I read the new Defenders comic book -- the one by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire -- and found it to be sort of depressing.
Now. I'm long past the days where I care deeply about comics and what happens in them, but I nonetheless found it odd that the best Marvel can do is get the guys from Justice League to do Justice League.
Each page of Defenders #1 has at least three forced punchlines. The Defenders are now, apparently, a comedy troupe -- right down to Dr. Strange who's now going to try out for amateurs' night at The Laugh Factory.
Haha! Dr. Banner suggests Namor is gay.
Haha! Dormammu and Umar are fighting like brother and sister because they are brother and sister!
Haha! Wong is Dr. Strange's MAN-servant.
It just goes on and on. And maybe half of it is warranted, and a third of it is funny.
The thing is, Giffen and company are really talented. They just go overboard, and no one thinks to reign them in. DC let those guys do zanier and zanier stuff until Justice League became a joke without a punchline. Marvel, apparently, has given them another blank check. (With luck, however, this five-issue miniseries will not see continuation...)
Anyway, that's probably more than ANYONE ever wanted to read about the Defenders. It's just sort of sad to pick up a comic and realize it's the funnybook equivalent of someone else's soiled laundry.
Now. I'm long past the days where I care deeply about comics and what happens in them, but I nonetheless found it odd that the best Marvel can do is get the guys from Justice League to do Justice League.
Each page of Defenders #1 has at least three forced punchlines. The Defenders are now, apparently, a comedy troupe -- right down to Dr. Strange who's now going to try out for amateurs' night at The Laugh Factory.
Haha! Dr. Banner suggests Namor is gay.
Haha! Dormammu and Umar are fighting like brother and sister because they are brother and sister!
Haha! Wong is Dr. Strange's MAN-servant.
It just goes on and on. And maybe half of it is warranted, and a third of it is funny.
The thing is, Giffen and company are really talented. They just go overboard, and no one thinks to reign them in. DC let those guys do zanier and zanier stuff until Justice League became a joke without a punchline. Marvel, apparently, has given them another blank check. (With luck, however, this five-issue miniseries will not see continuation...)
Anyway, that's probably more than ANYONE ever wanted to read about the Defenders. It's just sort of sad to pick up a comic and realize it's the funnybook equivalent of someone else's soiled laundry.