Comicky Comments

When I started writing about comics, six or so years ago, I really wrote a lot about whatever was going on. What was solicited in Previews, what deals were announced on Newsarama or Comic Book Resources and what I felt about them, etc. Nowadays I don't do that much because I don't pay that much attention to that kind of thing. I went to Newsarama a couple weeks ago to catch up on their coverage of CCI-San Diego, and found I could hardly stand it--the "news," not the writing. I look at the plan to crank out Amazing Spider-Man on a weekly basis with a succession of creative teams as a bad idea. ASM, as my friend Alan reminds me, is the flagship title for Marvel, and it really should be done by one strong creative team, not a bunch of okay guys doing one meaningless story after another. Who knows, there may be a good issue or two to come out of it, but my gut tells me the hit ratio will be low and ASM fans will find they're disappointed.

I'm also not terribly excited by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch apparently taking on the regular Marvel Universe Fantastic Four. And no, FF is not Marvel's flagship and hasn't been since Lee/Kirby, but it's got a rich history. And I'm fine with this team--they're both very talented--but it just seems like one of those things where you already know what you're gonna get, you know? Didn't Millar already write an FF book a couple years ago, the Ultimate one? So what is the appeal here, that he gets to scratch an itch that was probably already pretty well scratched, but in a more restrictive environment? I'm not so sure what Hitch gets out of it, either. Hopefully he finds a way to stretch his creative muscles while still having to draw all those Kirby designs like Galactus and Annihilus. We'll see.

I'm not naive and don't begrudge any of the top creators going where the money is, but it just seems like comics readers are actually kind of missing out with these guys doing the same safe, predictable franchise products. There are very few writers out there that are apparently able to breathe life into concepts tht aren't all that old, like Wildstorm properties, so what do we really expect from this or that guy trying Superman or Captain America or X-Men or the FF? I suppose I sound like all of my 38 years, except that I'm not pining for the old days at all. Far from it. I'd be happy if there were no more FF or Cap or Superman stories told again. We've got enough, thank you. But because we're so hung up on the familiar and the ongoing, we've got a sticky, hairy, greasy clog of old ideas that need to be Drano'd to make room for more new stuff to flow through. To take nothing away from accomplishments like Brubaker's and Phillips' CRIMINAL, but there should be eight or ten series just as good on the stands at any time, and there just aren't.