[Serious question] Why does Dan Slott get more criticism than Straczynski

[Spiderfang]

Not that I am encouraging abusive comments towards the writers (or anyone for that matter), I am just genuinely curious about the mindset on all of this. From everything I've read (the few anti-slott comments that crop up in unrelated threads) seems to indicate that he has outlasted his pique on the series? I also wonder because Straczynski started on Spiderman in the late 90's (98-99)/early 2000's and co-wrote One More Day...you know the most hated Spidey title in existence that is actually disliked more than the Clone Saga (which I personally love btw).

I've also seen an odd pattern of comments ranging from "Slott has been on too long, etc" that somehow do a complete 180 and transforms the thread into a "will Peter & MJ get back together/Renew Your Vows" topic. Like I said I am not encouraging any abusive remarks to said writers, I'm just surprised that there's more enmity towards one writer than another, who has also had a lengthy Spider-Man run (I admit I am ignorant of typical writer spans between books so bear with me) and also co-wrote the dreaded One More Day, in fact Straczynski's name never gets mentioned as an example of either bad writing (OMD) or of writers who outstayed their purpose.

So I'm wondering if it's just a vocal minority of TASM readers who do not understand or like Slott's take on Spidey, or are just venting about the unchangeable to him because he is the current writer for Amazing?

[RD!]

Because he is the current writer. When he's been off the book for a few years, we will have an idea of how he will be remembered. On the whole, JMS is remembered more for his triumphs than his faults, which shows how good he was at his best if he can be forgiven for Sins Oast and OMD.

[boots]

Because he is the current writer

^ more or less.

it is a little weird when you consider that jms gave us OMD and slott gave us RYV.

it probably has something to do with jms publicly disavowing himself of OMD and seeming to side with the fans, while slott continues to defend a controversial status quo (that he had nothing to do with implementing). so jms gets to be seen as "one of us" while slott is "one of them".

dan slott also likes to get into mud slinging contests with fandom, which is always going to bring its own heat.

[Miles To Go]

There's a lot of reasons why Slott is not popular besides the "current writer" status. Most of it has to do with his persistence in telling mean-spirited stories that cast Peter as a loser and the supporting cast as jerkass divas and a-holes, as well as his salty attitude towards fans who critique work he produces (though having read some of his experiences with death threats and whatnot, I don't blame him for erupting sometimes)

JMS does'nt get half as much hate because he wrote a very powerful and uplifting Peter/Aunt May/MJ relationship, was in touch with the heart of the characters for the most part, gave Peter a grounded occupation, and when the time came to produce the two worst stories of his run (Sins Past, OMD), the simple fact is they are written quite well. People disagree with the story, but both are written elegantly, and OMD's ending does have that optimistic "love conquers all" speech from MJ which softens the blow of that story.

[Kevinroc]

"Because he's the current writer" is a pretty big reason. He is more relevant to Spider-Man.

He's also been the current writer for about 10 years with no clear signs of stepping down any time soon. I think a number of people are just burnt out on the current run and yearn for someone new to take over ASM.

This is without getting into the OMD/OMIT stories that happened just before he took over. Although he has participated in the sidelining of Mary Jane all on his own (which got to the point that another writer grabbed her up for a completely different title.)

His turning of Black Cat was also pretty controversial.

Superior Spider-Man was also very controversial.

Sins Past was pretty damned controversial, but it's also over 10 years old and written by someone not currently working on any Spider-Man project.

[Vworp Vworp]

Mostly cos he's still there (and has been there considerably longer).

Also...

- If he doesn't like a character, you know he really doesn't like a character (MJ, Felicia, Ben). And vice versa (Ock).

- His fan interaction isn't always... I don't wanna say professional... because to be fair, on some occasions he's just defending himself. But there are other times when it just feels a bit "this is how it is and if you don't like it, I don't care." Essentially, empathy isn't always his strongest quality.

- His time on the book has been very... fluffy. Yes, Spidey's a comicbook and not every story has to be Kraven's Last Hunt. But it does feel like it's been a very long time since there's been a story that's reached that level of maturity (or even at the level JMS wrote the book)

- His views on the marriage. Cos that one ain't going anyway any time soon.

- So many gimmicks/events (although that's arguably as much down to editorial as it is Dan).

[Kevinroc]

One of the big reasons JMS was able to distance himself from OMD is because Quesada purposefully put himself out there. Quesada was very open about hating the marriage and wanting to remove it. And he didn't say this just before OMD was announced. He had been saying this for years beforehand.

Couple that with OMD's sequel, OMIT, which did not have JMS working on it in any capacity, but did have Quesada's fingerprints all over it, and it's easy to see how JMS was able to distance himself from OMD.

[SignorMiracolo]

There's a lot of reasons why Slott is not popular besides the "current writer" status.

He is very popular. He made AMS the more popular Marvel book (it wasn't for a very long time until a few years ago) and it continues to be after years.

[WebLurker]

I suspect there are two, maybe three reasons, beyond Slott being the guy writing the thing (which does mean that he's the most visible target of criticism if one doesn't like the current state of ASM), why he gets the more flak than JMS has.

First of all, OMD is sore point for a lot of fans, so I think a lot of dislike for the post-OMD era gets blended with dislike for Slott's work, since he has been the main architect of the post-OMD era. Had it been someone else, I think that they still would've been on the hot seat, and I think when Slott passes the pen to someone else, if OMD is still standing, they'll probably get flak for it too.

