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SEQUENTIAL CULTURE #11 10 June 03 |
The State of American Comics Address, 2003 |
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JULIAN DARIUS |
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Things are, in many ways, quite good in
American comics. Sales stink, but the
quality of the average comic book is really rather high. It may seem, in this climate, a bit
spoiled to complain that, while the average book seems much improved, there
isn’t a great deal of the truly great -- but that’s exactly, in general, what
I’m going to do. Let’s look, in this third year of my
annual address, company by company, creator by creator. What happened of note? Where are we now? And where might -- or should -- we be
going? Marvel |
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Marvel should
be praised for its MAX imprint, the first time Marvel has published mature
readers comics since the demise of its Epic line that thrived in the 1980s. |
Marvel has been one of the big winners of
2002. Its revitalization of its entire
line has been a major success, and it has attracted media attention with
projects such as Truth, the mini-series that gave us a black Captain
America. Marvel should be praised for
its MAX imprint, the first time Marvel has published mature readers comics
since the demise of its Epic line that thrived in the 1980s; MAX represents a
major contribution to the field by its biggest publisher. Attention is also due to Marvel’s new
policy of publishing additional issues several times a year, beginning to break
the old-fashioned policy of monthly books that was a response to different
market -- and, more importantly, for its continued pursuit of a vigorous
(though not without a few complications) campaign trade paperbacks and
glorious hardcovers. |
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Marvel is still plagued by only hitting the above average
level: while a greater percentage of
its books are readable probably than at any other point in its history, few
of these books reach the level of the truly fantastic. |
On the other hand, the X-Men franchise
still suffers, despite the quality of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men and
the more autonomous and thus more satisfactory X-Force, which became X-Statix. The Spider-Man line has fared worse,
artistically speaking: for every able
Tangled Web story, we have often embarrassing scripts by J. Michael
Straczynski praised as somehow novel.
The “U-Decide” event that launched the new Captain Marvel
series, the Marville mini-series, and the Ultimate Adventures
mini-series was, at best, a mixed bag.
In general, Marvel is still plagued by only hitting the above average
level, however much that represents an improvement: while a greater percentage of its books are readable probably
than at any other point in its history, few of these books reach the level of
the truly fantastic. This is probably
Marvel’s biggest long-term challenge:
producing enough work of such caliber that this era of Marvel Comics
can be remembered as mid-to-late 1980s DC. Of Marvel’s books, Daredevil is
probably its best. Brian Michael Bendis’s
writing and Alex Maleev’s masterful art have consistently propelled the book
into the level of the fantastic (outside of the three-issue arc with a
fill-in artist). The Ultimates
has more heat, and has also reached the same level in its writing and art,
but its chronic lateness has damaged its impact; in the long run, however, it
may have the greater chance of being remembered as a masterwork. DC |
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Surely some Marvel-like revitalization, with new talent and
energy, is in order for the DC line in general. |
DC’s mainstream books received little
artistic attention in 2002 -- and for good reason. Gone are the days of Morrison’s JLA. Jeph Loeb’s
enjoyable work on Superman -- problematically mixed with other, less
successful Superman titles -- has ended after great contributions, such as
the election of Lex Luthor as U.S. President, however mixed-up was Our
Worlds at War. Jeph Loeb and Jim
Lee on Batman have received great sales and attention, but the quality
of the work is not that of Batman:
The Long Halloween. Phil
Jimenez’s Wonder Woman wrapped at the beginning of 2003, a run of
great artistic merit with many good ideas and terrible pacing problems that
keep it from attaining the status of truly great, however good. Surely some Marvel-like revitalization,
with new talent and energy, is in order for the DC line in general. Wildstorm is to be commended for its Eye
of the Storm imprint, and for creating more mature readers content, although
shifting its entire line in this direction may be questionable. Its content is consistently worthwhile,
even in the wake of the train wreck that The Authority became. Its Homage imprint, while often
lackluster, is important for spotlighting creator-owned comics. |
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As Vertigo reaches its tenth anniversary in January 2003, the
creator-driven, avant-garde work that characterized its early years is still
somewhat absent. |
Vertigo in 2002 saw the end of Transmetropolitan’s
five-year run, the conclusion of a new large work of considerable fun and
importance. Works like 100 Bullets
continue, while the addition of Fables and Y: The Last Man have helped the line
financially and critically, delivering consistently above-average, if not
always excellent, work. As Vertigo
reaches its tenth anniversary in January 2003, the creator-driven,
avant-garde work that characterized its early years is still somewhat
absent. Two works of 2002, however,
offer returns to form. Vertigo
Pop! London, scripted by Peter Milligan with art (mostly) by Philip Bond,
a four-issue mini-series launched in late 2002, was wonderful, irreverent,
and truly smart fun. The Filth,
a 13-issue mini-series written by Grant Morrison with art by Chris Weston and
Gary Erskine, has been not only brilliant but absolutely avant-garde in
tradition of the best of Vertigo. Other Publishers |
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Dreamwave in 2002 stunned the comics world by making Transformers
the #1 comic book, despite being published by an independet publisher. On the other hand, CrossGen is increasingly
a vital force in the comics business, producing good results by thinking
outside of the box. |
Dreamwave in 2002 stunned the comics world
by making Transformers the #1 comic book, despite being published by
an independent publisher. The Transformers
franchise is alive and well, above average is not absolutely excellent,
despite the less satisfying Armada series that satisfies Hasbro by
tying into the present toy line.
