THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602160068
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KERNELS, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Long : 203 lines
THE VOTES are in.
The people have spoken.
And, like most elections, sometimes it's not the best candidate that wins but the most popular:
Batman 63, Captain America 26
Spider-Man 63, Superboy 23
The Hulk 58, Superman 29
Wolverine 70, Lobo 18
Storm 65, Wonder Woman 22
Yes, this is a real election, the votes tallied in the Trilogy comic book shop in Virginia Beach.
And no, it won't bring us world peace, stop global warming or even end Whitewater.
But puh-leease don't tell comic book readers that this isn't important.
IT IS. Really. We're talking about DC vs. Marvel, which by now, should need no explanation to anyone in the civilized world.
For the first time in 30-plus years, fans will finally find out: Who is stronger? Superman or The Hulk?
Who is more skilled? Captain America or Batman?
Readers will determine the outcome of five of these earth-shaking battles at comic book shops across the nation. We'll find out who the readers picked Tuesday, when issue No. 3 of the four-issue mini-series hits the stands.
This is BIG.
Big enough to grab headlines in publications ranging from The Wall Street Journal to USA Today.
Big enough to tie up The Internet for the first few days of January from people still trying to vote - even though the deadline was Dec. 31.
Big enough for DC Comics editor Mike Carlin to call it ``the superhero fistfight of the century.''
``This is the kind of comic story that every reader has imagined on their own but never thought would happen,'' Carlin said by phone from DC's offices in New York. ``It's got every single character that you want to see from both universes.''
Said loyal DC reader Eric Fontanilla, 20: ``It's about time. It should satisfy a lot of people's curiosities.''
One thing the creators have pre-determined are the six undercard battles. Among them are Thor vs. Captain Marvel: Norse God of Thunder vs. Greek sort of god. Or Robin vs. Jubilee: Batman sidekick vs. X-Men sidekick.
Readers will also get glimpses of other unpublicized confrontations taking place, like Iron Man vs. Steel or Green Arrow vs. Hawkeye, although publishers are hesitant to say who will win them.
And just why is this all happening in the first place?
Did they run out of villains to beat up?
The Hulk maybe was doing some trash talking?
Someone tugged on Superman's cape?
A clever marketing ploy?
Seems there are two malevolent god-like beings (isn't that always the case?) intent on - you guessed it - ruling the cosmos and using heroes from both universes as pawns.
Whatever.
Its still a dream come true for Kelly Cacapit, a loyal Marvel fan, who doesn't care about the marketing gimmicks just as long as The Silver Surfer knocks Green Lantern's light out.
Of course, at age 19, Cacapit hasn't had to dream for too long. Not like so many fans who started the first clamorings for this match-up back in the early '70s.
``Marvel and DC have always been the top two,'' said Cacapit, a computer-aided-drafting major at ITT with hopes of breaking into the comic business. ``I've always wanted to see how they would go up against each other.
``I think it was a good idea to have people vote for it rather than the writers, because it tells them who (fans) like best.''
Which brings us back to Trilogy.
You know this is a place where Marvel or DC fans can cast their votes just by looking at all the campaign posters lining the shop window.
On the shop door, a sign hangs in the center listing the store's name, hours and its credo:
WE READ WHAT WE SELL
And you know just who the guy is that runs this place. Over there by that blow-up Spider-Man wall crawling on the ceiling.
That's Tony Udarbe. Manager. Collector. And - you won't believe this - former accountant.
``No stress. No ulcers. No white hair. And I'm enjoying my life a lot more,'' said Udarbe, 29, trying to explain his improbable career change.
The crossover campaign has been extremely good for business.
Forty-five copies of issue No. 1 - released in December - sold out at Trilogy in an hour. That's right. An hour.
So Udarbe reordered. And they went faster than a speeding bullet.
So Udarbe reordered more. Gone before you could say ``Shazam!''
It was the same story at almost every other area shop. Owners, even by anticipating THE DEMAND, still had to turn away customers.
Nationally, the first issue sold about 325,000 copies, according to Comics Buyer's Guide, the industry's version of The Wall Street Journal.
``It was a good marketing ploy.'' Udarbe said. ``Some of the die-hards are buying it just to have it.''
The last time fans got this kind of opportunity, Robin died in an explosion set by The Joker in 1988.
Readers voted via a 900 number and made instant history in an event that transcended the close-knit and secret society-like community of comic collectors and broke into the mainstream.
Don't worry. Nothing like that is going to happen this time.
Not that it matters.
