JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON

Alex Groff · Mar 11, 2005, 04:10 pm

<A HREF="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0505/FF527.jpg" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0505/FF527_T.jpg" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="150" ALIGN="LEFT" ALT="Fantastic Four #527 Cover"></A>by Remy Minnick, ComiX-Fan Staff Writer

J. Michael Straczynski is one of those names that doesn't need an introduction, but my boss told me I'm forced to write one anyway. Besides being difficult to spell, JMS' name is probably best known for his work on the popular sci-fi show Babylon 5 and his recent controversial arc on Amazing Spider-Man "Sins Past." In May, JMS takes over the reigns of the World's Greatest Comic Magazine and we took the oppurtunity to talk with him about his comic book work and what the next step will be.

Comix-Fan: Recently Peter Parker has joined the New Avengers team. Most people have argued that Peter Parker/Spider-Man is more of a loner then a team player. As the writer of Amazing Spider-Man for the last couple of years, you probably know Peter Parker's current state better then anybody else. Is the Avengers right for him? And why now, rather then when he tried it out several years back?

J. Michael Straczynski: Let us remember that it was Brian Michael Bendis who actually pulled Spidey into the Avengers, and I can't speak for Brian -- except in a very dark, disturbed Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy kind of way, and unfortunately I'm fresh out of rubber gloves -- but I can nonetheless answer your questions by disagreeing with their premise. (Isn't it fun interviewing somebody whose mind looks like an old box crammed tight with rubber bands and discarded shoelaces?)

First, no, Peter is not necessarily a team player...but is that by disposition, choice or inevitability? For somebody who's a loner, he's certainly drifted through and teamed with lots of people over the years, like someone drifting from relationship to relationship looking for the right one. And certainly whenever we've peeked into his thoughts while on patrol, there is a certain loneliness at times. And when he has been part of a team, he has generally carried on his responsibilities and pulled his weight.

Is Wolverine a team player? Yes, he is part of a team, but inside his heart, is he a happy joiner, ready to sing camp songs and create festive party favors, or is he a creature of his own thoughts, tuned mainly the frequency of his considered conscience above all other voices? I think the answer to that one is obvious...and is part of Wolverine's charm (if one can call it that and live). There is a very fine dramatic tradition of loners brought into a surrogate family, for purposes of conflict and characterization. It gives you a nice contrast of styles, which you need for your story to be interesting.

Peter is no different...maybe. On the one hand, yeah, he's a loner, because I think he thinks he's had to do it that way, that his path is the solitary path whether he wants it that way or not. I think he'd like to have the company, like to carry into battle the knowledge that there is someone there with him, watching his back, that he is not alone in the dark.

To the second part of your question, why might it work (or why do it) now when that was not the case before...again, the premise is faulty. By that reckoning, one should never try twice what one failed once. Accomplishment and triumph never come the first, second or even third times you try something. This is true of sports, music, relationships and teamwork.

Thus, employing the Socratic method, I have answered your question by not answering it.

Next!

CXF: How will Spider-Man joining the New Avengers effect writing Amazing Spider-Man? Were there any storylines that you had wanted to tell, that are unable to now with him being a member of the Avengers?

<A HREF="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0505/ASM520.jpg" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0505/ASM520_T.jpg" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="150" ALIGN="RIGHT" ALT="Amazing Spider-Man #520 Cover"></A>JMS: Not at all, because it's not as if I'm going to be doing Spidey for a finite time (unless you've heard something). He won't be with the Avengers forever, and any stories that I want to tell of Spidey out on his own I will have a long life in which to tell them (unless you've heard something). There will only be this one relatively brief period in which to tell stories about Peter being a day-to-day part of the Avengers, so to me that's an opportunity, not a limitation. These are the out-of-the-norm stories, and those are the stories you look for, because all the obvious stories have already been told...it's finding the non-obvious ones that are satisfying for both writer and audience.

CXF: After the "Skin Deep" storyline concludes, what's up next for the wallcrawler?

JMS: A situation occurs at the climax of "Skin Deep" that pushes not only Peter, but MJ and Aunt May into the core of the Avengers daily life. During that period, we'll be focusing on Peter as part of that group, and how living in that situation affects all three of those characters. As events go, it's really kind of a startling turn of events, which I almost wanted to belie a bit by having the lead-up to it seem fairly straightforward...okay, he's fighting the bad guy, who is a bit nuts, yeah, yeah, we've seen this kind of thing before and HOLY CRAP WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?

