wonderfly
01-08-2003, 02:07 PM
Pardon me while I rant for one minute:
I just got back from visiting some old friends in another state. They use to be into Marvel Comics, (like me) big time in our younger years. They've stopped reading comics and have moved onto other hobbies, (mostly anime and roleplaying games, which is the other stuff I like :D ). Since I'm still into comics, I inform them of the latest going on's in the Marvel universe everytime I go out there.
Anyway, the last time I was out there, (just a week ago) I told them of some of Marvel's current events. I told one friend that Daredevil's secret identity has been spilled to the press, and so everyone knows who DD is. I then informed him that Captain American and Iron Man have revealed their secret identities to the world as well. He rolled his eyes and said, "Why can't Marvel write anything good anymore?"
That's when I realized something. I just described what I concidered two of the best events in Marvel comics last year, (CAP and DD's identities being revealed, both stories I enjoyed). Yet, everytime I tell these guys the latest going on's in the Marvel Universe, they always consider it a sign of how corrupt Marvel is, and how they're letting their characters fall into disgrace.
They stopped collecting comics back in the early to mid 90's, when special foil covers and overhyped comics nearly drove the comic companies into extinction, (Marvel did declare bankruptcy after all). Granted, this period was an 'age of despair' to many comic fans, but I think, as far as Marvel is concerned, they started shaping up when Marvel did Heroes Return in late '97, and Marvel brought in such writers as Busiek, Waid, and Jenkins. Since then, Marvel has produced some faboulous stories for the readers to enjoy, stuff that has brought Marvel into entirely new directions!
Do you know anyone like my friends? A former fan of Marvel, or DC, that, no matter how much a comic company changes, will always consider the stories to be not as good as they used to be? Or are you like this?
My friends, you see, well...their favorite corner of the MU was the Xmen corner of the universe, (as it was to most fans in the early 90's). But when Marvel fired Claremont, they considered it the end of times, (and granted, much of what the post Claremont writers have wrote soon after Claremont left did suck...) but I think the X universe has been rebuilding itself, starting in 1999, when Alan Davis took over for a while.
When I told my friend a couple years back that Marvel was letting Claremont write the X Titles again, he said, "I bet the first thing he does it completely wipe out anything Nicienza and Scott Lobdell did". But I remember reading Claremont say in a interview that he wanted to go in entirely new directions with his second run on the title...he didn't want to live in the past, (or wipe out anything that's come before him). And when a year later I told my friend that Claremont's left the title again, he said, "what did Marvel not like about him this time?" And I told him that Claremont's still on good terms with Marvel, it's just that I think it was time for Claremont to move on, and I think even Claremont realized this! (Now he's writing Xtreme Xmen, so all Claremont fans can get their dose of Claremont, while the rest of the Xmen fans can move on with the universe).
I for one read 3 or 4 issues of Claremont's run, and couldn't figure out what the hell was going on! No matter how good he once was, his time is passed, people!
On an interesting sidenote, I once read that Alex Ross, the painter God of comics, has said in interviews that for him, the Marvel Universe ended with the Death of Gwen Stacy in the 70's. He's always had a distaste in his mouth for Marvel ever since then, (and he was probably like the typical fan at that age back in the 70's). That's why most of his time has been given to DC since he and Kurt Busiek did the "Marvels" miniseries back in the early 90's. That's the series which made him popular mind you. But I read that the reason Busiek and Ross decided the final part of that miniseries needed to end with the time period of the "Death of Gwen Stacy" was because for Ross, that's when the Marvel Universe ended, in his eyes. Similar to my friends growing disgusted with Marvel...Do you know anyone like this?
I just got back from visiting some old friends in another state. They use to be into Marvel Comics, (like me) big time in our younger years. They've stopped reading comics and have moved onto other hobbies, (mostly anime and roleplaying games, which is the other stuff I like :D ). Since I'm still into comics, I inform them of the latest going on's in the Marvel universe everytime I go out there.
Anyway, the last time I was out there, (just a week ago) I told them of some of Marvel's current events. I told one friend that Daredevil's secret identity has been spilled to the press, and so everyone knows who DD is. I then informed him that Captain American and Iron Man have revealed their secret identities to the world as well. He rolled his eyes and said, "Why can't Marvel write anything good anymore?"
That's when I realized something. I just described what I concidered two of the best events in Marvel comics last year, (CAP and DD's identities being revealed, both stories I enjoyed). Yet, everytime I tell these guys the latest going on's in the Marvel Universe, they always consider it a sign of how corrupt Marvel is, and how they're letting their characters fall into disgrace.
They stopped collecting comics back in the early to mid 90's, when special foil covers and overhyped comics nearly drove the comic companies into extinction, (Marvel did declare bankruptcy after all). Granted, this period was an 'age of despair' to many comic fans, but I think, as far as Marvel is concerned, they started shaping up when Marvel did Heroes Return in late '97, and Marvel brought in such writers as Busiek, Waid, and Jenkins. Since then, Marvel has produced some faboulous stories for the readers to enjoy, stuff that has brought Marvel into entirely new directions!
Do you know anyone like my friends? A former fan of Marvel, or DC, that, no matter how much a comic company changes, will always consider the stories to be not as good as they used to be? Or are you like this?
My friends, you see, well...their favorite corner of the MU was the Xmen corner of the universe, (as it was to most fans in the early 90's). But when Marvel fired Claremont, they considered it the end of times, (and granted, much of what the post Claremont writers have wrote soon after Claremont left did suck...) but I think the X universe has been rebuilding itself, starting in 1999, when Alan Davis took over for a while.
When I told my friend a couple years back that Marvel was letting Claremont write the X Titles again, he said, "I bet the first thing he does it completely wipe out anything Nicienza and Scott Lobdell did". But I remember reading Claremont say in a interview that he wanted to go in entirely new directions with his second run on the title...he didn't want to live in the past, (or wipe out anything that's come before him). And when a year later I told my friend that Claremont's left the title again, he said, "what did Marvel not like about him this time?" And I told him that Claremont's still on good terms with Marvel, it's just that I think it was time for Claremont to move on, and I think even Claremont realized this! (Now he's writing Xtreme Xmen, so all Claremont fans can get their dose of Claremont, while the rest of the Xmen fans can move on with the universe).
I for one read 3 or 4 issues of Claremont's run, and couldn't figure out what the hell was going on! No matter how good he once was, his time is passed, people!
On an interesting sidenote, I once read that Alex Ross, the painter God of comics, has said in interviews that for him, the Marvel Universe ended with the Death of Gwen Stacy in the 70's. He's always had a distaste in his mouth for Marvel ever since then, (and he was probably like the typical fan at that age back in the 70's). That's why most of his time has been given to DC since he and Kurt Busiek did the "Marvels" miniseries back in the early 90's. That's the series which made him popular mind you. But I read that the reason Busiek and Ross decided the final part of that miniseries needed to end with the time period of the "Death of Gwen Stacy" was because for Ross, that's when the Marvel Universe ended, in his eyes. Similar to my friends growing disgusted with Marvel...Do you know anyone like this?