``DC and Marvel got the reaction they wanted - greater sales,'' said Tony Magpantay Jr., 23, a sales clerk at Comics & Things at Holland Plaza Shopping Center in Virginia Beach.
So far, it's been a quiet day for Magpantay and what he calls ``The Ultimate Dream Job.''
Very few customers today at the store. No one begging for back issues of THE CROSSOVER.
The masses have been tamed. Until the release of the third issue.
``Yeah, its a commercial ploy,'' he said, ``but a lot of people are intrigued by what happens if Spider-Man fought Superboy or if Superman did fight The Hulk.
``It's just like chocolate. If you have too much, it can be bad for you.''
Magpantay says this from behind a glass-encased counter that safeguards old-time issues of The Avengers, Sub-Mariner and The Fantastic Four.
Collector's items.
But will the DC vs. Marvel cross-over be joining them one day?
Industry insiders are predicting that it will. Soon. Like next year.
Issue No. 1, locally, has been taken off most shelves and is listed anywhere between $5 to $10 a copy. It cost $3.95 at the December release.
That's very promising, but it will take at least six months for retailers to know for sure.
``It'll be like when Superman died, (the issue) will shoot all the way up to $75,'' Trilogy's Udarbe said.
The uniqueness of it makes it almost a sure bet.
Who knows what a blow-out issue like No. 3 will be worth a year from now? Five years? Ten years?
Skip Davis loves thinking about that - and the money that can be made reselling the whole series after the hoopla is over.
Davis, 29, is the co-owner and operator of Super Comix, a cozy 700-square-foot shop next to Military Circle in Norfolk.
You can't miss the red, white and blue poster plastered diagonally in the window:
MARVEL VS. DC! VOTE HERE!
He's only been open for seven weeks, and although business isn't booming, selling ``The Crossover to End All Crossovers'' can't hurt a guy who needed a small loan from his parents to get started.
``It's something that people who have been into comics have wanted to see for years,'' said Davis, a Kempsville graduate.
That's why the crossover couldn't have come at a better time.
This is the other, less publicized reason: The industry is in decline and in dire need of something that can rekindle fans' interests.
What better way than to have the most popular heroes from the top two comic companies fight each other?
``Marvel and DC would never get together. No way,'' George Pesquera, co-owner and operator of Amazing Fantasy in Chesapeake said. ``They must be hurting.''
Like any industry, comic books have had their share of peaks and valleys.
But by the 1990s, comics started to see growth unparalleled in 30-plus years due to the emergence of two new competitors, Image and Valient.
In 1993, collecting comics went super-nova, attracting 375,000 readers - thanks in part to the slick marketing of DC's ``The Death of Superman.''
Then the industry got greedy.
Prices jumped dramatically. Quality dropped. And with the glut of so many titles (Marvel alone published 50), readers revolted.
``A lot of people are sick of the holo-foil, schmancy-fancy covers - and they read the story and it's blase,'' explained Magpantay of Comics & Things. ``It's like getting the body of a Lamborghini but getting the engine of a Yugo.''
And in '94, the thought-balloon burst. Readership has plummeted.
In January, Marvel laid off 20 percent of its staff and plans to cut up to 50 percent.
``It may be a question of desperation,'' said Mike Dean, news editor of the Iola, Wis.-based Comics Buyer's Guide. ``They're prepared to try anything these days.''
Amazing Fantasy's Pesquera said: ``You've got to understand the independents (like Image, Valient) have taken a big chunk of the market. (Marvel and DC) probably figured by coming together that they could boost the market and get a quick sale at the same time.''
It seems to be working. Sales are slightly up.
But it hasn't come anywhere near to matching ``The Death of Superman,'' which set a record for sales with close to 3 million readers.
DC editor Carlin said: ``We'd hoped it would be. It's unfair to expect one four-issue mini-series to save the day.
``It's not going to be an embarrassment. It certainly is going to be fun.''
Retailers like Pesquera think that if the series - especially the third issue - doesn't live up to the hype, then the market will be in worse shape than ever.
``Issue three has got to be their best work so far,'' Pesquera said. ``It has to be. If it isn't, people are going to feel like they've been ripped off again.''
That, no doubt, will be a decision made by the people very soon. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by D. Kevin Elliott
Trilogy comic book shop manager Tony Udarbe says hs first 45 copies
of issue No. 1 in the MArvel vs. DC face-off sold out in an hour.
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT\ The Virginian-Pilot
``DC and Marvel got the reaction they wanted - greater sales,'' said
Tony Magpantay Jr., a sales clerk at Comics & Things.
[Color pics of Superman, Batman, Captain America]
KEYWORDS: COMIC BOOK by CNB