Grant Morrison Q & A on Final Crisis

[40footwolf]

In an interview with Wizard Universe (here) (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/022908finalcrisis.html) Grant Morrison is asked how Final Crisis will compete with Secret Invasion, and, as in the quote from the title, he responds "We're going to kick their ass so hard(laughs)" and then even goes on to say, "If you're a Marvel fan, it's simple: There's only one book to read this summer".

Well, I dunno about you guys, but if Grant Morrison says Final Crisis will kick Secret Invasion's ass then, by God, I'm inclined to believe him. I am so totally pumped about this event after that interview.

[Superbeast]

I can only assume Morrison is still pissed Marvel brought him in to shake up the X-Men franchise and they've since retconned/undone 80% of his efforts. When Morrison is firing on all cylinders he's a top writer but his Batman work so far has not impressed me that much considering his CV. Hopefully Geoff Johns will light a fire under his ass for this project.

[jhota]

for all that "he's/she's/it's a Skrull!" has become a running joke, i really think the run-up to Secret Invasion has been a heck of a lot better than Countdown.

so i'd have to see a pretty big swing in the quality towards DC.

(not saying Marvel's been that great - it's just Countdown's been pretty darn bad)

[david r]

I hope Grant Morrison is correct and DC wins a knock-out punch to Marvel. It's about time Marvel lost a round.

[Kevinroc]

We'll see. All I do know is that the build-up to Secret Invasion has been much better than the Countdown to Final Crisis. Infinite Crisis/ 52/ OYL was supposed to kick Marvel's ass and it didn't.

[Hawkman]

I just finished reading that interview from a link at another website, and I literally laughed out loud when I came to that comment. Not at the assumption that it won't come to fruition, but rather Morrison's bravado in actually saying it on record. I actually hope he's right, and may have even nodded subconsciously in approval of it.

Anywho, I really can't wait for this thing. Everything I read on it, every scrap that comes my way, be it from Morrison, Jones, or even DiDio gets me pumped for Final Crisis. I sincerely hope it delivers.

[Beast]

I can only assume Morrison is still pissed Marvel brought him in to shake up the X-Men franchise and they've since retconned/undone 80% of his efforts.
Which they haven't. Pretty much everything he put in play except Xorneto is still around.

[Laughing Mask]

yes.

yes they will.

[J Sin]

I haven't read any Marvel books. I've been so focused on catching up on the Crisis series (see my sig) that I completely and utterly ignored Marvel. So I have no idea what Secret Invasion is about, who it includes, or any of its buildup. Guess I lose, but at least I'll be ready for FC

[Mysterio]

Good grief. What's with all the DC vs Marvel hate? If the stories are good, we should be enjoying them. Not hoping one fails and the other "triumphs." Give me a good comic any day, regardless of the publisher!

[DWEarhart]

Is he talking sales-wise or story-wise?

Story-wise, hell yes. Sales-wise. Eeeeeyyyyyeeeeaaahhhhuuuuuuh, NO.

Final Crisis will sell big. But only Final Crisis.

[DaeJi]

Good grief. What's with all the DC vs Marvel hate? If the stories are good, we should be enjoying them. Not hoping one fails and the other "triumphs." Give me a good comic any day, regardless of the publisher!

I can't speak for the fans, but DC vs. Marvel is great from a story standpoint. By trying to out do each other, DC and Marvel come out with better stories. In theory, anyway.

[Mysterio]

I can't speak for the fans, but DC vs. Marvel is great from a story standpoint. By trying to out do each other, DC and Marvel come out with better stories. In theory, anyway.

Oh I agree. Competition can bring out better stories. I don't care who publishes it as long as it's good.

[Scarlet Skier]

I'll take Bendis over Morrison any time.

Tried many, many times over the years to get into Morrison's work... and it just doesn't do it for me.

Secret Invasion looks like a lot of fun.

Though I hope DC puts out some good stuff, too. The more good stuff, the better, of course.

[DWEarhart]

Bendis is always thinking from a street, common sense level. Grant Morrisson, in my opinion, is always trying to go beyond that, and while it does help him, it also seems to alienate him from Today's average comic readers library.

[cubsrule!]

