I just happened upon a new article on one of those snobbish "graphic arts" sites that called for the retirement of JB and Chris Claremont. An entire article arguing that Byrne and his "dwindling fans" are to blame for holding the comic industry back.
Why is this good news? It's a sign that JB and his peers are scaring the living sh*t out of these creative charlatans with the success of the JLA. Here's to many more successes and many more great decades to Byrne, Claremont, Ordway other authentic writers and artists.
This message has been edited by RodOdom on Mar 21, 2004 10:11 PM
These 'critics' spend so much time tearing down superheroes and adventure comics when they should be spending their column space PROMOTING the books they like! If John Byrne's career is faultering like they say it is (and judging by the sales of JLA #94, he's doing just fine, thank you very much) then their problem should be solved. They should carry on loving what they love and quit wishing ill for others. Plenty of room in ComicLand for everyone, please, no shoving!
I read Watchmen. I read Sandman. I read pretty much everything that crosses my path. I buy what I like. If that includes a John Byrne project, along with, say, Gilbert Hernandez' Palomar hardcover, doesn't that mean my collection is diverse? When did it start meaning I'm contributing to the destruction of comics? Man, let's have some fun again, huh?
c.
No-one cares when ___ is assigned a book, or removed. When ____ takes up a new title, nobody notices. JB gets a new gig, and half the world loses its mind.
In response I was relegated to moderated posts for a week. Of course, the mod was on the Byrne-Bashing side.
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You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different.
The only other message board I haunt is the Geoff Johns board but even there I just bite my tongue when JB's name comes up. Some battles are just not worth the time and effort to fight. The hour I spend pouring over the right response to jerk23 could be spent looking at the posts over here.
I tend to think the work speaks for itself and if you don't agree with the work, nothing I say is going to change your mind. Better to come in saying, "Wasn't that scene where XXXXX tossed YYYYYY through the window cool? How about when ZZZZZZZZ said, '...' I can't wait to see where this is going!"
By just talking up the postives those who aren't just mad-dog JB haters are going to feed on the enthusiasm. It will allow the timid to be able to come forward and say, "Yeah, I did like that part. That really worked for me." And you may change some minds of those who were just feeding off the opinions of the cool-school idiots.
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Mike Nebeker - Super Genuis Good Judgement comes from Experience
And Experience comes from... Bad Judgement
I like John's work so this may sound dumb. I think it's incredibly thick headed to say that John Byrne must be stopped if you don't happen to like his work. It's better to say that he must be countered(meaning that other people should do some different stuff and then the person who doesn't like JB's art and writing can buy and enjoy that!)
John Byrne isn't holding back comics any more than Allan Moore is "evolving" them. I think that diversity of product will prove more valuable to the comic book industry than some kind of artificial fad driven winnowing/optimization process where it's all Punisher MAX style titles and retreaded Vertigo stuff. After all killing books that suck is ultimately the fans job. If we don't buy them they sink. If you don't like something then don't buy it. But that;s the extent of your responsibility! Do not judge the entire spectrum of comics by you likes and dislikes! If you don't care for something then kindly leave it for someone else who does like it! Criticizing it is fine. Making rough jokes about it is too! Creepy demagogue routines and whisper campaigns and rumor mongering are not!
I've grown to sort of hate what Allan Moore represents(and his cabal) in the comics market and I rant about it from time to time but it's not because I want him to go away! Lot's of people love Moore's stuff. I don't want to screw up their lives! It's more because I want editors to stop blindly using him as a sort of template to transform every genre they feel the urge to much with! Sometimes it seems like Moore's paradigm for non scruffy lit-club acceptable comics is a sort of crutch.
In other news I like pig meat pretty well but I don't think I want to eat at an all pork restaraunt. "I'll have the pork soup, some pork, a couple of pork chops in pork gravy and a slice of pork for dessert!" I also don't want to outlaw chicken for the good of the meat market.
Bleah.
Maybe I would outlaw hogshead cheese though. It's pretty nasty. Hmmm.
This message has been edited by Palaeomerus on Mar 22, 2004 7:09 AM
Remember, what you're dealing with in these extreme cases is addictive personalities . They may profess to hating my work, or Claremont's, or anyone else's -- but they still read it . They cannot help themselves.
Whether they "just flip thru it in the shop then put it back", or whether they take delight in announcing that they read the books without buying them, or whether that are actually buying the hated product so as not to have a "hole" in their collection, these poor, benighted souls are just as badly addicted as a crack-head or an alcoholic.
Oh dear, so a few people think our dear John is the second coming of the devil, oh how this brings a smile to my ugly mug (face).
Now myself, I still collect on the merits on the fact that the artist still retains the high standards that he has always set to achieve.
Saying this the only 2 living (sorry state, and a hard thing to admit) artists work I still buy just because of their name are well of course John, and the second is Sal Buscema, (but only if he’s penciling).
Sal was the first artist for me, at least American (Marvel) artist who really gave me the bug to collect comics.
And then along came JB, who sparked the same interest, who knows what makes one guy more likeable to another but that’s the way it goes.
Here’s hoping for many more years of enjoying John’s work, hope you never loose that caring you have for producing quality work.
All the best, and forgive the naysayers.
Cheers,
Peter aka vanullis
...these poor, benighted souls are just as badly addicted as a crack-head or an alcoholic
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JB, does this mean that you're finally fessing up to exploiting these poor people? Should the DEA start waging a "War on Byrne" and arrest the management of DC as a Byrne Cartel?
I bet you give "free samples" to schoolkids, don't ya?
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You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different.
[The humorous answer] About "dwindling JB fans:" first of all, as a John Byrne fan, I am far from "dwindling." I don't dwindle. It's unsafe, unhealthy, and against the law.
[The serious answer] Craig H. and Emery expressed my point of view better than I can. Thanks, guys!
I kind of miss those days, when I didn't hear or read about harsh criticisms about writers and artists in the comics medium. I've been to another messege board where veterans like JB get bashed, along with reading the put-downs about Chris Claremont's writing on X-Treme X-Men. Even new-comers like Chuck Austen and Igor Kordey, get put-downs.