For as much as MJ and May know of his other life, they've never been thrust into it quite as thoroughly and disturbingly and at times comically as they are about to be, and that's shaping up to be quite a bit of fun.

CXF: When you started your run on Amazing Spider-Man, you said there was an obvious question about Spider-man's origin that you were surprised no one had ever asked. Have you had similar questions about the Fantastic Four that you were surprised no one else had explored before?

JMS: Not per se, no, although there are aspects to the FF that nobody's touched before in any great detail. My job is to find them. Early on, after taking on the book, I sent Tom Brevort a note saying, in essence, "Listen, in terms of the living situation of the kids, has anybody ever dealt with this issue?" And his reply was "No, and I'm surprised it hasn't come up before." I took this as a compliment because at one time or another in his long career at Marvel, I think Tom's thought of just about everything at some time or another. That's why it's such fun working with him and Axel...between them they divide all knowledge: Tom knows all that can be known, and Axel knows all the rest.

CXF: Taking over Fantastic Four from Mark Waid might seems to be a daunting task, especially with how things went the last time they found a replacement writer on the book for him. Did you have any worries in taking over the book?

JMS: If I worried too much about the jobs I tackled, I wouldn't take them. That's not arrogance or confidence necessarily, as it is necessity. If you go up to the plate in a baseball game, you need to concentrate on hitting the ball, not on what might happen if you don't knock it out of the park. For me, the fun part is the thing I focus on...can I (and the readers) have fun with this? If so, then do it; if not, split.

However, having said that, the other day somebody told me that this was the first time that the same writer had written both ASM and FF at the same time since Stan Lee. Which is a terrible thing to tell someone if it's not true. And it's an even worse thing to tell someone if it IS true, because THAT could scare the hell out of anybody.

CXF: The Fantastic Four has so many strengths as a title. From a strong sense of family and touches of humor to science-fiction adventure and superheroe action all rolled up in to one. What is it about the title that you think holds it back from being a top 10 book and what do you plan to do to make it appeal to a larger audience while still retaining the diehard fans?

<A HREF="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/marvelheroes/2005/ff/FF5270101.jpg" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/marvelheroes/2005/ff/FF5270101_T.jpg" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="150" ALIGN="LEFT" ALT="Fantastic Four #527 Pencils"></A>JMS: I think that all the ingredients you cite are what make the book work well, and those are the same ingredients that Mark handled so expertly during his run. So I'm not looking to change any of those elements, only to see if I can dig in and find new angles inside those things that can enliven and add excitement to the book...story points that heighten those elements.

For instance...we've seen the FF and their kids threatened by every bad guy on the planet at one time or another, and in each case the troublemakers were dealt with (mostly). You meet force with force. But...what happens if the threat comes not from a bad guy, but from someone out to be, in their mind, helpful, someone who couldn't be dealt with through force? In short...what if the New York Child Welfare Division decided to investigate the conditions under which the kids were being raised? You can't punch out the bureaucracy. And the thing of it is, if they were to take the position that the kids are living in a potentially dangerous environment, how can you argue with them? They're right. So NOW what do you do?

What always worked for me as a reader of the FF was the balance between the, well, fantastic world they lived in half the time, and the real world they had to contend with the rest of the time. Ben Grimm could knock over buildings, nobody messed with him...except the gang on Yancy Street who made his life a living hell. You have to balance the cosmic with the identifiable, and I think perhaps the stories swung a bit too far in one direction after a while...and my feeling is that if everything is fantastic, then nothing is fantastic, because you need the contrast between them to make that distinction felt. So I do plan to play a bit with that contrast...taking the fantastic and putting it even further out there on the edge, while at the same time anchoring them as much as possible in the real world.

Whether or not that makes it a top ten book is something beyond my purview. That is for the readers to decide.

What I can say...is that I want to take the book in new directions, to ask new questions, and most esepcially the big questions. Reed has been working for years to figure it all out, and is no closer to getting his answers on a big, cosmic scale. But now we're going to give him some of those answers...and they may not be what he expected, or what he wanted to find. It's also going more into its science fictional roots, and a bit away from the fantasy aspects.