It's not a Bendis vs. Morrison thing, folks. The Wizard asked about SI, and Morrison answered. Morrison didn't single out SI, Bendis or Marvel himself, the interviewer did.

And honestly, it seems like he's joking, as evidenced by that [laugh].

[DirtyHarrington]

I can only assume Morrison is still pissed Marvel brought him in to shake up the X-Men franchise and they've since retconned/undone 80% of his efforts. When Morrison is firing on all cylinders he's a top writer but his Batman work so far has not impressed me that much considering his CV. Hopefully Geoff Johns will light a fire under his ass for this project.

Somebody's already commented on how Marvel's hasn't really undone that much of what Morrison put into play in X-Men, but I just wanted to mention that you should maybe check out the original Zur-En-Arrh and Robin Dies At Dawn stories, and then try to re-read Morrison's Batman so far, at least the non editorially mandated stuff. I found it helped the story work mo' betta'.

[40footwolf]

I'll take Bendis over Morrison any time.

Tried many, many times over the years to get into Morrison's work... and it just doesn't do it for me.

Secret Invasion looks like a lot of fun.

Though I hope DC puts out some good stuff, too. The more good stuff, the better, of course.

I've never been much of a fan of Bendis. His story construction is sloppy and his dialogue is unrealistic, from my perspective. Morrison's background as a surrealist playwrite, I think, really assists him in making incredibly cerebral, thoughtful stories. But, like somebody else said, that makes it harder to connect with the average reader.

[Gottaluvit]

So the heroes are going to get to their drakest places yet? Oh, yaay, just what I always hoped for. So much for a 'lighter' DCU as was promised after the last crisis.

I'm so tempted to take a break from comics and come back after this is over and see whats left of the DCU as we currently know it, I just don't feel like putting the time and energy into following this through so thats probebly a good indicator that I should take a step away.

[DWEarhart]

So the heroes are going to get to their drakest places yet? Oh, yaay, just what I always hoped for. So much for a 'lighter' DCU as was promised after the last crisis.

I'm so tempted to take a break from comics and come back after this is over and see whats left of the DCU as we currently know it, I just don't feel like putting the time and energy into following this through so thats probebly a good indicator that I should take a step away.

Which is why the indies are ever so relevant these days. Although, the market is becoming more an more over-saturated these days, worse than in the 90's.

If you like Nicholas Cage attached to a comic, great, but at the same time, it has aided in the contribution to killing the industry.

Oversaturation and the newer generations having no interest in the printed word (reading), hope you all like it.

[LooseCannon]

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/022908finalcrisis.html

[Scarlet Skier]

Morrison's background as a surrealist playwrite, I think, really assists him in making incredibly cerebral, thoughtful stories. But, like somebody else said, that makes it harder to connect with the average reader.

If he wasn't connecting with average readers, he wouldn't be working.

Perhaps it's all a matter of taste. I simply find his work uninteresting.

[Alexx1]

I can't speak for the fans, but DC vs. Marvel is great from a story standpoint. By trying to out do each other, DC and Marvel come out with better stories. In theory, anyway.

Yeah, I agree. It has that Yankees/Red Sox's vibe to it. It's bound to get a little nasty. :D

[PastePotPete]

Final Crisis better be good, cuz with Checkmate getting cancelled, the only DC books I'm reading are Geoff Johns' JSofA and Green Lantern.

Just can't find a lot that I like in DC's catalogue lately. I was surprised Mark Waid's return to The Flash wasn't as engaging as I thought it would be. Dwayne McDuffie's Justice League has also left me disappointed. Another Injustice Gang story after they did the same thing with Villains United just last year? I'm unclear why Action Comics is being used to introduce yet another incarnation of the Legion team.

I love Morrison, but his Batman book was being used by editorial to resurrect Ra's Al Ghul for months, and has likewise suffered from delays and artist changes. Morrison's writing is already confusing (usually in a good way) without further complicating matters on the production end!

Aside from that DC is trying to sell us various 52:Aftermath and Countdown tie-ins that I just can't make myself interested in. Why should I care about the aftermath of 52? Feels like that happened ages ago! And Countdown sucked (for the eighteen issues I read. I feel like I got fleeced waiting for that book to get good) so why should I read the tie-ins?