Although many trash Transformers for being childish, it is both
worthwhile and important in terms of breaking the duopoly of Marvel and
DC. Remember how Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles did the same, leading to a slew of black-and-white comics? CrossGen is also noted for breaking the
duopoly, gaining more and more market share.
While CrossGen has attracted many able creators, its books are
universally disappointing and mediocre.
On the other hand, CrossGen is also praiseworthy for breaking the mold
of the production of comics, housing its creators together in Florida, paying
them a salary with benefits, adding a creator-owned imprint, and, probably
most importantly, putting its comics online as part of a subscription service
and creating book-length anthologies.
Even if CrossGen’s creative output is disappointing, it is increasingly
a vital force in the comics business, producing good results by thinking
outside of the box. Dark Horse Comics, on the other hand,
seems to be a sinking ship, despite its many wonderful and really excellent
publications by Matt Wagner, Mike Mignola, and P. Craig Russell -- as well as
its translation of Lone Wolf and Cub. Creators |
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Many joke that Bendis seems to write every Marvel title. If that were the case, the average Marvel
book would be substantially improved. |
One of the biggest winners in 2002 has
been Brian Michael Bendis, whose cult has grown by leaps and bounds. Many joke that Bendis seems to write every
Marvel title. If that were the case,
the average Marvel book would be substantially improved. In 2002, Bendis wrote Daredevil for
Marvel Knights, Alias for Marvel’s MAX line, and Ultimate
Spider-Man for Marvel’s Ultimate universe, plus his creator owned Powers
for Image. Of these, Daredevil
is by far the best, turning super-heroes into a remarkably well-paced story
about people in new and convincing ways.
Bendis’s other titles are capable, but not without problems: his Ultimate Spider-Man is
certainly the worst, at best a slicker, less confused version of conventional
super-hero comics, although that is his best-selling title. While Bendis’s cult is not entirely
undeserved, comparing Bendis to the likes of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant
Morrison, and Peter Milligan is presently unwarranted. Bendis has yet to create a Watchmen,
a From Hell, a Sandman, or an Invisibles. But he’s not a flash in the pan
either. He’s worth watching, though
overrated, and cannot go unnoticed in talking about the comics of 2002. |
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Let’s hope Warren Ellis can recapture
the magic of 1999 and further solidify his status as a major comics writer. |
Warren Ellis, who in 1999 ascended into
the pantheon of crucially important comics writers only to subsequently all
but disappear, began his return in late 2002 with Global Frequency and
Mek, two mini-series. They
have been worthwhile but disappointing.
His more avant-garde work for Avatar has been more successful, if only
because it has more of a classically Ellis edge to it. More Ellis self-contained mini-series are
planned in 2003, as well as the return of his long-dormant and much-lauded Planetary
series. Let’s hope he can recapture
the magic of 1999 and further solidify his status as a major comics writer of
the great caliber. Alan Moore, undoubtedly a writer of the
finest caliber, has been producing genre stories for America’s Best Comics,
an imprint of Wildstorm. Promethea
is of particular note, as it in 2002 nearly completed a masterful two-year,
13-issue storyline dissecting magical reality -- though readers were less
than thrilled. His sequel to League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen has been slower than the first in terms of its
plot, but has not failed to please.
Most sadly, however, his time seems to be spent of these more simple,
though not necessarily simplistic, stories rather than, say, finishing Big
Numbers or creating more recitations along the lines of The Birth Caul
(which Eddie Campbell could continue to adapt for comics and which, if
collected together, would represent a major comics work). The other tragedy is that his work is not
selling. Neil Gaiman spent another year away from
comics, his promised Marvel mini-series now scheduled for 2003 instead of
2002. Conclusion |
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Read every Sequential Culture on
Sequart.com! Read about the author on our About page. Julian Darius can be reached at julian@sequart.com. Discuss this column online on Sequart.com’s messageboards. |
In sum, 2002 has been something of a
disappointing year -- not because there was not a lot that was good --
there’s more of that than ever before -- but because there was not a lot that
was truly great. The State of American Comics Address: (you are reading) 2003 |
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