The Four Color Media Monitor

Two articles from Men's Health in focus here. In the first one, they recommend nearly a dozen comics they believe are worth reading, but are little more than obvious choices. And at the start:

MAKING LISTS IS hard. But picking ten genre-defining works is even more difficult. And yet, that’s what we’re aiming to do here as part of our ongoing comic book package; we’re selecting ten of the best comic book stories ever. So, how do you even begin to sum up the best tales from a medium that has existed for hundreds of years?

Maybe by doing more challenging research? If it's hard to draw up a list, and pick the most defining genre items, that's because these folks are pretty lazy. To the point where Batman by Frank Miller becomes their numero uno selection:

YES, THIS IS a cheat, but it’s a worthy one. Under the pen of Frank Miller, Batman: Year One and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns represent the Alpha and Omega of storytelling for the Caped Crusader. It’s a bar set so high that every other Batman story lives in the shadow of these two masterpieces. Year One, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, boldened by Richmond Lewis’ colors and Todd Klein’s letters, takes the barebones of what original Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger established and evolves and then sets the defacto origin for the character. Hell, even cinematic versions of the character are indebted to the story.

The Dark Knight Returns is not only one of the best Batman stories ever, it’s one of the best comics ever — full stop. Responsible for opening the door for comics to tell more mature stories, Miller’s written and drawn series, with inks by Klaus Johnson, letters by John Costanza, and colors by Lynn Varley, introduced an older version of the character, one more rough and tumble and keen to push himself to the limits of his code to execute his version of justice. Loaded with breaking-taking sequences across densely populated grids and richly emotional character moments, it's the defining tale for an iconic character — with a boundary-pushing story that’s inspired generations of readers and comic book storytellers alike.

If this is because it depicts Bruce Wayne as a control freak, or anything even remotely selfish and alienated, I'm sorry, but it's just no use at this point. The wording here sounds so deliberate too. Better even than Bob Kane and Bill Finger's stories, and even Denny O'Neil and Steve Englehart's? A choice like this is a joke by now. And how is it DKR opened doors for more "mature" stories, but not comics like Nexus and Badger? To credit comics like DKR as though they're solely responsible is absurd. Yet it's sure stunning how DKR could "inspire" anybody, but not a story with a brighter angle. Another example cited is Spider-Man's 1987 Kraven's Last Hunt storyline:

FOR AS MUCH time as comics spend diving into the psyche of the heroes that populate and popularize the genre, villains don’t often receive the same focus — but Kraven’s Last Hunt changed all that. While universally hailed as one of the best Spider-Man stories, so much so that it served as the inspiration for the recent Spider-Man 2 videogame for PlayStation 5, writer J. M. DeMatteis, artist Mike Zeck, inker Bob McLeod, letterer Rick Parker, and colorist Bob Sharen’s tale is unique because it’s a story told almost exclusively from the villain’s point-of-view. Kraven’s misbegotten belief that he can be a better Spider-Man leads him to leave Peter for dead, only to realize that Spider-Man’s power doesn’t lie in his superhuman abilities — but in his power to represent and be the very best definition of a hero.

It may be better in some ways than DKR, but even so, that it's a story relying on darkness makes this choice suspect. Something tells me this was no accident, any more than citing DKR. What makes this the best Spidey story, but not a more stand-alone tale like ASM #248's "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man", published a little earlier? Note the troubling citation of KLH for being told from the villain's viewpoint, as though that's literally a great thing. Sorry, but that's also absurd, though to KLH's credit, the titular villain does perish by suicide. Yet even that doesn't automatically make it great or the best story on the market. And KLH actually served as fodder for a video game? Gee...what cheapness. They also chose Matt Fraction's Hawkeye series from a dozen years ago:

IT'S HARD TO judge amid a creative work whether or not it would or could live on a masterwork, but at a certain point during Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye series, the conventional wisdom around the title morphed into an understanding that the comics community had a certified banger on its hands. Pitched as what the archer does when he’s not avenging, Fraction and Aja’s take on Clint Barton brings the typically epic scale of superheroing down the ground level. Clint and Kate Bishop aren’t saving the world, they’re saving an apartment building in Brooklyn. In this simple but effective premise, Fraction and Aja use the medium for all sorts of incredible visual tales; whether it's an entire issue told from the perspective of a dog or an issue told entirely through sign language, Hawkeye finds its mark as a modern masterclass on what kinds of stories are possible in comics.

