A long post about comics

If this doesn't interest you just get in your time machine and go to the post I'll write next Monday, I'm sure you'll like it better.


A gift in the form of Singapore’s National Library has allowed me to read up on a host of comics I would not have otherwise ever purchased. It has also allowed me the opportunity to cast my own critical eye on the ‘hottest’ writers of the past 7 years. Yes, I’m talking Bendis, Millar, Brubaker and Geoff Johns. While they all work for either Marvel or DC it’s worth examining their mainstream works considering that all of them write books that regularly field in the top 20 American mainstream comics produced.

Brian Michael Bendis
I’ve read up on his work through New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-man trades and must admit that his writing is far more irritating than the haters ever made it out to be. People have often commented on his gift for dialogue. Now I have to admit that he has a knack for dialogue, perhaps even a gift. However, it doesn’t suit the comics medium. Bendis seems enamored with jis own ability to write ‘witty’ lines at the expense of the flow of the medium in which he is writing. His writing reminds me very much of Gilmore Girls where the back and forth would have the Flash struggling to keep pace. In the case of NA and Ult. Spidey this just doesn’t work, particularly in the case of the first. In particular, the Avengers are just not a group that lend themselves to such a style of dialogue and even when Bendis revamped the team so that he could play with his favourite toys it made little sense given the characters he was using. Oh yes, it may be ‘clever’... but I have to question the intelligence of making characters ‘clever’ just to show off. Frankly, the book is an indulgent mess that makes a mockery of a franchise with a long and successful history. While I haven’t read Daredevil, which is supposedly Bendis’ mainstream opus, I just can’t find the energy to give it a shot based on the mind-bogglingly boring experience of the other two titles. So it’s a thumbs down to Bendis.

Mark Millar
I’ve read a decent chunk of Millar work over the past few years. From his follow-up to Ellis’ Authority to the recent Civil War. When Millar has worked for me has been when the gloves are off. The Authority, The Ultimates and even his Wolverine run. I just didn’t care anymore. Millar likes to use the tried and true Tarantino method of tough guys shocking for shocks sake. And quite often, it works. When his hands are tied however (be they by editorial demands or just by the brand of the franchise he’s working on) it just tends to come off as trying very hard to be edgy. This was obvious in his Spider-man run and the Civil War series, which started off promisingly and by the time the final issue came around I was so bored that I didn’t even bother buying it. His Ultimate X-men I thought was fine though really wasn’t all that different from reading a regular 616 X-book. Millar does giant, over-the-top dumb fun. And he’s quite exceptional at it. His books are the equivalent of Summer event movies though I would on balance put them into the category of the good Summer event films (as opposed to the poor ones like the War of the Worlds remake).

Ed Brubaker
I’m including Brubaker here even though I haven’t read extensively of his library. The two biggest things besides some Bat-books back in the day are the X-men : Deadly Genesis mini and his run on Captain America. I’ve heard very good things about Gotham Central and his Catwoman but can’t comment on them from firsthand experience. Deadly Genesis? A mess that sought desperately to prove itself as important but was really just one giant ret-con that added little except further complication to the X-mythos. I don’t blame Brubaker for this one as it was obviously an editorially driven story that was handed to him when he became Marvel exclusive rather than an idea he himself came up with and pitched. Captain America, and here’s where I move into territory I never thought I’d be in, is exceptional. I’ve read the first 20 issues in trade and was just enthralled by the political intrigue and the handling of a large cast with an even longer history. Brubaker’s ability here to establish personalities and motivations in the midst of solid action has actually made me want to read a Captain America comic, something I thought would never ever ever happen to me in a million years. Given the reactions to his runs on Bats, Cats, Sleeper and Cap it would appear that Brubaker has a much firmer grasp of solo titles with large supporting casts than of team books. So Brubaker gets a very strong nod for doing the impossible – making me like Captain America.

Geoff Johns
From JSA to the Flash to Infinite Crisis and 52, Geoff Johns has become the go-to man at DC. Need a character revamped? A continuity nightmare made intelligible? Just shine the Johns-signal into the night and 6 months later you have a title people are prepared to read. This is not to say he’s perfect. Infinite Crisis just didn’t make it to the finish line after a very strong first three issues. It was also marred by guest artists but that hardly seems Johns’ fault. The work I’ve enjoyed most by him is his run on the Flash which showed long-term strategic planning, my favourite thing in any serialised story (whether that’s comics or tv). He managed to play with readers’ expectations and throw in genuine surprises when needed or alternatively build up a sense of foreboding in the case of others (I’m thinking Zoom here). He’s currently crafting the Sinestro Corps storyline in Green Lantern which I will be getting as soon as they trade it up for me. One of the things I also like is the vague rumour that he really likes the character of Dick Grayson. I would actually start reading that title again if Johns started writing it. Hopefully he would have the sense to put Dick and Babs in their rightful place – together.