Grant Morrison

[Krutch]

I just don't understand the hype. I've read a fair amount of his work and I feel that when he's at his best he's "just alright" but at his worst he's God awful. But he's hailed as one of the greatest comic writers of our time.

He's one of those names that I'd like to enjoy as much as the rest of the world does, but the more I read of his, the more I just don't see it.

For frame of reference, of everything of his I'd read the one I liked most was We3. But even then, it's just.. it's alright. It's okay. Considering how much of an animal lover I am I'm surprised when I closed the book I had such a huge feeling of indifference to the book. Which is often the case when I read something of his. Just this overwhelming feeling of meh.

All Star Superman I heard nothing but amazing things about. And so I read it. Twice. And again, just kinda meh. Maybe it's his dialogue or the way all his characters sound the same to me. His four panel origin story and his "You're stronger than you think you are" pages are hailed as some of the best Superman imagery there is. And yeah, I'd agree. But I'd also argue that it brings nothing new or exciting. Of course that's Superman's origin story and of course he'd help someone about to commit suicide. Both of these scenarios have been done better in other books, as well.

Batman and Robin I just couldn't get into. Which is sad since I waited years and years for a Dick Grayson as Batman series.

I guess I just have a hard time understanding why guys like Morrison get all the praise while guys like Kurt Busiek get swept under the rug and forgotten most of the time while they deliver more emotionally compelling work(at least, to me.)

So help me out here, guys. If you're a fan of Morrison, could you give me some examples of what you liked and why you liked it so much?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Krutch

I just don't understand the hype. I've read a fair amount of his work and I feel that when he's at his best he's "just alright" but at his worst he's God awful. But he's hailed as one of the greatest comic writers of our time.

He's one of those names that I'd like to enjoy as much as the rest of the world does, but the more I read of his, the more I just don't see it.

For frame of reference, of everything of his I'd read the one I liked most was We3. But even then, it's just.. it's alright. It's okay. Considering how much of an animal lover I am I'm surprised when I closed the book I had such a huge feeling of indifference to the book. Which is often the case when I read something of his. Just this overwhelming feeling of meh.

All Star Superman I heard nothing but amazing things about. And so I read it. Twice. And again, just kinda meh. Maybe it's his dialogue or the way all his characters sound the same to me. His four panel origin story and his "You're stronger than you think you are" pages are hailed as some of the best Superman imagery there is. And yeah, I'd agree. But I'd also argue that it brings nothing new or exciting. Of course that's Superman's origin story and of course he'd help someone about to commit suicide. Both of these scenarios have been done better in other books, as well.

Batman and Robin I just couldn't get into. Which is sad since I waited years and years for a Dick Grayson as Batman series.

I guess I just have a hard time understanding why guys like Morrison get all the praise while guys like Kurt Busiek get swept under the rug and forgotten most of the time while they deliver more emotionally compelling work(at least, to me.)

So help me out here, guys. If you're a fan of Morrison, could you give me some examples of what you liked and why you liked it so much?

He's absolutely one of the greatest comic book writers of our time. The amount of detail he puts into his scripts, pulling from all eras of source material (the nuance in his Batman stories is incredible... on the surface it may just looks like he's being "weird" to a layman, but when you actually see what he's pulling from it's staggering) into very well and multi-layered story arcs... it's huge. He's like the anti-Geoff Johns.

And his JLA run was epic. Every arc was a powerhouse, and perfectly executed with nothing frivolous or lost.

[snake]

Grant Morrison is the GOAT. The man puts 110% into anything he does and interconnects things perfectly. Look up Hypercrisis man

[ZariusTwo]

The man has his bad days (see the Xorn debacle in New X-Men or his Doctor Who comics for Marvel), but even his bad days are leagues above a lot of contemporary comics.

[Krutch]

I guess I just don't see it

I understand how he pulls influences from different eras and strings them all together, but it just never emotionally resonates with me. People say they wept while reading All Star Superman: I found it tonally all over the place and his Superman was strange and distant.

And when he's bad, ("The Filth", "Kill Your Boyfriend") he's really bad.

