REVIEW: Action Comics, #16

[Auguste Dupin]

I know nothing about the business side of comics but I agree with Lex. If the writer is working with characters he himself created then is fair game. He can do as he pleases. But when the writer is hired to work with characters that aren't his, he must follow the the directions of the editor. The editor should be sensitive enough to grant the writer some creative freedom but he must establish a clear path for the character and make sure the writer don't stride away from it. That's how you create a consistent universe.

Yeah (to a point), but the point he's trying to make is that Morrison somehow broke his contract as a freelance writer so he can leave midway, and.....and there's just no evidence of that. We don't know how many issues his contract covered, so we can't tell Morrison commited a a fault as a worker.

[KRAKABOOM!]

Yeah (to a point), but the point he's trying to make is that Morrison somehow broke his contract as a freelance writer so he can leave midway, and.....and there's just no evidence of that. We don't know how many issues his contract covered, so we can't tell Morrison commited a a fault as a worker.

morrison said from the outset he had planned out sixteen issues.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/gran...cs-110902.html

DC hired him to write the book going in with that knowledge. he even wrote the zero issue and fleshed out the run for another issue. so he went beyond what he initially was hired to do.

but because he wasn't chained to a desk and forced to write another thirty issues (even though he had no more story to tell), he's apparently running roughshod over his bosses.

[Francisco]

Yeah (to a point), but the point he's trying to make is that Morrison somehow broke his contract as a freelance writer so he can leave midway, and.....and there's just no evidence of that. We don't know how many issues his contract covered, so we can't tell Morrison commited a a fault as a worker.

Yup you're correct. And KRAKABOOM's post proves you so.

[super1man]

LOL..

Sorry to burst your bubble but they are like you and me. There is nothing special about them but the fact that their gift is to create stories for others to enjoy. When they come to a major company like DC they should be expected to think in a corporate manner and create stories for the character they are given.

Maybe if WB ran DC and got people in there that understand that they are in a business and deadlines and focus on the characters is all that really matters then they wouldn't be so behind Marvel and Disney.

In any work beginners are given less freedom, yes but if they are experienced and talented people they are given all the freedom they need.

[gwangung]

A good so called artist never runs out of stories to tell.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

You don't pay very much attention to writers, do you?

They always have stories to tell, but not always about the same characters.

[gwangung]

LOL..

Sorry to burst your bubble but they are like you and me. There is nothing special about them but the fact that their gift is to create stories for others to enjoy. When they come to a major company like DC they should be expected to think in a corporate manner and create stories for the character they are given.

Maybe if WB ran DC and got people in there that understand that they are in a business and deadlines and focus on the characters is all that really matters then they wouldn't be so behind Marvel and Disney.

No, I agree with Mr. Holmes. You have no clue, either about the creative process OR managing people in ANY industry.

[neverender]

So, what does anyone else think of #16? I haven't read it yet since my comics now ship at the end of the month. :(

[Flash Gordon]

No, I work in the real world were when you fuck up you get fired. Why people insist on walking on eggshells for these so called artist is beyond me. Maybe they should go into the real world and get real jobs and try some of that shit they do in their fantasy world and see how far it gets them.

A good so called artist never runs out of stories to tell. It's why they make the ridiculous amount of money they make to write. You should be pissed he is quitting. He had a job to do and he left in the middle of that job.

As someone who occasionally gets paid for some words here and there, this literally makes me sick. This mindset is why so many brilliant minds die in the gutter. Appalling.

[Lexrules]

morrison said from the outset he had planned out sixteen issues.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/gran...cs-110902.html

DC hired him to write the book going in with that knowledge. he even wrote the zero issue and fleshed out the run for another issue. so he went beyond what he initially was hired to do.

but because he wasn't chained to a desk and forced to write another thirty issues (even though he had no more story to tell), he's apparently running roughshod over his bosses.

Well then that's the people in charge of DC stupidity. He should have had to do at least 25 issues to make sure all things were covered and everyone was on the same page with Superman before he left.

[Lexrules]

As someone who occasionally gets paid for some words here and there, this literally makes me sick. This mindset is why so many brilliant minds die in the gutter. Appalling.

Oh stop. They are human beings just like you and me. Stop putting someone on a pedestal for no reason.

[Lexrules]

So basically you want hack writers instead of creative ones.

No thanks.

Id bet you a dollar to a donut there is a young kid out there who could out write Grant Morrison anyday but since DC wants to make these big ego goons in charge of there company you will never see them and just see more of blown deadlines and writers and artist walking out in the middle of storylines.

