Marvel's Fresh Start: 8 Reasons To Be Concerned

6. Renumbering Everything... Again

Renumbering issues has been a mainstay of the industry for decades, but it's taken on a whole different level during this one.

At a glance, renumbering comics actually seems like a pretty clever idea. The baggage associated with a long-running comic (say, Daredevil) could put-off new readers, whereas a book with a smaller number attached to it could end up doing the opposite. It makes sense, but there's more to getting new fans excited than just a change of number, and - in some cases - it can even end up having the reverse effect.

Marvel have been renumbering their comics for years now, switching between original numbers for long-running titles (something again broached by Marvel Legacy) and refreshes periodically as and when they deem it. When these shifts interrupt ongoing books, however, problems begin to arise. Fans looking to collect their comics exclusively in the trade format (as graphic novels) will find their efforts frustrated by confusingly numbered volumes, and - to use an oft-cited example - that was the case with Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil.

That particular run released throughout three separate relaunches, beginning before Marvel NOW! released and then having the further inconvenience of All-New, All-Different Marvel to contend with. It's made collecting the series a difficult affair, and while the intent is obviously to make Marvel more accessible, a change of number alone won't do the trick.