ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) (10/11/85)
> Look, it was obvious from the start that this whole sequence was going to > be cretinous. The premise makes that obvious. So why do you people, who I > assume are somewhat above average in intelligence, buy it? ... > What factors cause someone to buy a comic book that they realize from the > start is going to be awful? > Don't you realize that if you continue to suffer these Pavlovian reactions > to comic books, they will continue to be rotten? If you are guaranteed to > buy something that has Jean Grey on the cover, then why should they bother > putting a good story? If the floor beneath you becomes covered with drool > when you hear the name Byrne, then why shouldn't he become somewhat less > careful in his artwork (as we've all seen)? > Tim Maroney, CMU Center for Art and Technology I, for one (and admittedly I'm not sure whether anyone will back me up) think that Tim is going too far here. Several folks (I believe Jayembee was among them, maybe Jeff as well) have said that the writing in FF 286 was good enough to make them *almost* ignore the bad premise (Jean is back). I don't agree that Byrne's art has gone downhill recently; I think he has the ups and downs that anyone would, and I remain quite fond of his work, particularly with the FF. As to why anyone would want to buy something obviously "cretinous," again: I don't think it is that stupid. Marvel has committed faux pas like this before. I think it interesting that Jean Grey's rebirth seems to incite the most Shooter-baiting of all; it's probably indicative of the respect in which we hold her character. Now, I agree that the omens are bad; but I LIKE JEAN, I'm glad she's back, and I plan to keep right on buying anything with her on the cover! I respect Tim's right to his own opinions; but he's coming pretty close to calling me a brainless consumer of mass-produced opiates, and I resent that slur on *my* opinions. Ellen Eades -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Who's been repeating all that hard stuff to you?" "I read it in a book," said Alice. - - - - - - - - - - - - - tektronix!reed!ellen
moriarty@fluke.UUCP (The Napoleon of Crime) (10/14/85)
In article <1995@reed.UUCP> ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) writes: >I, for one (and admittedly I'm not sure whether anyone will back >me up) think that Tim is going too far here. Several folks (I >believe Jayembee was among them, maybe Jeff as well) have said >that the writing in FF 286 was good enough to make them *almost* >ignore the bad premise (Jean is back). Actually, haven't reviewed this yet (read it last night), but that's a pretty concise description. I really *hate* having Jean brought back, but I doubt anyone could have done a better job of it than Byrne. I'll leave the rest for the next collection of reviews. As to buying these comics, the point is, you can't *really* find out if a comic is any good until you buy it. My general rule-of-thumb is that two or three bad issues I put the title on probation; two issues more, and I stop buying it (this period may extend or contract, depending on prior quality of the title and the level of decline). And the fact is, I still think Byrne does pretty good work. Not up to the level of the people doing MAGE, SWAMP THING, POWER PLAYS and others, but still good stuff. And I don't like the analogies made to drooling idiots buying Byrne. But then that's MY opinion (thanks, Ellen). And now for something Complete Different: Public apology to Tim Maroney: according to Scott McEwan, I have apparently taken a quote of his the wrong way. I assumed the quote about comic writers not being called "him or her" was supposed to be a offhand comment about comic writers (i.e. they're all "its"). Scott pointed this was not the case, and he's right, apparently Tim is implying that comic writers are almost entirely male. My apologies, I read it wrong, and pulled a really stupid stunt by flaming (first time in six months, which shows why the heck I should avoid it). It was a dumb move on my part. I still find his style of comment snide (I always have), but that's just his choice, and just my opinion. I'd prefer to see the discussions in net.comics more academic without hints of name-calling, but I'm just one person, with one opinion; on an uncensored net, you basically can only control one person's output: yours. And I didn't do a very good job in the aforementioned article... "When in doubt, tell the truth." Mark Twain "When in doubt, book 'em." Steve McGarret, Five-O Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty <*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>