I dig where you're coming from; it sucks when people are dismissive of something you love. I get why you made the accusation.
Yeah, I love comics. I do repent of "silliness", which was at best an inaccurate placeholder word hinting at a kind of childhood playfulness which resonates throughout the genre. These are fantasies, maybe dark and adult, but still with that element in them. Even Arkham Asylum by Morrison and McKean (undeniably not silly) still holds some of that fantasy element which speaks to the child in us all - even if that child grew up a bit. So, I thank you for putting my feet to the fire and getting me to dig a little deeper for something more accurate to what I was trying to say. I'm still not sure I'm saying it correctly.
I think Superman has more potential as a character than most people have used him for. I haven't read All-Star Superman yet, although I'd love to (can you tell I dig Grant Morrison's stuff?), but in the movies, he's not been fully-utilised. Maybe with Reeves.
What I'd love them to do is present a brutal, modern world with shifty morality, corrupt politicians, no good guys or bad guys, just bleak and complex and horrible. Then take Boyscout Superman and put him in the middle of that. And I don't want it a send-up, like he comes along with some outdated morality and smiles and his teeth gleam and everybody doesn't get this walking anachronism, I want him infused into it and make people start to realise that there is such a thing as hope. Maybe even run the whole thing from Lois Lane's perspective. They should make it about Lois working as a journalist to Woodward & Bernstein Lex Luthor's presidency (and this movie could spare me the Trump references), and she's obsessed with the Superman element because he doesn't make sense in her cynical world, but he is giving her hope and he is good and fighting for right. Could be neat. Juxtapose Supes against that, make it fun.
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AnubisRaydeen (7897)
3 years ago
I'd totally watch your Superman movie. The only Superman stories I have enjoyed were by John Byrne and Alan Moore. However, since I don't much like him, there are many I have not read.
On Grant: you ever read "52?" Not to be confused with the abortion that was "The New 52" era of abandoned DC history. 52 was a 52 week series chronicling the year without Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman (right after Infinite Crisis). Co-written by some top names you'd recognize. Morrison's influence makes it gold. Highly recommended.
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Ace_Spade (9334)
3 years ago
I think I caught some of 52, but if I recall correctly I was already buying a lot of other titles (mostly Bat-stuff, some back issues) around that time and I didn't really have the funds to hop over and read 52 as well.
New 52 looked terrible. It sounded terrible. It seemed like a total gimmick to me. "Look! Issue number 1!" but it's not really. It's still Batman. In fact, I sorta thought they were quitters. You're up to ~700 issues on this beast and you just restart at #1? Lame.
I'll check out 52 some time, though; thanks for the recommendation.
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AnubisRaydeen (7897)
3 years ago
I grabbed mine in 4 compilations. Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid wrote it together. Several separate storylines featuring (without spoilers) Ralph Dibny, Steel, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Animal Man & Starfire & Adam Strange stranded in space, Will Magnus of Metal Men fame, The Question, and the BEST Black Adam story ever.
Nu-52 era of DC was the beginning of the end for me. Dropped most of DC from my pulls except for the few that seemed immune to the change. Azarello's Wonder Woman for instance (Hellraiser writer). Why would they erase decades of rich history like that?
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Ace_Spade (9334)
3 years ago
The only reason I can think of is that they were trying to make the comics more accessible to people, kind of like what Marvel did (with slightly better results) with their Ultimates imprint. But Marvel created a separate track for newcomers who were just getting into Spiderman and X-Men from the movies being released in the early 2000s. DC just went scorched Earth-1.
Maybe they were just trying to get people hyped up, like they could buy issue number one, so it was a marketing thing. Maybe it was accessibility. Maybe they just wanted to streamline the continuity. Was it a woke thing? Is New 52 riddled with SJWs?
Comic continuity is weird, though. Like, Batman was clearly operating in the 1930s, but also the 2000s and he's always 35-40 years old. Unless it's Elseworlds, naturally. It's like James Bond stuff. He's a Cold War vet who's also just starting out in 2007. I know the Craig Bond is a reboot and I know that they use multiverse stuff to "explain" comics continuity, but I've never needed excuses, apologies, or explanations myself. To me, it's mythology. It's these endless stories, ever-told.
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AnubisRaydeen (7897)
3 years ago
Hmm. I have readily accepted that kind of loose continuity for the whole time I have read comics but then Nu-52 upset me. I guess I have cognitive dissonance. What I was bothered most by nu52 was the complete abandoning of history. I loved that Oracle was formerly Batgirl. There was a steady creep of SJW type stuff in all comics but the cool stories would still appear (like the Karnak or Moonknight brief series). When nu52 hit, all of my favorites turned into shit. That's the real sin. Plain bad quality.
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Ace_Spade (9334)
3 years ago
Quality's the ultimate judge. Something can be not really my style, but if the quality gets high enough, I'll check it out anyway. If it goes bad enough, I guess not even Batman can save it, huh?
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