Why hate Geoff Johns

[CagedLeo730]

But he IS editorial. People don't seem to understand that he's the chief creative officer at DC Comics right now, which puts him in charge of the entire creative direction at DC, really only answering to Bob Harras and Dan Didio, who I'm sure have little to do with his actual writing. Blaming editorial is generally kind of a cop-out excuse for bad writing, but it really doesn't work when you're in charge of editorial.

CCO is an editorial position but not on the comic side. EIC Bob Harras and Editorial Director Bobbie Chase are in charge of setting the direction of comics (with heavy interference from Didio). Johns has the job of expanding DC Comics properties into TV (Young Justice) and movies (Green Lantern). He's the interface between the comic side and media side.

Just like Marvel's CCO, Joe Quesada, is involved in TV (Ultimate Spider-Man) and movies (Avengers). EIC Axel Alonso is in charge of the direction of the comics.

[Zeeguy91]

Now there's a statement I agree with (even if it took some heavy editing.)

I'd appreciate if you didn't alter or edit any of my statements.

Anyway, if you want to know why people "hate" Johns, look no further than the fans who dismiss virtually every criticism of his work with reasons that simply aren't based in reality, like the following:

Actually, those people aren't dismissing any of the reasons that you have for not liking Johns' work. They're simply answering the question of the OP. The OP asked why so many people dislike Johns and these people are simply answering him with the FACT that not as many people dislike him as he thinks and that yes, what he is hearing is actually a minority of people complaining.

You see many of the same arguments pop up; the "Oh, it sells so it must be good" (Finch's Dark Knight routinely outsold books like Saga = argument invalid), the "People hate Johns because they hate anyone who becomes popular", or my favorite, the "It's only comics, it's not literature" (which really doesn't hold much weight in a medium with writers like Miller, Gaiman, and Moore). To make a long story short, they'll do anything to discredit the opinions of the people they disagree with; but they simply don't discuss the merits of the books Johns writes.

Okay, well lets discuss the merits of Johns' work because its not just fanboys who like his work, its professional critics and people who actually know the medium well. I've seen countless reviews of Johns' work (which is usually what anyone uses to gauge the quality of a piece of literature) and the majority of it, even the ones that I haven't been fond of, have garnered positive reviews from professionals. To belittle the people who like his stuff and mischaracterize them as simple fanboys is just disrespectful of their opinions.

I like Johns work because its well paced and evocative of an emotional response. He is able to invest meaningful motivation into a character and has been able to make me care about characters that I didn't care about before. I know people are mad that he changes things, but retcons of certain things to fit a modern context is what's necessary to ensure that comics survive.

If you dislike one of Johns' books, you can't reason with these fans. You'll spend more time justifying your dislike and endlessly explaining "Why do you read / buy it if you don't like it?" Easy answer: we all like DC's characters, or maybe we used to like Johns writing. And we really shouldn't have to justify it to ravenous fanboys anyway.

Again, mischaracterizing Johns fans as "ravenous fanboys" is disrespectful.

And really?? Because I seem to have to justify my like of Johns on EVERY SINGLE THREAD about any of his books because EVERY SINGLE TIME, there's a swarm of a few people who hate Geoff Johns coming on and saying "This is so bad. How could ANYONE who is intelligent like this. Blah, blah, blah." Its as if you have to defend your intelligence if you're a Johns fan on these forums.

sometimes it's just plain fun to piss them off.

So...you're admitting to trolling?

[jmresp]

Geoff Johns is a good writer. You can judge who is good by sales. The is always going to be a negative minority that is more vocal on forums. Read what you enjoy.

[Deviates]

Geoff Johns is a good writer. You can judge who is good by sales. The is always going to be a negative minority that is more vocal on forums. Read what you enjoy.

I think that is a hugely debatable point.

[Mr. Holmes]

I said this in another thread, but I honestly think Johns's writing was better before he became a hit name on the comic book stores.

[Malevolent1]

His big knock from critics seems to be that he is repetitive. I would rather have his brand of "repetitiveness" than many writer's at Marvel's brand of "I don't give *^%$ about continuity. Sheesh, at least they still respect that at DC.

[Christopher Cross Is God]

I'm paraphrasing (though only slightly), but you basically said 'if you don't like Geoff Johns then you're not in to super hero comics.' If you can't see why that statement is nonsense then I'm concerned.

