Let's Discuss Dan Slott's New Book

[Elijya]

Interesting, giving a supporting character like Thing a solo is never a good move IMO.

Well, Two-in-One was a team-up book - every issue, Ben was teamed up with another hero so they could bounce off one another, which worked great. Slott said he wanted to do that with the last solo book but wasn't totally allowed to, to the extent he wanted, but he still threw in LOTS of guests stars

 

[Harlekin]

I do honestly think that Justice's conviction for the murder of his father is still easily one of the best and most shocking Marvel moments. One that is sadly, not often acknowledged as such. It was certainly a unique event, and not something that was expected of superheroes.

I will agree that it certainly wasn't one of the most well written pieces in the history of Marvel, simply because it wasn't. It's a little dated and is when looking at it objectively, simply good strong writing, but nothing on the level of say God Loves Man Kills, to name something.

 

[Elijya]

I do honestly think that Justice's conviction for the murder of his father is still easily one of the best and most shocking Marvel moments. One that is sadly, not often acknowledged as such. It was certainly a unique event, and not something that was expected of superheroes.

I will agree that it certainly wasn't one of the most well written pieces in the history of Marvel, simply because it wasn't. It's a little dated and is when looking at it objectively, simply good strong writing, but nothing on the level of say God Loves Man Kills, to name something.

or Marvels, Triumph and Torment, Kraven's Last Hunt, Future Imperfect, The Last Avengers Story, Hulk: The End, any Daredevil written by Frank Miller or Bendis, 1602, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Blue, DD: Yellow, lots of Ennis's Punisher (Born and Do Not Fall in New York City),, etc.

Sorry man, it just comes in as "mediochre" compared to stuff like this

 

[Darthphere]

Elijyowned!

 

[Brainiac 8]

or Marvels, Triumph and Torment, Kraven's Last Hunt, Future Imperfect, The Last Avengers Story, Hulk: The End, any Daredevil written by Frank Miller or Bendis, 1602, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Blue, DD: Yellow, lots of Ennis's Punisher (Born and Do Not Fall in New York City),, etc.

Sorry man, it just comes in as "mediochre" compared to stuff like this

Your memory never fails to impress.


Other examples: Fatal Attractions, Death of Gwen Stacey, Maximum Carnage, Clone Saga....sorry just joking about that last one.

 

[Elijya]

Bad examples, IMO

Fatal Attractions loses points for a hologram gimmick, and unecessarily forcing a tie in with books it didn't need to. It stands as an interesting and noteworthy X-Men tale, but wouldn't go into any sort of literary awards category

The Death of Gwen Stacey is one of the most noteworthy events in Marvel history, but while the decision to do that and what it added to the character are important, the story itself isn't exactly shakespearean drama, it's actually a little dated. That's just my opinion, though, I find few stories from before the 1980's hold up for me. A few things - like EC books, This Man This Monster, etc. - but on the whole, nostalgia taints the view of the quality of a story in comics for many, I think.

Maximum Carnage? Um, I've admittedly never read it, but... you'd really compare it to something like Born or Daredevil: Yellow?

 

[Harlekin]

or Marvels, Triumph and Torment, Kraven's Last Hunt, Future Imperfect, The Last Avengers Story, Hulk: The End, any Daredevil written by Frank Miller or Bendis, 1602, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Blue, DD: Yellow, lots of Ennis's Punisher (Born and Do Not Fall in New York City),, etc.

Sorry man, it just comes in as "mediochre" compared to stuff like this

Yeah, which is what I'm saying.

It's a great very noteworthy moment, but the writing was simply good, not great. I wasn't even trying to put in that category, so also, no, 'Phere, I was not Elijyowned.

 

[Red]

I have a feeling this is going to be a rift on JLU but with Avengers.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Bad examples, IMO

Fatal Attractions loses points for a hologram gimmick, and unecessarily forcing a tie in with books it didn't need to. It stands as an interesting and noteworthy X-Men tale, but wouldn't go into any sort of literary awards category

The Death of Gwen Stacey is one of the most noteworthy events in Marvel history, but while the decision to do that and what it added to the character are important, the story itself isn't exactly shakespearean drama, it's actually a little dated. That's just my opinion, though, I find few stories from before the 1980's hold up for me. A few things - like EC books, This Man This Monster, etc. - but on the whole, nostalgia taints the view of the quality of a story in comics for many, I think.

Maximum Carnage? Um, I've admittedly never read it, but... you'd really compare it to something like Born or Daredevil: Yellow?

Maximum Carnage doesn't hold a candle to those two, but it was a fun super team up romp, since it had many many cameos throughout it.

I was saying more for the silly fun quality than anything else.

Fatal Attractions had some major ramifications that lasted for years, I think it's pretty noteworthy.

 

[Horrorfan]

Slott is a lil better than bendis, but a lot worse than Kirkman and Millar.


Come on guys, admit it.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Miller's continual forcing political commentaries into his books turns me off to his writing.

He is good at over the top action though.

 

[Red]

Miller's continual forcing political commentaries into his books turns me off to his writing.

He is good at over the top action though.

