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Just more proof that certain artists should never be allowed to write their material.
I'm on the fence on the whole Jim Lee/Chris Claremont thing, and I prefer Jack Kirby to Stan Lee, but...
'Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham'? Jim Balent - not the greatest artist, as it stands - should never be allowed to draw a book and have some poor writer try and fill in the logic gaps. That's just mean. (Even though I know a few girls who're going to be Brooks fans once I pass that mini around.)
That 'Elseworld's Finest' with Batgirl and Supergirl was fun, had a great ending, and beefcakey and needy Joker is just entertaining, but really, the artist's designing characters to be plugged into a plot was just kinda haphazard.
Alex Ross - again, not the greatest artist to start with - apparently kills loads of time drawing Superheroes in new costumes and trying to age them... the fact that 'Earth X' and 'Kingdom Come' were bearable, and in parts almost brilliant, falls on the shoulders of Waid and Kruger and, their ability to almost convince me of some of these revisions.
Alright, enough Elseworlds... they just seem to give artists a bit more leeway on plotting, there - see the X-Men book of pinup-storylines.
Sometimes it works out and they can do both (Morrison, Baker, Miller, Kirby, er... other people) but nine out of ten, you get Chuck 'I can draw kinda good so maybe I should write' Austen or Rob Lefield and his X-Force books. Even with he of great inhumane anatomy and no detail-checking (How many fingers does Badrock have? How about Hawkeye's swords?), Marvel had to call in Nicieza to salvage by over-wording, uber-complicated-plotting, and carefully explaining away things which needn't be there at all.
To be fair, there are artist's who probably shouldn't draw, too, but I can't think of any off the top my head. Garth Ennis' little Preacher-cover sketches were great, if not near the quality of his pencil and paint slinging associates. Mark Gruenwald was a fair enough artist the once or thrice he put a comic out with his own drawings.
What I find a shame, is Chuck Austen's alias for his 'Watchworld' series. I mean, Sam Clemens, for fucks sake! He's just insulted comics readers from fatbeards to gradeschoolers to, Sam Jackson, Paul 'X-Axis' O'Brien, to, er, me. Like the collective collectedness of comics readers are that stupid.
Can he be X, writer of 'The Brotherhood' if yore, too? Please? Mackie needs the break; there's still HEAT members gunning for him and he's starting to cramp from all the running. |
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