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So, I was talking with a friend back home about the current state of comics in regards to Marvel and DC. Currently I like DC much more than Marvel and he likes Marvel more than DC. The difference seems to be that I am enjoying how much more DC seems to be interwoven lately (or at least the titles I read) and he isn't big on that. Plus, I currently think that Marvel's handling of titles rates right up there with its 1990s mindset that resulted in so many problems for them. Still, there are characters and titles we both enjoy. As time went on we found that the biggest piece of common ground we shared was the idea that characters don't suck, approaches to them do.
At first we were wondering if it was the fault of the writers, but that didn't seem "fair" in my mind. You can give a great writer a horrible concept, but they can only do so much with it. As a different friend of mine likes to say, "You can't polish a turd." I think that's the case with some of the current character and story approaches that are out there.
For example, look at Thunderbolts. The idea of a madman running a group of super powered villains is good. It's been an established formula with the Suicide Squad for a number of years (decades?). Of course the "madman/madwoman" part of that formula is debatable in regards to the Suicide Squad. Anyway, the idea is good but the approach is bad. I like Ellis, but as I've said previously he writes the crazy evil characters so well that watching them do the same old stuff is boring, and don't even get me started on Penance. Mind you, I don't like the transition of Robbie from Speedball to Penance, but that doesn't mean the idea couldn't work. Yet, I don't think they've come up with an idea that did work and now Ellis has to deal with a character started on shaky ground, at best.
We also have the current Ghost Rider title. I'm not a huge Ghost Rider fan, but I thought I'd check it out. For the most part I was enjoying it, but now the whole "I'm chasing down pieces of Satan" thing has gotten old and worn out. It's just not bearing fruit. I think it could have gone for the long haul, but how the story is unfolding is a yawn fest to me. Again, a nice idea that seemed to have been planned out half way. So, what do I have to offer in regards to titles where the approaches don't suck? Surely I must have something big and popular, right? Wrong.
In my opinion two titles with good approaches are shockingly from Marvel. One is The Immortal Iron Fist. This title is just straight up sweet. Now while I cannot deny that Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction deserve much of the credit the fact that they are allowed, encouraged, or guided to do what they have been doing is a testament to how good the title is. While the overall presentation is good this title is definitely driven by the approach taken in telling the story, reestablishing the character and rebuilding the mythos surrounding him. Interestingly enough the other title I think deserves kudos in its approach involves what I believe many would see as another third tier character (as I see them), that title is Moon Knight.
For me the current Moon Knight run is all about approach. The character regularly irritates me and the storyline seems very disjointed. The description I gave to my friend (who is also read it) was, "It's interesting, but weird and f-ed up. It's like a drug." There have been a few issues where I have thought to myself, "OK, that stuff made no sense . . . I'm done." Then the next issue comes out and my first response is, "Sweet!" Well, I may not actually say that, but you get the idea. What does this tell me? There is something about the current approach to Moon Knight that is interesting to me. That even though the title itself as a whole seems frustrating at times, there is something in it that I'm enjoying on a level that even I don't understand.
Now, I've never really read titles that are specific to heavy hitters on their own. The two I do read are The Flash and Green Lantern. Still, I think one of the reasons I don't tend to read the solo titles of the heavy hitters is that I don't like a lot of the approaches that are taken on the books. I like the characters. I do. It's just that when I do check out their titles what is happen doesn't seem to have the effect I'm looking for. I feel like I'm supposed t be buying the title just because of who it's focused on, and that's not enough for me. As I said before, the characters don't suck but approach to them in many titles does.
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