I see no reason for concern.

Clark_Krunk feels that if anyone doesn't have the same opinion as his own, where subjective taste in a person's writing is concerned, then they obviously don't like the entire medium. It's quite rational, really.

Geoff Johns is a good writer. You can judge who is good by sales. The is always going to be a negative minority that is more vocal on forums. Read what you enjoy.

Michael Bay is a good director/producer. You can judge who is good by sales. There is always going to be a negative minority that is more vocal on forums. Watch what you enjoy.

[MajorHoy]

His big knock from critics seems to be that he is repetitive. I would rather have his brand of "repetitiveness" than many writer's at Marvel's brand of "I don't give *^%$ about continuity. Sheesh, at least they still respect that at DC.

What continuity is there at DC since they started the Gnu 52?

[tylenoljones]

I'd appreciate if you didn't alter or edit any of my statements.

Pffft. C'mon, man. Where's your sense of humor?

It's not like I claimed you actually made that statement.

Actually, those people aren't dismissing any of the reasons that you have for not liking Johns' work. They're simply answering the question of the OP. The OP asked why so many people dislike Johns and these people are simply answering him with the FACT

And if it's an all-caps FACT, then surely you have proof readily available?

To belittle the people who like his stuff and mischaracterize them as simple fanboys is just disrespectful of their opinions.

Again, mischaracterizing Johns fans as "ravenous fanboys" is disrespectful.

Which is why I never made that statement. I never said "Johns fans are fanboys". I literally said (in a sentence you didn't quote, because it would render your rant invalid), that it was fine for someone to like Johns comics. All I did was specifically respond to people that refuse to see opinions other than their own as valid, and routinely dismiss them for trivial reasons. It was a response to the people that tell me every week that I only read Batman to b**ch about it on the internet. People that just make up arguments that, as I've said, aren't based in reality.

I'd appreciate it if you didn't alter the intent of my statements :)

And really?? Because I seem to have to justify my like of Johns on EVERY SINGLE THREAD about any of his books because EVERY SINGLE TIME, there's a swarm of a few people who hate Geoff Johns coming on and saying "This is so bad. How could ANYONE who is intelligent like this. Blah, blah, blah." Its as if you have to defend your intelligence if you're a Johns fan on these forums.

Well, take it up with whoever's giving you a hard time. You know, reading this statement, I can't really see why you'd disagree with my post seeing as you're having the exact same experience and encountering the same intolerance towards opinions that I was talking about. This is exactly what I was saying; we spend most of our time on these forums justifying our purchasing and reading decisions to fanboys that can't tolerate opinions other than their own.

So...you're admitting to trolling?

Anything for a laugh, and only if they troll first :)

[NeonSaxon1]

He seems like a cool guy from what I hear on the web, but I don't care much for his stories much now. Blackest Night was good until Nekron showed up and I felt he was a bit dull. Then I collected older stories and read the first arc when Nekron showed up, and was disappointed further by a character destruction of a being that had much life about him; no more was Nekron the Lord of the Unliving, but instead was a completely altered entropy type character. Then Krona showed up...and that was another great character death being covered by a pale imitation. When the new 52 hit though I felt the writing on GL got better again, but once the annual hit, I felt it started getting mediocre again.

[Wulfmir]

I've read the link posted by Desaad, made me like Geoff Johns work even more.

[dupersuper]

I think that is a hugely debatable point.

Are you saying that Big Brother, Jack Ass, Honey Boo Boo and Survivor aren't better than West Wing, Arrested Development, Nova and Firefly?

[PennyDreadful]

I find that DC's become pretty much a company for Didio, Johns, and Lee's ego projects lately. Johns' schedule delays and back to back events were hobbling the books at one point.

[Darrell D.]

His big knock from critics seems to be that he is repetitive. I would rather have his brand of "repetitiveness" than many writer's at Marvel's brand of "I don't give *^%$ about continuity. Sheesh, at least they still respect that at DC.

Respecting continuity is one of the biggest problems DC has had in the past. Can't speak for the current, the only DC book I am digging is Wonder Woman, which is completely away from the DCU.
Too much navel gazing and not enough concentration on just telling good stories.

[Deviates]

Are you saying that Big Brother, Jack Ass, Honey Boo Boo and Survivor aren't better than West Wing, Arrested Development, Nova and Firefly?

Haha! Well when you put it like that...