Why Donny Cates and Tom Taylor are making true comics!
Why Donny Cates and Tom Taylor are making true comics!
Or come off your soapbox so I can get on mine
A few year
s back, I can't remember if it was 2017 or 2018, I met Donny Cates at Fan Expo Dallas. He had just finished doing a panel with Matthew Rosenberg and I was supposed to interview Rosenberg after they wrapped. They walked off the stage and said hi to a few fans as I waited in the wings. When the crowd went away I walked up. I was so excited! Rosenberg was writing the X-Men books and he was going to be on my show! Then there was this other guy (Cates) here. We made small talk for a second and I mentioned the interview. There was a moment of awkward silence then Donny said something like, “Well, ok, I’ll get back to the table. See you there.”
To this day I feel so bad about the interaction. I didn’t want to ask Cates to do an interview because I didn’t want to be greedy. I was afraid I would overstep if I asked for too many so I picked the guy doing the X-Men books. I should’ve done a dual interview or something. The talk with Rosenberg went great and we even did another one a few years later. Because of this interaction I will always follow and support both of these writers, one out of guilt and the other out of gratitude.
Today I want to talk about Cates and his current run on Hulk. I also want to add Tom Taylor and his work on Superman: Son of Kal El. There are people all over the internet calling for their heads and for the books to be canceled after only a handful of issues. I hope that we can learn why that’s not only dumb but goes against the very nature of comics. But first…
ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!
Just 2 weeks until I’m at my first con of 2022! I can’t wait to see everyone in Waco for ATG Expo. I’m working really hard to debut issue 2 of The Embassy there. Just waiting on some quotes for the back cover.
I’m also doing a panel over podcasting that weekend. Saturday from 3-4, it’s going to be a blast and I think you’ll learn a few things if you come. If nothing else I’ll be giving away some cool stuff.
Some of you have been asking how the family is doing post COVID. I’m still in the clear! Everyone else seems to be fine and is testing negative. Sterling (the youngest) had some stomach issues earlier in the week that may or may not have been caused as a result of it but he’s doing great now.
Also, expect a cool announcement from myself and Danny from Pop Culture Elevator pretty soon.
Now, back to the reckoning!
So, let’s start with the bad news. This is the reason why I’m writing. There are people out there talking about how both Cates’s Hulk and Taylor’s Superman are flops. They are talking about how their new approaches to the characters are ruining everything. These people talk about sales numbers prove their points. That’s going to be the first line of bs we’re going to tackle then I want to look at why these runs are perfectly in line with not only the characters but the medium in general.
Just a warning, going forward I’m probably going to get more political than I have before in the newsletter.
Starting with Superman, people are claiming it “tanked” and nobody bought it. I can’t stress how false this statement is! The book has sold out and gone back for extra printings. Issue #1 was the 17th best selling comic of the month it came out. For a Superman book that is pretty good. If you look at the top 20 there are a ton of X-books and Spider-Man. Not to mention Star Wars and Spawn. There are books that are always at the top, and traditionally Superman isn’t one of them. The fact that this book was up there is incredibly impressive.
You should also know that when it comes to comic sales they are measured in two separate ways, units and dollars. Due to the varying costs of books you can be high on one but not the other. If you have a low price point you might sell a lot of units but not be on the top dollar chart. Son of Kal-El was on the top of both of these.
Let’s also talk about all the misinformation around the series. People complained that this “woke” Superman was a bad idea being bisexual and having a millineal boyfriend. First, it isn’t Superman. Clark Kent is Superman, this is his son Jon. While Jon will grow up to be Superman and that is what the whole book is about many people online were saying that Superman left Lois to be gay. All of that is wrong. This new version and completely different character is a reflection of the times and encouraging people to be comfortable with who they are.
If you look at the whole of the Superman mythos this is very on brand.
Also, millennials are considered to be born between 1981-1996, these characters aren’t 25 years old. Nice try Fox News. This book is telling a new and exciting story with a new Superman while still honoring his legacy and all he stands for. People who have a problem with it have probably never read six Superman comics in their lifetime.
I see these articles and comments and just want to HULK SMASH!!
Speaking of Hulk, let’s talk about Donny Cates. He recently took over Hulk at Marvel. He is following up a character defining run by Al Ewing. Ewing’s run took the character both to new places and recounted older stories. It really is a great run and you should check it out.
How do you follow something like that? Well, Cates and artist Ryan Ottley have taken Hulk in a whole new direction, space! Diverging about as far away as you can from the last person the new story not only introduces us to the “Smashstronaut” but paints Bruce Banner to be the villain of the series.
I’ve always said that the best Hulk stories focus on the Banner vs. Hulk struggles, not the punching of random things. This is why a Hulk movie is so difficult to make. The people that we talked about earlier, the ones that have probably never read a Hulk comic, just want to see him punch things.
Cates is known for his off-the-wall storytelling. If you read his historic run on Venom or keep up with Crossover you know he will take a character to the craziest places but somehow it makes sense and actually serves to advance the character in the long run. As of this writing he is only three issues into Hulk and people are calling for it to be canceled.
Any book I read I always give it the first arc. They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, well you can’t judge a comic by the issue. As much as Cates tells big bombastic stories he also has that slow burn. His Thor and Venom runs are proof of that. Heck, even in Crossover he is picking up on old Image series he wrote. Give the guy a chance!
Now, why do I say these runs are true to comic form?
Comics are perpetually stuck in the second act of the story. Well, older legacy characters are. This means that no matter what happens nothing really happens. I think it was Grant Morrison who talked about them like action figures.
All these characters are someone else's toys. You can play with them, imagine whatever fights or adventures you want, but when you're done you have to put them back in the toy box so the next kid can play with them. I think this is a perfect summation of how the medium works.
In the two examples we have today we have a legacy character with Hulk and a relatively new character in Jon Kent. Even though he is new Jon is tied to his father and has to live under that Superman shadow. This applies to him both on and off the page.
People don't want their character to change. Their Hulk is this way, their Superman is straight, whatever it might be, and you know what? That's ok. Everyone should have their favorite run.
I have news for all these gatekeepers, unless you're reading the Siegel & Shuster Superman or the Lee & Kirby Hulk you're reading a version that was changed from someone's favorite.1
If you aren't a fan of these runs, that's ok but you don't have to go around talking trash. Just wait and eventually a new creative team will take over, that's the nature of comics. That’s the beauty of them too! Everyone gets a voice and can be heard, if you don’t like the new one follow the old one. That’s how I’ve followed people like Cates and Rosenberg on so many great titles.
Before we leave I want to call myself out for a minute. Back in the early 00s Chuck Austen took over Uncanny X-Men and it did not go well. Even in the pre-social media days fans drove him away from comics for a long time. I was one of the people that criticized his work, but then I came to a realization. Marvel thought he was good enough and gave him a paycheck to write that book. I was just some guy still buying the book to complain about it. They still got my money. After reflection I knew what was wrong. I was jealous and entitled. I thought I could write a better story but I wasn’t. Once I realized this I saw Austen’s work in a different light and actually enjoyed it. Well, maybe not “The Draco” but you know what I mean.
Who are some authors (or artists) you would follow to any book? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time,
Lance
You should go back and read some of these early issues though. They are from another time but still amazing!