This is true. He's kind of like if an 80's action film director decided to write comics.

 

[Horrorfan]

Miller's continual forcing political commentaries into his books turns me off to his writing.

He is good at over the top action though.

I think his ultra left wing stances are lame, so I try to ignore it, but his kick ass stories are still cool. He is supposed to be portraying cap as a dick, according to some, but i see his cap as a bad ass fighting machine who I would want fighting by my side, and a good guy with decent set of morals.

 

[Brainiac 8]

I don't like how in Civil War, some of his characters are being portrayed very Ultimate like.

 

[Eros]

I don't like how in Civil War, some of his characters are being portrayed very Ultimate like.

Its because civil wars writer is or was one of the main writers in the Ultimate line of books i beleive.

 

[Dread]

I'll repost the entire Newsarama interview with Slott about AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, for some of us lazy posters (myself included):

As Joe Quesada revealed in the latest New Joe Fridays, Dan Slot’s new title coming in 2007 will be Avengers: The Initiative, a six issue miniseries set in the aftermath of Civil War.

As Quesada said, it was Slott’s ideas for the concept that had Marvel editorial jazzed: “I've now sat in a few creative meetings with Dan and he is really coming of age here,” Quesada said. “I will say this and I kid you not, when it comes to creative spit balling, he is right up there with Bendis, JMS, Millar, Loeb and Brubaker. Dan Slott is the real deal, he's impressed us to no end, we just have to figure out a way to get him to write faster! He is the biggest superstar in comics that no one knows about.”

So – what are those ideas, not to mention, who’s that guy up there? We caught up with Slott for some answers…well, at least as much as he could say.

“Avengers: The Initiative…I’m not saying who wins Civil War – I’m not saying that at all,” the writer began, “But I will say that there are Pro-Registration heroes, and Anti-Registration heroes, and that for every single guy that registered, there is a price to pay. That price to pay is the Initiative. Whether you knew it or not when you registered, by signing that little slip of paper, you’ve been back-door drafted. If you signed up, you’re falling in when you’re called.

“Marvel’s army of super-heroes is now a super-hero army.”

With art by Stefano (Young Avengers/Runaways) Caselli and covers by Jim Cheung, the miniseries is, essentially, life after Civil War.

“This is the face of the Marvel Universe,” Slott said. “From now on, you need to read The Initiative. If you were digging what was going on with Civil War, you should check this out.”

As for how it came to be, as Quesada had said earlier, The Initiative was one of only a small handful of new projects approved to follow Civil War, and instantly caught everyone’s attention when it was pitched by Slott at a Marvel editorial retreat.

“Tom Brevoort was bouncing stuff off of me, and I came back with, ‘Well, if you’re going to do it, you should do it like this,’ and he turned it around and told me I should pitch it,” Slott revealed. “This really was something where you heard what was going on with Civil War, and see where all the pieces are on the map, and you just think, ‘this thing should exist.’ When the Civil War is over, there should be a book, and this should be that book.

“And I have to say, from the very start - as good and cool and awesome as the art was on Young Avengers/Runaways, the stuff that Stefano has turned in on this is amazing. That stuff was beautiful, and this stuff tops that. It’s also amazing to see what new characters are going to show up, and the design work Stefano has done on them. I’m ready for action figures. And Jim’s first cover? Poster. Needs to be a poster.”

And as far as who will be in the miniseries?

“As team members, we’ll get to see War Machine, Yellowjacket, Justice, the Gauntlet – who’s a new character [pictured above], and there will also be some other new Marvels, as well as some old Marvels – great Marvels, Big Marvels and small Marvels, fat Marvels and thin Marvels – they’re all going to be in this.”

For those who may be wondering if Slott will be bringing the funny to this series as he does with She-Hulk and his other work, the writer said that the funny is definitely staying in a box on his shelf for this one.

“This is not a fun boot camp,” Slott said. “I don’t want to tip it too much, but with She-Hulk, people see me do something whimsical; with The Thing and Spider-Man/Torch, people have seen me do something retro, and with GLA, people saw me do dark comedy. The Initiative is serious, hardcore superhero stuff. There are no happy or sad Marvels here – if you’re in The Initiative, you’re a ‘grrr’ Marvel. You’re a red meat eatin’ Marvel.

“People who like my stuff know that I have a great love of the Marvel Universe, and that whether it was She-Hulk, The Thing, or GLA, these are books that have been very much set in the Marvel Universe, with all kinds of characters running through. That’s going to continue in The Initiative. There’s going to be a wide spectrum of the Marvel Universe appearing in this book.

“And with characters like Yellowjackt and War Machine – everyone’s there. There will be moments when the camera goes a little to the left and a little to the right, and you’ll see…everyone. And also, with characters like the Gauntlet, you’re going to see the Marvel Universe grow a little bit too

“This is the Marvel Universe.”

