Let's Discuss Dan Slott's New Book

[Dread]

Hopefully Stefano tweaks Justice's costume so he doesn't seem generic. Slott did good things with him in his CW issue, although a reunion with Firestar may seem silly as they seperated in MASKED INTENTIONS for at least realistic reasons (Justice, being a year older, was rushing towards adulthood while Firestar wanted to try being a free-bird for a while after being an Avenger and whatnot). It would seem odd to have them reunite after less than a year when MASKED INTENTIONS was most of their on-panel appearences this year (barring Justice's SHE-HULK issue and CW cameos, and Firestar retiring in FRONTLINE). Firestar also, as I noted, retired rather than face hassles of registration, as she wanted to pursue a college education anyway.

On the other hand, Slott was persistant in reuniting Ben & Alicia; a fact that I don't see anyone else acknowledging. Why not having her go to France with Ben or something, JMS? So it is possible, as unlike a good score of Marvel creators, Slott isn't always deathly afraid of giving fans what they expect, which has become a virtue these days. Too many writers insist on shocking and surprising them, or getting an outright negative review, even in spite of a story.

 

[Varient]

Dan Slott is capabale of some of the most well structured stories in comics. Check out Arkham Asylum for the best example of this, but also GLA. All the dominoes are set up, and you don't even realize it till everything falls into place

WORD.

 

[Kraven]

I have yet to read anything by Slott, but a strong majority of people on here have positive things to say about him & his stories. I'll probably check it out, so far it sounds interesting but I'll have to wait for a little more info to come out.

 

[Kotagg]

Okay Elijya, I grabbed:

Thing 1-8 (except they didn't have 3)
Spiderman Human Torch 1-5 (except they didn't have 4)

And ALL of Ultimates, from beginning to end

I need stop spending so much...

 

[Harlekin]

Hopefully Stefano tweaks Justice's costume so he doesn't seem generic. Slott did good things with him in his CW issue, although a reunion with Firestar may seem silly as they seperated in MASKED INTENTIONS for at least realistic reasons (Justice, being a year older, was rushing towards adulthood while Firestar wanted to try being a free-bird for a while after being an Avenger and whatnot). It would seem odd to have them reunite after less than a year when MASKED INTENTIONS was most of their on-panel appearences this year (barring Justice's SHE-HULK issue and CW cameos, and Firestar retiring in FRONTLINE). Firestar also, as I noted, retired rather than face hassles of registration, as she wanted to pursue a college education anyway.

On the other hand, Slott was persistant in reuniting Ben & Alicia; a fact that I don't see anyone else acknowledging. Why not having her go to France with Ben or something, JMS? So it is possible, as unlike a good score of Marvel creators, Slott isn't always deathly afraid of giving fans what they expect, which has become a virtue these days. Too many writers insist on shocking and surprising them, or getting an outright negative review, even in spite of a story.

Which seemed ridiculous to me anyway, since if I recall correctly, it was Firestar that asked Justice to marry her. It was Firestar that initiated the relationship in the first place. All of that, and then she suddenly flakes out. Didn't sound right to me.

 

[iloveclones]

I for one never saw an ad for THE THING.

This pic (along with a tag of Coming in...) was in a full page of most Marvel comics that I pick up (Which is a fair amount). I think they also used that pic of Ben in a top-hat (but I may be thinking of some solicitations I saw in that case) I remember specifically, because my girl-friend's then 12-yr old daughter loved yelling "It's Clobberin' Time", and every time I saw the ad, I would show it to her to get her to do it. You probably didn't notice it because you ignore the ads like I do and only really notice the ones that annoy you (Howling Commandoes being a good example). While not perfect (see Howling Commandoes), Marvel's ad efforts aren't nearly as bad as you make them out to be. (imho, of course) What Elijya said was spot-on. I liked Thing, but it got off to a slow start. And for a new series, you really need those first issues to be spectacular.

