I enjoyed the humor. The MEGO doll skits they would do in Toy Fare magazines were hysterical. But yeah, like everything else the internet killed it. They probably would have lasted longer if they did solid reporting on current events in the industry past and present.
I've quite a few solid articles from them during their time. Their bio on Bill Mantlo including the hit and run tragedy was great. They also did some great dissections on certain plot mysteries like The Twelve or X-Men traitor.
WIZARD definitely had their strengths and good points as a magazine empire, but overall I don't think they're a missed presence in the industry. They ushered in and promotes the "T&A" craze, and Zeb Wells and some other artists.
You, Corp, and your anti-specific comic grudges. How do you sleep at night?
Usually on my stomach.
Well, if Blue Marvel isn't Eisner worthy then it's already an inferior product to Jenkins' Sentry
I did walk into that one. Regardless, I think he's a solid character and could be good in a team book if written properly. I dreaded Bendis getting a hold of him, but am glad he didn't. Even if Ewing is an unknown variable to me.
Eh, to give Sentry a more modernish origin than what he could would dilute that story. The comic took place in the dark time of the late-90s/early 2000s while flashing back to various time periods in Marvel's history, each reflecting the time they took place. If anything, Jenkins' Sentry was a reflection of Marvel's printing history. For the Jenkins' original purpose of the Sentry, his origin was perfect. But again, if you're just basing the origin on an ongoing character, yeah, it's weird, but that's why I don't connect Jenkins' Sentry with anything else that's happened afterwards. To me, it's a separate reality from Bendis' New Avengers.
Characters made as a part of the Marvel Universe always get firmly entrenched in it eventually. Heck, THE SENTRY was a beloved legendary hero forgotten by everyone. I agree that Bendis utterly ruined the character, but you can see how Jenkins lent him for use by entrenching him with a secret back story with everyone.
I think similar topics arose when discussing Noh-Varr/Marvel Boy lately.
And I didn't say he didn't write arcs (though he lacks them in All New X-Men for the most part), only that he didn't write for trade anymore. Take his last run of New Avengers for example. He went 6 issues to an aftermath, to a single issue story, to a five issue story, to a 3 issue arc, to a 7 issue arc, to a 7 issue arc, to a 4 issue arc. The point was, he doesn't write for trade... he writes the length of the story and then cuts it. Granted, sometimes it's a hair too long still, but he's greatly improved since Siege.
Next to AGE OF ULTRON, SIEGE is looking like gold. Actually, I think it was Bendis' best event of the ones he'd done. By sheer coincidence, it was also the shortest. That doesn't mean I thought it was good; just that it was average instead of below average or festering buffalo feces.
Regardless, I hate to think that his issues with decompression have gotten worse. After 6-7 years I got tired of his style of dragging things out and never letting events or excitement interrupt a conversation.
His ability to sell a comic better than Storm or Beast has no barrings on him as a character. And yes, the crappy stories are cannon, but to cling to them as who the character is when it's so obviously out of character is silly. It's like Corp with Uncanny X-Force, or you with Sentry. There are bad stories with the characters. You could always go read the stories that actually handle them properly, as others often point them out, but you choose not to and opt to just continue criticizing the characters based on the bad writing.
My personal opinion... when someone has that mentality, they have no business commenting on the quality of the character or how they have been portrayed. I mean, when you ONLY focus on the bad and refuse to read the good, then what ground do you have to stand on?
The difficulty arises when these stories that you advise me to dismiss as irrelevant to Wolverine's characterization aren't just obscure bits in MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS or a mini series somewhere. They're mainstream, high profile stories like AVENGERS VS. X-MEN or AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE. Or, even AGE OF ULTRON where Wolverine's shattering the entire time stream and meddling with reality itself. And it's hard to say that line wide events or major maxi series featuring high profile writers don't count.
Of course all characters have hiccups and inconsistent moments from sloppy editing. The Hulk is either a menace or an anti-hero sometimes to the degree that other heroes need him to clobber something for them.
As a kid and a youth I used to like Wolverine, but I outgrow him and got far more of him than I could handle. I'm a reformed Wolverholic, been clean for about a decade now. It does seem wholly arbitrary that he's running the school and Storm isn't. Wolverine also comes off as a hypocrite as often as he comes off as morally justified, and I also feel that since 2004, other heroes stopped being bothered by his abrasive nature and/or his violent tactics. Even in the 90's, other heroes like Capt. America or Spider-Man or the Thing were hardly best friends with him when they did team-ups. Now, much like Shrek, Wolverine's popularity has been institutionalized into the saga itself.
In "ENEMY OF THE STATE", Wolverine is possessed by Gorgon and the Hand. He attacks and/or kills countless SHIELD agents, Daredevil, Elektra, as well as decapitates Hornet from SLINGERS. But all these years later nobody bats an eye at how often Wolverine seems to be possessed and go on a killing spree, even recently when his body was possessed by Satan for such purposes. The Hulk was twice exiled from earth for such rampages. No hero, even those involved, seem to bare Wolverine any ill will, any suspicion, for such endeavors. Everyone invites him to Avengers BBQ's and all.
Meanwhile, Cyclops is possessed by the Phoenix unwillingly, kills Professor X and now he's an irredeemable monster. Nobody trusts him. Everyone talks about him in hushed whispers as if he's Red Skull. Not to say that Cyclops hasn't acted like a war hungry maniac for years now, but I simply find the treatment between the two fascinating within the universe.
Wolverine was once interesting as a scrapper, a rebel, an outsider. Now he's about as inside as Ronald McDonald. And I wouldn't have a problem with that if his tactics and many sins and ills and just the sheer lethality of him at least put some characters on edge or at least the heroes who used to lump him with Cardiac or Punisher like Spidey or Cap or the FF still acted that way. I mean, Wolverine once literally disfigured Ben Grimm for years; now they may as well bowl together. I always found it deeply hypocritical when Wolverine would judge anyone but the most savage of criminals. Granted, ORIGIN from Daniel Way added a lot of horrific stuff to his past, but that's there too. His very vendetta against Wanda was half about her depowering mutants and half about her granting him his wish and allowing him to remember his past - and realize what a horrific bastard he was for ages. He literally tortured a Vietnam POW and gave him the motive to become Nuke. This is the man who considers himself morally superior to Cyclops and teaches children. Now, I can buy Wolverine being a hypocrite to Scott; he's wanted to kill him (or at strongly reconsider saving him in missions) since the 70's. My issue is how other characters react or don't to Wolverine at least within the last six or so years, which dilutes the character himself.
I guess my issue is that characters in comics going from heel to babyface as often as they do in wrestling, with characters forgetting unique issues with each other for the sake of corporate cohesiveness.