This sounds very good, and it does confirm my theory about the end of CW; that the new laws in place remain there, and the Secret Avengers may lose (or have a Pyric victory if any). The SHRA will remain in place, the question is whether it will be rewritten and toned down some, or Marvel expects to maintain a status quo in which any superhero without an ID is immediately hunted down and shot by 500 "cape killer" agents the moment they peek out a rooftop, which frankly would be ridiculous. Such a status quo would be murder to "the Marvel formula" inducive of having non fed heroes and young heroes break in, so I'm expecting some tone-down. Unless they're just so desperate to "surprise" the readers that they're willing to screw themselves in a year to score a knockout for a month. Which sounds like Joe Q's Marvel in a nutshell, but let's give 'im a chance. Some great relaunches have happened under his run, and at least CW is including the whole MU and giving Slott a chance to play a bigger role in it.

So the confirmed roster is War Machine, Justice, Yellowjacket and Gauntlet, huh? And yes, Gauntlet seems to look a little like that "Chocolate Thunder" guy from the comic (as well as resembles Luke Cage a little, only with a soul patch). I wonder if he'll be conncected to Southpaw from SHE-HULK; after all, that girl managed to have a massive gauntlet on her left hand; maybe this dude has the other. And technically he's the second guy in Marvel to be named Gauntlet, but the first was a Nigh****ch villian from the armor-cluttered 90's issues of WEB OF SPIDER-MAN, so he's open to the name. Good to see new creations, too.

I for one never saw an ad for THE THING. SHE-HULK only started getting some in vol. 2. And yes, Joe Q does come off pretentious and whatnot, yet in business is apparently too soft to get creators to stick to deadlines. Slott's "comfort zone" is about 2 ongoings, so hopefully they won't overclog him.

I'm excited to see Justice there, if only because he REALLY needs some more development. Despite some past moments like his abusive childhood, going to prison, being formally engaged to Firestar (they split in Feburary's MASKED INTENTIONS during the "I Heart Marvel" thing), and even being an Avenger, he hasn't done much in years and SERIOUSLY needs some sort of spark and redesign to keep from being generic. That's been his problem for ages; his powers, name, and even costume are rather generic, at least since he dumped the "Marvel Boy" name. But Slott is good for that stuff, so I expect good things. He's also someone who really knows his Marvel Universe and isn't afraid of continuity. This looks great so far.

 

[Dread]

Its because civil wars writer is or was one of the main writers in the Ultimate line of books i beleive.

Correct, Mark Millar co-launched the Ultimate line by writing ULTIMATE X-MEN for it's first 33 or so issues and then has written two (late) volumes of ULTIMATES as well as a year's worth of ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR (which is criminally underrated). His forte is rivetting action and macho man cliches. He has a great imagination but needs grounding, because if he goes too wild he simply goes into action movie/gross out cliche mode (see WANTED). It's ironic; HOUSE OF M was so focused on trying to focus on characters, that within 8 issues, very little happened (and there was no moral conflict to boot, despite one being obvious). CIVIL WAR, in contrast, has had a lot of action and relivent things happen in every issue, and while there is a clear moral dilemma, it has been overdebated. But Millar's not the guy if you want accurate 616 characters that aren't, well, Wolverine or Punisher, macho men.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Its because civil wars writer is or was one of the main writers in the Ultimate line of books i beleive.

Yes, he is, like Dread already said.

That is my problem, it's like he is writing Ultimates right now, only in the 616 continuity. That bugs me.

 

[Tropico]

I do honestly think that Justice's conviction for the murder of his father is still easily one of the best and most shocking Marvel moments. One that is sadly, not often acknowledged as such. It was certainly a unique event, and not something that was expected of superheroes.

I will agree that it certainly wasn't one of the most well written pieces in the history of Marvel, simply because it wasn't. It's a little dated and is when looking at it objectively, simply good strong writing, but nothing on the level of say God Loves Man Kills, to name something.

For what has been mostly a secondary character for most of his existence he has had WAY more development than most. Heck, some "A-list" characters wish the had as much depth. I loved how he evolved in the New Warriors, it's one of the few heroes I can mention where they actyally show you how their powers slowly grow. His personal growth was also evident. Justice had become a force to be reckoned with in the New Warriors and his own mini, he got shafted at the begining of the Avengers. But, apparently, that's the price you have to pay when you shift to a "big league" team. The same happened to Cannonball and it's a shame that all that development goes to waste just so the character can have "rookie syndrome". I'm glad he's going to be in a new title and I have faith that Dan will do him....justice.

 

[Harlekin]

Well, at least Justice's little rookie syndrome had a decent explanation. He'd been trying to get into the Avengers since getting his powers, or at least since the start of the Warriors. To him, these guys were literal idols and icons. I thought it was great how he grew out of that and really showed that he was meant for the Avengers.

And I'll never forgive Marvel for breaking up Firestar and Justice. They'd best get back together under Slott.

 

[deemar325]

So Jim Rhodes will ride in the armor once more eh? Interesting and awesome at the same time.

What really?!!

 

[Zoken]

I liked the comment "Fat Marvels, Thin Marvels"

GLC RIDES AGAIN!

 

[Dr.Doom]

Whatever it is, Im getting it.

 

[deemar325]

Alright at least Dan is getting a good artist and major push by Marvel. It's a start.

 

[Darthphere]

Hopefully Stefano gets a different colorist.