Don MacPherson misses the old Bendis

[The Dyslexicon]

Secret invasion really feels like the culmination of his MU shaping Avenger work. I sort of hope he tries some new stuff when it’s done.

If he goes back to what he did before we will know that the well is dry, but I have faith that he will zig when we are expecting him to zag.

[S. Earl]

I love Bendis as much as ever, but it would be nice to see some crime books coming out still.

Bru and Rucka strike that balance. And I am sure if Bendis ever gets the itch again, he will scratch it.

[BENDIS!]

or i could do what he wanted and he'd write: i used to like bendis but he does the same thing over and over and now i'm bored.

the good news here is i wasn't aware don was still writing.

bravo for a thought out piece of critism that wasn't the usual hit and run the internet has allowed to become the standard.

but i love a critique that eats its own premise by acknowledging i just did the thing he liked THE WEEK BEFORE!!

i got to where i am, in my basement , making off beat choices and i will continue to do so. even back when he 'liked' me i was making choices he hated. i remember him not liking them.

the reason i am still running with the bulls is you really don't know what i will do next. so, may i say, i bet this critique will be dated before the summer's end. so nyah.

gail and denny still love me.

[Raphael J]

I think Bendis has grown as a writer. He initially was schedule to write Ultimate X-Men, but didn't feel comfortable writing a team book. Every area that he's felt weak as a writer he's gone back and done and succeeded.

Would I love more Fortune and Glory or JInx...sure I'll take it, but his work at Marvel is excellent and the man is laying the foundation for that Universe and creators that come after him and that's a pretty neat job.

I concur. To say he values plot over character is ludicrous. The New Avengers Civil War arc focused on primarily character, as did the Hawkeye/Scarlet Witch issue, and all throughout the overall Hood storyline (to name a few).

[dEnny!]

What I find funny and actually contradictory is his statement of personal tastes changing and being far from the same person, yet wanting and missing his early stories. He liked the recent New Avengers issue focusing on Jessica and Luke because it reminded him of Alias, his favorite Bendis comic from Marvel. I like Don, supported his Fourth Rail website with Randy Lander, but personally I feel Bendis has grown as a writer, while what he wants as a reader has remained the same, at least from Bendis. He wants more Jinx, Fortune & Glory, and Alias, and Bendis still has the tools to write those types of stories, to be dialogue driven, but now he also can write team books, epic action sequences, thought balloons, which in the past he said he hated.

Of course, one has to also acknowledge that personal tastes change. I’m far from the same person I was when this series began. Mind you, extending that logical, one also has to realize that Bendis isn’t the same writer he was when USM got underway.

There’s no denying Bendis is still a valuable asset for Marvel, and his involvement in so many projects and his upcoming guidance of the Secret Invasion event are testaments to that fact. But I miss the Brian Michael Bendis of the mid to late 1990s. I miss the Bendis that created Jinx. I miss the Bendis that breathed life into Spawn’s supporting cast members in Sam & Twitch. And God I miss the Bendis of Fortune & Glory.

Don was successful though in his essay in sparking conversation about the man's work.

[BENDIS!]

i remember bill s. wrote in the intro to the new mutants trade: people at first hated this work because they wanted my old stuff. now when they want the old stuff, this is what they are referring to.

[dEnny!]

or i could do what he wanted and he'd write: i used to like bendis but he does the same thing over and over and now i'm bored.

the good news here is i wasn't aware don was still writing.

bravo for a thought out piece of critism that wasn't the usual hit and run the internet has allowed to become the standard.

but i love a critique that eats its own premise by acknowledging i just did the thing he liked THE WEEK BEFORE!!

i got to where i am, in my basement , making off beat choices and i will continue to do so. even back when he 'liked' me i was making choices he hated. i remember him not liking them.

the reason i am still running with the bulls is you really don't know what i will do next. so, may i say, i bet this critique will be dated before the summer's end. so nyah.

gail and denny still love me.

Obviously your work is still relevant because it continues to be discussed and make a difference in the industry.

Now, would you mind answering a question. So what's the deal with the thought balloons all of a sudden? Am I right in that you are trying to add something to your tools as a writer because prior to Mighty Avengers I don't remember you using thought balloons very frequently (if ever).

[Albert]

I didn't know Don was still writing either. I remember he was pretty lukewarm to Avengers Disassembled but Randy pretty much outright hated it. I always liked them both, though.

[Whirlwindx]

You are totally entitled to your opinion, but I'm really enjoying Bendis' work on Avengers, so much so I'm tracking down back issues of the series. Plus his work on Illuminati tied in the seminal Marvel/Avengers moments and made what I always considered lame storylines interesting; seriously THE BEYONDER!

But to each his own, sorry you don't like it and while I do miss him and Maleev on DD (though Brubaker and Lark continue with the tradition) I continue to enjoy, look forward to and REREAD his work.

I think I just got tired of how he writes or how superheroes are today to a certain degree. I liked New Avengers at the beginning but as the run went on it just stopped doing it for me. Sometimes it was the decompression or it just didn't feel like the Avengers. I stopped enjoyed it so I dropped it. I just used to have such a good time a few years back, its a shame it stopped. Now I can get my crime fix from Criminal etc, so I'm not really complaining.

I glad that it caused you to track down back issues of the series, since there's been plenty of great ones throughout its history. I never considered the Beyonder to be lame so I think that's where a big divide comes in some of the stories Bendis writes, although I've never read Secret Wars II so who knows maybe the Beyonder is really lame in there. It's the same reason I wouldn't find Hawkeye lame or Ghost Rider. I've always had plenty of fun with marvel and their characters.

One of the all time Daredevil runs to be sure but Brubaker's just continued the greatness if not surpassed it in some cases.

[bartleby]

I miss the old Fourth Rail.