I've always liked DC's stable of characters more than Marvel's, but I'm beginning to become a 'Marvel Zombie' by default!

I want to love DC again! I hope they get their act together and hit a homerun with Final Crisis!

[matt_hatyber]

good interview. nothing really new though.

[Superbeast]

Which they haven't. Pretty much everything he put in play except Xorneto is still around.

I guess you don't count Decimation.

[Ilash]

I think it was just some fun ribbing of the competition but I am far more interested in Final Crisis because I do think that Morrison is a far better fit for these epic superhero stories than the much more character-centric Bendis is. Of course, preffering the DCU on the whole certainly doesn't hurt matters.

[GRANT!]

Looking forward to both. If both are awesome then everyone wins :)

Yeah positivity!

[Magneto Rocks]

I'm torn. I've been a Marvel fan my whole life, but I'm WAY more pimped for Final Crisis than Secret Invasion, if only for New Gods.

So I'm hoping Final Crisis is better but Secret Invasion sells more. :p

[drwho]

Ha a joke Secret Invasion all the way.

[Perry Holley]

Good grief. What's with all the DC vs Marvel hate? In the grand scheme of things, Grant's comments are pretty darned mild, in terms of trash-talking.

[Tahko Tetsujin]

Is it though? Is this the “Final” Crisis?
MORRISON: It all depends on how much money they make. [Laughs]
JONES: It’ll last for as many adjectives as they can think of to put in front of “crisis.” [Laughs]

At least they are being honest.

[Desaad]

I really can't understand why they put Bendis on books like Secret Invasion.

The can be such an amazing writer when he's on the right book. He wrote two issues that, for my money, were some of the best of the entire Civil War event -- by far better than any of the actual Civil War issues themselves. They were the Luke Cage issue and the disgruntled Iron Man employee issue. Bendis really did a bang up job on those issues, really knocked the characterization out of the park.

But damn if his team book efforts haven't been abysmal. New Avengers and Mighty Avengers? On the whole, just bad books (save for the bright spots in NA that I mentioned already). House of M? Terrible, saved only somewhat by amazing art. Secret War? This one I thought Bendis could handle (due to it all being street level), but even here he falls badly short.

Ultimately, Bendis deals effectively only with solo street level books. So why not give him solo street level books? There are plenty of such characters in the MU, and I think he could do wonders for any of 'em.

I have zero confidence in Secret Invasion being good (though I am confident it will be on time).

Grant Morrison was born to write these big, mind blowing epic stories, juggling dozens of cast members fighting for the fate of the omniverse...and the human heart (awww). This is exactly the type of story he was born to tell, so I'm happy they are giving it to him.

On the other hand, I have no confidence that this will be on time.

[flapjaxx]

I'll take Bendis over Morrison any time.

Tried many, many times over the years to get into Morrison's work... and it just doesn't do it for me.

That's because Bendis doesn't write comics, he writes scenes from television shows disguised as comic books. He doesn't utilize the actual workings of the medium to his advantage anymore; there's no reason why the stories he's telling are best told as comics. They're often "wide-screen", always easy to read and require little thinking from the audience, just like a tv show, and the pacing is much the same as well. Every single issue takes about as long to read as one segment of a tv show (7 minutes or so). So people like Bendis because they like tv and because they think hearing comic book characters talk, like, y'know, err, tv character people is more realistic or something.

Bendis hasn't revitalized the medium. He stripped the medium of most of what was unique about it and replaced it with PANDERING. People would rather watch tv shows than read comics--SO HE MADE COMICS READ LIKE TV SHOWS.

I loved his Daredevil stuff and would guess that his earlier, independent work was good as well, but these days it's not hard to see how he's able to turn out six books a month. The work suggests lazy writing, welcomes lazy readers, and is all run by the fanboy hype machine. It's been like 10 months since the first Skrull--and yet people are still excited about this Skrull event? Since when were the SKRULLS exciting or interesting? NEVER! But Marvel plays their readers like a fiddle: "You're going to look forward to it BECAUSE WE TELL YOU TO LOOK FORWARD TO IT! It will be interesting BECAUSE WE TELL YOU IT IS!"

