
Stephen Schleicher