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So it’s
been a few weeks since I’ve written something about
raging. I’ve been batting around ideas about the
Spider-man musical (which I will definitely talk about
in length fairly soon), the British invasion of
superhero movies (been done to death), Borders Books
(not sure what to say other than who didn’t see that
coming), and digital only comics.
But as
I was working out those ideas in depth, one thing kept
coming back up to the top. Something that bothers me
immensely. Something that each and every comic book fan
does. All the time. In many different ways and in many
different places.
The
Cult of Personality affects each and every one of us, in
many different ways.
Let’s
drop a name out there at random. Alan Moore. That’s not
really random but it explains, exactly, what I’m talking
about.
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There are
millions of people, the world over, who know
his name, his comics, his personality, and
everything about the man. Then there are
people in the ether who act like comic fans
each and every time a new movie comes out
who know his name and only that.
I’m not saying
he’s what is wrong with comics, but the
argument could be extended that he is. Alan
Moore, arguably, created some of the best
known comics outside of the standard
Superman, Batman, X-Men, Spider-man comics.
He did Watchmen, V for Vendetta, League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen, Swamp Thing, he did
some Superman writing and some Green Lantern
writing.
His personality
and the love of Alan Moore is what I’m
talking about when I mention the cult of
personality.
There are people
all over the world who think every word he
has ever written is pure gold. Even though
he hasn’t written something spectacular or
all that interesting since Promethea. In my
opinion. Remember those words as you read
the rest of this article.
There are people
who will buy everything he writes, in
varying degrees, no matter how interesting
or how much money it may cost. |
They
say he’s the best and Grant Morrison is just riding his
coattails.
Then
there are those people who say Grant Morrison is the
best thing to ever happen to comics. He’s written
Invisibles, Doom Patrol, X-Men, Superman, Batman, and
countless others. He’s written for almost all of the
major comic companies and he makes a lot of money at
what he does.
He’s a
comic book rockstar. And people will read every single
word he writes and think it’s solid gold.
In
spite of the fact that he’s the reason this whole Raging
blog started. His Batman RIP was pure crap. His Final
Crisis made no sense. His Filth was exactly what the
title suggested. He’s a liar and a baby and a big
egomaniac growing daily to almost fit alongside the John
Byrnes of the world.
He is
not that great. By no means am I saying I’m better or so
and so is better, but there are numerous comic writers
out there who write enjoyable, fun, exciting comics that
pick you up as a reader and make you happy to be reading
comics. They remind you, every day, why you read comics.
They
don’t talk down to you or make you feel stupid for your
not having a PhD in psychology or a doctorate in
physics.
Those
writers and artists are the ones I follow. In depth.
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I don’t follow
Geoff Johns because everything he writes
starts with pretty great ideas (similar to
Grant Morrison) but fails in the execution,
going nowhere fast. Same with Brian Michael
Bendis (who commands respect with his Mamet-esque
dialogue but loses people when it comes to
execution or action sequences, though he has
gotten immensely better). Same with Fraction
(only on his major Marvel books, give me
Casanova any day of the week and I’ll love
every minute of it or his Iron Man from time
to time). Same with
Claremont. Same with Byrne.
Same with so many others.
They don’t all
follow the lack of execution model, but
people like Claremont and Byrne lose you in
their own ego. Their own need for attention
is what causes them to fail at making
enjoyable comics these days. They haven’t
grown with the medium but have stagnated.
And as much as I love Stan Lee, the showman,
his writing is the exact same. |
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Take a
look back at his Just Imagine line from
DC
and read it. His issues look back at the old days so
starkly that I lost interest in them quickly because I
couldn’t take the 60s and 70s comic style of writing
anymore.
I’d
grown up as a reader, as did most others.
But
they sold like hotcakes because his name was all over
it.