And I have to say that the art that Mike is doing on the book is just terrific, as you can see from the first page of the first issue we're doing. This also shows some of the more SF direction we're taking the book.

CXF: Will there be any of the classic Fantastic Four villains appearing in the title or will you be creating a brand new Rogue's Gallery for Maervel's First Family?

JMS: I'm inclined to do both, but I think on balance I'll probably do a bit more with the already established Rogue's Gallery for the reason that there's a somewhat deeper bench from which to select players. The Spidey gallery is dominated so much by a relatively small group of really good bad guys -- Venom, Goblin(s), Carnage, Doc Ock, a handful of others that have been almost over-exposed over the years -- whereas there's a greater range of bad guys in the FF world that haven't been quite as over-used. So I'd like to revisit a number of them. (Which should please the Mole Man's agent....)

CXF: What can you tell us about your opening arc on Fantastic Four?

JMS: Reed, as noted above, has been chasing the big questions, and is starting to feel the frustration of never getting to the answers. He is going to be given that chance. He is restless, almost lost...not sure what he's seeking, but knowing the answers are out there somewhere. In the midst of this, the government comes to him with a chance to make up some of the funds and resources they lost recently by doing a consulting job for them on a secret mission. What he discovers about that mission will ultimately not only turn his world upside down, sending him on a renegade mission of his own, but could have massive repercussions for the whole of the Marvel universe.

<A HREF="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0505/STRANGE006.jpg" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0505/STRANGE006_T.jpg" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="150" ALIGN="RIGHT" ALT="Dr. Strange #5 Cover"></A>CXF: You've written team books, with Supreme Power and now Fantastic Four, and solo titles, like Doctor Strange and Amazing Spider-Man, do you prefer writing one type of book over the other?

JMS: I get this kind of question all the time -- do you prefer writing TV or comics? comics or novels? novels or radio? SF or fantasy? fantasy or mainstream? teams or solos -- and for me it's an odd question, because I like all of it equally. I like to write in any and all forms, the more challenging, the better, and don't really put one above another. They all have different strengths.

CXF: With just over 12 issues of Supreme Power under your belt, are you at the point you thought you would be when you originally pitched the series?

JMS: Pretty much, yeah. It's really the goddamndest book I've ever written, because it just has its own pace, and for the most part, it's not really *about* anything, which is something I made clear to everyone before even issue one hit the stands. It's really kind of a big, massive character piece. Which is why it took a while to catch on, but once it did, it seems to have gotten a very strong hold on the readership.

CXF: We recently got to see the Blurr, Hyperion and NightHawk get the chance to team up in Supreme Power. Are there plans for them to make a formal team?

JMS: Yes, now that the foundation has been properly laid (as well as Hyperion), the characters are now in a position where I can bring them together in a consistent way. In addition, a five-issue arc is planned for the summer that will bring in a number of other characters from the original Squadron Supreme (including Arcanna, Nuke and others) albeit in somewhat re-imagined incarnations. So you will be seeing this sooner than you might suspect, especially as we find Hyperion being not only isolated but hunted by certain individuals.

CXF: Will there be any more spin-off titles from Supreme Power like the recent Dr. Spectrum mini-series?

JMS: Yes, but I don't want to preclude Marvel announcing that stuff. There are actually going to be some big changes in the Supreme Power universe, some new titles, some big twists in the existing main title...we just nailed down the details this past week. The first issue of one of these, by a very well-known writer, just came in and everyone's very excited about it.

<A HREF="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/icon/2005/dreampolice/DREAMPOLICE1010.jpg" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/icon/2005/dreampolice/DREAMPOLICE1010_T.jpg" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="150" ALIGN="LEFT" ALT="Dream Police Preview Art"></A>CXF: You also have Dream Police with Mike Deodato coming out soon. For those who have yet to hear about Dream Police, can you tell us what it will be about and when we can expect to see the title?

JMS: Again, I think that the best way to present the fantastic is against the backdrop of the mundane, for the contrast that it gives you. You can then portray that contrast in either dramatic or comedic ways. In Dream Police it's a little of both. The fantastical aspect of the book is that it takes place in the dreamscape we all enter when we go to sleep...the mundane aspect is that our protagonists are two beat cops on the Dream Police whose dialogue is very much a cross between Dragnet and a Raymond Chandler novel.

