Something is rotten...

There are things about the comic industry that really bother me these days.

In an excellent post at Big Hollywood, comic writer Bill Willingham decries the current state of superhero comics saying that they are, in fact, "superhero decadence" (using a term coined by Dirk Deppey). I couldn't agree with Willingham more and I have frequently been not only disgusted by the tone of some of today's superhero comics, but downright incensed by them. To quote Willingham:

"The ’super’ is still there, more so than ever, but there seems to be a slow leak in the ‘hero’ part."

The post is here and I recommend everyone read it.

Now, this state of affairs is certainly bad enough. We have characters whose definition of hero seems to be "hitting someone before they hit me". But I have a gnawing suspicion that things behind the scenes at comic companies are far worse.

There is an atmosphere of fear at these companies. They've become places where individuals are afraid to express their own opinions or, even worse, ones that oppose the Managerial dictates. It all has to do with job security and the reins of power being tightly held in the grips of a very small amount of people. People who, it seems, have no problem exercising that power and being very small, petty individuals.

This saddens me. Not only because it is wrong and goes against so MANY of those ideals that America is supposed to uphold (just like superheroes) but because no one should be afraid of losing their livliehood because they speak their mind. This is the problem with the power being centralized to so few people. It is closely resembling a dictatorship, one that I am surprised has not brought about pictures of Didio or Quesada as Hitler or Mussolini. Except that most people who produce political imagery don't usually depend on the targets of their criticism for their jobs.

Willingham suggests that creators refuse to produce work of "superhero decadence" anymore. Which is good assuming he can get wide-spread support of such a ban. After all, if there is one thing that the comic book industry is notorious for it's that there's always another wave of fresh-faced kids willing to do whatever it takes to write or draw Spider-Man or Batman. For the rest of us, I'd suggest we just stop buying this stuff. These are characters with DECADES of rich publishing history behind them. Go buy some back issues and pass up the next "Crisis of Secret Final R.I.P." garbage.

Stuff happens

Something seems to be going on at DC comics these days.

By 'something', I mean chaos.

Coming off the critical and fan debacle that was COUNTDOWN, DC put a lot of it's eggs in one basket. A basket held by Grant Morrison. FINAL CRISIS was supposed to be Morrison's epic conclusion to all of his previous DC work. Instead it has produced a nearly universal 'eh' from the fans.

To make it worse, every week seems to bring up some new rumor or revelation from DC. We've got the major FINAL CRISIS artist who resigns from the book in mysterious circumstances (much blogger fodder came from this) then the announcements of more delays in the last issues of the series. Delays first because of new artists and, the most recent rumor, delays because Dan Didio didn't like the way the story ended and asked Morrison to rewrite. Now, I'm a big Morrison fan but even I'm not digging FC very much but the story is that the big M wasn't happy about having to make changes to a story that was written as it was approved.

Plus that would put not only FC behind schedule but all the comics that were to follow. The dominos are falling, folks!

Then comes word that fan favorite writer James Robinson supposedly had a big, public fight with Didio and quit the Superman books as well as DC. No one, least of all Robinson, has verified that. I find it hard to believe that DC didn't have a contract for Robinson to write X amount of issues and that they wouldn't hold him to it.

Now Didio is apparently courting Hollywood writers for his comics. The blogosphere is all agog that it's because he's alienated all of the writers and everyone refuses to work for him anymore. I didn't know that Didio was really Jim Shooter's secret identity.

I'm not a fan of Didio and still maintain that he is the worst thing to happen to DC comics since Infantino cancelled Kirby's Fourth World books. Still, the level of fecal matter hitting the fan where Didio is concerned is truly mind boggling.

All of this has done what I never thought COULD be done... I almost feel sorry for the guy.

It's hard not to have some sympathy when someone gets pounded on as much as Didio is lately. And, to his credit, he's never responded with a "oh, yeah? Well F-U!"

But it's weird to feel bad for someone whose every decision I've disagreed with. Thank God for Prez Bush! At least some part of my universe has remained normal! No way I'll feel sympathy for him anytime soon.

Strange too how we hear so little about Marvel these days. Sure, some books have been cancelled but no real stories about misbehavoir or fighting. It's like everyone's forgotten about "One More Day". But I haven't forgotten! Quesada is still as bad as ever but Didio's seems to be everyone's favorite whipping boy these days.

Comics is weird bizness.

Everybody run, Captain America Has-Got-A-Gun!

That old Julie Brown 80's song is going through my head this afternoon. Why? Because this Wednesday, Captain America returns to Marvel comics and he's packing heat!

As reported in the New York Daily News (that paragon of journalistic integrity), Bucky will take over the cowl of the deceased Star Spangled Avenger. And he's going to have a gun.

The escalation in firepower is explained thusly:

"It's a little jarring for some people to see that," said the book's writer, Ed Brubaker. "[But] people forget that Captain America carried a gun a lot in World War II. Every three covers there was a shot of Captain America with a machine gun or a flamethrower - or an atom bomb."