I don't really care about Final Crisis either, though. ;)

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I really dig what both DC and Marvel have in store for us this summer. Between Captain America and New/Mighty Avengers, I'm pretty pumped to see what they've got cooked up with the Skrulls. I though Civil War was a bit of a misfire, but Secret Invasion has me excited.

As does whatever genius Grant Morrison has up his sleeve.

[sabongero]

Bendis is always thinking from a street, common sense level. Grant Morrisson, in my opinion, is always trying to go beyond that, and while it does help him, it also seems to alienate him from Today's average comic readers library.

May I ask how is Bendis's Mighty Avengers ? Is it written from a street, common sense level ? And how does Morrisson alienate from today's average comic readers library ?

[Scarlet Skier]

That's because Bendis doesn't write comics, he writes scenes from television shows disguised as comic books. He doesn't utilize the actual workings of the medium to his advantage anymore; there's no reason why the stories he's telling are best told as comics. They're often "wide-screen", always easy to read and require little thinking from the audience, just like a tv show, and the pacing is much the same as well. Every single issue takes about as long to read as one segment of a tv show (7 minutes or so). So people like Bendis because they like tv and because they think hearing comic book characters talk, like, y'know, err, tv character people is more realistic or something.

Bendis hasn't revitalized the medium. He stripped the medium of most of what was unique about it and replaced it with PANDERING. People would rather watch tv shows than read comics--SO HE MADE COMICS READ LIKE TV SHOWS.

I loved his Daredevil stuff and would guess that his earlier, independent work was good as well, but these days it's not hard to see how he's able to turn out six books a month. The work suggests lazy writing, welcomes lazy readers, and is all run by the fanboy hype machine. It's been like 10 months since the first Skrull--and yet people are still excited about this Skrull event? Since when were the SKRULLS exciting or interesting? NEVER! But Marvel plays their readers like a fiddle: "You're going to look forward to it BECAUSE WE TELL YOU TO LOOK FORWARD TO IT! It will be interesting BECAUSE WE TELL YOU IT IS!"

I don't really care about Final Crisis either, though. ;)

That's quite the leap you made there about me and my tastes. You know that I like Bendis because he writes comics like TV? Really. Isn't that sort of like me saying you dislike Bendis because he doesn't look like Dustin Hoffman?

Marvel can hype whatever it likes, if I'm not moved, no amount of promotion will sell me a book or series.

I simply like what he's done in The New Avengers. While some of the dialogue gets tiresome at times, I rather enjoy the flow, the stories, the characters and their development.

I suppose everything Bendis has been doing in recent years will be judged by the payoff in Secret Invasion. He's the one who's set the bar there.

Does he write books like TV storyboards? I suppose that's a criticism that could be leveled at many comic writers over the years.

Uh.

I thought we were talking about Grant Morrison, anyway. At least in the context of my earlier post about not being impressed by his work.

It's not that I find it lacking in intellectual heft, I just find it boring. I have tried his runs on All-Star Superman and Batman recently, and they left me just as cold as previous works of his. Again, it's simply a matter of what I like.

Is he better than most writers? Sure. Does that mean I find his writing interesting? No.

Anyway... this thread is a thread about nothing anyway. I got Wizard, checked what Morrison said, and put into context, I think he was kidding around and pandering a bit to fans to give DC some attention.

[Superheroic]

If Final Crisis is as good as his Batman or that first issue of The Authority he did then it has NO chance of being better than...anything really. Much less Secret Invasion.

Ugh! That issue of Authority is the worst comic I've read. EVER!

[carabas]

Ugh! That issue of Authority is the worst comic I've read. EVER!I liked it a lot. What did you find wrong with it, other than it being a set-up issue?

[Will.S]

It's not a Bendis vs. Morrison thing, folks. The Wizard asked about SI, and Morrison answered. Morrison didn't single out SI, Bendis or Marvel himself, the interviewer did.

And honestly, it seems like he's joking, as evidenced by that [laugh].
Pretty much.