I'm not trying to trash the guy if thats what you think I'm getting at. I respect and understand he's an intelligent guy whose done a lot for the medium, and has gone on to inspire other comic writers. I have two friends who are avid Morrison fans who gush over everything he does, so, I keep hoping maybe he does something that hits me the way it does them. But maybe he's simply just not for me.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Nah, I don't like his stuff. I like the normal ground-level stuff he does (Batman & Robin), but whenever he goes globe-trotting or mythology-digging, he loses me immediately.

We3 FTW.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Nah, I don't like his stuff. I like the normal ground-level stuff he does (Batman & Robin), but whenever he goes globe-trotting or mythology-digging, he loses me immediately.

We3 FTW.

What did you think of Klaus?

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

What did you think of Klaus?

Still not interested in it.

Unless you can promise me a take on Claus similar to Dreamworks' "Rise of the Guardians."

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Still not interested in it.

Unless you can promise me a take on Claus similar to Dreamworks' "Rise of the Guardians."

If it came out in the 1990s I would have seen it,however it did not. It is reminiscent of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Read the first issue to sample to see if it crap to you or decent in your opinion.

[snake]

Y'all need some more mystical visions

[myconius]

he's definitely one of my all time favorite comic writer's for the reason of how well he scripts the HECK out of everything.

any time i re-read one of his stories i'll usually find something new i completely overlooked the first time, or will be able to better piece things together.

except for with 'Nameless'
i STILL have no clue what that story was all about??

it's ironic cuz i was actually about to start a thread asking if anyone had read (Image COmics) Nameless.

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Still not interested in it.

Unless you can promise me a take on Claus similar to Dreamworks' "Rise of the Guardians."

i was going to dismiss Klaus as just being a bunch of hokey Christmas mumbo jumbo.
eventually i gave in and added it to my pull list.
i'm not saying you need to read this or anything, but i actually ended up really liking it!
Grant pretty much took Santa Claus and turned him into a toy-making Conan!
it's pretty BAD-@$$!!!!!

[myconius]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

The man has his bad days (see the Xorn debacle in New X-Men or his Doctor Who comics for Marvel), but even his bad days are leagues above a lot of contemporary comics.

definitely!!! i know some might disagree with this? but i really felt his Wonder Woman Earth One was one of those BAD days!!!

he really wrote Dianna like a complete air-head!

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

I absolutely ADORE Grant Morrison. He is so creative. I will say though that sometimes his stuff is incredibly off the wall and you either "get it" or you don't. Arkham Asylum is one of my favorite comics ever and his Batman run ruled and Damien is the best comic character since x-23 and one of my all time favorite Batman characters period. I WILL say though that a few years ago at Heroescon I asked Greg Rucka about him and he absolutely LOST HIS MIND talking about how overrated he was and how if he wrote half as many off the wall things as Morrison that "people like me" would hate him forever. I mean he got really mad talking about him. I had asked him what other writer he always felt like he had to read and he said Jason Aaron. I then asked him what he thought about the death of Damien and how I loved Grant Morrison and he was one of the guys I would always keep up with and he then went off on him. I can understand people not liking him but I really, really do.

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

Originally Posted by Krutch

I guess I just don't see it

I understand how he pulls influences from different eras and strings them all together, but it just never emotionally resonates with me. People say they wept while reading All Star Superman: I found it tonally all over the place and his Superman was strange and distant.

And when he's bad, ("The Filth", "Kill Your Boyfriend") he's really bad.

I'm not trying to trash the guy if thats what you think I'm getting at. I respect and understand he's an intelligent guy whose done a lot for the medium, and has gone on to inspire other comic writers. I have two friends who are avid Morrison fans who gush over everything he does, so, I keep hoping maybe he does something that hits me the way it does them. But maybe he's simply just not for me.

Here's how awesome Grant Morrison is to me. I HATE Superman. I mean I passionately DESPISE that character but All Star Superman is one of the best things I've ever read. His Lex Luthor in it is awesome to me. I WANT to like Superman because of what he represents but I just have never liked him. I love Scott Snyder too but his Superman I thought was horrible. That's how great Grant Morrison is to me is that he can write a character I hate and make me love the book when even another writer I adore can not. I hate to hear you didn't enjoy WE3. I think that book is awesome. I know a guy that literally cried reading it. I didn't get THAT emotionally involved but there's a book sorta similar called Pride of Baghdad from Brian Vaughan that I actually DID tear up reading. But if Grant is not your thing then that's totally fine. I know people are obsessed with Geoff Johns but I'm not. The Batman universe is really the only DC one that I care about but I didn't even like what he did with Batman. So don't feel bad for not liking an all star. Sometimes that stuff just happens.

