[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.

[oldschool]

I edited the title of this thread and want to remind everyone to keep this civil and on point. It is also worth noting that the question of whether Slott even draws more criticism is debatable as JMS wrote the title over a decade ago before all message boards and social media fully took over; also, as has already been pointed out, JMS' most criticized moves were at least partially driven by editorial.

[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]

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.

This is particularly true of the X-Men boards. I've been part of the message boards since the mid 90s. Reading the X-Men boards for over 20 years, posters have never been happy with the direction of the X-Men. The golden days of the title were always a couple of years in the past. I remember the vitriol towards Lobdell and Nicieza, and how they were ruining the title and it had all been going downhill since Claremont left. Then a few years later, Lobdell and Nicieza were the gold standard and the new writers would never match them.

[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.

[Miles To Go]

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.

He'll have people who have grown up with his run, people who have never known anyone else but him, and so may never come to accept a new writer. Very much the same as people have never gotten over the loss of Chris Claremont on X-Men.

That said, there's a good chance a lot of people will be embracing of a new voice for the long term. There are people who legit believe Slott's run has just not been that good, whether it was always bad or if ran out of gas after Superior.

[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?