Although Secret Invasion and Final Crisis are working on much different scopes. Secret Invasion while I think will be epic in its own right probably isn't as conceptually large as what Grant is doing in Final Crisis if he is involving multiple earths, monitors, and the New Gods which is obviously much more cosmic than a invading singular alien race. Hopefully Grant will deliver with this and it comes together nicely, what has been annoying to me is Dan Didio hyping it up while saying virtually nothing about it which sometimes makes me wonder if thats good or bad. Grant has been really the only person to give us any semblance as to what the whole thing will even be about.

On the other hand Secret Invasion is supposed to be the mother of all skrull stories which I will say there hasn't been one involving the skrulls that was as big and got as much attention as this. The Kree continuously get a lot of events dedicated to them such as with Kree-Skrull War, Operation Galactic Storm, Annihilation, and Annihilation Conquest.

Plus there will apparently be Skrull gods so that bumps up their threat level a good couple of notches but Secret Invasion is definitely one of those "Marvel approach at epic crossovers" whereas Final Crisis is the trademark multiple world spanning, space faring kind.

Really I just want both to be good because I don't want to see a particular crossover be really successful and the other be constantly mocked for being inferior to it which ALWAYS happens.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

In an interview with Wizard Universe (here) (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/022908finalcrisis.html) Grant Morrison is asked how Final Crisis will compete with Secret Invasion, and, as in the quote from the title, he responds "We're going to kick their ass so hard(laughs)" and then even goes on to say, "If you're a Marvel fan, it's simple: There's only one book to read this summer".

Well, I dunno about you guys, but if Grant Morrison says Final Crisis will kick Secret Invasion's ass then, by God, I'm inclined to believe him. I am so totally pumped about this event after that interview.

This is going to kick ass so hard... I can't wait.

[40footwolf]

That's because Bendis doesn't write comics, he writes scenes from television shows disguised as comic books. He doesn't utilize the actual workings of the medium to his advantage anymore; there's no reason why the stories he's telling are best told as comics. They're often "wide-screen", always easy to read and require little thinking from the audience, just like a tv show, and the pacing is much the same as well. Every single issue takes about as long to read as one segment of a tv show (7 minutes or so). So people like Bendis because they like tv and because they think hearing comic book characters talk, like, y'know, err, tv character people is more realistic or something.

Bendis hasn't revitalized the medium. He stripped the medium of most of what was unique about it and replaced it with PANDERING. People would rather watch tv shows than read comics--SO HE MADE COMICS READ LIKE TV SHOWS.

I loved his Daredevil stuff and would guess that his earlier, independent work was good as well, but these days it's not hard to see how he's able to turn out six books a month. The work suggests lazy writing, welcomes lazy readers, and is all run by the fanboy hype machine. It's been like 10 months since the first Skrull--and yet people are still excited about this Skrull event? Since when were the SKRULLS exciting or interesting? NEVER! But Marvel plays their readers like a fiddle: "You're going to look forward to it BECAUSE WE TELL YOU TO LOOK FORWARD TO IT! It will be interesting BECAUSE WE TELL YOU IT IS!"

I don't really care about Final Crisis either, though. ;)

...

Clap.

Clap...clap...clap clap clap clap clap clap clapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapCLAPCLAPCL APCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCLAPPITYCLAPPITYCLAPPITY

*ahem*

I agree.

[sabongero]

On the current sales of the past month the top 10 spots were Marvel comics. And I couldn't believe that Incredible Hercules even outsold Batman. I hope Grant has a really good overall story for Final Crisis.

[carabas]

On the current sales of the past month the top 10 spots were Marvel comics. And I couldn't believe that Incredible Hercules even outsold Batman. I hope Grant has a really good overall story for Final Crisis.Incredible Herc is running on the fumes of World War Hulk. The book will probably takea deep plunge now that Marvel has revealed that Bruce Banner will not be returning to his own book.

[drwho]

On the current sales of the past month the top 10 spots were Marvel comics. And I couldn't believe that Incredible Hercules even outsold Batman. I hope Grant has a really good overall story for Final Crisis.

Why not?

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1102/herccovercompositevw5.jpg

[dotdotdot]

If Final Crisis is as good as his Batman or that first issue of The Authority he did then it has NO chance of being better than...anything really. Much less Secret Invasion.

Ugh! That issue of Authority is the worst comic I've read. EVER!

yeah that was just one of the best issues of anything i've read. if you can get past those subverted expectations.