Boy, a bomb dropped onto the comics world the other day over on Comic Book Resources when Grant Morrison said he is going to stop writing super-hero comics. The whole interview is worth reading here:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=40014
But it was this questions that simply stood out:
CBR: I think a lot of people are surprised that you've remained dedicated to writing superhero comics for this long. Did you always foresee a waning of that work, or did it sneak up on you that "I'm not sure if I need to write anymore superhero stories"?
Morrison: The idea was always that I'd keep doing it as long as it gave me a lot of pleasure and allowed me to express myself . And it still does, but I can see the end coming closer. I'm coming to the end of long runs and stories I've had planned in my notebooks for years and the stuff I’m developing now is quite different.
The "Action Comics" run concludes with issue #16, "Batman Incorporated" wraps up my take with issue #12, and after that I don’t have any plans for monthly superhero books for a while. "Multiversity" is eight issues and I’m 30-odd pages into a Wonder Woman project but those are finite stories.
I'm not saying that I'll never write superheroes again. It's just that my relationship to them has changed especially after finishing the book and I’m not sure if I want to maintain the same kind of relentless level of production.
Morrison finally leaving the genre isn't that surprising to me. He is something of a rock star in the comic world and has plumbed the depths of the super-hero world. Maybe it is time for him to try something new. I don't blame him at all. And I could rattle off the stuff he has written in the genre that showed just how far and how fantastic the medium can be - from Doom Patrol and Animal Man to JLA to New XMen to All Star Superman - it all has been wondrous.
And this Action Comics run has been as great. It started mid-sprint and hasn't slowed down. We have been pelted with idea after idea, with the origins and ethics of Superman showed in a nuanced way rather than drummed out via exposition. This Superman feels right. And I'll reiterate ... I think it is great.
But ....
You knew there was a 'but' coming right ...
But I worry in what state he will leave this DCnU Superman. This is a new Superman. Action Comics is set 5 years prior to current stories. It is supposed to be the bedrock on which a whole new mythos of the main character of the DC universe is built on.
Will Morrison be able to wrap up all his plots in just 5 months?
And more importantly...
Will Morrison be able to leave Superman as a defined and well-established character in the next 5 issues? Will there be enough of a foundation?
Will the 'lost 5 years' ever be covered?
Will enough be explored such that when Morrison is gone that both titles will be set in the now? That both books are on a creative level such that one doesn't define the other?
From an editorial viewpoint, I wonder ...
Did DC always know that Morrison was in it for 1.5 years?
Did they try to have him write something more of a 'Secret Origin' style book to set up Superman for the future? Or was he given free reign?
The news of Morrison leaving has to make DC shudder. Morrison's Action made Superman sort of relevant again, despite the shakiness of the Superman title. What does this mean moving forward? Who is going to take over the book (although Sholly Fisch seems to be warming up in the bullpen)?
Lastly, this news makes me respect John Byrne. I know some love him and some hate him. But there is no denying that he had a long term plan for Superman when he took the reins 25 years ago. He did Man of Steel to set up some parameters for the character - who is Superman, when did he arrive, who is Lois, who is Lex, how does Batman react to him. It was a decent enough foundation that Byrne could then write and draw years of Superman from the character's 'beginning', reintroducing us to aspects of the legend while weaving his own story.
I had hoped Morrison (like Byrne) would also be on the book for years, seizing the keys to the kingdom and writing a new legend. Now it seems like he didn't want the kingdom long term, he only was visiting. I hope the new tenants on the Superman books bring the right ideas and outlook to the character.
And, needless to say, I am sad to see him leave the book. Because in a world where a Superman editor calls the character a loner, Morrison seemed to understand just who Superman is.
6 comments:
I've all sorts of conflicted feelings about this news, and you covered some of them, Morrison was everyone's #1 choice to revamp Superman, the dream choice, and yet it never quite caught fire as a run. Like you said yourself I get an impression that his control was not at all absolute over the character, his own scripts perhaps, but NOT the character.
If he wasn't allowed full control then obviously that explains why Superman overall has lacked a confident treatment and direction since September, it's one more thing to lay at the feet of editorial. So now the dream man for the job is gone... and I'm struggling to think of any obvious or likely big talent to succeed him. It will have to be someone pretty big, someone with that 'something' Morrison had, I'd like to think this will be the prelude to a new dawn and would see the Superman books finally get a team of creators who are allowed to fly free and get to grips with the character, but based on the last six or so years I know that that just isn't likely to happen... :(
I'm not sure if it's just the nature of today's comic book industry, but it seems to me that creators just don't stay very long. I've read John Byrne's Superman and Fantastic Four, Frank Miller's Daredevil, Walt Simonson's Thor, Levitz's long run on Legion, Claremon't s X-Men. These are all great epic stories that I find better than anything published today. Maybe I'm just cynical. Maybe I'm just tired of the non-stop revolving door of artists and writers. It's really helped me gain an appreciation for independent comics, where a writer/artist can do their own thing, tell an actual story with a beginning, middle, and end. Today's industry is all about finding people to fill in until the next one can come along. It makes me appreciate the Gates/Igle run on Supergirl even more. Reading those wonderful stories for 25 issues, 2 annuals, and a miniseries really made me feel like it was back in the old days: Gates told a long story, and it was satisfying, complete, and epic (and I wanted more of it once it was over). That is what we need more of in today's comics.
I'd like to think this will be the prelude to a new dawn and would see the Superman books finally get a team of creators who are allowed to fly free and get to grips with the character, but based on the last six or so years I know that that just isn't likely to happen..
It really has been about 6 years hasn't it.
It'll never happen but I'd like to see Mark Waid on the book.
It makes me appreciate the Gates/Igle run on Supergirl even more. Reading those wonderful stories for 25 issues, 2 annuals, and a miniseries really made me feel like it was back in the old days: Gates told a long story, and it was satisfying, complete, and epic (and I wanted more of it once it was over). That is what we need more of in today's comics.
I think in this society of the now, books and teams aren't given much slack to find an audience. If it doesn't sell the team gets moved or the book gets cancelled. It does make me appreciate longer runs (like Gates/Igle) because it allows a character's story to unfold.
I have heard Gates talk about how he would approach a run on Superman and I think I would be thrilled if he came on board. Of course, he would probably be constrained by the higher ups.
I have read several times where Morrison had a 24 issue plan set, with no real ending point. To see him cut it short by eight issues means either he was tired of DC editorial or vice versa or both. This saddens more for the future of the Superman titles, since the other other books are already rotating writers.
Hi:
So here´s the score on real time:
1) MARVEL can read the signs of the times, MARVEL upgrades Carol Danvers to Cap´Marvel, #1 honcho, begins to yield to the future...
2) DC...oh, boy! The Satanists who still run dear ol´DC...The Rock.Feller TITANIC with its big hull already up like in the Cameron movie and ready to come sinking into the blue...dear DC!!!
...Still the "Church of Isis"...still luciferian until the last day Dec 21, 2012...still furiously hyping their Isis/Diana-Lucifera: (Maria Magdalena, Semiramis, Lucifer, aka. "Wonder-Woman")...still hating the guts of the Christian Godess (aka "Supergirl")...& trying to step her down.-
Xx
Guess who´ll win?
Scared because Morrison left??
Expect them all to go before Dec. 21.-
THEN, like the Mayans said:
"The Godess returns...!"
Enjoy!
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