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Post by foxley on Jan 8, 2016 5:40:43 GMT -5
Somewhat dimished by his habit of retreading the same story over and over again, but that doesn't change the impact of the original, where Jim Starlin told the tale of Adam Warlock's fight with his alter-ego the Magus and the mania of Thanos, through 4 separate comics Interesting. I felt like Starlin was already repeating himself with Warlock; the original Thanos story was in Captain Marvel. As far as I can tell, Starlin does nothing but repeat himself; endlessly. He is another creator whose appeal escapes me completely. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2016 11:19:07 GMT -5
All of which was drawn from Starlin's disillusionment with the Catholic Church he experienced growing up in the 50s and 60s and then used as grist in his writing. A lot of those themes are recurring through his work because they recur through his youth and he was drawing from his own life, experiences and emotional disillusionment with a lot of establishment institutions (church, gov't, business) etc. and they would recur throughout the oeuvre of his work, you can see inklings of it in his contributions to Dr. Weird form his fanzine days through the Marvel phase, the Epic days, his DC stuff like Hardcore Station, Cosmic Odyssey and Gilgramesh II to his second indy phase with stuff like 'Breed, Wyrd, etc. and even in his prose books. Write what you know and draw form your own life are what writers are told to do, and Starlin has mined that well throughout his career as a writer in all media. -M That logic suggests he knows approximately 2 things. Or he obsessed with those 2 things, or that he is still working through those 2 things through his writing umpteen years later or what have you. They may also be the only themes he feels ar worth writing about. Add Batman to the Cult to those that tread corrupted religion to the list as well, though his main Batman run didn't seem to focus on those themes. I also happen to think his work on Batman was among the weakest things he did and it is certainly among the least favorite of the things he has done in comics (Infinity War and Crusade rank down there with it). -M |
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Post by coke & comics on Jan 9, 2016 2:36:55 GMT -5
Interesting. I felt like Starlin was already repeating himself with Warlock; the original Thanos story was in Captain Marvel. As far as I can tell, Starlin does nothing but repeat himself; endlessly. He is another creator whose appeal escapes me completely. It's because the best of it is so good. Not because of most of it. Same with Miller and Byrne. I ignore Infinity Crusade because Warlock is so good. I ignore All-Star Batman and Robin because Daredevil is so good. I ignore Spider-Man Chapter One because Marvel Team-Up is so good. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 9, 2016 6:40:05 GMT -5
That logic suggests he knows approximately 2 things. Or he obsessed with those 2 things, or that he is still working through those 2 things through his writing umpteen years later or what have you. They may also be the only themes he feels ar worth writing about. Add Batman to the Cult to those that tread corrupted religion to the list as well, though his main Batman run didn't seem to focus on those themes. I also happen to think his work on Batman was among the weakest things he did and it is certainly among the least favorite of the things he has done in comics (Infinity War and Crusade rank down there with it). -M The latest books by him are nothing like that same theme everyone keeps referring to. But the theme of power corrupting is the basic theme to all fiction , along with man having little control over his world. Big organizations and ego driven people abusing their power will always be at the forefront of these dramas that we read. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2016 6:47:49 GMT -5
The Thanos Annual prelude and the first two Infinity OGN (Revelation & whatever the second was called), were exactly about those 2 these at their underpinnings. I haven't read the Hulk vs. Thanos series, but BreedIII (the last indy thing he did before returning to work for Marvel) simply brought all his indy character creations together for one story that was exactly about those themes and the first few issues of Stormwatch he did for the new52 (I only read the first 2 before dropping it) were shaing up to be on the same themes...so which new books are you speaking of?
-M
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 9, 2016 7:30:37 GMT -5
His latest 2 GN for Marvel are Infinity Relativity and And Infinity Revelation. They are set apart from a "religious order" taking control. I think Starlin detractors are overstating his copying of the same themes.
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Post by coke & comics on Jan 9, 2016 16:36:29 GMT -5
I love Jim Starlin, hence why he made my list. But we are not overstating the extent to which he copies himself. And it's not just themes and plots. It's dialogue. It's entire scenes. It's panel arrangements. Read the scene in Marvel: The End where everything is put back to normal and then the scene in Infinity Gauntlet where everything is put back to normal. You'll find an absurd number of similarities beyond the premise. From dialogue to character poses.
I think his best work, to include the whole thing from Iron Man #55 to Marvel Graphic Novel #1, is among the best work I've read in comics. But a lot of his work seems to be about paying the rent.
As I type this, I realize critiques of Starlin are somewhat distracting from the celebratory nature of the thread. Any admins out there care to move these to a new thread?
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 9, 2016 17:39:59 GMT -5
Well, I mean, at least he HAS some thematic depth to his work. I don't wanna be praising with faint damns here, but a lot of comic creators just don't seem to think on that level at all.
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