Stan
Lee invented the comic book Cult of Personality. And
everyone, no matter who you are, allows that one to
stand side by side with whoever. Stan Lee transcends
this model in the fact that he’s Stan Lee. He’s not an
egomaniac, he’s a god. He and Kirby and Ditko and Joe
Kubert and John Romita Sr and all the originators of
Marvel Comics and Julius Schwartz and Siegel and Shuster
and Kane and Finger and Marston and all the originators
of DC. They are on the pedestal because that is where
they belong.
As much
as you might love Grant Morrison, he shouldn’t be
alongside these pillars of comicdom. He doesn’t hold a
candle to Kirby or Lee. He couldn’t hold his own against
Bill Finger.
So now
you’re asking yourself, okay, I said everyone has their
own pillars. Their own cult of personality. I do too.
I’m no better than anyone else in the world. I have
people that I give a pass to almost all the time (not
always though).
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Warren Ellis. He
gets a pass forever because of Planetary and
Nextwave. He’s one of my pillars because
those books were both immensely enjoyable
because of the execution, humor, ideas
presented, and artwork. I love everything
about those two books and I’ll give Ellis a
chance almost always. Check out Fell. That
book bucks tradition. I just wish it still
came out.
Jeff Smith and
Mike Allred. I put these two together
because they basically are part of the holy
trinity in my eyes. Creators of Bone,
Madman, and Rasl, these guys have given me
so much enjoyment throughout my childhood,
teendom, and now adulthood, I can’t even in
the slightest begin to thank them. Having
re-read every issue of Bone and Madman about
15 times each, and Rasl being my current
favorite ongoing, these guys get it. They
get that comics should be fun. They get that
comics should just be pure bombastic
adventure and should present ideas about
life and death that they might not
otherwise. Solid gold. |
Jai
Nitz. He gets a pass because he’s a friend, and like
everyone else on here, relationships count. But not only
that, he has wild ideas and a huge imagination and he
just gets it. His comics make me laugh and think and
give the right amount of action and drama and comedy and
split everything right down the middle. His characters
feel real at all times and never fake. That’s why he
gets a pass.
Chris
Samnee. He’s a golden art god. Seriously. He can draw
anything and the page comes alive.
Jason
Aaron. Another guy who I would quietly call a
friend/acquaintance, but he gets a pass because of the
sheer awesomeness of his Ghost Rider and Scalped runs.
I’ll check anything out by this guy, any time.
Peter
David. He’s given me some of my favorite superhero
comics of all time. His run on Hulk and his ongoing run
on X-Factor have provided me with hours upon hours upon
days upon weeks upon years of enjoyment. Incredible Hulk
466 is why he will always get a pass. And his ability to
take a one-note character from House of M and make her
into one of the most interesting characters in a team
book filled with interesting characters, he’s just an
immense talent. No questions asked.
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There are so
many more and unfortunately I can’t think of
them right now, but they’ll come to me,
almost certainly, upon publication of this
article. Who are the people you follow no
matter what? Do you place them on a pedestal
and not care what they’ve done? Do you just
purely enjoy their work and nothing they do
or say or create would make you change your
mind?
It’s what we do
with sports, action stars, movie stars, and
musicians. And it’s why the comic world
hurts when people like Dwayne McDuffie, who
we all forget from time to time, was such a
talent that deserved more respect and
accolades. I can honestly say that I’ve only
purchased and owned a small handful of his
comics, but his work in the DC Animated
universe is just superb. Justice League
Unlimited is one of the few cartoons, ever
created, that holds a candle to the original
Batman animated series from the 1990s, and
that all rests squarely on his firm
shoulders.
My thought about
writing this article is this. In this
digital age, go out of your way, either on
Facebook or on blogs or elsewhere and make
your voice heard. Let your favorite creators
know how much they mean to you. Don’t stalk
them and treat them like you own them, but
let them know how important their comics
have been to your life. Let them know that
they mean the world to you and that if they
passed tomorrow, it would be devastating not
just to their family and friends, but to the
audience who loves their work so much. |
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I
missed my opportunity to say so to Dwayne McDuffie and
Mike Wieringo.
But I
will never miss the opportunity again. |