 

[jim lee's bat]

My thoughts on Avengers: the Initiative

The good:I cant wait to see the return of war machine and yellowjackets return to the spotlight and slott on avengers YES!

The Bad: the art its different and all and kinda worked on YA/Runaways but slott says (in the interview) its a serious book wich for me makes me scratch my head on why they chose this dude for the art chores on this book BTW his sketches fo that guantlet dude look better than his other stuff IMO

 

[Darthphere]

Isn't Justice anti-reg?

 

[Harlekin]

He didn't really pick a definitive side if I recall correctly.

 

[Tropico]

He was in the anti-reg base along with the other surviving Warriors (and even the honorary Warriors).

 

[Darthphere]

He was in the anti-reg base along with the other surviving Warriors (and even the honorary Warriors).

Right, thats why I'm confused.

 

[Tropico]

We have to wait and see what happens after CW. For all we know it's something really bad that makes most of the resistance realize they should have complied. Or it could be that some sort of compromise was reached. Or Vance was captured and decided to accept to be part of the Thunderbolt program. Or he's a mole. There are so many reasons that it's pretty hard to speculate.

 

[supermarvelman]

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.

It's common to have rookie syndrome, look at athletes going from college to pro football.

 

[supermarvelman]

I have yet to read anything by Slott, but a strong majority of people on here have positive things to say about him & his stories. I'll probably check it out, so far it sounds interesting but I'll have to wait for a little more info to come out.

I dont think I've ever seen anybody on Superherohype talk bad about Slott.

 

[Dread]

Which seemed ridiculous to me anyway, since if I recall correctly, it was Firestar that asked Justice to marry her. It was Firestar that initiated the relationship in the first place. All of that, and then she suddenly flakes out. Didn't sound right to me.

To be fair, most "relationships" in comics end via far more melodramatic ends. The lady dies, is cloned, gets stuck in an alternate dimension/timeline, or whatever. In a technical logical sense it did seem weird that Firestar would react that way, but it happens. People change their minds. She'd been a superhero so long that she rarely got to have a "normal" college life and now her marriage was coming up. How many 19 year olds do YOU know who get married? At least in NYC and not in "hicks in the sticks" areas (and if anyone is in those areas, sorry). I bought it. Although I suppose if Slott wanted to reunite them, he could simply claim that "Angelica had jitters" and work through it. Now THAT would be a twist; the lady having jitters about an engagement!

Justice has had a considerable amount of development for a "B-Lister", but that naturally comes from being on a team title for a good 6+ years, plus a few years of Busiek/Perez Avengers. He's been sporatic since that time, though, but he definately has been seen at least twice amung the Secret Avengers (alongside another New Warrior, Ultra Girl). As for why he would be on AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, we don't know how CW ends. I do see it being possible that either:

1). The Secret Avengers lose, and Cap possibly dies (others have theorized this bit)

2). The victory is highly Pyric (see above)

3). The SHRA remains, although hopefully in some editted version that is not as extreme

4). The act is repealed, but registered heroes learn that they can't "undo" it and they still are in government employ, like Wonder Man (who somehow was nearly killed by a Pumpkin Bomb).

This pic (along with a tag of Coming in...) was in a full page of most Marvel comics that I pick up (Which is a fair amount). I think they also used that pic of Ben in a top-hat (but I may be thinking of some solicitations I saw in that case) I remember specifically, because my girl-friend's then 12-yr old daughter loved yelling "It's Clobberin' Time", and every time I saw the ad, I would show it to her to get her to do it. You probably didn't notice it because you ignore the ads like I do and only really notice the ones that annoy you (Howling Commandoes being a good example). While not perfect (see Howling Commandoes), Marvel's ad efforts aren't nearly as bad as you make them out to be. (imho, of course) What Elijya said was spot-on. I liked Thing, but it got off to a slow start. And for a new series, you really need those first issues to be spectacular.

The Thing-Tophat ad was for FANTASTIC FOUR.

