Subject: Hmmn... actually... [pt 2...

Posted by: Lee in Limbo at 11/09/00 22:10

...Doubting Thomases to be cast out of the Garden]

We're going to get a Claremont book where he gets to tell stories his way. He's most likely going to have complete freedom to write his stories using characters he really wants to and not ones that are forced upon him. ~RIO

I want to believe that, gang. I really do. Honest. It's just that, nowhere did that article say those things, and that's where I differ from my beloved and more optimistic friends, Drew and Rio, and you too, Stevie, my boy. Be as optimistic as you wish. The thought to dissuade you never crossed my mind. And yes, despite what you may think, I DID notice the implications that you all are dancing such a merry jig to, and I say, that's nice... now show me where the legally-binding contract states that they WILL ALLOW HIM TO WRITE HIS D@#$NED STORIES, with NO INTERFERENCE. You can't. It's not there. I read the same article, guys. A few times. I have it archived, too. And it says nothing about this miraculous 'giving Chris his due' revelation you all have seemed to spot that I didn't see, so busy was I trying to remove the log from mine own eye (whilst dodging all of that stagey hoopla).

Please, read this thought, and understand this, if nothing else: I will read the book. I will enjoy it for as much joy as I can reasonably get out of it. I will try to be fair. But you cannot make me see your brand of reason that my fears are misplaced, because I know when I'm being buttered up, and I saw nothing but company hype in that article. The information was not official, it was speculative industry buzz, and the particulars of the title were nowhere to be found. Don't tell me they were, because they weren't. The only significant thing said was that it would be in current continuity. Now, tell me that does not mean 'will be part of the crossover-itis' syndrome that frequently interrupts some of the best writing going in these books. C'MON, guy! It's an X-BOOK!! They CAN'T leave it alone. How CAN they? Boy scout pledge? Swearing on the Bible and on their mothers' graves? Don't play this like I'm being some irascible crank. I've heard this song and dance before. You can all get swept up in the feeding frenzy if you like, and I wish you well. But would you please, just for once, back off with the preachy trying to tell me I'm just not seeing the truth routine. It's a crock, and I ain't buying it. The books, sure, unless and until I see that all is not well. But please don't try to condescend to me, as if I don't know any better. I'm afraid you have me sussed all wrong, if you think so little of my opinions. You are invited to disagree, but this is not an invitation to try and discredit my very thinking processes on this matter. I know what I think, and I happen to think myself at least as hip as you, my dear friends and colleagues, and really, I have yet to see anything that convinces me there will be magic yet, in any regular continuity title.

Yes, I wanted more titles cut, and no, I don't think we need any new ones; sorry, guys, but as Drew well knows, I really think they should concentrate on making the few good ideas they have work better, and that includes fewer regular storylines. I would rather see story arcs with different casts in a small handful of well-conceived titles, rotated and revisited whenever the stories are ready to roll, rather than have less-than-spectacular stuff roll out in a book that I may feel duty-bound to buy, only to regret it later. I demand really good story-telling. So sue me. I think I have the right to grouse. It can be a pretty expensive hobby, and I do it as much for research purposes as for the sheer entertainment... so I expect to be entertained, and well. I think Marvel takes me for granted. I really believe that. And... get this... I think they do the same with you all, as well. I really think that, personalities aside, like our new friend Tom Raney, our older friend Joe Harris, our not-lately seen friends Jay Faerber, Brain Woods, Steve Pugh, Fabian Nicieza, and any other pros who may find their way here, there is far too much lack of sympathy with what the audience truly needs, here, which is sustainable, intelligent, well-thought-out story-telling. I don't begrudge the pros their workmanship (much... *grin*), but I do seriously doubt that our personal tastes are as seriously important to the publishing of these books as the tried-and-true (the numbers don't lie) methods of packaging and selling these little books to the masses, whomever they may be. Aesthetics are subjective, and the company aesthetic, it seems to me, is very much off-kilter. The books lack the kind of impact I came in expecting to find, with so many of my very 'favouritest' of all comic characters onboard.

What I mean is, I think the company is a little out of touch with what makes good comics... although I will grant that my prejudices towards the X-books may be blinding me a bit, here. I mean, it is MY opinion, after all, and I am not always as enthusiastic as my buddies Drew and Rio. Still, why is it that I am considered so far off base and treated as if I am totally out of line for being doubtful? Must I be silent to appease your need for a spot-free rush of youthful optimism? Why am I not allowed to point out the equally compelling point that mainstream X-books, historically, have little chance to dance to their own tune, always falling subservient to the needs of the core books, which themselves are mired in red tape and expectations from both us over-serious fan-types AND the money lenders?? I have read very little in the last two years that couldn't have been improved upon with the judicious insertion of an editorial direction more in line with making great stories, rather than merely catering to whims and following the manual. Great writers and artists have been laid low, here, in an industry that has thrived creatively, but still cooled in the shadow of this blind behemoth we call the X-books.

Remember, I love the title, too. I just think it is ill-served with all of this shallow hype, designed to engender this blind faith that everything is in good hands. I reserve the right to believe it when I see it. So, save your song and dance for someone else, guys. I'm just waiting to hear something I can dance to. Quit frowning at me like that. I have a right to be doubtful. I have read these books for twenty years, now, and I have developed a real distaste for the modern brand of hype that I get fed every time Marvel cooks up new scheme to get people to come back to a title so labyrinthine that fans old and new have to segregate themselves to two or three X-titles at a time, because most of the continuity is so impenetrable that it has to be swallowed in small doses, to avoid choking. Can you believe that there once was a time when you could collect them all, and it didn't feel so contrived and calculated to make me stay, whether I wanted to or not? It used to be so easy...

Oops, ranting again. Sorry, gang.

Lee Edward McIlmoyle

Welcome To The Village.
Be Seeing You.
~The Prisoner