I don’t think I’ve every uttered the phrase “He’s a
bad writer”. I may not like a certain writer but I have respect for anyone
who picks up a pen and writes, the vast majority of them are infinitely more
talented then me so I have no write to judge in terms of being a good or bad
writers. All I can do is offer my opinion on their work and their choices.
One writer would come close to the term bad writer and that is Chuck Austen. I’ve tried so many of his comics and tried to find something to enjoy. I’ve asked so many people for their opinions but no one seems to get his work. Hell I recently read an interview with Austin’s Avengers artist Scott Kolins where even he admitted he didn’t have a clue what Chuck Austen was doing.
There will always be one thing though that I can say he did well though. He redeemed the Juggernaut. I’ve always loved the Juggernaut. He was a villain that when you saw him on the cover you knew your favourite superhero was in for a beating and you were going to get some beautiful and chaotic art as it unfolded. The X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk. Everyone was afraid of the Juggernaut. He was a great badass villain.
I’ll admit that some of crimes he’s committed over the years made it kind of stupid to try and redeem him but those were quietly forgotten and I enjoyed watching him try to put his past behind him. He became a guy who always had to keep himself in check but at the same time enjoyed kicking heads in, he was just on the opposite side to which we had become accustomed too.
With World War Hulk: X-Men #3 it seems Juggernaut has given in and is soon going to return to his old ways. It’s regrettable, as I don’t think anybody really did anything with Juggernaut after Austen left, and he now joins the likes of Mystique and Magneto who join the team only to revert to form.
I will buy whatever comic he shows up in next because as I mentioned I’m a fan of him as villain or hero but I am a little sad it appears it is over. There was so much more they could have done with him.
3 comments:
"I don’t think I’ve every uttered the phrase 'He’s a bad writer'."
One instance where I have said "this sucks" was upon reading Chris Claremont's dialogue in his early-1990's Uncanny X-Men (Ahab times. I have seen Grade 6 journal entries better written than that stuff. x_x
Sidebar, I like Juggs as a good guy. I never truly thought his core motivation was evil. He was seemed to be an angry man, and that twisted him. Sidebar, I don't have a problem with thug type characters turning page and becoming good. I just don't like it when evil masterminds turn good. I just find it less believable.
The one moment that sticks out in my head as hard to justify, is when Juggernaut knocked down one of the Twin Towers and then laughed.
It was just meant to be a cool visual and for obvious reasons it will never be referenced again.
Of course with 40 years of history to the character, you are going to get inconsistencies no matter what.
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