The Four Color Media Monitor

Once again, Marvel's modern staff has taken the self-indulgent, self-congratulatory route by awarding Brian Bendis with a plaque. All for 8 years on the Avengers:

The trophy/statue/plaque, given during a brief two day retreat in New York City, marks a changing of the guard at Marvel and a ideal vantage point to see all that Brian Michael Bendis has done. Although the writer is staying on with the publisher with new titles like All-New X-Men, and continuing his long-running Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Bendis’ run on Avengers is one of the longest in American comics history, joining the rarefied ranks of Chris Claremont’ s X-Men, Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier’s Groo, Dave Sim’s Cerebus and Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s Fantastic Four.

By sharp contrast, Roy Thomas has never gotten a company-based award like this for his contributions, has he? Alas, I don't think he ever did. Unlike Bendis, Thomas, along with Stan Lee, came up with much more memorable stories and characters, and never tried to forcibly change the book into the Defenders or Heroes for Hire. Yet it's a shameless writer like Bendis, what with all his contempt for characters he didn't create, who gets the prize that should've been given to Thomas.

This marks a leading example of Marvel's current editors going out of their way to pat themselves on the back over big, overrated nothings.

Labels: Avengers, dreadful writers, marvel comics