The turnout for the first block of voting for the WonderWorldComics.com March Madness Contest was absolutely amazing. Thousands of votes were cast from all over the Metro Detroit area, the country, and the world. Votes came in from 39 different states and 16 different countries. In total, 6,851 votes were cast on which comics would move on. Here is how the matchups played out:
Match 1: Iron Man vs The Fantastic Four
Iron Man 80% Winner
The Fantastic Four 20% Loser
Iron Man took the early lead in this one and held on until the bitter end. The 60% margin of victory was the largest span in the competition. I would have never thought that The Fantastic Four would do so poorly in this competition. Maybe the buzz over the upcoming Iron Man movie got the voters excited in this matchup.
Match 2: Green Lantern vs. Aquaman
Green Lantern 52% Winner
Aquaman 48% Loser
Aquaman had an early lead on Monday but was overtaken by the Green Lantern in the early afternoon. By Tuesday afternoon, Fishboy was getting crushed by the power of the ring. In the late evening, Aquaman’s fans battled back and put him in the lead. In the end, though, The Lantern was able to pull out the narrow victory.
Match 3: Superior Spider-Man vs. Cable and the X-Force
Superior Spider-Man 51% Winner
Cable and the X-Force 49% Loser
Superior Spider-Man squeeked out the narrowest victory in the first block of voting and won by only 7 votes! Cable got a jump on the web-slinger, but the combined minds of Doc Oc and Peter Parker (or the fans) brought this to completion. Looking at the brackets cast, Superior-Spiderman is favored to go deep in the competition. What will this narrow win mean in the next round?
Match 4: The Walking Dead vs. Buffy
The Walking Dead 58% Winner
Buffy 42% Loser
Talk about going down to the wire…The Walking Dead held a commanding lead through the first day of competition with the Buffy fans coming out in droves on the second day. This was the second most contested matchup and The Walking Dead was losing at 11pm on Tuesday night. Even though Buffy lost, I have to commend her fans for coming out so strong for their favored character. Will they come back for revenge in the second round?
If this had been a crossover comic, Rick would have snapped and the survivors would have faced a swift death from Buffy’s team. Someone (Andrea, Michonne, Carl, Glenn’s ghost) would have brought Rick around in the last moments to save the day. Either way, TWD moves on.
Match 5: G.I. Joe vs. Hack/Slash
G.I. Joe 59% Winner
Hack/Slash 41% Loser
Hack/Slash lost a narrow lead over G.I. Joe a few hours into voting and was never able to catch up. Larry Hama’s baby dominated its first round opponent. I can’t wait to see if the Joe team can dominate again in the voting and be a middle-seed victor.
Match 6: Nightwing vs. Batman Incorporated
Nightwing 69% Winner
Batman Incorporated 31% Loser
Batman Incorporated never had a chance in this one. Nightwing took a commanding lead early on and at one point, Batman’s team of crusaders only had 10% of the vote. The team was able to battle back, but could not come close to touching Grayson. Will this strength stay with Nightwing in the second round?
Match 7: Legend of OZ: Wicked West vs. Wonderland
Legend of OZ: Wicked West 52% Winner
Wonderland 48% Loser
Simply put – this was the most contested first round matchup. Big Dog Ink and Zenescope were able to rally their troops into a battle which will be discussed in Wonderworld for years. A little over 1/3rd of the overall votes cast in the first block were cast in this matchup. Legend of OZ: Wicked West and Wonderland went back and forth for hours until a huge outpouring came from the Zenescope camp. This was reciprocated by an even greater outpouring from Big Dog Ink. Zenescope had a huge push at the end, but it was not enough to catch up. There is a Cinderella Story to be told here. Big Dog Ink could take this comic far. Zenescope has another chance with Grimm Fairy Tales on Sunday. Let’s see how they do.
Match 8: Adventure Time vs. Bloodshot
Adventure Time 65% Winner
Bloodshot 35% Loser
Bloodshot had an early lead until this matchup began going back and forth on the first day. Tuesday morning saw an influx of votes for Adventure Time and then an influx for Bloodshot. It went back and forth throughout the day until the fans of the show had enough and just brought the BOOM! Many fans have Adventure Time going far in their brackets. They should be interesting to watch.
Remember, all winning comics will receive a 10% discount in the store on March 13, 2013!
Each win you correctly chose in your bracket will gain you 1 point in the contest.
Happy voting!