[myconius]

Originally Posted by T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!

I absolutely ADORE Grant Morrison. He is so creative. I will say though that sometimes his stuff is incredibly off the wall and you either "get it" or you don't. Arkham Asylum is one of my favorite comics ever and his Batman run ruled and Damien is the best comic character since x-23 and one of my all time favorite Batman characters period. I WILL say though that a few years ago at Heroescon I asked Greg Rucka about him and he absolutely LOST HIS MIND talking about how overrated he was and how if he wrote half as many off the wall things as Morrison that "people like me" would hate him forever. I mean he got really mad talking about him. I had asked him what other writer he always felt like he had to read and he said Jason Aaron. I then asked him what he thought about the death of Damien and how I loved Grant Morrison and he was one of the guys I would always keep up with and he then went off on him. I can understand people not liking him but I really, really do.

regardless of what others thonk about him or his writing he's still one of my favorites.

i bought the issue of Heavy Metal Magazine that he took over as editor on, and the Editors notes were actually some of my favorite bits of the magazine!
he just has such an off beat sense of humor which also might contribute to why some people like his writing or not? the dude is just OUT THERE! but in a good way!! at least for me anyway.

have you read 'Nameless' at all?

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

Originally Posted by myconius

regardless of what others thonk about him or his writing he's still one of my favorites.

i bought the issue of Heavy Metal Magazine that he took over as editor on, and the Editors notes were actually some of my favorite bits of the magazine!
he just has such an off beat sense of humor which also might contribute to why some people like his writing or not? the dude is just OUT THERE! but in a good way!! at least for me anyway.

have you read 'Nameless' at all?

No I haven't read Nameless. Is it pretty good?

[myconius]

Originally Posted by T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!

No I haven't read Nameless. Is it pretty good?

there were thing's i enjoyed about it, but there were many references that went over my head.

i was thinking to start a thread about it, to ask any other Morrison fan's who might be more familiar with mysticism that picked up on something i'd missed?

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

Originally Posted by myconius

there were thing's i enjoyed about it, but there were many references that went over my head.

i was thinking to start a thread about it, to ask any other Morrison fan's who might be more familiar with mysticism that picked up on something i'd missed?

I'm not familiar with stuff like that either. That's really a Morrison trademark to me though is his deep reference lexicon. He's sorta like the Dennis Miller of comic book writers. He's always dropping really obscure stuff and if you know what he's talking about then it really makes you feel like an inside baseball fanboy. LOL!

[myconius]

Originally Posted by T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!

I'm not familiar with stuff like that either. That's really a Morrison trademark to me though is his deep reference lexicon. He's sorta like the Dennis Miller of comic book writers. He's always dropping really obscure stuff and if you know what he's talking about then it really makes you feel like an inside baseball fanboy. LOL!

i'll tell you though, even though many of those references went over my head, there was a lot about the book i did like.

if you are into horror and gore, the story get BRUTAL!!!!
i mean REALLY disturbingly brutal!!!

but i liked all the Hellraiser / Event Horizon kind of events from the story.

plus there were element that took place within dreams as well.

very unsettling story.

one story of his that wasn't all obscure with the referencing was Annihilator.
that was a LOT of fun!!!

[Krutch]

Originally Posted by T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!

Here's how awesome Grant Morrison is to me. I HATE Superman. I mean I passionately DESPISE that character but All Star Superman is one of the best things I've ever read.

See, but one could argue that because you hate Superman so much, and you actually liked him in this book, that he could have been so far from what you hate(and who he is) to get you there. If that makes sense. Basically, its..

"I hate Hamburgers, but I love Hot Dogs."
"Here, try these Hamburgers" *hands you hotdogs*
"Oh, man, I just love these Hamburgers!"

That was about the stupidest thing I've ever written but I hope the point was clear

Originally Posted by T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!

I hate to hear you didn't enjoy WE3. I think that book is awesome.

Oh, I didn't hate it. I just thought it was okay. Honestly, if people didn't keep bringing it up and making such a big deal out of it, I'd have forgotten I'd read it by now.