It's not fair, obviously -- Slott didn't have anything to do with it -- and he understandably writes under that status quo since that's what the Powers That Be have decided. However, I think that the perception that he's a "true believer" in OMD and it's agenda doesn't really endear him to fans who hate that setup. (How did JMS avoid getting this monkey on his back? I think he escaped since his run was well-received before OMD and OMD itself is generally perceived as Joe Quesada's pet project, so I think the latter is thought of as the "real" author. Also, JMS's distancing himself from OMD while Quesada remains unrepentant also factors in. JMS seems like an unwilling partner, even if in reality he was onboard with the idea, just not the execution. Also, since Dan Slott picked up where OMD left off, more or less, he gets branded as a collaborator, taking on more of the OMD heat and leaving less for JMS. Had JMS continued into BND, I think he would probably have gotten a lot more flak and fan ire.)

Secondly, Dan Slott takes more risks and goes beyond the traditional confines of what Spider-Man is, while JMS stayed closer to the rules. The former is bound to generate a lot more controversy, since there are bound to be people who will argue that Slott is not being true to what Spider-Man is or that he doesn't understand the character. Personally, I firmly believe that to be true -- although that can be argued against -- however, I think the point remains that by doing things that had never been done before, you're going to run over some people's toes. Even without OMD on the table, Slott was always going to be a controversial ASM writer.

This may not play into things too much, but I think that Slott's habit of getting into fights online with fans doesn't help either. While he does get a lot of unfair crap, reacting in kind in unprofessional, does not reflect well on you. His antics were a huge factor in me not wanting to read anything with his name on it.

However, at the end of the day, I don't think the guy is the walking case of hate, anger, arrogance, or whatever his worst enemies think he is. Worst case scenario, he's just a guy who writes a comic that some people find to be very bad and runs with his mouth online. While I don't like his stuff and think he needs a filter, he doesn't deserve half of what he gets. Since being the current writer puts you in the hot seat for criticism, I think we'll need to wait until he's been off the book for awhile and heads have cooled before we know how he'll be seen in the future. (Personally, while I'm skeptical that he'll be seen as one of the greats, I don't think he'll be the dumpster fire that some are calling him now. And I'm saying this as someone who has utter antipathy for his brand of Spider-Man.)

[Kevinroc]

I don't agree with the assessment that JMS played it safe.

He wrote that Peter may have gotten his powers through magic. He had Peter become a teacher at his old high school. He had Aunt May discover the secret. He hardly ever used Peter's classic villains (with a rare exception here and there, including the VERY controversial Sins Past.) Outside of Aunt May and MJ, the classic supporting cast tended not to appear (although they, and the more traditional baddies, did appear in the satellite books.) Peter and his family moved into Avengers Tower (while Spidey joining the Avengers was out of JMS' hands, actually moving in with them was JMS' idea.)

This wasn't exactly a "play it safe" run.

[Prof. Warren]

Because he is the current writer.

This. Exactly this.

I guarantee that when Slott eventually hands the baton to someone else that six months down the line, no matter how good his successor may be, that fans will be dumping on that writer and pining for Slott's return. It's just how it goes - some fans always want to hate on whoever's writing the book at the time.

[Rincewind]

I personally prefer Dan Slott over JMS, but I think the reasons are:

1. Posters are more likely to complain about what they don't like than when they are enjoying the title.
2. There are always complaints about the current direction of the title. The best stories are always the ones in the past.
3. Dan Slott has been the main Spider-Man writer for years. If you don't like an aspect of the title, he often gets the blame.
4. JMS took over after a critically and commercially poorly received run by Howard Mackie. He gets judged by what came before, and comes out looking better because of the comparison.
5. JMS had elements such as May knowing Peter's ID, and showcasing the marriage with MJ that critics of the current title miss.
5. For the stories poorly received, JMS has blamed editorial interference as the reason they were bad.
6. Dan Slott became writer just after OMD. Readers who hate that story see him as the main obstacle from bringing back the marriage.

Not all of these are valid reasons. OMD was happening no matter who was going to be writing the title. And even if Dan wanted to bring back the marriage, higher-ups (above editor and EiC) would veto it.

While JMS has blamed others for changing Sins Past and OMD, his version was not better. Every writer has some stinkers. I admire the writers who admit their stinkers and figure out why they didn't work over those who blame others.

[Miles To Go]

I admire the writers who admit their stinkers and figure out why they didn't work over those who blame others.

Dan's admitted to stinkers like Alpha, which he also blames editorial and scheduling for, so there's that.

[Rincewind]

Dan's admitted to stinkers like Alpha, which he also blames editorial and scheduling for, so there's that.

Not quite. I was at a panel last year, where Dan talked about Alpha. He said he envisioned it as a triple sized anniversary issue. When he was told the issues would be normal sized, he just split the story into 3 issues. Slott said that he didn't realize the story spread over 3 issues wouldn't work because the pacing was off. So he's not claiming that editorial ruined the story. He's saying that it was his fault for not adapting to the change in issue length. At no point did Slott blame anyone but himself for the story not working.

[Lukmendes]

While JMS has blamed others for changing Sins Past and OMD, his version was not better. Every writer has some stinkers. I admire the writers who admit their stinkers and figure out why they didn't work over those who blame others.

I hear that his version of OMD would have bigger changes, like resurrecting Gwen, is that correct? Any other changes? And what was his version of Sins Past?