Ok. Yes, Cap carried a gun and other weapons in the 1940s but there's one little difference between then and now... HE WAS FIGHTING A FRICKING WAR!!!!!!!!!! So unless Cap is going to invade Iraq, the new pistol packing Cap doesn't appeal to me.

The page that Marvel had the NYDN (that News bastion that it is) use to illustrate this shows Cap shooting three AIM agents in the leg. Is it just me or is the sight of Cap shooting a gun just WRONG on so many levels??

First the real Cap, then Spider-Man and now this fake Cap. When will Quesada be stopped? Remember that this is the same editor who thought that a gay Rawhide Kid was a good idea. Which, as far as Marvel and Q are concerned, it was because it sold books and made the news.

Too bad as much attention isn't given to just writing good stories and having the characters act the way that 40 years of continuity says that they should.

Be a TRUE Friend to a Comic Fan!

It's not easy being a comic fan these days and it's even harder to be a friend of one. There's so many bad comics out there that it's hard to avoid them. This is where you can help your friend. Keep them from making a mistake and buying a bad comic.

Keep them from buying AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.

Not only will you save your friend from a fate worse than death (reading a comic that doesn't respect them) but you will help send the only message that comic companies understand today: a financial one. It's been said on other blogs that the only thing that comic companies like Marvel and DC care about is $ale$ and, sadly, that is true. They really don't care about fans and what they want. All they care about is moving the most 'product' out the door every week. They know from past events that many comic fans may express outrage over a ret-con or stupid storyline (like Gwen Stacy's twins) but most of those fans will keep on buying the comic and that's the only thing that's important.

So, be a friend to your friend and save them from themselves. Show Joe Quesada and Marvel that, despite the hype and news, you don't like this new direction and refuse to have it shoved down your throat. Show your friend how buying an AMAZING SPIDER-MAN merely justifies the story to Q and Marvel. Explain to them how the only way to exact any lasting change at Marvel or DC is through their profit margins.

Remember, friends don't let friends buy AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.

One More Bad Idea!

Much has been said lately of Joe Quesada's "One More Day" storyline which ended in last week's AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 544. Basically, Peter Parker and Mary Jane agreed to have their marraige wiped out of existence so that Mephisto would save Aunt May.

Many readers have reacted with outrage in the blogosphere and in the comic stores I frequent.

What's my take on this? Not surprisingly...

I DON'T LIKE IT ONE LITTLE BIT!

I'm against retconning characters and histories for the most part but this one annoys me even more than the rest.

In an exclusive 5 part interview with Comic Book Resources website, Joe Quesada explains some of the reasoning behind the story and why Peter should not be married.

Although I found myself shaking my head in disbelief many times, this section stood out to me:

While the marriage is absolutely the logical progression for a character like Peter Parker, so is having kids, having grandkids, growing old and dying. Would we -- better yet, should we -- go that far? Of course not. So why isn’t getting married too far? Simple: Because a lot of people have grown accustomed to it, indeed, attached to it -- and that is understandable. But it wasn’t the healthiest long-term scenario for the character. Each one of those life progressions (marriage, child, grandkids, etc.) cuts Peter Parker and the Spider-Man books off from the story-trappings that have been the bedrock of great Spider-Man stories.

The truth of the matter is that if the fans truly want a married Peter and MJ with kids, then we have an incredible book called “Spider-Girl.” If this is truly what fandom wants, to see Peter go through the natural progressions of life, then I expect orders on “Spider-Girl” to go through the roof in the next month.

Peter Parker getting married is not the "healthiest of long-term goals"?? Only in Quesada's mind. To me, and many readers, Parker's marriage was a thing of celebration! The one-time nebbish not only grows up but ends up marrying an amazingly beautiful woman! It was the greatest validation of geekdom since Julia Roberts said "Yes" to marrying Lyle Lovett! We had won!

Which, I'm sure, Quesada would say proved his point that the comic could not progress from there which is a foolish thing to say. If bad stories occurred after Peter and MJ married, it was the result of bad and unimaginative writers, not their marriage.

The end result is that Marvel has seen fit to revert Spider-Man back to the comfortable 'nebbish' status-quo. Back to worrying about web-shooters and covering Aunt May's medical bills and keeping his identity secret. Haven't we seen all this before? How is any of that new and interesting?

Elsewhere in the interview, Quesada states how the success of a single Spider-Man in ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN proved to him that the character belonged single. But he contradicts himself in that last paragraph. If people want a married Spider-Man, they can read SPIDER-GIRL. But, Joe, if they wanted a single Spider-Man, they could read ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN. There was room for a married Spider-Man except that he wasn't what Quesada considered 'hip and happening' for the twentysomething set.

The fact that ONE man has been able to push his personal agenda down the throats of his creators and readers is utterly and morally wrong! I have to wonder if the E-I-C of both Marvel and DC are going out of their way to alienate and offend their older readers.

I wonder what Stan Lee and John Romita have to say about all this.

If you should want to read the interview with Quesada, follow the link:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=12681