Avengers Disemboweled Did It For Me
After reading the much discussed Avengers Disemboweled, I realized that I truly could not stomach Brian Michael Bendis' storytelling. I realized that months ago (obviously), but as the months have passed, it appears very few folks are as displeased with Bendis's work as I am.
I've been reading comics since 1977, and I've read a substantial number of comics in that time. I've read a great deal of spectacular comics, as well as some absolute junk. My first exposure to Bendis was Powers. And for the first few issues, I was engaged. But soon he began to chase his own storytelling tail...and I became bored. Bendis has bored me ever since.
My opinion is in the minority, as sales show.
So, I'm just wondering for all the Bendis fans out there. Why do you like his work so much? Do me a favor, tell TGC in a critical manner--please don't build up Bendis' work by tearing other storytellers down. Let the commenting commence.
posted by Anonymous @ 11:38 PM
3 Comments:
I don't know if I'm really your desired Bendis fan, but I did buy Ultimate Spidey for a while and I'm currently buying New Avengers and House of M. What I like about Bendis? Certainly not his dialogue and his pacing. But the man has a flair for making characters relatable. I've never cared for Iron Man/Tony Stark before, but in New Avengers, and even in the flawed Disassembled, he made me care. He made Tony a hero, but one who has this huge sense of entitlement and control over the Avengers. He cares deeply about the team, but he also feels like he calls the shots because he's ponying up the cash.
Another aspect of Bendis that I enjoy is the feeling that "all bets are off." Maybe that makes some people see him as killhappy, taking out the Vision, Hawkeye and Ant-Man in one story, but I feel like he presents the dangers that these people should have to deal with.
Bendis has written some damn fine comics and some horrible comics. He's stetched thin, enough so that what may have been stylistic ticks have come to be accepted as shortcuts. I maintain that he, deep down, doesn't understand what the average Marvel fan wants from a mainline Marvel book, and that this is going to cost the company in a big way as they loose faith. But, I like Powers, loved Alias, still enjoy Daredevil (but will probably not be sorry to see his run end). He is capable of really good stuff, but he doesn't have a clue how to write something like "Avengers".
But "Fortune & Glory" was fantastic.
He's writes beautifully slow-burning plots which burst into life when you least expect them. He gets inside the head of characters you don't care about and makes you like them (Cage, Spider-Woman). His dialogue is great. When he tries, he's also extremely funny.
(Disassembled was probably not his finest hour, though)
Post a Comment
<< Home