The overrated UK writer blathers on his site about how all of a sudden, he thinks the industry is doing marvelously:
You know what? I was reading almost nothing last year.All this sounds a lot like how some mainstream reviewers will gush and sugarcoat immediately after a publicity stunt's taken place, and I guess it's not much different for writers and artists to do the same. Millar's gushy comment only induces a yawn, and I'm sure even he knows how quickly DC's sales sunk back to stagnant levels, and Marvel's bound to end up in the same position soon too. All he's alluding to is no different from what they've been doing for at least 2 decades now, and I find it hard to believe he doesn't know that.
It felt a lot like 1999 where I'd barely read a comic in 2 years. Last year none of the big companies were really putting out much I was excited about and Walking Dead was about the only thing I was reading consistently. But how much things have changed in just 12 months. DC's reboot worked out really well for them and there's a few really interesting books (not least of which being Snyder's Batman), Marvel's spiked in the charts again with a fun crossover done by all their biggest writers and the sleeping giant of creator-owned has just begun to stir... Saga, Fatale, Mudman, America's Got Powers and a half a dozen other new books in the last few months (not to mention Kick-Ass 2, Jupiter's Children, Supercrooks and many OTHER Millarworld books) really makes the shelves look completely different from last year. It's like all my favourite creators are back and working full blast again, a bunch of brilliant new ones coming of age too.
Labels: dc comics, dreadful writers, indie publishers, marvel comics
It's funny you should bring up Millar because the Avengers cartoon, which previously had been a mash note to Bendis' "Secret Invasion" nonsense, is suddenly featuring elements from "Civil War..." which is leading to me losing interest in the show since Civil War is what convinced me that Marvel had lost it. That and Avengers Disassembled.
DC's animated videos have also been borrowing some of their stories from the output of the comics lately. From what this news says, it looks like Flashpoint will be the next story they turn into a cartoon. A few years ago, the Red Hood tale from Batman was another example. With that kind of approach, I'm sure quite a few of their cartoons aren't worth viewing either.
Oh God, that's not good... especially given how terrible Flashpoint was. I just worry that they might try to do an "Identity Crisis" animated film and then market it to kids.... the new cartoons are more adult-oriented but I see a lot of kids buy the DVDs at the Wal-Mart by where I live, and that worries me.