Grant Morrison, The Bane Of My Existence!

Before I begin this edition to the Heretic’s Blog, I must emphasize the fact that my constant and unending hatred of Grant Morrison still holds true! The only piece of literature Grant Morrison has ever written that I have ever liked is his current work on the Batman and Robin monthly title. But at the same time, I still find myself unable to fully enjoy B&R as much as I should due to the annoying writing habits that are a part of the Grant Morrison stamp. I don’t mean to claim I am a better writer than Mr. Morrison, but I like to think I have full confidence in knowing what makes a good story, and Morrison has never truly achieved that in the years I’ve read his work. And with all of this being said, I have to make a very sad and painful announcement…Final Crisis, written by Grant Morrison, is now in my possession in hard back.

This is not a decision I came to lightly. I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and I continued my habit of immediately going back to the graphic novel section of the store. As I scrounged through all of the titles, there they were, Superman holding the skeleton of the famous Batman. I immediately curled my upper lip in disgust at Grant Morrison’s dreaded and awful writing style, and thought to myself , “There’s no way I’ll ever buy that piece of crap! I’ve never read it, and I’m happier this way!” It felt good to make that proclamation. It was almost like I spat in the face of Morrison and my triumph equaled that of winning an Olympic gold medal in the 100 meter dash! And I continued to look at the other books.

But then, as I saw titles such as Watchmen, Road to Perdition, and various Superman and Batman titles, I began to think back to my graphic novel collection. At the blink of an eye, it dawned upon me, I own every DC “Crisis” that has been published. Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Crisis on Infinite Earths, they are all in my possession. And it became apparent that I am your typical collector and felt the urge to “have it!!” There’s was nothing I could do except own up to the fact that I’m a pathetic piece of trash, and that even though I can’t stand Grant Morrison in the least I still have to own Final Crisis.

So there you have it, I’m supporting Grant Morrison and his untalented writing by buying his book. I do have Doug Mahnke, an artist whom I respect, to help save my life from the god-awful writing that I’m sure is coming my way. So all I’m doing with this post is not so much declaring to the world that I will be reading Final Crisis (which I swore never to do) for the first (and hopefully the last) time, but more so to ask for your prayers that I won’t kill myself in the process. I don’t care if you pray to Christ, Allah, Buddha, etc., any prayers will help!

Why I like DC more than Marvel

Many of my friends, sadly, are not comic book readers. And even if they are, they have no idea what the difference between a Marvel or a DC. So to help out with that little, ahem, problem that they have, here's a video to help explain the difference.... I was recently asked to explain why I prefer DC over Marvel. My friends can't see the difference between the two, which in turn means they don't understand my bias or capitalist nature towards DC.

First let me explain that I don't actually HATE Marvel, I just joke around that I do. Whenever walking into a comic book shop, I tend to create this invisible force field that will keep the stench of the Marvel Comics isle off of me, blah! I also growl or sneer at anyone holding or buying anything that has any relation to Marvel comics. But it's mainly just an act. The main reason why I am biased towards DC is due to the fact that I grew up on it. The first comic I ever picked up was a DC comic, and I just continued to grow up reading DC. It wasn't until I was in my middle school years where I started to become aware that the comics I was reading came from two different publishing companies. But I also discovered that I was following DC comics storylines more consistently than I was Marvel. I think as I grew up, the stories in DC comics, as well as the art, appealed to me more. While living in Crane Texas, I remember picking up my very first comic book in a convenient store of a gas station, Justice League of America #61 from the 1987 run of the Justice League. I remember thinking it was the coolest thing in the world! And of course my mom embraced the fact that I was actually reading something! She would buy me random comics and I would read them even if I didn't understand the storyline. I followed this monthly series for about 4 to 5 months before we moved to Budapest Hungary for two years After coming back to the States, I began reading my first real comic book title on a monthly basis, The Batman Adventures, which was based on the animated TV show from the early 90's. I enjoyed the art that was reminiscent of the classic comic art style in the 50's and 60's. This comic helped me to understand the value of a good story, even though I was still young and didn't quite get what a GOOD story was. And of course, this comic caused me to get hooked on the animated show. This is what caused me to think Batman was the coolest hero ever!

I began to follow the DC titles because, if Batman is a DC, that means DC is the best! I slowly began to put Marvel comics away and ultimately stopped picking up Marvel comics all together by the time we moved to Orange City, Iowa. As time went on, I went from reading comics a lot, to not reading them, to reading them a lot again, to not reading again, and so on and so forth. My life consisted of high drama, girls, sports, school, and other related things and I had to prioritize. (Sports came first because chicks dig sweaty males after a long hard game of…whatever it is I was doing on the football field) It always saddened me, but such is life. But after thinking about it, my upbringing, my values, what interests me, etc etc, I think I have a better idea about why I prefer DC over Marvel.