[MichaelPaytonMZ]

I'll just skip the cock fight that has broken out here and jump right into my thoughts on the comic. If I thought that DC had a clue what to do with Superman, I'd be delighted that Grant was leaving. The stories in this comic have been scatter brained and slipshod at best. Superman does stuff because Grant has a cool scene (in his own mind) for Supes to be in, and nothing else really matters. The book feels like a bad video game story that you'd find in Mortal Kombat or DOA. There's just enough there to get to Grant's next money shot. This hardly seems like the same guy who wrote All-Star. It is the directionless mess that we've had in every ongoing Superman comic for the past decade. It's not special or even particularly good. Its barely above average on its best day, which only makes it seem like a good comic compared to the other Superman book or the whining walking the country pablum that we got before the reboot.

Put Brian Q. Miller on the book and let Superman be less of a d-bag.

[Lexrules]

I'll just skip the cock fight that has broken out here and jump right into my thoughts on the comic. If I thought that DC had a clue what to do with Superman, I'd be delighted that Grant was leaving. The stories in this comic have been scatter brained and slipshod at best. Superman does stuff because Grant has a cool scene (in his own mind) for Supes to be in, and nothing else really matters. The book feels like a bad video game story that you'd find in Mortal Kombat or DOA. There's just enough there to get to Grant's next money shot. This hardly seems like the same guy who wrote All-Star. It is the directionless mess that we've had in every ongoing Superman comic for the past decade. It's not special or even particularly good. Its barely above average on its best day, which only makes it seem like a good comic compared to the other Superman book or the whining walking the country pablum that we got before the reboot.

Put Brian Q. Miller on the book and let Superman be less of a d-bag.

Brick killed a guy with a trident..

[thinkingcog]

I'm no Morrison acolyte but I think he gets Superman on a fundamental level and while this issue was a bit of a comedown from 15 and yes the overall story is
intentionally muddled and obscure I really enjoyed it. I agree with some here that perhaps, having such a radical writer might not have been the best idea for a ground floor rebuilding of the brand, we got the other extreme in the Superman title, bland approximations of 90s triangle era stories. Didn't Grant say at one point,he would be happy to write Superman for the rest of his life? am I right with that? now im not saying he should and i understand his talk of burn out,lenghty Bat-arc and then choppy Superman story afterwards, it makes sense to me.

Has Action been perfect? No, it's had its wobbles and underwhelming moments but it has also challenged the way Superman stories could be told, given us a plethora of concepts
to be potentially fleshed out (which Lobdell is doing to a degree) and I'm happy this is the framework heading into this Banner Superman year.

Lexrules, I enjoy your posts, even if i don't agree with them and i just want to get that out of the way before i make this point, so it is not seen to be a pointed attack
but i must take issue with the whole forcing writers to continue telling stories through contractual means. I mean people forcing contractual obligations killed the Chris Reeves Superman film series of which you are such a fan, and that is just one example of how it can be detrimental. It'd be one thing if Morrison left his arc un-concluded and just skipped out but he hasn't. He's going to end his run and move on. I don't see any problem with that.

[OldSchoolfan]

I'm no Morrison acolyte but I think he gets Superman on a fundamental level and while this issue was a bit of a comedown from 15 and yes the overall story is intentionally muddled and obscure I really enjoyed it. I agree with some here that perhaps, having such a radical writer might not have been the best idea for a ground floor rebuilding of the brand, we got the other extreme in the Superman title, bland approximations of 90s triangle era stories. Didn't Grant say at one point,he would be happy to write Superman for the rest of his life? am I right with that? now im not saying he should and i understand his talk of burn out,lenghty Bat-arc and then choppy Superman story afterwards, it makes sense to me.

I remember Morrison saying something to that effect and I also remember a lot of his fans promising he would be on the book for the next 5 years. So yeah, I think you remember correctly.

Has Action been perfect? No, it's had its wobbles and underwhelming moments but it has also challenged the way Superman stories could be told, given us a plethora of concepts
to be potentially fleshed out (which Lobdell is doing to a degree) and I'm happy this is the framework heading into this Banner Superman year.

Lobdell is off to a good start. I don't know if its going to be a banner year, but some of the stuff that has happened so far has been interesting.

Lexrules, I enjoy your posts, even if i don't agree with them and i just want to get that out of the way before i make this point, so it is not seen to be a pointed attack but i must take issue with the whole forcing writers to continue telling stories through contractual means. I mean people forcing contractual obligations killed the Chris Reeves Superman film series of which you are such a fan, and that is just one example of how it can be detrimental. It'd be one thing if Morrison left his arc un-concluded and just skipped out but he hasn't. He's going to end his run and move on. I don't see any problem with that.

It's no secret that I am glad Morrison decided to move on.

Thanks for your balanced opinion.