Is USM particularly hot or valued right now?

[Smokinghawk]

I knew it was quite popular, but is it particularly hot right now?

 

My local comic shop stopped me at the register when I tried to buy 2 copies of #38, Venom/Spidey cover. He said he's only selling one copy per buyer to keep the availability spread out since it's hard to keep in stock.

 

Is this guy just feeding lines to drive up local buyers' frenzy or is this a genuinely collect-worthy book right now?

 

[blowout]

The Venom issues are pretty hot, he hasn't been around for a while, so I guess new fans are jumping on board.

[fantastic_four]

Speaking of those Venom issues...back when the storyline first started, I heard a bunch of people complaing about it. I don't read any story arc before it's done, so I didn't read them until a few weeks ago when Bendis wrapped it up in #38. I've got to say that those people were quite WRONG--this story ROCKED. This Venom origin makes a lot more sense than that stupid one from Spidey 300, where Eddie Brock reveals that he blames Spider-Man for getting him fired from his reporting job for something that was entirely Eddie Brock's fault to begin with.

 

Bendis RULES!

[joe_collector]

>>Bendis RULES!

 

It's quite easy to go back and improve on innovative and original ideas, but it's tough to build them up from ground zero.

 

I can't believe that Bendis is getting all this praise for ret-conning popular, pre-existing characters into a new, easier-to-swallow format.

[Aman619]

Are you reading these comics JC?

They're fun. Sure he's retelling stuff now, but in a very entertaining way and he's not sticking to the scripts of what came before.

 

And as to his ability as a writer, look at the other comics he has written: Jinx, Powers, Daredevil and ther great Miramax bash he did about his travails as a screenwriter named--"Fortune and Glory". The guy as good as we've ever gotten to write comics over the years.

 

I know you like good comics. He writes interesting stuff....especially for those of us who have read too damm many over the years and need a new twist on things...

[fantastic_four]

It's quite easy to go back and improve on innovative and original ideas, but it's tough to build them up from ground zero.

"Easy." Spoken like a true critic! And I mean "critic" in the foulest sense of the word--a non-creator who gets off on the attempted destruction of other people's creativity. A literary vampire, sucking the life out of others with words.

easier-to-swallow format.

Ah, "easier to swallow." Do you mean easier to swallow as in how it lacks unbelievable villain motivation, inplausible plots with only a basic understanding of rhythmic pace, hackneyed dialogue, and uninteresting character relationships? Yes, I guess Bendis is easier to swallow after becoming used to all of that in comics.

[FlyingDonut]

I'll say it again - Alias is one of the best Marvel series I've ever read.

[joe_collector]

>>I know you like good comics. He writes interesting stuff....especially for those of us who have read too damm many over the years and need a new twist on things...

 

Hey, I enjoyed the early run of USM, and if you kept track, I've complimented Bendis on many occasions. I"m not harping on his writing or talent, but simply the bizarre notion of giving credit for his "New Venom" (or Doc Ock, or Green Goblin, or Kraven, etc.) when it's based on a previously done, original creation.

 

It's kind of like taking 20-20 Hindsight to the Nth degree and being able to put the final polish on a painting, add a few notes to a symphony, or correct the syntax in a novel. Sure, it may be an improvement on the original, but it's not your creation.

 

Bendis gets marks for his own creations, but come on folks, he's getting paid to put a quick 'spit and polish" on the popular Spidey mythos and bring it into the 2000's.

[joe_collector]

>>... who gets off on the attempted destruction of other people's creativity. A literary vampire, sucking the life out of others with words.

 

Seems a lot like what Stan Lee might say about Bendis, if he wasn't under contract to keep his yap shut.

[fantastic_four]

So much BS there...Stan is one of THE most positive figures that comics has ever known. Not just about Marvel; about everything related to comics. He hasn't actively written more than a story or two here and there since around 1970, and that's the way he likes it...he much prefers working around Hollywood and TV/film than comics. Other people have been working with his characters for 30+ years now, so he's used to this. He reacts to all this exactly like someone should--imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

 

Yet Bendis didn't just imitate; his dialogue and relationships are unlike any I've read in comics. Your statements apply generically to anyone who may have taken USM on, but Bendis has done it with more style than the vast majority of writers could have.

[joe_collector]

>>Your statements apply generically to anyone who may have taken USM on, but Bendis has done it with more style than the vast majority of writers could have.

 

You won't get me disagreeing with this, only that the props for the CHARACTERS should go to those who originally stared at a blank piece of paper and found inspiration, not someone who came in later and added a few new wrinkles.