I had a facebook conversation with a friend about the differences between the two companies. What he explained to me as the fundamental differences made perfect sense. It had to do with Mythology. I grew up with a real fascination with stories that were centered in mythology. Mom would read stories that contained mythological characters and storylines (Beowolf, Dracula) and I loved them. My favorite topic in middle school English class was the mythology unit. Anything dealing with mythology or the supernatural would spark my interest and grab my full attention. There was nothing else that excited me more! I didn't want to watch films dealing with "real" issue, or that were "realistic" in content. As a young adult just starting high school, whenever my friends invited me to come watch a film, I would secretly hope they were films like Hook, The Labyrinth, or Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles. These are all films dealing with mythological themes or ideas. Why is a boy able to fly by having fairy dust sprinkled on him? How does a young girl travel to another dimension simply because she made a wish? And how do four turtles and a rat mutate into giant, human-like creatures that can walk and talk due to exposure to some ooze? The answer....there is no answer! None of it makes sense! This is a mythological way of telling a story. It's what I love. So when asking me why I prefer DC over Marvel, it really goes down to my love for a mythologically based story.

Places Let's first take Marvel Comics. Nearly everything in Marvel comics is based in reality. You have a lot of Hero's getting their start, or were born in New York City, Manhattan, Kansas, etc etc. They are all real places that you can actually touch, live in, and be successful in. There are of course a few exceptions such as Thor and the Silver Surfer who did not start on Earth at all. But other than that, unless im forgetting something or Marvel has taken new directions, It's based in a reality we know today. DC is almost strictly made up! Gotham City, Metropolis, Coast City, Paradise Island, etc., all made up. Now I recently learned that there is an actual Metropolis in the state of Illinois, but bares no resemblance to that of Superman's Metropolis found in the comics. And what's cooler is, these made up places are apart of the world we know today, as if they have existed in the real world since the creation of dominions, cities and states. These fictional places help to enhance the fact that this is mythology at it's best.

Powers and Origins

The biggest and most notable difference for me is how the hero's got their powers and abilities. First I'll tackle the Marvel hero's.... Marvel With the exception of Thor and Silver Surfer, all of the Marvel hero's achieved their super human abilities through the same means. Spider-Man, how did he achieve his Spider like abilities? When bitten by a radio active Spider. Bruce Banner, he becomes a menacing hulk which is triggered by his anger. This was caused by an accident where he was shot by gamma rays. X-Men, mutation, causes them to have super natural abilities. Daredevil, whose loss of sight caused his other senses to enhance and give him incredible acrobatic skills. Iron-Man, a no brainer! He built machines which enables him to, well, do whatever he wants. The fantastic four, some anomaly gives them the powers they have now. What do all of these origins have in common? They are all scientific. They may not be the most realistic or believable, but they are scientific. They help give an explanation for why these hero's are able to do these incredible acts of heroism. Why does someone bitten by a radio active Spider give them spider like abilities, I don't know! But it does help the readers to have something that they can grasp or hold onto to help make sense of this weird phenomenon. DC (Detective Comics) Now when it comes to DC heroes, we have reached a whole new level of origin stories. Not necessarily better, just significantly different.... Superman, when exposed to the rays of a yellow sun, he becomes Earths mightiest mortal. Green Lantern, who was given a ring that is considered the most powerful weapon in the universe. Wonder Woman, an Amazon, is given the strength and power of the gods. The Flash, who is able to travel at speeds approaching the speed of light from an unknown power called the speed force. Captain Marvel, who shouts the name "Shazam" and is magically transformed into a hero whose power is equal to Superman. (I think you get the picture.) All have one thing in common, they all are unexplained origins. Meaning there is no science involved. How in the world is Superman able to fly, have heat and x-ray vision, super breath, contain ungodly strength, and super speed...all from exposure to a yellow sun? How does a ring, that possesses unimaginable power, give one man the ability to fly into outer space and fight all sorts of alien species? And how does a woman, who grew up on an imaginary island, have the abilities that closely resemble Superman's? There is no science or logic behind it is there? Now I don't mean to say that DC doesn't use science or Marvel is not mythological. As I explained before, Marvel has hero's (Thor, Silver Surfer) that are all based in mythology. And DC's Batman is purely a scientifically created hero, despite his mythological enemies. But it seems that the main congregation of hero's of DC and Marvel consistently stick to a theme of origin which I feel defines and differentiates the two publishing companies. Praise for Marvel???

Now even though I do love DC Comics, I do wish that DC could adopt some traits and practices or Marvel Comics. Marvel had Stan Lee for goodness sakes! DC doesn't have an icon that stands alone by himself.

Marvel is its own entity. It is not owned by any corporation or is a subsidiary of anyone but itself. DC, on the other hand, is partnered and owned by Warner Bros. now Warner Bros. does give DC a lot a lot of room to do what they want in the creative process, but if DC decides to go a certain route, Warner Bros. can put their thumbs down and say no. Ultimate decisions are made by Warner Bros.