And that was before Marvel started putting 20+ ads in books for months and making them IMPOSSIBLE to ignore. And anyone who claims that "it doesn't matter how many ads there are", I defy you to support ads and buy WHITE TIGER #2, which has 5 pages of ads, then 1 of story, then another ad. Fortunately, Marvel is toning it down; GHOST RIDER had a mere 17 ads before the last story page, which is a bit but nothing worth whining about. When it's past 20 ads and beyond story pages, then it's noticeable. And Marvel at least has tried pushing some small books now; I've seen ads for IMMORTAL IRON FIST, which has gotten off to a shakey start (#1 sold at #56, and any book that debuts past the Top 50 usually sinks like a stone); although seeing an ad in IRON FIST #1 that is FOR Iron Fist #1 is more annoying than life itself.

I guess part of the anger for THE THING is that all of Marvel's bungles aside, they can't do everything and the fans just didn't support it. It was a fun, feel good book and the fanbase doesn't go nuts for that. Had Alicia been gang-raped and murdered in issue #1, it would have sold 100,000 copies and whatnot, and that's just sad. Because it simply reinforces that Marvel mindset that "pleasing fans does nothing, we have to incite them, anger them, shock and surprise them, even if it makes no sense in terms of story and makes comics into a perennial trip down depression and despair". Least I enjoyed it while it lasted, even if according to sales, I was one of the few. The fact that NO WRITER seems to bother noting that Ben & Alicia got back together elsewhere just makes it feel more like a waste, which it didn't deserve.

That aside...anyone else think Gauntlet may be connected to Southpaw?

And technically, this is Gauntlet II. The first Gauntlet was some lame Night-Watch/Blood Rose villian from mid 90's issues of WEB OF SPIDER-MAN.

 

[Kraven]

I dont think I've ever seen anybody on Superherohype talk bad about Slott.

Which is exactly why I must get something written by him.

 

[Elijya]

Okay Elijya, I grabbed:

Thing 1-8 (except they didn't have 3)
Spiderman Human Torch 1-5 (except they didn't have 4)

And ALL of Ultimates, from beginning to end

I need stop spending so much...

I hope they're up your alley. GLA is funnier and Arkham Asylum is better, written, but Thing and SM/HT are just good ol' superheroing. Actually, they're almost the other end of the spectrum from Ultimates which is fantastic, and you'll probably love it (as long as you're not turned off because you think the author's trying too hard to be "bad ass") but they're all good

 

[Dread]

THE THING #1-8, GLA #1-4 & SPIDER-MAN/HUMAN TORCH #1-4 are all Slott instant classics at Marvel. If you can, try to track down GLX-MAS SPECIAL #1 from a year back for more Slott/GLA goodness. Hell, Mr. Immortal because my "Hero of 2005" after GLA.

I also agree that he writes well structured stories, where nothing that happens inside the panel is for granted or doesn't tie into something that comes later. Even in these "lighter" works there are deep and serious issues there.

In Spidey/Torch, Slott also comes up with a brilliant way that Spider-Man can keep from being unmasked that no writer, ever, has come up with before, or since.

 

[Elijya]

what are you speaking of?

 

[deemar325]

I must have missed that Dread.

 

[Zoken]

Spidey uses his wall-crawling ability through his face to keep his mask adhered.

 

[Dread]

Spidey uses his wall-crawling ability through his face to keep his mask adhered.

Exactly. Smart, simple, effective. No writer has used it since. It makes Spider-Man seem more "relatable" to make him inefficient, which I find insulting. That an "everyman" has to be inept. There is a difference.

 

[Elijya]

oh, haha, I rememeber now. Slott I think specificly wrote that because of that nonsense at the begining of New Avengers

 

[Darthphere]

Spidey uses his wall-crawling ability through his face to keep his mask adhered.

But his mask is cloth. It can be ripped.

 

[deemar325]

Heh cool god Slott is the man!