Go, Read: Jonathan Ross On That Big Marvel Comics Book From Taschen

It's right here.

I haven't read the book, so I can't make comparisons and everyone has a slightly different relationship with the icons of their youth. There are some interesting ideas in Ross' piece, though. The basic continuity of Marvel Comics is something I've never considered, how the conservative editorial philosophies post-1980 (it's hard to imagine Steve Gerber, Miller's Daredevil run or the Claremont/Byrne run on Uncanny X-Men happening after things really settled in with the Shooter era) may have trapped in amber those characters in a way that today's audiences can directly connect with a lot of that original 1960s verve and skill and unvarnished potency as well as their subsequent 1970s young-person pushback and spin. I'd disagree with Ross that the 1960s were distinctive because of the artists' idiosyncrasies -- I just think there were better comics-makers covering more of that line back then than at any time in their history, although the modern era about four or five years ago is going to be potentially remarkable in the rearview window. One interesting thing for someone out there to explore could be a theory that Kirby's basic dominance was so complete that the stylists that did find a way onto the page doing something different -- Ditko, Colan, Adams -- were really striking just having run that editorial gauntlet.

I appreciate Ross' enthusiasm for the comics he loves, and I think he's a fine public witness to the thrills that comics storytelling can bring. Twenty-five years ago, comics people dreamed of celebrities doing this kind of thing.
 
posted 11:55 pm PST | Permalink
 

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