The look and visual tone of the book is very serious, very film noir, which again provides the contrast between what we're seeing and what's being said and done within that context. So in the end...basically, it's just goddamned funny. It shouldn't be, because it looks so serious, as you can see from this page, but it just makes it funnier. Think of the Tommy Lee Jones character in Men in Black as another good example...never cracked a smile, always deadpan, always hysterical.

The graphic novel will debut in June, and I don't normally do this, because I like the work to stand on its own without being plugged, but I really urge folks to order this one in advance because I think it's going to sell out fast, and I'm really proud of this one.

CXF: What other projects do you have coming up in the future?

JMS: Colleen Doran has just come on board as the artist for The Book of Lost Souls, my new Icon monthly from Marvel, and I'm very much looking forward to what she does with the book, which is a somewhat surreal book in some ways, and very, very different than anything I've done before in or out of comics. Dark, moody, romantic, tragic, surreal, metaphysical...it's a book very close to my heart, dealing with the intersection between hope and hopelessness, the nature of love, the threat of greater darkness, madness, destiny, death, genius, magic, and best of all it has a talking cat named Mystery. What more can you ask for?

I've also been offered a TV series that is in the last stages of getting its deal put together, and with luck can say something more definitive about it in a few weeks.

CXF: When can fans expect to see The Book of Lost Souls on the shelves?

JMS: September.

<A HREF="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0405/ASM519COV.jpg" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0405/ASM519COV_T.jpg" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="150" ALIGN="RIGHT" ALT="Amazing Spider-Man #519 Cover"></A>CXF: How did you get involved with Marvel's Icon line? Was this something that was brought to you as an option or did you ask to get involved with it?

JMS: I gave 'em the stuff to read, they read it, said, "Yep, this is Icon stuff all right," and that was kind of that.

CXF: Recently, you revealed that the Babylon 5 movie, The Memory of Shadows, has apparently reached a dead end. Since you do have the rights to publish it as a script, is there any chance we might see the movie in that form in the near future? Maybe as a convention special, like the Sleeping In Light script you did a while back?

JMS: I have no plans at the moment; I'm just letting the dust settle for now before I figure out the next steps.

Order Fantastic Four, Amazing Spiderman, Supreme Power and Doctor Strange online now at X-World Comics and save!

Dermie · Mar 11, 2005, 04:57 pm

Personally, I'd really like to know what is happening with the B5 novels. Several months ago he said that there were new B5 novels in the works, and that we should be getting word about that soon. That was the last I heard of it....are they still happening? I desperately want some new B5-related material!

As for him upcoming run on FF...I wish him the best of luck. It will be interesting to see what he has in store for these characters. The question of what happens to the kids is an interesting point, which has been raised before--but never specifically addressed in this way.

Ken Boehm · Mar 11, 2005, 05:55 pm

Cheap Trick's going to sue over that one title's name...

A good interview, and damn if JMS isn't funy. But then I think about Sins Past, and I'm kinda torn. What I read in the interview was JMS on Amazing Spider-Man pre #504 or so, but I'm just hesitant to read any of his stuff now. Which is a shame, because he knows how to write Spidey.

monsterx · Mar 11, 2005, 05:56 pm

Great interview! ya know I dislike Spider-Man... well thats not true I loved Stan & Steve's Spider-Man but after them no one else really did comic well enough for me to keep buying it... then came J. Michael Straczynski! Nuff said! Im looking forward to his F.F.(So much so that I renewed my subscription to the series. And for the record Stan & Jack, Walt Simonson, John Byrne & Waid have turn out some great F.F. tales and I think that J. Michael Straczynski will join this honored group in doing the same).

bravelybravesirrobin · Mar 12, 2005, 06:48 am

I jsut got bored of Stracsynski's Spider-Man. The first few arcs (Coming Home, May finding out, Doc Ock) were all very, very good around the time Digger and Shathra hit the villains were just very dull and the main plots kind of unengaging. The character stuff was still awesome though and the odd issue was fantastic but just after the 500 issue I finally decided that it jsut wasn't worth my money. Glanced through Sin's Past and saw more of the same, poorly implemented main plot with really interesting and engaging character moments in between.

