I Dont Get It: Why Is Mark Millar So Popular As A Writer?

[Mister Mets]

Millar's my current favorite writer in comics (Alan Moore's just too spordaic) so I'll try to answer some of the reasons what makes him so popular.

1. He leaves a book before he has a chance to run out of ideas. This is why most of his recent runs were 12 issues.
2. Shit happens to characters. Intense shit. See Ultimates 2 #7-9, or the first issue of MK Spider-Man.
3. He writes excellent action sequences/ battles.
4. He gets to the core of a character be it heroes like Spider-Man, or Wolverine, or villains like Elektra (who he set up as a big Marvel villain in Wolverine #31), Ultimate Namor, Ultimate

Spoilers:

Black Widow

, and Vulture (MK Spider-Man #4 may be the best Vulture story ever.)
5. Ultimates was the best book Marvel published since Marvels.
6. Ultimates 2.0's even better.
7. Wolverine is one of the best Wolverine stories ever.
8. His Spider-Man's run one of the best Spider-Man stories ever.

[innocentboy]

Dontcha mean "wicked'?

Spoiler:

"Magneto has spoken."

that's wicked.

Spoiler:

"TONY PULL UP!!!! PULL UP!!!!"
"why Fury? nothing's on my radar"
"THAT'S BECAUSE WE MADE HIM RADAR INVISIBLE!!!!"

is fucking bad ass

Excellent!

Well, with the pleasantries out of the way, shall we retire to the bedroom, where I can slip into something more comfortable?

no.

I've seriously gotta get caught up on the Ultimates.
Superficial knowledge is NOT enough!

man, how could you not've been reading the Ultimates regularly??!?!

[Mister Mets]

My last post of the year (and ever, if I keep my New Years Resolution. Just kidding, I think.)
I should point out that I vehemently disliked Trouble (or the three issues I bought), and The Unfunnies (or the 1 issue I bought) so I don't think everything Millar's written is good.

He does seem to make a lot of bad decisions in the name of being "shocking" or different. The 4 gazillion year old woman in his Wolverine arc was just silly. I would say the introduction of his ludicrous conspiracy in MK Spidey was the dumbest thing added to the Spidey mythos since the clone saga if Peter hadn't mutated, died, and come back from the dead twice in a year. Millar seems to go too far in the details. He wants something to be big, but he makes it too big. He wants something to be shocking, but he makes it too shocking. A good idea becomes a parody of itself. When he can hold that impulse back, he does good work.

I thought the conspiracy was a great idea with potential for future storylines, especially those set in the past. But as for the worst change to the Spider-Man mythos since the Clone Saga? I raise you...
1. Spider-Man: Chapter One
2. The Death of Mary Jane

But I'm really wondering. I'm not knocking Millar. Like I said, he seems like a cool guy (although I'm not sure I would really want to hang out with him on a regular basis if he's usually as drunk or plastered as I hear him say he usually is.) I'm sure I would enjoy speaking to him very much. But I just dont see why people go all ga ga over his writing. His MK Spider-Man, it just had to many out of character moments and stupid behavior. It was painful to read at times, it was like one of those movies you watch where you just want to smack the characters on screen for being so dam stupid. I could see if people consider his comics to be entertaining, but that's just about it. But when I hear people list him as one of the great comic writers, or one of the greatest, or along with Moore, or Gaiman, etc, it's just, well, it boggles this mind. Dan Slott is a very entertaining writer (IMO, and many other opinions I hear\read.), but he knows how to write entertaining and fun (an element that seems to be very scarce at the big two these days.) comics without resorting to unnecessary\inappropriate sex\sexual dialogue, fart jokes, etc. It's not exactly the kind of writing that you expect from a comic book professional.

Hey, I know some friendly drunks so that shouldn't be a problem (I don't see any reason for you to brink it up though.)
I think Millar's works are fun in the same way an PG-13/ R-rated fantasy/ action movie is fun.
Slott's Spider-Man/ Human Torch is one of the best Spider-Man comic book stories in the last ten years. Millar's epic is Just the best. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of the complaints are made by fans who are wrong about the continuity.
There were complaints about the early issues of the Spider-Man books that A) Peter Parker would NEVER use his powers in public (He has twice- Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 #17, and Spider-Man #75) and
B) all of the Vulture's suits have the same amount of power, so why did he run away in MK Spider-Man #3 (He used more primitive suits way back in Amazing Vol 1 #7.)
which were just plain wrong. And I thought MK Spider-Man was a convincing portrayal of a confused, panic-stricken Spider-Man, acting in the situation as a real person may, and not as someone given incredible foresight by a writer.

Millar is VERY hit and miss for me. More miss than hit, honestly. I absolutely love Red Son and Ultimates, but his two Wolverine Storyarcs were mediocre, I found his MKSM run to be overhyped and cliched, with a terrible last arc, his UXM run completely botched Magneto, even if overall it wasn't bad and Ultimate Wolverine rocked.

But his Wolverine Holocaust issue never should have been printed, and the Anti-American, Anti-Semitic undertones contained within nearly made me consider boycotting his work outright.

I voted for Bush, but I didn't find anything offensive about the book. There was one line which was a War in Iraq allegory, but I'll let that slide (since it's one example in a far longer career, Millar's been open about his far more liberal politics, and most other creators have done worse). I can't think of anything anti-semitic about the text, especially since Millar did use insight from Will Eisner for the tale (and by citing the insight, he runs the risk of Eisner's widow calling "bullshit").

And as said before, I loved Wolverine/ Spider-Man.

Spoiler:

"TONY PULL UP!!!! PULL UP!!!!"
"why Fury? nothing's on my radar"
"THAT'S BECAUSE WE MADE HIM RADAR INVISIBLE!!!!"

fucking bad ass

I loved that scene. Ultimate War was really under-rated.