Well I'm sorry to say, but writers like Fraction are just so pretentious, and this tale came long after Marvel merit collapsed into political correctness. Nobody should let them pull the wool over their eyes here. Besides, saving apartment buildings is nothing new for superheroes. Then, wouldn't you know it, 2007's Civil War comes up:

HEROES VERSUS HEROES is a tried and true staple of the comic book genre, but few stories execute it at the blockbuster level that Civil War does. Crossover events can sometimes require decades of context to understand, but what makes the Mark Millar-written tale accessible is the (sometimes cartoonishly) stakes deeply understandable. In the wake of a superhero-driven tragedy, the entirety of the Marvel universe has to take sides over government regulation. It’s a simple premise, executed to perfection by Millar, highlighted by kinetic art from Steven McNiven, inks by Dexter Vines, colors by Morry Hollowell, and letters from the best in the game, Chris Eliopoulos. It also has the rare distinction of being one of the few Marvel events in recent memory with ramifications still felt in comics today — a rare feat to achieve when there’s a new massive crossover every six months.

I guess they believe this story is fantastic because of the leftist political metaphors it built upon, at the expense of the characters. One of the most notorious moments in Civil War was Spider-Man unmasking...all for the sake of leading to the next notorious situation, that being the removal of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's marriage by Mephisto. Which clearly doesn't dismay the Men's Health writer. Who goes on to recommend the Dark Phoenix Saga, as though we can't get enough titles with the world "dark" in them:

FULL OF DRAMA, high stakes, incredible world-building, and a character-first narrative, the Dark Phoenix Saga remains the watershed X-Men story, one so influential and popular it’s had two different (and failed) cinematic adaptations. Detailing the corruption of Jean Gray by the cosmic Phoenix Force, the Saga charts the X-Men’s collective and anguished attempts to save one of their own. It’s a micro exploration of macro reasons that the characters of this team so universally beloved. Powered by a cosmic creative force — that’s to say, Chris Claremont’s prose and John Byrne’s phenomenal art — the Dark Phoenix Saga is a defining moment for the X-Men, Marvel, and comics as a whole, showing what’s possible when creators are operating at their respective peaks.

I'm not impressed by this selection either, because this too represents some very jarring darkness. Seriously, the narrative telling that Jean/Phoenix/whatever obliterated as many as 2 billion souls on an alien planet left me with a very bad aftertaste. I'm decidedly glad Jim Shooter later decided to retcon it all into being an alien lifeform taking Jean's place, and Grey was discovered stored in suspended animation underwater. What makes this story in itself great, but not her return in the mid-80s, and not her marriage to Cyclops in the early 90s? Next comes Watchmen:

RECOMMENDING WATCHMEN—AS rightfully totemic, influential, and great as it is—right out of the gate to a new comic book reader can often be very overwhelming. Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Wiggins’ genre-defining work is dense; the deconstructional themes at play across its layered nine-panel grid and 12 issues hit harder if readers are more familiar with the archetypes of the superhero genre. That’s not to say you can’t come into it cold and find some level of appreciation, but exploring other stories in the medium before reading it may benefit some readers. The thematic tome still resonates as a tale about superheroes themselves, anti-Reaganism, who gets to wield power, and more. It can be a lot to take in all at once, but nevertheless, Watchmen is a watershed entry that revolutionized the kinds of stories that comics — and only comics — could tell.

Ah, so anti-Reagan sentiment drove this selection. But this too was just another tiresome exploration of darkness that later came back to haunt the DCU in the past decade or so. As for Reagan, most aggravating problem with the commentary is that they don't even seem to have a reason beyond his being a right-winger to take issue with. If you've got complaints that you believe Reagan failed in any category, that's one thing, but not putting forth any legitimate issue on which to criticize him is another altogether. What makes them think anti-Reagan sentiment alone makes this great? Sadly, this too was more influential than need be, while anything brighter continues to be ignored. They also recommend All-Star Superman by the overrated ideologue Grant Morrison:

SUPERHEROES, ESPECIALLY SUPERMAN, are often posited as Gods — so why draw inspiration from classical mythology? Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman refashions the 12 Labors of Hercules for the Man of Steel’s final days. Poisoned by the sun that he draws his powers from, Superman sets out to complete a series of tasks to help out humanity and Kryptonians alike. Free from the burdens of continuity, Morrison’s story pulls from all of Superman’s history to tell, perhaps, the de-facto tale about the character, rendered with iconic visuals from Quitely like a Moon-bound date between Supes and Lois, fights with Lex, or quieter moments like when he saves a girl from suicide. Superman sometimes gets a rep as being a “boring” character, but it’s likely the people raising that criticism haven’t read this unbelievably compassionate celebration of a cultural icon.

Wow, and no actual point made that Superman's just a fictional character, and any failure to tell an entertaining tale must be blamed upon the writers. If this is the only kind of Super-story they can recommend, and not any of the Man of Steel's Golden/Silver/Bronze Age stories, something is terribly wrong. Surprisingly, if there's one item here that's worth the mention, it's by an Iranian dissident:

MARJANE SATRAPI'S MASTERFUL memoir continues to be challenged to this day despite its importance to the medium and storytelling writ large. Detailing her life from childhood to young adulthood before and after the Islamic Revolution, Persepolis is singularly fascinating in its presentation—as a feminist tale, as a graphic memoir, of the intersection and juxtaposition of public and private life, and so much more. Equal parts hilarious and crushing, it’s a can’t miss tale and a high-mark for comics.