So it's no surprise that I love Supreme Power. All character all the time.

I'll give his FF a try because although I never watched Babylon 5 knowing it exists means I know the man can write sci-fi and his ideas for plots actuall sound interesting.

Dylan McKay · Mar 12, 2005, 07:05 am

I'm mildly interested in his F4 run, but just have no interest in Spiderman.

That said, Dream Police and The Book of Lost Souls are two books that I am highly anticipating. I just find that writers are better when they can play in their own sandbox, and I know JMS can write one heck of a story, so I'm expecting great things from those two books.

gwangung · Mar 12, 2005, 03:56 pm

One of the offputting things about fandom is that they're not forgiving. You do one dud, and your name is mud (even Shakespeare had his share of duds).

While SINS PAST was not a good story (IMAO), it's not enough to outweight the rest of his output, which I've found likable. So we'll see what happens with the rest of upcoming output...

BadMotives · Mar 12, 2005, 05:17 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwangung

One of the offputting things about fandom is that they're not forgiving. You do one dud, and your name is mud (even Shakespeare had his share of duds).

While SINS PAST was not a good story (IMAO), it's not enough to outweight the rest of his output, which I've found likable. So we'll see what happens with the rest of upcoming output...

Who's says Sins Past wasn't great? I got back into comics last year and started picking up AMS during the Loki arc. I didn't enjoy it. But Sins Past was awesome. Why? i can't put into words, but i really liked the feel of it. I guess I liked it because it wasn't your typical Spidey beats bad guy into a plup and leaves webbed up him up until the cops arrive.

I don't know about F4, but I really intrigued about Book of Lost Souls. JMS description of Dream Police has turned me against giving it a try.

James Groves · Mar 12, 2005, 06:51 pm

Well, i'd hardly call it innovative. It's easy to go to extremes -- any writer can do that. JMS decided to go hardcore on the character of Gwen to garner empathy and make her more relatable; more of an emotionally tarnished character to gve her more substance. I dont buy that and frankly never will. However, those who know of my views of Sins Past, will already know my opinion of that anyway.

Still not diggin' spidey's plots on Amazing -- pretty average for me. Only JMS' spot on characterisation floats it above medicority.

I'll end on a positive note by saying i love Supreme Power and look forward to more of that, and i shall definitely give F4 a try (despite the potential of a storyline that might come their way) and his stuff outside of more established characters looks mint too.

Looking forward to some JMS goodness.

Wolverine · Mar 12, 2005, 07:10 pm

can't wait to read jms's ff

Rodrigo Baeza · Mar 15, 2005, 01:26 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Groff

However, having said that, the other day somebody told me that this was the first time that the same writer had written both ASM and FF at the same time since Stan Lee. Which is a terrible thing to tell someone if it's not true. And it's an even worse thing to tell someone if it IS true, because THAT could scare the hell out of anybody.

Just to ease JMS's mind: there was a period in 1978-79 in which Marv Wolfman was writing both Amazing and FF (along with a handful of other titles). And probably either Gerry Conway or Len Wein managed to write both titles at the same time a few years before Wolfman.

Rodrigo Baeza
http://rodrigobaeza.blog-city.com

Mar 11, 2005, 04:57 pm	#2
Dermie Mutant Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: London, Ontario Country: Posts: 588	Re: JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON Personally, I'd really like to know what is happening with the B5 novels. Several months ago he said that there were new B5 novels in the works, and that we should be getting word about that soon. That was the last I heard of it....are they still happening? I desperately want some new B5-related material! As for him upcoming run on FF...I wish him the best of luck. It will be interesting to see what he has in store for these characters. The question of what happens to the kids is an interesting point, which has been raised before--but never specifically addressed in this way.