When DC decided to kill off Batman, Warner Bros. told them "no" at the last second. This in turn hurt DC's plans and they had to quickly change everything since Warner also owns anything under the DC label. In the case of the Watchmen film, Alan Moore owns no rights of distribution, and despite the fact that Alan Moore objected to making both Watchmen and V for Vendetta into films, Warner Bros. went ahead with the film projects. This can cause for a stressful, and irritation work environment for DC employees and DC's freelance writers. Since Marvel is an independant company, they have no authority above them except themselves. Marvel is also the start of "comics" in my opinion. It began the whole superhero craze and the comic collecting faze. DC has done a lot of copying and mimicking of Marvel as far as how they market themselves. "WHAT?!?! Marvel is using word balloons on their covers? Well, we'll do that too and be better at it!!!" (inside joke for those of you comic books fanatics.) Other Reasons Why I prefer DC It's For Kids Now I do have other reasons why I feel DC is superior. Firstly, Marvel Comics seems too kiddish for me. If you look at the old Marvel logo, it makes me think as if I'm picking up a child's magazine. Now they have since changed this logo to look much more mature and adult oriented, but it still has that the semblance of the old logo. And it doesn't help that Spider-man is their marketing mascot who seems to be at the fore front of anything Marvel. And Spider-Man has never felt like an adult comic to me. It has adult themes within it, but it comes off as being a child's book. Even the Spider-Man films, that are purposefully campy, keep the child-like feel that Marvel has always had. DC has at their disposal Superman and Batman, which they always market towards the much more mature readers. What DC has done lately is created a whole new branch of the DC publishing company called "DC Kids." These comics are marketed for kids using the popular superhero's we know from the DC universe, but are not concerned with continuity. This helps to keep kids reading comics, and allow the adults to get their violent, sexual, and angst driven storylines. Vertigo I am sorry but there really is no contest here. Even the die - hard Marvel Comics fans will tell you Vertigo produces better comics as far as the stories are concerned in the history of the medium. Vertigo has produced amazing stories like V for Vendetta, Y the Last Man, Fables, The Sandman series, and many others. Vertigo is an imprint of the American comic book publisher DC Comics. Its books are marketed to a late-teen and adult audience, and may contain graphic violence, substance abuse, frank (but not explicit) depictions of sexuality, profanity, and controversial subjects. Although many of its releases are in the horror and fantasy genres, it also publishes works dealing with crime, social satire, speculative fiction, and biography. Each issue's cover carries the advisory label "Suggested for mature readers". When I first discovered Vertigo, I was hooked! The very first Vertigo book I ever read was V for Vendetta and I was amazed at its literary complexity. Some of the best written stories I have ever read have come from Vertigo comics. Writers such as Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore have made their mark writing for Vertigo. I truly believe that the type of story telling found in Vertigo comics is among the very best writing America has to offer. Marvel's only answer to Vertigo Comics would be the "Marvel Knights" publishing name. But it's technically no different from the regular comics under the original Marvel Comics brand name. Writers On the DC Comics and Marvel Comics facebook groups, a question was presented asking "who has the better writers, Marvel or DC?" The majority of answers from both groups were that DC has the better writers. You had some biased people of course who couldn't get past the favorite publisher, but it was almost unanimous that DC Comics has the better writers over all. Writers like Brad Meltzer, Geoff Johns, Brian Azzarello, Alan Moore, Sarah Conner and Will Eisner, all writers who work for the DC label. Now some of these writers have done work for both companies and more, but they have typically been very faithful to DC comics. Kevin Smith for example has written for both DC and Marvel comics and has delivered stellar stories. Conclusion All in all, both companies have redeeming qualities, and aspects about them that suck majorly! But it ultimately comes down to what I grew up on. Had I grown up on Marvel Comics, I might have become personally biased towards them and found other reasons about why Marvel is superior DC. It's a question of nature vs. nurture. It's what I grew up on, it's what I trust, what I enjoy, it's what I'll go with and I'll stick too. Perhaps one day everyone will see the light and become DC followers like myself....

And just for the heck of it.....

Marvel and DC T-shirts

So at school yesterday, I saw one of our kids come in with a brand new t-shirt on, he had just gotten it for his birthday.  He was very excited about it too, it had all of his favorite comic book super heroes pasted on the front.  I thought to myself "oh cool! I should go check it out and tell him how awesome he is.

Sadly, I was mistaken on how awesome his shirt was.  Much to my dismay, I find his shirt contained heroes all from the Marvel universe.  I wanted to burn that shirt at the stake and watch the flames go up and dance around the fire like wild savages, screaming a tribal song of sacrifice to the gods. 

He told me "I don't own a DC shirt though Mr. T! (they call me Mr. T.)  What do you want me to do?"  And I just shook my head jokingly at him, as if I were saying "I'm disappointed in you."

I now tell all my kids, if you want my approval, wear DC!  That's all I have to say.

I Hate The Previews

OK, so honestly, I hate the previes DC comics has been having lately.  Currently we are getting a lot of Captain Atom and Starro.  I'm not doubting the potential of these stories, but good grief, are these neccesary?

First off, it causes the prices to go up a buck, which means more budgeting on my part since I also have bills to pay.

Secondly, I really don't like having to read a 5 paged preview and then wait another month for more of the story.  I can handle 22 pages, but there isn't enough pages of the previews to make them interesting to me.

I wonder if DC decided to start doing this because of great demand from customers, or if they aren't breaking even with subscriptions and had to compensate somehow. 

Just a rant, comments and disagreements are welcome.