Bendis at DC

[Zero Hunter]

Bendis at DC did the same thing for me it did when he was the big guy at Marvel. It drove me off more and more books until I am braely reading anything DC does now. His influence creeps into other writers like a cancer until all those around him are writing like he does.

[Thor-Ul]

I was very dubious but gave Bendis a chance. I read his stories and though than he could be interesting to see. Even if the things I had read from him in X-men had not been of my tastes, but I had found his work with Spider-Man good. And I adore what he had done in Powers. Honest, I never understood the hate he gained from Marvel fans for what he had done on Avengers.

But boy, oh boy. I can understand those fans now.

Even if Bendis had interesting ideas, and started good, the way how he killed his own best ideas and dragged on the worsts killed my expectatives on his work. I'm not willing to give any chance to anything he could be doing in the future. And his biggest sin for me at least is to came with yet another @#$>=(+!! reboot for the Legion when he perfectly could had come with a wave of new characters if they wanted more diversity.
However maybe the most sad part is not than he made damage to characters but the feeling than everything he has done on DC is inconsequential. Not only than a lot of his contributions willl be undone and forgotten in some years, but he had no even made the effort on work on gave something valuable.

Being tha main exception Naomi, where he did his best work in DC.

My biggest issue with this run is that it doesn't feel like a Justice League book, but more Bendis' "I need a place to wrap up all my stories" book. The first story arc was essentially Naomi vol. 1.5, the second arc was dealing with the fallout from his Checkmate mini-series. Now there's a JL and Legion mini to tie up stuff he couldn't get to before his Legion run ended.

None of this run feels like a consistent Justice League run. Just an addendum to other stories.

Indeed. It is almost like Bendis is closing everything before leaving DC for good. Which is, I suppose, wishful thinking on my side. I mean, at side of the JL Legion there are no new printed project with his name attached, only the (argh) HBOMAX Legion series.

[krazijoe]

Give Bendis an Elongated Man Mini focusing on Crime Noir and it would probably be golden, or gingolden...

Thank you , thank you! I will be here all week! Tip your server! And try the fish!

[Thor-Ul]

Give Bendis an Elongated Man Mini focusing on Crime Noir and it would probably be golden, or gingolden...

Thank you , thank you! I will be here all week! Tip your server! And try the fish!

Beware, or somebody will smith you.

[Frontier]

Give Bendis an Elongated Man Mini focusing on Crime Noir and it would probably be golden, or gingolden...

Thank you , thank you! I will be here all week! Tip your server! And try the fish!

I think he'd fit Eel better than Ralph.

[krazijoe]

I think he'd fit Eel better than Ralph.

I don't know, he seems to do Gritty pretty well and I don't see Eel being gritty as the whole world is a joke where as Ralph is more apt to be gritty.

[Frontier]

I don't know, he seems to do Gritty pretty well and I don't see Eel being gritty as the whole world is a joke where as Ralph is more apt to be gritty.

I wouldn't call Ralph gritty either outside 52.

[kurenai24]

I think he was doing fine before AT&T took over tho I'm sure his hatedom would disagree.

I'm kind of ticked off tho, I followed Bendis to DC b/c I like his manga style writing and I like his Superman run and his other works, but he got the short end of the stick; instead of being treated like a regular writer, it felt more like his stuff was used to plant seeds for 5G and usher it in way ahead of the other writers, and when that imploded he was left with Justice League for a bit.

I mean I know cbr forum acts like Bendis is this boogeyman who comes to ruin what you love or whatever and ya'll have no sympathy for him cause ya'll hold personal negative feelings for the dude in a weird way and we get a thread about Bendis every 5 to 7 business days, but it feels like Bendis is not being utilized b/c he's associated with what Didio was doing ...at least to who ever is in charge now.

In any case he's doing something comic related with Gold Lantern/LoS, he's optioning his co-created Pearl comic, his other co-created comic Cover is being adapted and developed with him writing the pilot, and he's writing Legion of Superhero for HBOMax and he's also writing some new creator owned comic so he is busy so maybe I'm just not used to his lack of presence.