[Blandy vs Terrorism]

Stay far away from his UFF run--it is shit.

You're one of the very few people that I've seen or heard say this.


Also highly recommended is Superman: Red Son.

[Shannon Chenoweth]

Stay far away from his UFF run--it is shit.

I couldn't disagree more. I am seriously loving his UFF. Fun stuff, and Land's art frickin rules.

[Mike Haseloff]

HAH! You think I'm gonna fall for your sweet-talk, fish-boy?!? Well, THINK AGAIN! I KNOW you! I know what you do! I know all your plans! I know all your moves! I'm always watching you! ALWAYS! Even when you think I'm not, I'm watching! And just when you least expect it.......!!!!


Sorry, I'm drunk.

Damn! Our powers must cancel each other out!


Oh yeah? Well... Hydra gave me back my flash, and I'm wearing a trenchcoat...

man, how could you not've been reading the Ultimates regularly??!?!

I know! I think it just sells too quickly.
I'm thinking about going the trade. It was the first Ultimate book that got me really interested!

I couldn't disagree more. I am seriously loving his UFF. Fun stuff, and Land's art frickin rules.

I wanna see Ultimate Namor!

And the zombie biz sounded like a lot of fun!

[Mister Mets]

Screw it. One more post. I posted this on Comic Book resources (as evidence that I have way too much free time on my hands, I did a Top 15 Spider-Man stories thread. http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=68955)

8. Down Among the Dead Men (Marvel Knights Spider-MAn #1-12)





The story is reprinted in three TPB's (Down Amongst the Dead Men, Venomous, and The Last Stand) and an upcoming hardcover (which will probably be the best place to get the story.)

Credits:
Mark Millar (Script), Terry Dodson (Pencils Issues 1-4, 5-7, 9-12), Rachel Dodson (Inks Issues 1-4, 5-7, 9-12), Frank Cho (Issues 5, and , Avalon's Ian Hannin (Colors), Virtual Calligraphy's Cory Petit (Letters).

The idea of the Marvel Knights Spider-Man book is brilliantly simple. Give a-list creators twelve issues to do their take on Spider-Man, and repeat. The first time around Marvel produced a masterpiece.

The story begins en medea res of a very vicious Spider-Man & Green Goblin battle. Soon after that, someone vandalizes Ben Parker's grave, a great way of earning Spider-Man's attention, and a villain calls Peter Parker to announce that he has Aunt May. Peter takes a great risk with his identity that some have criticized (even though he did the same thing in Amazing Spider-MAn Volume 1 #17).
The second issue's widely considered the worst of the lot, although I feel it perfectly shows a confused Peter Parker, who doesn't know what to do. And his quick fuse with the Avengers is very remniscent of one of hsi first encounters with the team in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 3.
The third issue has a very vicious battle with Electro, and the fourth issue has a great sequence in which the Vulture attacks a hospitalized drugged out of his mind on painkillers Spider-Man, while still being presented in a sympatheric light.
Meanwhile there's a five million dollar reward on Spider-Man's identity, and a lot of people are getting killed for it.
Midway through the story Peter makes a very disturbing discovery, which makes him want to quit being Spider-Man. Meanwhile Eddie Brock auctions the Venom symbiote, resulting in a lot of chaos as the new Venom attacks Peter's high school reunion. And Peter makes a decision which effectively ends his rivalry with J. Jonah Jameson.
"The Last Stand" finale reveals who was behind Aunt May's abduction, and why. It's not really a surprise, but it's perfectly in character for the main villain. The storyline also includes Mary Jane's strongest moments, Spider-Man's best battle with Venom (in the eleventh issue, it's as perfect as battles go), one of Spider-Man's oldest enemies joining the a-list, the Sinister Twelve, Spider-Man knowing he'll die fighting them, but deciding he can still make a difference, a perfect solution to that threat, and Spider-Man's greatest enemy doing some very nasty things.
Oh, and there's a drugged Doctor Octopus.
This is pretty much the single definitve Spider-Man story.

Other Critics....

Randy Lander of the Fourth Rail.com gives the second issue a 2/10
http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews...iderman2.shtml
There's an in-depth review of the story at Madgoblin's site, in which he says the ending doesn't deliver everything it promised.
http://www.spideykicksbutt.com/Yeari...rmanShush.html
There's a wicked parody available at http://mysite.verizon.net/fanboyprime/spider/
There's a few reviews of Issue 9 (including a very negative one) at
http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.co...8971322210.htm
Stan Lee said some nice things about it in the introduction to the hardcover, comparing it to a well-made Spider-Man movie, and promises that readers will say it's "One of the all-time best books I've ever read."

[innocentboy]

I loved that scene. Ultimate War was really under-rated.

the only thing i'm really bummed about is how it ended. wished it finished instead of continuing into another title

[Vroom_Socko]

I've got to say that I'm not a Millar fan. His stories all seem to be exersizes in angry, paranoid nilism. Everyone seems to love The Ultimates, but I can't stand it; everyone in it is just so unlikable. "Do you think this letter stands for France?" No, it stands for asshole. Civil War is a project that fills me with unending dread, and depending on just what happens, it may join Dissassembled and House of M as the nails in the coffin of my Marvel Fandom.

But that's just me. If you like his stuff, more power to you.

(It should be noted that based on the massive positive word here, I did take a look at issue #9 of The Ultimates. Since I don't care a whit about the characters, the book had no impact on me whatsoever. A whole mess of people seem to think that it's the best book to show widespread destructive action in a comic. Those people have not read Akira.)

[andrew french]

i'll admit i'm disappointed that i wasted my time with mk spider-man and wolverine, but i've liked ultimates a lot.