COMICS: Check Out This Textless Preview Of UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #1

lovely artwork,uncanny x-men is my favorite x-title at the moment.

This looks amazing!

@dethpillow

Dating the covers with just the year on it is an awesome solution. They did that for a few years in the late '90s and early '00s, but then dumped that and went back to the numbering. Since the whole numbering-as-an-issue really doesn't make sense as the stories are never connected in anyway. Content, arcs, writers, artists and even editorial direction are practically never the same.

Absolutely, I agree some characters that are mainstays in 616, but don't have their own existing-at-the-time title, should be favored with an annual appearance. Black Panther, Doctor Strange are great examples. Silver Surfer, Warlock, Doctor Doom, Namor, and Defenders (and my personal dream comic, Starbrand) are a few more that come to mind.

I like the 6 issue miniseries concept for a number of reasons.
You can give new characters/teams a shot a series without the embarrassment of "canceling" the ones that don't sell well enough. New concept attempts without the hassle of the promotional effort to support a new company title.

A slight variation on that same idea is that the miniseries allows you to delve into different genres and unique takes on the 616 universe (and completely outside the 616 universe for that matter) that may be of interest to people (other than a new Avengers: Black Ops Team).

With the miniseries you STILL get your precious number ones.

And even if it doesn't sell well as a floppy, you can still package a trade paperback when it's done.

And your comment about getting interesting, (I assume you were including) OUTSIDE writers and artists is definitely supported by everything above.

And yes, yes, YES! This hopping back and forth between two or three reboots and back again to the 'absolute' issue count is frustrating. Is it a new series or not? Just make up your minds. (Side note: I don't think I, or you, need anyone to schmarmely drop a note in to teach us why it's done. We know. We get it. Don't like it. It's wrong. Just plain wrong.)

However, I don't want to see the big names and big sellers doing this. I know there's little danger of this, but Avengers, Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America and yes, the Fantastic Four, too . . . and others of their ilk, need to have a continually running monthly comic. These titles, more than most, define 616 and represent Marvel. I don't want to see them degraded to a miniseries format (and for these titles, it WOULD be a sad step down). 'Flagship' titles need to remain flagships.