Well at least this is getting somewhere, and their listing of Maus and March probably is too. Of course, if and when Satrapi describes her story as "feminist", it's not in the same way westerners do. More like women's rights issues. But it's a shame they had to be yet another example of would-be journalists doing a copy-and-paste job of stories that have been recommended countless times before, instead of looking up some stand-alone stories from decades past that could be just as fascinating, if not more so.

In the second one, they draw recommendations for various comics from professional writers/artists themselves, and begin the list with the following:

While early issue covers displayed the sale price and teased the exciting journeys the titular heroes would undertake, more modern comics sport the names of the people who worked on each issue. Nowadays, the names that gloss the pages of the newest issue in a long-running title can grab readers’s attention all by themselves.

And that's actually a problem. There's only so many overrated creators today, like J. Michael Straczynski, who seem to draw in readers based only on recognition, not on whether they have the talent needed to make an entertaining story. That's why JMS' Spider-Man run is such a failure in hindsight, and lest we forget, he practically undid almost all he'd written up upon departure with One More Day, save for the degradation to Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson.

Now, to name but an example of the 45 creators they got recommendations from, there's Robert Kirkman, and his 3 choices included leftist Erik Larsen's overrated Savage Dragon:

"It's a vastly expansive world, full of unique and bizarre characters. A superhero story that isn't afraid to veer off into insane tangents that push the limits of the genre. It's also just a fun book."

Sorry, but some of the material I'd noticed, including attacks on right-wing figures, do not make for a promising product. They also got Gail Simone to recommend Kelly Sue deConnick's Wonder Woman: Historia:

"Simply a revelation. A magically literate compendium of ideas and images that make one pause to rethink what can be achieved with these decades-old characters, if one has the will and the talent. Four superstar artists do the work of their careers to bring Kelly Sue DeConnick’s tale to life."

This honestly reeks of a deliberate promotion of somebody she's already well acquainted with, so not much value to put on this sugary take. And then, Mark Waid, recommends a Tom King tale about Adam Strange called Strange Adventures:

"This update of an older DC hero named Adam Strange is an action-packed tale about the way war changes us and about the dark choices we’ll make to protect the ones we love. Beautifully written and exquisitely drawn."

Considering how poorly this treated its cast for the sake of King's badly conceived metaphors for trauma, not to mention leftist anti-war metaphors, I'm not sure what Waid's getting at. DC's editorial definitely isn't protecting beloved creations, that's for sure. And then, they even had the gall to get input from Sina Grace, the writer who willingly exploited the retcon to Iceman from X-Men for LGBT agendas. He recommended Alan Moore's V for Vendetta:

"Look, someone else is gonna say Watchmen, but I find myself revisiting V for Vendetta a lot in my life, and every time the graphic novel slaps harder than ever. It’s so much fun to read Alan Moore build a political and ever-poignant dystopian narrative from the ground up, and the Guy Fawkes design for V makes for one of the most elegant and startling characters in comics history."

Oh, forget it. Even that's a pretty overrated story from its time. Next comes Cody Ziglar, a writer who's scripted some of the woke-influenced items from Marvel, and he recommended Brian Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man:

"Bendis wrote, for me, the Spider-Man stories with his Ultimate Spider-Man run. And it gave us Miles Morales. The guy is a legend."

Only in the sense he was one of the early wokesters in the industry, if to follow the slang for PC. Another writer is W. Maxwell Prince, who again cites Morrison's All-Star Superman tale:

"The one true Superman story; nothing before was as good, and nothing since has even come close."

This sounds like just another variation on the notion some propagandists put forth that certain creations only became interesting once certain overrated writers got their mitts upon them. But all it makes clear is that somebody who's not real Super-fan wrote this fluff-coated comment. Kieron Gillen also provided input, such as a dark anthology of short stories called Through the Woods:

"A collection of exquisite short gothic horror stories where Carroll takes your hand, leads you in the darkness and, with the gentlest of touches, creeps under your skin forever."

Gee, just what we need, and seriously, there's far too much of that lately as it is. It'd be ill-advised to take parts like "gentlest" at face value. And then, lo and behold, they even got recommendations from Saladin Ahmed, his own sordid resume notwithstanding. One is God Loves, Man Kills:

"Still the quintessential X-Men story by a mile. And probably the best 'persecuted superhumans' story ever done."

Look who's talking. Somebody who minimized persecution via his own drivel on Twitter, and in the pages of Daredevil. That Men's Health would have anything to do with him sure speaks volumes of ignorance.

Al Ewing and deConnick are also on the list, and that too has got to be telling. Men's Health would do better to just stick with the subject of science and medicine, and not lecture anybody about how and what comics should be, if this is the kind of drivel they're going to gush over.

Labels: Avengers, Batman, dc comics, history, marvel comics, moonbat artists, moonbat writers, msm propaganda, Spider-Man, Superman, X-Men