He achieved his permanent damage to a beloved icon, so why stick around? Seriously, there was NOTHING about the Byrne "improvements" that I liked: business Luthor, macho Clark, mucho macho Lois, no Superboy, neutered Krypton, living Ma & Pa, telekinetic strength...not a thing.
Same here Matt. Byrne ruined the mystique of the Supes legend pretty quickly (well, along with the increasingly insipid Donner sequels..). Supes was not handled well in the '80s. Byrne was frankly a final straw.., which is similar to my comments in BAB regarding DC in the '80s a few weeks back (which some folks didn't agree with.., especially when it came to Byrne on Supes and Perez on WW.)
I think you guys are on to something, because just the other week, I tried reading a few Byrne Superman back issues (beginning with the relaunched 1st issue) and just couldn't get into it. Too much over-explanation of every power and circumstance just killed the joy. They tried to "marvelize" the character and it didn't work for me. 1970's Superman books are worth looking at. Pre-Crisis all the way!
To me the Crisis was like watching a friend commit a slow suicide. The bogus premise that "kids can't comprehend our multiverse" is such a canard...seriously, have you met anyone who had trouble with Earth-1 and Earth-2? I was maybe 6 when I first read a story featuring two Flashes or Green Lanterns and accepted it without problem or confusion. Changing Superman and espcially Wonder Woman and Flash so drastically essentially assured I would buy almost nothing from D.C. ever again. I tried Byrne Superman, Perez WW was better but it just wasn't WW but a whole new character using her name ( and i hated that they made her able to fly), Flash would have been okay but for the utter disregard for Wally West's established character (even though I prefer barry Allen)...tried the unfunny justice League made up of 3rd stringers and Batman...what a mockery of an iconic book...enjoyed blue beetle somewhat although i would have preferred him to stay unique among super heroes as an Objectivist since they destroyed the Question's integrity. sorry for the rant, but I feel it's almost all been downhill since around '86 for the mainstream comics published by D.C.
He achieved his permanent damage to a beloved icon, so why stick around? Seriously, there was NOTHING about the Byrne "improvements" that I liked: business Luthor, macho Clark, mucho macho Lois, no Superboy, neutered Krypton, living Ma & Pa, telekinetic strength...not a thing.
ReplyDeleteSame here Matt. Byrne ruined the mystique of the Supes legend pretty quickly (well, along with the increasingly insipid Donner sequels..). Supes was not handled well in the '80s. Byrne was frankly a final straw.., which is similar to my comments in BAB regarding DC in the '80s a few weeks back (which some folks didn't agree with.., especially when it came to Byrne on Supes and Perez on WW.)
ReplyDeleteI think you guys are on to something, because just the other week, I tried reading a few Byrne Superman back issues (beginning with the relaunched 1st issue) and just couldn't get into it. Too much over-explanation of every power and circumstance just killed the joy. They tried to "marvelize" the character and it didn't work for me. 1970's Superman books are worth looking at. Pre-Crisis all the way!
ReplyDeleteTo me the Crisis was like watching a friend commit a slow suicide. The bogus premise that "kids can't comprehend our multiverse" is such a canard...seriously, have you met anyone who had trouble with Earth-1 and Earth-2? I was maybe 6 when I first read a story featuring two Flashes or Green Lanterns and accepted it without problem or confusion. Changing Superman and espcially Wonder Woman and Flash so drastically essentially assured I would buy almost nothing from D.C. ever again. I tried Byrne Superman, Perez WW was better but it just wasn't WW but a whole new character using her name ( and i hated that they made her able to fly), Flash would have been okay but for the utter disregard for Wally West's established character (even though I prefer barry Allen)...tried the unfunny justice League made up of 3rd stringers and Batman...what a mockery of an iconic book...enjoyed blue beetle somewhat although i would have preferred him to stay unique among super heroes as an Objectivist since they destroyed the Question's integrity. sorry for the rant, but I feel it's almost all been downhill since around '86 for the mainstream comics published by D.C.
ReplyDelete