2 impressive tweets by Dan Jurgens
2 Comments Published by Avi Green on Monday, April 22, 2013 at 8:19 AM.
Jurgens recently had two things to say that I appreciate. First:
Wow. That's the first time I know he's admitted the story he wrote in 1993 that saw the young son of Superman recurring character Cat Grant murdered by the Toyman was in poor taste. It was symbolic and symptomatic of the obsession DC's editors acquired for pointlessly killing off characters major and minor in grisly ways, and even if Jurgens was doing it under a mandate, if he was willing to go along till the end, then he was part and parcel with the decision, and left a very embarrassing blot on his record. Several months ago, he was interviewed on ComicBook.Com about Zero Hour and unfortunately, neither he nor the interviewer were being especially objective. They even said:
And yet, just this past week, he was willing to admit that killing Cat Grant's son Adam was a most grevious act. If Adam really, truly was getting in anybody's way, all they had to do was send him back to the custody of his father, who lived far outside Metropolis. Geoff Johns actually tried to absolve the Toyman of any guilt, but since Adam was still dead, I don't see the point of going to all that effort to exonerate a crook of the crime yet do nothing to reverse the fate of the child who'd been slain. It's not the supercrook who matters as much as the young supporting character who'd been turned into cannon fodder. Is it really so hard to turn back the clock on that?
Jurgens also said:
Ah, he's right about that too. CNN, one of the most dishonest news channels on TV, with some of the most dishonest, hostile coverage of conservatives and stuff like that. As for the NY Post, I'm willing to say that their coverage of local and world news is better, but when it comes to comics, that's where they really blow it by fawning and fluff-coating, and nary a disagreement with the big two over anything they do with their universes, if at all.
I appreciate that Jurgens has both admitted to a mistake he made as a comics writer and hinted at just how bad a company like CNN really is. But he's still got a ways to go on the former subject, and I'm hoping that in time, he'll admit the structure of Zero Hour was just as galling as the terrible story he wrote in Superman in the mid-90s.
@furlious Once wrote a story where Toyman killed Cat Grant's son. I'd do that over again because Superman shouldn't have failed 2 save him.
— Dan Jurgens (@djjurgens) April 11, 2013
Wow. That's the first time I know he's admitted the story he wrote in 1993 that saw the young son of Superman recurring character Cat Grant murdered by the Toyman was in poor taste. It was symbolic and symptomatic of the obsession DC's editors acquired for pointlessly killing off characters major and minor in grisly ways, and even if Jurgens was doing it under a mandate, if he was willing to go along till the end, then he was part and parcel with the decision, and left a very embarrassing blot on his record. Several months ago, he was interviewed on ComicBook.Com about Zero Hour and unfortunately, neither he nor the interviewer were being especially objective. They even said:
Zero Hour was interesting in that it was a continuity-intensive story that nevertheless didn’t retcon any of what came before it. Was that something that was important to you, or was it more a question of a DC edict?Which isn't entirely true, because at least one member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Dawnstar, was retconned out of existence, and even the Legion's own history was altered by the crossover. And too bad Jurgens wasn't willing to admit that misusing Hal Jordan and Hank Hall by turning them into Parallax and Extant was a grave mistake.
We made a conscious decision not to throw anything out the window, for the most part. We wanted to sand down a few rough edges here and there– Hawkman being an example.
And yet, just this past week, he was willing to admit that killing Cat Grant's son Adam was a most grevious act. If Adam really, truly was getting in anybody's way, all they had to do was send him back to the custody of his father, who lived far outside Metropolis. Geoff Johns actually tried to absolve the Toyman of any guilt, but since Adam was still dead, I don't see the point of going to all that effort to exonerate a crook of the crime yet do nothing to reverse the fate of the child who'd been slain. It's not the supercrook who matters as much as the young supporting character who'd been turned into cannon fodder. Is it really so hard to turn back the clock on that?
Jurgens also said:
#CNN. Out to make the NY Post look good.
— Dan Jurgens (@djjurgens) April 17, 2013
Ah, he's right about that too. CNN, one of the most dishonest news channels on TV, with some of the most dishonest, hostile coverage of conservatives and stuff like that. As for the NY Post, I'm willing to say that their coverage of local and world news is better, but when it comes to comics, that's where they really blow it by fawning and fluff-coating, and nary a disagreement with the big two over anything they do with their universes, if at all.
I appreciate that Jurgens has both admitted to a mistake he made as a comics writer and hinted at just how bad a company like CNN really is. But he's still got a ways to go on the former subject, and I'm hoping that in time, he'll admit the structure of Zero Hour was just as galling as the terrible story he wrote in Superman in the mid-90s.
Labels: crossoverloading, dc comics, golden calf of death, good writers, msm propaganda, Superman, violence
To be fair, Jurgens says: "We made a conscious decision not to throw anything out the window, for the most part."
I've always liked Jurgens. I didn't like how he killed off Cat's son, but I'm glad he realizes it was a mistake. And as for Zero Hour.... the less that's said, the better.