I'm getting sick of Bendis' dialogue style

[The Overlord]

I'm getting sick of Bendis' dialogue style. I liked it back in USM and Daredevil, it fit the tone of the series. But it doesn't work in the Avengers, everyone sounds the same, everyone sounds like an ironic, snarky, hipster who makes quips. These larger then life super heroes facing down Earth shattering threats, not the cast of Friends talking in a coffee shop. That's maybe how Spidey should sound, but that doesn't work with an arrogant, pretentious, egomaniac like Dr. Doom. Dr. Doom calling Ms. Marvel fat is very much out of character for him. At this point it seems like Bendis pretty weak when it comes to making these characters unique, its not good characterization.

 

[Johnny Drama]

I was sick of it back in 2003.

Bendis still thinks he is Joss Whedon.

 

[The Morningstar]

Bendis' dialogue sucks?
It sucks
Y-y-you sure?
Sure i'm sure!
You're sure though?
What?
W-what do you mean?
I-I said i'm sure i'm sure.
Ohhh
Y-yea, i mean...
You mean his dialogue sucks?
Exactly

 

[Johnny Drama]

^ this

 

[venom892]

I'm so glad I gave up on Bendis's Avengers right from the beginning. Saved me a lot of money.

 

[Dread]

I got sick of his style around 2003-2004 too, but I didn't dump all of his ongoings until...about when SECRET INVASION ended. Right before NEW AVENGERS became a $3.99 book.

The fact that anyone can emulate his dialogue shows how static, not engaging, it is. In fact, I wonder if for some books or pages, Bendis himself doesn't actually write it, but a computer program designed to make a few lines last several pages. A BendisRom if you will. It would explain how he can successfully write about 6-10 books without script delays.

 

[Specter313]

Yeah, it really annoys me to turn a page in a comic of his and see a single talk bubble extended for almost the complete length of the panel, especially when is a single splash page, it's just ridiculous.

 

[bored]

I think Bendis spent too much time watching "Dragon Ball Z", and noticing how people love that, even though they spend every arc talking a lot before the fight actually happens.

 

[mre]

Bendis' dialogue sucks?
It sucks
Y-y-you sure?
Sure i'm sure!
You're sure though?
What?
W-what do you mean?
I-I said i'm sure i'm sure.
Ohhh
Y-yea, i mean...
You mean his dialogue sucks?
Exactly

LOL! This is spot on! Bravo.

 

[The Morningstar]

The thing is, Bendis says David Mamet is his inspiration. But if you read one of Memet's scripts, it wouldn't seem all that good.

It's the actors who bring the script to life and make the dialogue awesome. Like Alec Baldwin's speech in Glengarry Glenn Ross, or Al Pacino's Ricky Roma.

Comic books don't have that benefit.

 

[SuperFerret]

I think Bendis spent too much time watching "Dragon Ball Z", and noticing how people love that, even though they spend every arc talking a lot before the fight actually happens.

But Bendis's fights tend to be a bit on the shorter side, I've noticed, so the Dragonball Z analogy doesn't work.

 

[Hound55]

Well here's a thread I can see blowing out to 30+ pages...

 

[The Bruce]

I just read the siege trade a couple of days ago. In the hands of an old school writer the book would have been epic! But it fell flat. The action was really bad. It was freaking gods fighting, but still I was bored outta my skull.

The superman rip off sentry and his rip in half stunt

"so like thy aim be true"

"seriously Thor you are soooo dead"

 

[bored]

But Bendis's fights tend to be a bit on the shorter side, I've noticed, so the Dragonball Z analogy doesn't work.

I never said he did it well

 

[runawayboulder]

I agree a lot of what's been said so far but there's no real reason for this thread existing unless this was Marvel.com. This is stuff we've been all bit**ing about for years here across multiple threads. He's been around forever now and he's not going away. Will he be the top writer at Marvel forever? Of course not, his time's probably coming to an end in that regard. But like Quesada, he's just going to get a higher position at Marvel. All signs seem to him becoming the creative force behind the movie/TV division.

 

[kguillou]

I like Bendis but i do wish he'd hand off the Avengers books to someone else. I would LOVE to see Dan Slott handle the main Avengers book with Thor, Cap, Ironman, Spidey, Wolvie, Hawkeye and Spider-woman.

 

[runawayboulder]

At least one of them. Does the guy really need 2 Avenger books under his thumb? I'd rather have 4 different voices for the Avengers instead of a control freak hogging 2 of the books.

 

[kguillou]

Unfortunately, I think even if Bendis wanted to leave the books, Marvel would force him to stay on because well..Bendis' name sells.

 

[Doomed_hero]

his writing is annoying. I am even more annoyed that he tries to slam characters down your throat like Sentry. But the worse is The Hood. He is a c-list villian at best who Bendis has tried over and over again to baloon into this giant threat. Even sticking him at a tabel with f-ing Doom and Osborn? He is just a boring character who Bendis uses nearly as the only villian the Avengers fight.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

Bendis needs to revamp his style. Seriously.

 

[kguillou]

The problem is it isnt as edgy and post-modern as it once was. Back in 2000, hearing superheroes talk that way was fresh and grounded the superheroes a lil more.But now there are many other writers who use that "modern lingo" style so much better like Joss Whedon, JMS, or Brian K Vaughn.

 

[SpideyForPrez]

Yeah... I actually used to be a pretty big Bendis fan. Ultimate Spider-Man got me back into comics (and reading in general) when it first came out. Years later I started picking up more books, and reading older Avengers stories and eventually I realized that the guy just isn't that good.

His style works on some stuff, but he's a terrible writer for Avengers. And the quality of USM seriously dropped off when they relaunched the title.

I think the problem with him now (one of them) is that he puts out so many books a month without delays. I imagine that he writes very quickly, and thus doesn't give himself time to think up/research correct dialogue for certain characters. He just writes everyone with the same voice because it's fast and easy. And seriously... F@*K the Hood!

I wish he would give up the main Avengers book to Dan Slott, Fred Van Lente, or those Nova/Annihilation writers. Anyone really, but it probably won't happen soon. Maybe after the Avengers movie they'll give it to someone else when they care less about promoting the Avengers to mass audiences.

 

[bored]

Oh my God, a DnA Avengers ongoing would be far too awesome for our mortal minds.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The thing is, Bendis says David Mamet is his inspiration. But if you read one of Memet's scripts, it wouldn't seem all that good.

It's the actors who bring the script to life and make the dialogue awesome. Like Alec Baldwin's speech in Glengarry Glenn Ross, or Al Pacino's Ricky Roma.

Comic books don't have that benefit.

Printed media in general don't have it. Most writers within printed media tend to understand that their medium of choice is not geared toward that bantery, back-and-forth style, but it seems that fact has flown right over Bendis' head for years now.

 

[The Morningstar]

Exactly.