Mar 11, 2005, 05:55 pm	#3
Ken Boehm King of the Hill Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Country: Posts: 1,622	Re: JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON Cheap Trick's going to sue over that one title's name... A good interview, and damn if JMS isn't funy. But then I think about Sins Past, and I'm kinda torn. What I read in the interview was JMS on Amazing Spider-Man pre #504 or so, but I'm just hesitant to read any of his stuff now. Which is a shame, because he knows how to write Spidey. __________________ -Ken "In fifty years, Will Eisner never missed a single deadline. In 100+ issues, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby never shipped so much as a single FANTASTIC FOUR late. In 30 years I have had two issues ship late. Both were completely finished, pencils, script, inks, coloring, but the editor screwed up. An editor who was a fan-turned-pro." -John Byrne "There were more articles about Quesada and Palmiotti's Ash than there were issues of Quesada and Palmiotti's Ash." - Erik Larsen

Mar 11, 2005, 05:56 pm	#4
monsterx Zombie Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Point Richmond, CA. Country: Posts: 31	Re: JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON Great interview! ya know I dislike Spider-Man... well thats not true I loved Stan & Steve's Spider-Man but after them no one else really did comic well enough for me to keep buying it... then came J. Michael Straczynski! Nuff said! Im looking forward to his F.F.(So much so that I renewed my subscription to the series. And for the record Stan & Jack, Walt Simonson, John Byrne & Waid have turn out some great F.F. tales and I think that J. Michael Straczynski will join this honored group in doing the same). __________________ Monster X

Mar 12, 2005, 07:05 am	#6
Dylan McKay Jedi Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: British Columbia Country: Posts: 2,591	Re: JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON I'm mildly interested in his F4 run, but just have no interest in Spiderman. That said, Dream Police and The Book of Lost Souls are two books that I am highly anticipating. I just find that writers are better when they can play in their own sandbox, and I know JMS can write one heck of a story, so I'm expecting great things from those two books. __________________ "Well I've always said, There's nothing an agnostic can't do if he really doesn't know whether he believes in anything or not." Last edited by Dylan McKay; Mar 12, 2005 at 07:11 pm.

Mar 12, 2005, 03:56 pm	#7
gwangung Chibi Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Seattle, WA Country: Posts: 13	Re: JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON One of the offputting things about fandom is that they're not forgiving. You do one dud, and your name is mud (even Shakespeare had his share of duds). While SINS PAST was not a good story (IMAO), it's not enough to outweight the rest of his output, which I've found likable. So we'll see what happens with the rest of upcoming output...

Mar 12, 2005, 06:48 am	#5
bravelybravesirrobin Metahuman Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: england Country: Posts: 389	Re: JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON I jsut got bored of Stracsynski's Spider-Man. The first few arcs (Coming Home, May finding out, Doc Ock) were all very, very good around the time Digger and Shathra hit the villains were just very dull and the main plots kind of unengaging. The character stuff was still awesome though and the odd issue was fantastic but just after the 500 issue I finally decided that it jsut wasn't worth my money. Glanced through Sin's Past and saw more of the same, poorly implemented main plot with really interesting and engaging character moments in between. So it's no surprise that I love Supreme Power. All character all the time. I'll give his FF a try because although I never watched Babylon 5 knowing it exists means I know the man can write sci-fi and his ideas for plots actuall sound interesting. __________________ www.elgoonishshive.com - a meeting place for freaks "the not quite so brave as sir lancelot"

Mar 12, 2005, 06:51 pm	#9
James Groves Jedi Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: England Country: Posts: 3,777	Re: JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON Well, i'd hardly call it innovative. It's easy to go to extremes -- any writer can do that. JMS decided to go hardcore on the character of Gwen to garner empathy and make her more relatable; more of an emotionally tarnished character to gve her more substance. I dont buy that and frankly never will. However, those who know of my views of Sins Past, will already know my opinion of that anyway. Still not diggin' spidey's plots on Amazing -- pretty average for me. Only JMS' spot on characterisation floats it above medicority. I'll end on a positive note by saying i love Supreme Power and look forward to more of that, and i shall definitely give F4 a try (despite the potential of a storyline that might come their way) and his stuff outside of more established characters looks mint too. Looking forward to some JMS goodness. Last edited by James Groves; Mar 13, 2005 at 05:59 am.

Mar 12, 2005, 07:10 pm	#10
Wolverine X-men :swear::swear::swear::swe ar::swear::swear: Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Gold Coast Country: Posts: 2,541	Re: JMS: TALKING WITH AN ICON can't wait to read jms's ff __________________ " This is my family. This is my vision. God Help Us all." Destiny: Millenial Visions 2001 Phoenix will rise Again... Save StormWatch!

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