Bendis at DC

[LordUltimus]

So it's been a few years. How do you think Bendis is doing at DC, what do you think his plans are/were, and where do you see him going now?

[Ascended]

I think Bendis did better at DC than I expected him to.

A lot of people hate on his Superman but I thought he had a pitch perfect voice for Clark, better than nearly anyone not named Morrison or Yang, and a lot of his ideas were pretty good even if the execution wasn't always. The United Planets stuff is something I hope sticks for good, and he handled Clark going public with his identity far better than I'd expect anyone to, and did it in a way that fit (as well as it was ever gonna). And I think Jon shouldn't exist in the first place, but have enjoyed both the kid and teen versions. I'm glad Bendis left the "S" books when he did though, I think he was running out of steam.

His Wonder line had some good stuff in it, though he didn't write the real gems like Wonder Twins, but even his Young Justice had some issues that were utterly fantastic (not many, but some).

Naomi is an absolute treasure. We should all be thankful that Bendis went to DC just for her alone.

Didn't care for his Legion overall, and while I think the basic ideas behind Event Leviathan were decent and the spy corner of the DCU needed a lot of TLC, I can't say I was terribly thrilled with the series (didn't read the second one, did that ever even finish?).

His League is....fine. Neither bad nor good.

And I'm sure he wrote some other stuff but I either didn't read it or didn't like it (or hate it) enough to remember.

One good thing I can say that we'll all agree with; Bendis brings some of the best artists with him.

I have no idea what his plans were, but I'm sure they got thrown all to hell when Didio left and 5G fell apart. What he plans on doing now? Don't know and don't really care. He's not a creator I follow, nor one I avoid.

And I don't see him going anywhere. He doesn't seem to be writing much, if anything, right now so maybe he's not gonna be doing monthlies much anymore but I don't think he was truly hired to write monthlies anyway. Bendis hadn't been a sales powerhouse for many years before going to DC so why would they hire him expecting Ultimate Spidey level sales? No, I think they hired him because his stuff gets adapted like crazy and he created Miles. I think DC didn't care much about how many floppies he sold, they wanted him to make stuff they could spin into larger media, and hopefully create a new breakout character. And he did, so I figure DC is probably satisfied with his performance. The Naomi and Legion shows will generate more money than any amount of comics could, so why would WB/DC care if his monthlies didn't top the charts?

Gotta say man, this is a bit of a weird topic. Bendis hasn't been getting much attention or making news lately so why bring him up?

[Rakzo]

Hiring him was probably the worst decision that DC has made in recent years.

And they have made A TON of bad decisions recently.

[Jackalope89]

Toss him and undo everything he did, especially on the Super books.

[exile001]

Pretty much everything Ascended said.

I'll add that at one point he had Superman's universe back up to 5-6 books and occasional specials, which is quite the achievement. His run ended abruptly, perhaps because of the cancellation of 5G, while feeling like the second act was just getting started.

[Dioman-san]

Well for me is easy, Bendis is a better editor than a writer.

He has some good idea, but not the better execution. And some of better thing from him, it was the revamp of spin-off titles of this Superman run (Supergirl, Lois Lane Jimmy Olsen...) and the Wonder Comics initiative (Wonder Twins and Dial H)

"I have no idea what his plans were, but I'm sure they got thrown all to hell when Didio left and 5G fell apart. What he plans on doing now? Don't know and don't really care. He's not a creator I follow, nor one I avoid."

For that i think Bendis will leave DC after this mini on Naomi and JL vs LOSH. He has no more monthly title, and this impact on the universe seem minimal. And personally, it's not a bad thing when i see this last work.

[Frontier]

He had a surprisingly good voice for Superman and handled the initial Clark/Superman dynamic well, some of his ideas (especially Wonder Comics) were nice on a conceptual level, but overall...that's about the best I can say.

[JorgeJ77]

He had a surprisingly good voice for Superman and handled the initial Clark/Superman dynamic well, some of his ideas (especially Wonder Comics) were nice on a conceptual level, but overall...that's about the best I can say.

Can you say all of his problems?

[phonogram12]

I liked his Superman. His Batman Universe was hella fun. And I probably liked his Leviathan stuff more than most. I'd really like to see him continue on with that with Maleev.

I will say, however, it's a crime he hasn't been given a Green Arrow book. If any character at DC matches nearly everything Bendis brings, it's Ollie.

[JorgeJ77]

I thought this was going to be a "Everything Bendis has written sucks, except for Batman Universe" thread.

[married guy]

I've been really disappointed with everything I've read.
His Young Justice was a huge letdown for me.
Checkmate could have been and SHOULD have been great, but was a ultimately a bit of a dog's breakfast.
His Superman left me cold from right outta the gate.
His Justice League for me, was instantly forgettable too.

I hear good things about Naomi, but haven't read it.

[titanfan]

As someone who *hated* his Marvel work, to the point where I find so much of it incoherent, I was soooo ready to hate him and dreaded him ruining all my favorite characters.

So far--it's not been terrible. I'd give him a B/B- overall.

Granted, my opinion might be skewed as I think this is the worst DC has been in the writing/creative department since I've been reading in the 80's.

[Aarkus]

I'm noticing the same thing with Bendis at DC that I always felt about him at Marvel: keep him to solo stories, and keep him the hell away from team books.

in other words, what y'all already said: some interesting ideas in his Superman, not liking his JLA or LoSH at all

don't me started on the whole Naomi bit - I really can't fathom why DC felt the need to have a "new" "breakout" Black female character, when they've already been sitting on a far less generic character you might have heard of, named Vixen, for decades

[Frontier]

Can you say all of his problems?

I could but they'd be A. subjective and B. drag up the thread too much in my opinion.

I liked his Superman. His Batman Universe was hella fun. And I probably liked his Leviathan stuff more than most. I'd really like to see him continue on with that with Maleev.

I will say, however, it's a crime he hasn't been given a Green Arrow book. If any character at DC matches nearly everything Bendis brings, it's Ollie.

I thought this was going to be a "Everything Bendis has written sucks, except for Batman Universe" thread.

I see people praise Batman Universe and I have to say...on a technical level it's fine, especially Nick Derrington's art, but the story was just so random.

And Bendis doesn't have a good voice for Bruce. The man can write Superman well but can't write Batman's voice. Weird.

[Somecrazyaussie]

He absolutely had Superman's characterization down. That I will praise him for. Plus his technical skills.

However, everything else was.... I wouldn't say mediocre, per se. It was just.... forgettable. Most of the stuff he did he had done much better over at Marvel.

I really hoped that Bendis coming over to a new sandbox might reinvigorate him. That his lacklustre work at Marvel stemmed from boredom and having touched upon almost every character over there. But I feel Bendis has coasted along on his name for too long and stopped actually "trying" years ago. That or editors are scared to take him to task occasionally.