 

In this stance, I'm definitely pro-creator.

[Aman619]

I think I follow your reasoning, that Bendis is creating merely a clever spin on what has already been created. In a very limited sense yes.

 

But surely you also agree that applies to everything. There is very little or NO total creativity in ANY field. Especially in comics after 60 years. Even Spider-Man himself and all his characters were takeoffs to greater or lesser degrees of other pre-existing characters!! The entire FF and their powers had been done many times before.

 

AND, the strongest case against your belittling of Bendis in this manner, is that essentially all the Great Stan Lee really did (and Im not trying to take anything away from him with this) was TELL regular comic book stories in a clever intriguing and novel way! Exactly what you condemn Bendis for. Hardly anyone gives Stan any credit for CREATING anything.......(at least solely) so you are tarring Stan with the same brush you paint Bendis--a good writer reworking existing ideas. You cant comapre Bendis unfavorably with Stan when they both performed the same function: put existing pieces together in a new and novel way.

 

And, as FF said. Stan would be the FIRST in line to applaud the twists Bendis has taken with the mythos that HE himself forged 40 years ago!

 

 

 

You won't get me disagreeing with this, only that the props for the CHARACTERS should go to those who originally stared at a blank piece of paper and found inspiration

 

So how far back do you wanna go to give props here? Cant stop in 1963! Even Shakespeare supposedly put forth the idea 100s of years ago that there are only a limited number of plotlines to work with!

[joe_collector]

There is a HUGE, MONOLITHIC diffrence between creating a new character or concept (within the confines of existing literatue) and taking a 100% pre-existing character and simply re-working it.

 

Sure, there are no new stories or truly different concepts, but Spider-man, The Hulk, FF or any other Marvel Silver Age characters never existed before Stan and Marvel got to work. Highly original ideas? Nope, but the individual characters are in very innovative and distinct, and their longevity proves this out.

 

And I'm not belittling Bendis in the least, anymore than I would have done to Stan when he brought Captain America in Avengers #4. But for that character, Simon's still the man, and I would have stood up and said so to fanboys.

 

The line from Jurassic Park really comes to mind when talking about this:

 

"You stood on the shoulders of geniuses... to accomplish something fantastic"

 

That doesn't mean Bendis isn't a genius as well, only that he started out where Stan left off, well ahead of the game.

[Aman619]

That doesn't mean Bendis isn't a genius as well, only that he started out where Stan left off, well ahead of the game.

 

Then I just wish you had said it like this in the first place. It came across like you were calling Bendis a hack just reworking the fields. There's plenty of bad deadline-coming-need-paycheck comics produced each month...but Bendis's record is far better than that.

 

Sounds like we are confusing Bendis' abilities as a WRITER with his "assignment" or goals in writing USM. The ground rules 'state' that he is to rework the Spidey mythos for a new generation...that means taking the names and powers of the characters and updating and redefining the origins etc. In that regard, you are correct as to his USM work. But even there, a bad or average writer wouldn't have made it NEARLY so surprisingly enjoyable. We cant fault his talent for not creating NEW stuff on USM until he's brought back everything first, or whatever the timetable for the rollout of the storyline is.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Instead of creating "Ultimate" Spider-man, why didn't they just create a whole NEW character? To be completely honest, I HATE the idea of NO RULES, when it comes to my favourite super-hero. If you're going to change everything about a character, why not take it one step further......and CHANGE the character. But then again, that wouldn't be "changing" the character, that would be CREATING one. My mistake...........

[Aman619]

Easy--they didnt create a whole new character for Ultimate Spider-Man because that wasnt the plan for the book. They/Jemas wanted to create an up-to-date Spidey that would appeal to todays teenagers...and tie in with the movie.

 

Marvel creates brand new characters all the time, dont they?

[blowout]

Marvel creates brand new characters all the time, dont they?

 

Yeah if you are stuck in a time machine that won't travel past 1975.

[Aman619]

I was trying to make a list in my head and I did come up blank...but I still thought that was a safe statement.....

[joe_collector]

Marvel hasn't created a new, popular title-character in a long while, and the only ones with any staying power have been the Silver Age creations.

 

That's only natural in a greybeard market, where the fogies like to see a "new twist" on their fave characters, and where innovation is rewarded with low sales.

 

Marvel: By FanBoys, For Fanboys!

[NewtSamson]

I thought DarkHawk was kind of cool, but SleepWalker sucked.