mercurymac

July 12, 2012 7:13 pm @glennsim - I really agree with this. The idea that there are no good stories left for older characters is just not right in my opinion. I don't think Snyder and Morrison have to bend over backwards for this - they work on characters they are invested in, and they just use their ingenuity and imagination to take them in new places. I have to say that often the majors get it both barrels from folk (myself included) that the plots are kind of lacking imagination. But I think a lot of that's to do with the writers out there. There are many more new writers out there who can just keep things ticking over than there are writers with the personality, imagination and charisma to pull off exciting and interesting experimental new storylines that retain the integrity of the characters but explore how they react in new and interesting ways. I've got a bunch of ideas for the X-Men that would move the characters on significantly and explore their world more, and I know a load of other creators who have ideas for doing the same with Batman, Superman and others. Fingers crossed some day we get the opportunity to pitch these ideas and the folk who are listening are willing to risk their "property" for something that will not only insure the longevity of the characters, but also make them vital and interesting. I'm sure there are many, many folk out there with similar plans in their heads; I just hope they push for them instead of giving in to mediocrity in the hope of getting work. All that said, KenOchalek, I agree about giving characters a rest sometimes. And my ideas for the X-Men involve a large number of retirements, redundancies and sackings... :)

July 9, 2012 12:43 pm I'm honestly not sure what comments your directly relating to, but I can tell you why I'm not only not excited, but also thoroughly put off by Marvel NOW. As a long time X-Men fan, I stuck with the books during some really ropey periods, but for me, Grant Morrison's run consolidated the ongoing saga, and modernised the mutant world. The idea that mutants were the future was thrilling at a time when Marvel was getting increasingly more "real world". He opened up the game for future writers, and it wasn't just a smack in the face to Morrison, but also to me and thousands of other readers when they started undoing his work. The last however many years since Bendis destroyed the mutant race has been one long interminable ride to get us back to square one - have Hope do what she was designed to do, bring back the mutants, and let the books exist in their own universe. Uncanny X-Force has shown how good the mutant books can be when they're not crossing over all the time. Recently "relaunching" with Uncanny X-men #1 and Wolverine and the X-Men, Marvel seemed to be walking a fine tightrope between the victim race, and the pop tropes of 70s X-Men as well as New X-Men. Aaron and Gillen have been doing a fantastic job of making them legitimately cool and interesting again, and part of that has been about picking up threads left by Morrison. It's plain to see those two plus Remender were fans of that run. Then comes AvX to put a brick wall in the face of progress, but even that still has unexpected potential to go somewhere interesting. But whatever happens, this is like watching a long running TV show. There are threads that had momentum here: Hope was born to save the mutant race, and in doing so, we'd finally get to go back and explore how humanity feels knowing that its days are once again numbered. The infinite possibilities for amazing, cool X-Men comics set in a world where they at the top of the pecking order and are responsible not for saving their own asses but for helping to make an orderly, humane transition from one species to another are incredible. But only if it reverts back to where I, and a lot of other long term fans, expect it to be, which I know sounds selfish and self centred, but isn't meant that way. The characters themselves have been stretched in other directions, and from the internet chatter, it seems a lot of people have noticed - Cyclops has almost been changed *too* much in some cases. But whatever: the Marvel NOW thing is that after teasing us with AvX for ages, and saying it's going to be the culmination of a story that started with a brutal act of violence on a world a lot of us loved reading about (Decimation), it looks like before the dust has even settled, Marvel has decided that the X-Men universe as its own entity no longer exists. I don't want to read what Rogue has to say to Thor - the context in which these characters were created is very different - the rules of their worlds are *not* the same. It's taking the worst aspects of big crossover events, and turning them into actual books. And for me, that's the biggest problem. Comics have always been produced to make money, sure, but readers have invested in them because they've put a lot of time into them. Marvel has never done the reboot thing, so the X-Men "story" has effectively been unbroken. Now they're mashing two worlds together and they're doing it simply for the sake of profit. Where are the real writers, the ones who care about the internal consistency of the books they're writing? It's the editors and publishers who have the say now - Uncanny Avengers is the kind of thing thought up in a board room, not at a single writer's desk. And the All New X-Men is such an unbelievably crass title it's not real... We're so backward looking and afraid of the future that we're going to make a brand new book about the old X-Men in the modern world? I've got no problem with trying new things. I've got no problem with trying to find ways to reach new audiences. But if you or Marvel think that these initiatives are going to reach new readers, you're very wrong. New readers want a consistent world, with good, solid storytelling and implicate rules that can be bent and tested but not broken freely, with good characterisation that makes them care about the stories. I know this because I've spoken to a lot of non-comic readers, and I know what puts them off. And a know a lot of your other readers will have too. Mashing together two previously massive and convoluted titles into one is *not* going to make it easier for new readers. It's about (as it has been since the late 90s) finding ways to maximum the sales from their existing readership. I don't read the Avengers and never have (apart from a few trades here and there) because I don't find it compelling enough, and I'm sure there's loads of folk who feel the opposite. Marvel are trying to cross sell their two biggest lines to the opposite readers in an attempt to get us to spend more money. End of. I realise this is a long comment, and I know there'll be folk out there who think I'm just one of those moaning fanboys, but let me just say this. I've spent a LOT of money on X-books over the years. I've stuck with them through crappy writers and stories, even worse artists, event crossovers that I had to sit out until they were done, all kinds. And I'm not the kind of guy who'll say: screw you Marvel, I'm not buying it! without even having read it. I'm simply expressing my real fear of the future of these books as they become less and less about plot and character and more and more about moving things around because it seems mathematically sound to do so. I *will* read some of these titles, but not others. I'll watch as some of my new favourite creators who were just getting into their rhythm leave for other books, and I'll "hope" that something of the magic of the X-Men manages to shine through this convoluted changeover. But I seriously doubt it, and I know a LOT of other folk out there feel the same way.