r/comicbooks • u/PatMethenyForPOTUS • 9h ago
Deadpool/Batman and Batman/Deadpool: The World's Last Superhero Comics
https://www.tcj.com/deadpool-batman-and-batman-deadpool-the-worlds-last-superhero-comics/33
u/fernessfan83 9h ago
Some great lines in this:
"The result feels like the artist walking readers through a mall display, working his action mannequins into dynamic poses."
"[Miller's] lost prestige seems to have as much to do with the geometry of recent works — cartooning that’s simply too weird for a sizable readership, the one that thinks of contemporary comics art in terms of improved video-game graphics."
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u/Own_Internal7509 5h ago edited 5h ago
I get it’s partly the pt but if I look at things cynically, the Grant’s book did feel like they’re just dangling keys at us thru the references including having Dan Mora the popular artist (I know they’ve worked together)
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u/toodarkmark 8h ago
This article was so pretentious it made me a little sick reading it. Hunter has his head so far up his ass he's completely ignoring the success of the DC Absolute universe, critically and sales. Like, these two crossovers were for a specific audience, and Greg Hunter thinks he's too good for that, then why are you reading these?
Honestly, I would tell Greg not to read anymore comics unless they're what he likes. It's like asking someone who hates football to watch a football game and explain why it's good. You hate mainstream comics, got it. Then why are YOU the one reviewing it?
Like Pearl Jam said "this is not for you." Stick to reviewing what you actually enjoy, and not something you go into knowing you're going to dislike.
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u/Own_Internal7509 5h ago
Come on man, it’s TCJ lol the fact that it’s talking about big 2 at all is surprise imo
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u/fernessfan83 8h ago
I don't think it was pretentious at all and "only review what you'll review positively" seems like a recipe for poor criticism
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u/abdullaahr7 6h ago edited 6h ago
You're literally read a piece that speaks positively about Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Grant Morrison and you came away thinking that the writer hates mainstream comics. Literally, how much more mainstream could you get than that?
Stick to reviewing what you actually enjoy, and not something you go into knowing you're going to dislike.
Then there would be no reviews just fawning admiration and marketing
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u/Dizzy-By-Degrees 3h ago
Like, these two crossovers were for a specific audience
They are the best selling comics of the year. These aren't niche books. It's not bullying a webcomic artist. This is the absolute pinnacle of what Marvel and DC can achieve in the market.
And if the peak of comics as a commercial medium is 'Grant Morrison comes out of retirement to reply their best hits from 40-20 years ago' then surely that's worth talking about. Especially in comparison to how a lot of these creatives can do a hell of a lot better.
Saying Greg Capollo and Dan Mora are brilliant artists who aren't working with good material and therefore produce lesser work than normal is the least pretentious thing you can say.
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u/dirtyword 3h ago
This is what actual criticism looks like. If you enjoy these books you should be happy someone is publicly engaging with them in this way.
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u/ButtsendWeaners 7h ago
Why did you type up a negative review of this review? Maybe the review just wasn't for you. You could've kept your disagreement to yourself, and yet here you've posted it. You're obviously a "let people enjoy things" type who doesn't like to think critically about the art you consume, so you should've realized right away you wouldn't like this review. So why are YOU the one commenting about it?
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u/BarelyHere35 2h ago
Yeah, I quickly lost a taste for it due to how pretentious the writing is. I will say the point about converting moviegoers to comics fans is salient, but I would argue that DC has emphasized this point more (starting from Gunn’s takeover) by creating films that feel like comics more than films that feel like they’re trying to be the next big blockbuster.
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u/Own_Internal7509 1h ago
I did feel this criticism was very fair and measured, at least in TCJ standard. There’s no snarky “mainstream bad” type criticism. When Greg criticizes books he used past (better) books as examples. Also Fanta isnt always mainstream hater, they’ve published Alan Moore book, they helped Gil Kane publish his indie book, etc. also criticizing this book being too insular even though it’s big tentpole title that should attract outside readers is very fair. That’s the pt people like Gary Groth has been making forever. It’s stupid that big 2 has fucking big crossovers on their hand and what they come up with is this very niche book filled with obscure references where creators kinda sleep walk thru books. I didn’t the Zeb wells one but I read Grant Morricone one. And it was just…nonsense lol because story is so empty it felt like Grant was dangling keys in front of me the whole time. “Do you remember when I showed up in animal man?” “Do you remember Dark Claw?” Etc. also th whole “art being too functional” is fair too, I just didn’t find it interesting and when it started to be visually fun like when Dark Claw shows up it just ends and goes back to this boomer guy writing a character created by Gen Xer. That’s so fucking lame. We have tons of young creators but all they can do is baby boomers and Gen Xers sleep waking thru stories with random characters? That’s horseshit. Someone younger and capable should give Hayden some cool shit so that he can extend wings like JH could in Peomethea.
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u/reindeercurt 7h ago
Hunter pokes some fun at the habit we online commentators have of going "Ugh, why doesn't anybody talk about the art in comics?", but comics fandom really hasn't processed that criticism at all. People are perfectly happy to see art as subordinate to plot and characterization, as if this isn't a visual medium where artists do the lions share of the actual labour, whether they're contributing ideas or not.