[Thor-Ul]

I think he was doing fine before AT&T took over tho I'm sure his hatedom would disagree.

He started good, but I don't think the AT&T deal directly affected him. The outing of DiDio and the fall of the whole 5G must have derailed his grand plans, but I don't think those were that detailed.

I'm kind of ticked off tho, I followed Bendis to DC b/c I like his manga style writing and I like his Superman run and his other works, but he got the short end of the stick; instead of being treated like a regular writer, it felt more like his stuff was used to plant seeds for 5G and usher it in way ahead of the other writers, and when that imploded he was left with Justice League for a bit.

Good thing is you can follow him to Dark Horse. His most personal projects are being published there now, because DC didn't renovated his exclusivity contract. And indeed it seems like he used his Justice League run to close out his pending plots.

I mean I know cbr forum acts like Bendis is this boogeyman who comes to ruin what you love or whatever and ya'll have no sympathy for him cause ya'll hold personal negative feelings for the dude in a weird way and we get a thread about Bendis every 5 to 7 business days, but it feels like Bendis is not being utilized b/c he's associated with what Didio was doing ...at least to who ever is in charge now.

I just hope he is writiing few and better, because when he wants to do to much, his quality suffers. Also, I suppose than the fact than DiDio, the guy who brough him to DC and was protecting him, wastake out of DC, aborted a lot of Bendis plans. But it seems than already several of his plans are being abandonated (Just check Shadow War: DEO back on bussiness, Talia took over everything from Leviathan, even Geo-Force appeared pointed what was the deal with Markovia).

In any case he's doing something comic related with Gold Lantern/LoS, he's optioning his co-created Pearl comic, his other co-created comic Cover is being adapted and developed with him writing the pilot, and he's writing Legion of Superhero for HBOMax and he's also writing some new creator owned comic so he is busy so maybe I'm just not used to his lack of presence.

Only the Legion is DC related and this project gave me no trust. I don't know where the rest of his owned propierties are being licenced, but I wish him the best.

You know, in some way, I pity him. The guy jumped to DC to get back his reputation and influence, something than he had lost in Marvel. He still had his followers (every writer has fans who follow him anywhere) but the fans of the characters were mostly distrusful of him. And instead of reach a level of influence, something than DiDio surely promised him, the guy has been sidelined.

[krazijoe]

He started good, but I don't think the AT&T deal directly affected him. The outing of DiDio and the fall of the whole 5G must have derailed his grand plans, but I don't think those were that detailed.



Good thing is you can follow him to Dark Horse. His most personal projects are being published there now, because DC didn't renovated his exclusivity contract. And indeed it seems like he used his Justice League run to close out his pending plots.


I just hope he is writiing few and better, because when he wants to do to much, his quality suffers. Also, I suppose than the fact than DiDio, the guy who brough him to DC and was protecting him, wastake out of DC, aborted a lot of Bendis plans. But it seems than already several of his plans are being abandonated (Just check Shadow War: DEO back on bussiness, Talia took over everything from Leviathan, even Geo-Force appeared pointed what was the deal with Markovia).





Only the Legion is DC related and this project gave me no trust. I don't know where the rest of his owned propierties are being licenced, but I wish him the best.

You know, in some way, I pity him. The guy jumped to DC to get back his reputation and influence, something than he had lost in Marvel. He still had his followers (every writer has fans who follow him anywhere) but the fans of the characters were mostly distrusful of him. And instead of reach a level of influence, something than DiDio surely promised him, the guy has been sidelined.

I am ambivalent towards him. He wrote what he thought was best. Delusions of grandeur, probably, but a lot of people have that and those below always snipe to take the person on top down. That's life in that field, or just about any field. Fanboys are gonna fanboy because that is what they do. Spin their own narrative to appease their point of view. Both Marvel and DC need strong leaders with backbones and a clear vision that is articulated correctly to those they are in charge of. And if you don't like it, there is the door. It's a business, not a fan club.

