CBI Archive
When The Transitive Property Didn’t Work For Me In Comics
- by Brad Curran
- in General
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 PM EST
Updated: Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 PM EST
So, yeah, you really need to be careful when using this in non-match contexts, like the link says.
1. I love X-Men, and I love Joss Whedon, so I should love Joss Whedon’s X-Men
Reasons to assume I was correct- They got John Cassady to draw it, continued on from the Morrison’s run, which I adored, and just added Kitty Pryde (one of my favorite characters) to join the remnants of Morrison’s cast. Joss and I also were way too in to the Claremont run at a very impressionable age.
Why I wasn’t- I just lost interest due to the combination of glacial pacing and six issues of fighting the friggin’ Danger Room. Will probably finish reading it someday in trades.
2. I love Grant Morrison, I love Batman, so I should love Grant Morrison’s ongoing Batman run.
Reasons to assume I was correct- Grant wrote one of the best portrayals of Batman in the last 20 years.
Why I wasn’t- That was in JLA. I’ve never really warmed up to his solo Batman tales, Arkham Asylum and Gothic. I mean, I liked them okay on some level, but Morrison’s not my favorite solo Bat writer by a pretty wide margin.
That said, it’s not so much him that didn’t make this run click for me, it’s the art. I don’t hate it, it just leaves me cold. I don’t like the style of A. Kubert or Tony Daniel that much. That said, I am enjoying Batman R.I.P. a lot. However, I’ve been hot and cold on this whole run, which is not my usual mode for Our Scotish Philosopher King. Cronin is gonna make me run 50 laps for saying it’s not neat-o kean, but you know me; I believe in saying whatever fool thing pops in my head, no matter what the costs. I mean, that’s what blogs are for, am I right?
3. I like Neil Gaiman’s comics, step 2, I should like Neil Gaiman’s novels
Reasons to assume I was correct- Well, that whole thing worked for the Underpants Gnomes.
Why I wasn’t- I don’t really like Neil Gaiman’s comics in long form. I’ve only ever been in to Sandman as a series of loosely connected short stories; that’s all I’ve ever read of them, really. Which may explain why American Gods and Coraline both lost my interest before the end. I haven’t ever been that interested in finishing Sandman or his Marvel work. Well, 1602 sounded fun, but I dropped it after 3 issues due to a combo of boredom and lack of money. That’s another one I’ll probably buy the trade of someday. And hey, an interchangable Kubert sibling drew it!
4. I like pro wrestling and luchadore iconography, I like laughing, so I should like Lucha Libre
Reasons to assume I was correct- That was pretty much it. I was unfamiliar with all the creators.
Why I wasn’t- It underwhelmed me. I mean, it was fine, it just didn’t feel like something I had to really invest any time or interest in. Am willing to be convinced otherwise via a trade.
5. There is no 5. Cake’s a lie, too.
10 Comments
Jbird
September 3, 2008 at 7:20 pm
It’s strange but true. I can’t stand anything Whedon’s been responsible for onscreen, but I loved Astonishing. Go figure.
Joshua Strasburg
September 3, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I agree the transitive property does not always pan out with comics, but have some differing opinions.
1. Me, I’ve never given a scat about Joss Whedon’s TV or movie writing. Buffy and Serenity (or whatever it’s called) fly so far outside of my interest range as to rarely get a blip on the radar. Paired with John Cassaday on Astonishing X-Men, though? Sheer awesomeness. I’m a big X-nerd from back in the day, but I haven’t read an X-book consistently in almost a decade. The X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe usually sucks and most of the characters have been removed so far from their original/classic portrayals that I don’t even see them as being the same characters. Grant Morrison’s run and Whedon’s run are the only two exceptions that I stuck with. Whedon was a worthy successor to Morrison (Austen not so much).
2. I will agree with you that Grant Morrison’s Batman hasn’t been all it could be. The Black Glove storyline with the Club of Heroes is pure gold, though. I love the hell out of that story.
3. For me the opposite is true: I don’t like Neil Gaiman’s comics (most of the time), so maybe I’ll like his novels … ? Check. Gaiman’s prose is marvelous. It’s Bradbury-esque, which is a very, very good thing.
4. I don’t care.
You know, it’s actually quite enjoyable to just say whatever fool thing pops into my head. You’re onto something …
Rene
September 3, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Neil Gaiman. It’s not so much about the medium, it’s about the length. I think Gaiman is much better with shorter stories. I love his short stories, both in comics and in books. “Smoke and Mirrors” and “Fragile Things” were both great, I think. But I still liked his novels too. Just not as much.
And I like Arkham Asylum, but Morrison’s recent run on Batman has been hit-or-miss with me too. I dunno… it’s too… not-dark, you know? Bright and crazy. I’m just too used to a dark and moody Batman, I suppose. Bright and crazy has worked well for Morrison on Superman and Invisibles and JLA, but not so much on Batman.
I never watched a episode of Buffy or Angel. Yeah, unbelievable, right? One day I will.
I don’t understand the fascination Americans have for pro-wrestling. And this one, I never will.
Chris Jones
September 3, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Are you kidding with Batman not being dark enough?
It’s one of the bleakest comics being produced today.
Evan Waters
September 3, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Morrison’s BATMAN has been crazy, but not really non-dark. It’s more of a lurid pulp tone, as though Batman had been invented for sleazy dime novels instead of comic books.
FunkyGreenJerusalem
September 3, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Well, he is based on characters from sleazy dime novels…
Rene
September 3, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Really? Last issue I read was 670, and I dunno…
Except for the “Clown at Midnight” (the prose issue), Morrison’s Batman seems to be less the tormented urban predator, and more like some sort of studly international man of mystery, or something. You know, not as many rainy Gotham nights, and more stuff in the Alps with sexy supermodels and ninja man-bats. I didn’t think it was bad, but it was sort of a… disconnect.
But yeah, there are nine issues I didn’t read yet.
DanCJ
September 4, 2008 at 1:29 am
The cake is real!
Pól Rua
September 4, 2008 at 8:19 pm
4. I like pro wrestling and luchadore iconography, I like laughing, so I should like Lucha Libre
Sonambulo’s your hook-up.
Seriously.
Scavenger
September 4, 2008 at 10:17 pm
I think #3 starts with a false premise.
You don’t seem to like Neil Gaiman comics.