|
Welcome to the second edition of "The Only Opinion
that Matters." The first of which also appeared in
this very issue. What is the only opinion that
matters? Mine, of course. Obviously so, if anyone
else's opinion was worth its weight in crap they'd
call their column "The Only Opinion That Matters."
They don't, Q.E.D., they don't matter.
This month I'd like to give my thoughts on some
things said by my colleagues in this fine magazine.
They were written by very intelligent gentlemen who
just suffer from the problem that they are utterly and
completely wrong. There is nothing worse that someone
who is intelligent, well intentioned in their opinion
but also hopelessly misinformed.
Two issues ago, one of these men said that the
Crisis on Infinite Earths caused more problems than it
solved and that the Post Crisis DC universe wasn't "as
enjoyable" as the Silver Age. You mean back when they
were a handful of artists who could draw and the
dialogue was bland, indistinct and about as riveting
as an episode of Antiques Roadshow? When the writers
were basically monkeys throwing their dung at the wall
and seeing what would stick? That might explain DC's
obsession with gorilla covers.
I would argue that Crisis didn't do as much as it
should have. The best thing to come out of Crisis
were the revitalized Superman, Batman and Wonder
Woman. Their continuity changes caused problems for
lots of other titles. Some of these books like The
New Titans managed to remain vital in spite of this.
Others tried to hold onto the fading embers of the
Silver Age. (Pocket Universe, anyone?) Sometimes I
wonder what DC could have accomplished if they had
stuck with the original plan and rebuilt everything
from the ground up.
If you think about it, the Golden and Silver Age of
comics is a double edged sword. The really old
stories bring long time fans back for years and years.
The problem is that over 70 years the medium of the
super hero comic has matured. While not impossible,
it just gets harder and harder to accept a world where
you have Alan Moore's brooding, existential Swamp
Thing running around and interacting with a Superman
who spends his Sunday afternoons scouring outer space
looking for his lost dog. While that sort of
patchwork universe is the fuel of many a great Ambush
Bug story, it isn't really helpful if you're trying to
do a serious dramatic story.
Don't get me wrong; there were some good stories in
the Silver Age. The problem is they were few and far
between. For every Neal Adams Deadman, there were five
or six dozen series like "Prez" or those god awful
Wonder Tot stories. DC was just beginning to
explore more mature themes that came out of the
creative boom of circumventing newsstands (along with
The Comics Code) and favoring comic shops. I could
put up with a DC Universe where even one of the best
Pre-Crisis stories like "The Judas Contract" didn't
happen as long as it took DC Comics Presents #47 along
with it. I'm sorry- I can't take Superman seriously if
I have to think about him working with The Masters of
the Universe.
I guess what I'm saying is about 90% of the truly
great DC Universe stories ranging from Giffen's and
Dematteis' Justice League, Peter David's Supergirl,
Ennis and McCrea's Hitman, Dan Raspler's Young Heroes
in Love, Gaiman's Sandman and dozens more all came out
after Crisis. They were all a million times better
than anything produced prior to Crisis. Even my much
beloved Superboy (vol. 1) #206. See, I do like some
Silver Age stuff, so there. Of course, that one is
only a favorite because Carey Bates managed to sneak a
marriage between Brainiac Five and a blow up doll past
The Comics Code. The problem wasn't trying to build
their new continuity. It was trying to tell good
stories while holding on to as much the remaining
garbage continuity as they possibly could. Do we
really need a story when Barry Allen's head could fly
in the Macy's Parade as part of modern continuity?
Secondly, I'd like to address Jason Bourgeois'
Grey Matters column entitled "No Avengers". I share
much of his opinion of Brian Michael Bendis. The guy
is really hit or miss. Bendis can be a very capable
writer. One need look no further than Alias or The
Pulse to see it. He can be down right awful sometimes
as well. I tried enjoying the few Daredevils of his
I found in a fifty cent box, but I couldn't.
I think that save for one glitch in the system the
good or awful rating on Avengers (at least as far as
I've read) goes in a generally pulsing pattern.
Breakout was good. The story about the Ninjas was
bad. The first Spider-Woman story was good. The
Sentry story was an atrocity. I'm glad I didn't have
to pay money for it. The House of M cleanup was okay.
Unlike Jason, I liked "The Collective". Alpha
Flight has been a running joke at Marvel since at
least James Hundall's run and it was fun seeing them
go squish. I say Alpha Flight should become the Kenny
McCormick of the Marvel Universe. Bring them back and
kill them at least one per month. My feelings on the
Civil War stories are mixed. I feel that as long as
the character doesn't have a home book of their own,
then a solo story in the book of the team they belong
to is appropriate. I was fine with the Spider-Woman
story and even the somewhat off putting Sentry story
in the Civil War trade. Giving an issue over to Iron
Man and Captain America, on the other hand, was
annoying. If I wanted to read about Iron Man and
Captain America, I'd read Iron Man and Captain
America. (I did read them but only because I couldn't
find anything good and cheap during the "buy three get one free"
sales at Borders and I had earned freebies.)
I also disagree about Spider-Man not belonging on
The Avengers. As much as I have mixed feelings about
some Silver Age stories and I think Marvel's were
generally better than DC's, it isn't like The Avengers
haven't asked him to join more than half a dozen
times. He was a member before, very briefly-- and
was still a reservist, though all the writers have
forgotten this. He knows everybody in the Marvel
Universe and is practically one of Marvel's corporate
logos. The Avengers have always tried, but not often
succeeded, in being is the keystone book of the Marvel
Universe. The X-Men usurped them, somewhat
deservedly, during the Claremont/Cockrum era.
Bendis has done the job of returning them to this
status. I think The Avengers are now more key to
understanding the Marvel Universe as they have been
since any writer since Roy Thomas. I do, however,
agree that in spite Wolverine's status as a corporate
logo, Logan doesn't belong on The Avengers. Why?
Spidey had three mainline books a month going into
Avengers. That is more than most characters, but is not
horrible. Certainly not as bad as Batman and Superman
over at DC and they still manage to be in the Justice
League. Going into Avengers, Logan had at least a
supporting role in X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Astonishing
X-Men, New X-Men, at least one mini series going at
any given time on top of both a Wolverine title and
the now defunct Marvel Knights Wolverine. Six series,
not counting New Avengers. Who does he think he is?
Ryan Seacrest?
Anyway-- I think the Editor in Chief is getting
ready to fire me. Hopefully, I'll be back next month
with more inflammatory but undeniably true things to
say. Remember, there are other opinions out there
but ignore them. They don't matter. Good night
everyone.
|