Bendis did some nice things at Marvel and at DC didn't do much of anything except Naomi. Superheroes really aren't his thing, but he keeps trying Jix, Torso and Powers got him noticed and a nice gig at Marvel and while there Miles Morales got him BANK and a HUGE name and along with Alias and Jessica Jones got him set for life to write whatever he wanted, unfortunately the Internet also boomed during that time and after a fruitful run at Marvel he got the DC gig, over sold, like most do, though we got Naomi out of it and his bank got bigger, and as usual the bullseye kept getting bigger and bigger...

The man is good it's just that sometimes, like all writers, they write some bad stuff, especially when they branch out of the ir comfort zone. Sure they may hit on some good things, but overall, take someone out of their element and they will flounder. Heck, look at Stephan King, one of the best horror writers of all time but has written some clunkers too...

It's all relative and is his DC writing leaving those characters in a better place? Probably not but how much of that is him and how much of that is lack of leadership and vision at DC?

[kcekada]

And his biggest sin for me at least is to came with yet another @#$>=(+!! reboot for the Legion when he perfectly could had come with a wave of new characters if they wanted more diversity.

DC is to blame for the umpteenth Legion reboot. Had any comic book property been more maligned? I don't know if it was Bendis or DC that thought it was okay to discard and/or revamp existing Legionnaires, but obviously it didn't bring in many new readers and lost a lot of old fans.

That said, the only thing from Bendis that I would recommend is ALIAS (Jessica Jones). . I know his Ultimate Spider-Man and Powers are said to be his best work, but haven't read either. I thought his idea for Secret Invasion was excellent, but the execution wasn't.

I don't know if his Legion series will ever get off the ground, but I'm hoping it never comes to fruition -- even if that means no Legion series at all. The Legion franchise is pretty much dead.

[kcekada]

PS Oh, just as an aside: Rose and Thorn are immortal now. Why?

Ya know, maybe he could have written a cool R&T series, but her use in his Legion was a wasted effort.

Yeah, what makes her immortal? And why was she shown with super-strength in the panels that Jim Lee drew? None of that made a lick of sense. Props to him for pulling her out of mothballs, but I'd rather just read her stories from the back of Lois Lane.

[Thor-Ul]

DC is to blame for the umpteenth Legion reboot. Had any comic book property been more maligned? I don't know if it was Bendis or DC that thought it was okay to discard and/or revamp existing Legionnaires, but obviously it didn't bring in many new readers and lost a lot of old fans.

Ok, I can agree on that. I'm of the opinion than DiDio is who has pushed more for the Legion reboots than the authors. Once, Waid admited than it was the DC directive who wanted a Legion reboot, the Threeboot, when he, Waid, was willing to continue with the ZH Legion. And by then DiDio was in the directive.

But even so, Bendis could had argued against that and fought a little more, intead of being the good soldier and just "follow orders". He could had say "no". If DiDio wanted Bendis on the Legion, Bendis had the upper hand on that aspect. He could perfectly had insisted and could had have the Legion without the need of another reboot. But he accepted the conditions without questioning them. But also, everything about the Bendisboot was so chaothic than who knows what the hell happenned: They are from 32nd century, no, they aren not; Invisible Kid is Lyle Norg, no, he is not; Lightning Lass is caucasic, no he is black; Mon-el is daxamite, no, he is kryptonian.

Honestly, it make me think than Bendis accepted rebooting the Legion just to write whatever he wanted without had to take care of past character coherence.

That said, the only thing from Bendis that I would recommend is ALIAS (Jessica Jones). . I know his Ultimate Spider-Man and Powers are said to be his best work, but haven't read either. I thought his idea for Secret Invasion was excellent, but the execution wasn't.

Well, I have read Powers and really liked it. I had not read the whole Ultimate Spider-Man, but what I read was good enough. But comparatively, it seems like Bendis style worked better in his own characters. But in franchise characters he works better when he has to dfeal with one character at the time. In teams, he seems not to give characters different voices. It is him using the characters as his loudspeakers.

Alias is a pending, but after the last lectures of Bendis, I don't know if I would enjoy it or read it objectively. Right now, I'm kinda biased against him. Maybe in the future but not now.

I don't know if his Legion series will ever get off the ground, but I'm hoping it never comes to fruition -- even if that means no Legion series at all. The Legion franchise is pretty much dead.

That is something sad to say, but never say never. Even the most dead franchise could be resurrect from the grave. But I doubt than Bendis could be that man for the Legion. How had worked his others properties in media adaptation, by the way?

[Thor-Ul]

I am ambivalent towards him. He wrote what he thought was best. Delusions of grandeur, probably, but a lot of people have that and those below always snipe to take the person on top down. That's life in that field, or just about any field. Fanboys are gonna fanboy because that is what they do. Spin their own narrative to appease their point of view. Both Marvel and DC need strong leaders with backbones and a clear vision that is articulated correctly to those they are in charge of. And if you don't like it, there is the door. It's a business, not a fan club.

Maybe he needed better editors who could say "no" to some of his ideas.

Bendis did some nice things at Marvel and at DC didn't do much of anything except Naomi. Superheroes really aren't his thing, but he keeps trying Jix, Torso and Powers got him noticed and a nice gig at Marvel and while there Miles Morales got him BANK and a HUGE name and along with Alias and Jessica Jones got him set for life to write whatever he wanted, unfortunately the Internet also boomed during that time and after a fruitful run at Marvel he got the DC gig, over sold, like most do, though we got Naomi out of it and his bank got bigger, and as usual the bullseye kept getting bigger and bigger...

Basically, he was in the right place in the right time? Too bad he moved from there and time passed. Also, mostly of the time, Bendis count with good pencillers and that helps more than people realize.

The man is good it's just that sometimes, like all writers, they write some bad stuff, especially when they branch out of the ir comfort zone. Sure they may hit on some good things, but overall, take someone out of their element and they will flounder. Heck, look at Stephan King, one of the best horror writers of all time but has written some clunkers too...

It would be nice to have had the good Bendis on DC, but he did mostly clunkers.

It's all relative and is his DC writing leaving those characters in a better place? Probably not but how much of that is him and how much of that is lack of leadership and vision at DC?

Definitely, the League is not in a better place. I got the impression than he wanted to do in DC the same thing than he did in Marvel: have a great impact, change the direction of the books, create a new paradigm and become the architech of DC, once he saw than his time in Marvel had passed and than Kevin Feigue was not willing to trust him. In DC, he even counted with the support of DiDio, who gave him his own line of books and an exclusive contract. But he didn't expect to DiDio getting fired (nobody did I believe) and his whole plans for the 5G being scrapped. I suppose than after that he did what he could, which was not that much. And it doesn't seems like he also cared too much. So it makes you wonder how much he is going to be linked to the comics division of DC with some new project (a new Legion of Super-heroes book, god forbids) or if he is going to move to media division or even concentrate in his own owned properties.

[krazijoe]

Maybe he needed better editors who could say "no" to some of his ideas.



Basically, he was in the right place in the right time? Too bad he moved from there and time passed. Also, mostly of the time, Bendis count with good pencillers and that helps more than people realize.



It would be nice to have had the good Bendis on DC, but he did mostly clunkers.



Definitely, the League is not in a better place. I got the impression than he wanted to do in DC the same thing than he did in Marvel: have a great impact, change the direction of the books, create a new paradigm and become the architech of DC, once he saw than his time in Marvel had passed and than Kevin Feigue was not willing to trust him. In DC, he even counted with the support of DiDio, who gave him his own line of books and an exclusive contract. But he didn't expect to DiDio getting fired (nobody did I believe) and his whole plans for the 5G being scrapped. I suppose than after that he did what he could, which was not that much. And it doesn't seems like he also cared too much. So it makes you wonder how much he is going to be linked to the comics division of DC with some new project (a new Legion of Super-heroes book, god forbids) or if he is going to move to media division or even concentrate in his own owned properties.

If I were him, I would give him a comic and have him write what he knows, which I have said before is Crime Noir. He could invigorate many detective characters (Just don't let him touch Batman) Elongated Man, Detective Chimp, Plastic Man, Question, or even a Phantom Stranger title. He has a use, but will they let him go with what got him known or what got him in the doghouse...