Tom Beland, of True Story Swear To God fame, asks the Bendis Board a question:
Every time I pick up an Alan Moore book, I feel like I was given a test in high school and, instead of studying, I played Playstation all week. His work, most of all, PROMETHIA, goes right over my head.
But y’know what..? I still buy it. I buy everything the man puts out because he makes me WANT to figure it out, even if it’s baby steps. I think there should be books out there that challenge you in a way you’ve never been challenged as a comics reader.
So, in a way, I support Moore’s quest to make me feel like an idiot.
Who out there writes over YOUR head and do you buy their work?
The response is kind of overwhelming:
“Morrison, definitely (though sometimes it seems like he is deliberately being weird and confusing).”
“Grant Morrison”
“A lot of Morrison’s work, I just flat-out don’t get, no matter how hard I try.”
“Grant Morrison, I literally cannot interpret what it is he means for me to absorb a lot of the time. His JLA and X-men were probably the most linear comics he’s written to me and sometimes I needed help with those. But some people very clearly and directly recieve the message of Invisibles or Filth or whatever, so its probably just me not being able to think outside the box.”
“Grant Morrison, usually only when he goes into Crazy Land[tm], but sometimes even in his ‘mainstream’ stuff.”
“There are parts of ‘The Invisibles’ and ‘Filth’ that go totally over my head. So, I guess Morrison. I think it’s because I’ve never dosed”
“Grant Morrison. I think The Filth is about doing whatever you have to do to get thru the day but even that is a guess at best.”
“most economics books i’ve ever read. such dry shit. and morrison a couple times. not really over my head, but i think he’s trying too hard sometimes. does he have an editor anymore?”
“Grant Morrison. I still have no idea what the hell the Invisibles or the Filth were about. I even bought that guide to the Invisibles… Uh, Say you want a revolution, I think it’s called. No dice. I just coulden’t wrap my head around it. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. Invisibles is still one of my favourite series, and I’ve read the entire run probably four times. I always get something different, and I always enjoy it. Sometimes my brain needs to be seriously confused for a while. Morrison’s good for that.”
“I’m also pretty sure that there’s stuff in there that you just can’t get. Like Morrison just thought to himself ‘Ha ha! This will confuse the crap out of them!’. Not that I have any kind of problem with that.”
“Grant Morrison for sure. I think he tends to let his wild ideas run away with him at the expense of story, whereas I get the feeling that Moore spends as much time with story and plot mechanics as he does with big ideas and themes, so he is able to integrate everything into a more cohesive (and easier to follow) whole.”
Now I can’t work out if I should feel smug for – for the most part – understanding Grant Morrison comics or depressed that so many people apparently don’t.
November 29th, 2006 at 11:54 am
Interesting how many people apparently “don’t get” Morrison’s work yet Morrison is consistently praised as one of the best writers out there today. How can this be, if the work is near incomprehensible to most people?
Is it a situation similar to the art world, where the more abstract and incomprehensible the art, the more profound and meaningful the elites declare that art to be and we in the “hoi polloi” must just be too dense or philistine to understand it?
-Todd
November 29th, 2006 at 12:16 pm
Methinks that Mr. Morrison is not quite as profound as some of those confused readers are expecting…
November 29th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
Eh, this argument is like saying Neapolitan is better than Rocky Road.
A lot of Grant’s stories are actively ABOUT transcendence, which is a tough process mentally. I think these same people would have the same problem with Ulysees or The Fountainhead. In this case it’s not a function of the writer not knowing how to write or needing an editor so much as the reader not knowing how to read (that particular story).
To GET Bleak House you have to treat your mind like a muscle. Grant gets his kicks by trying to get you to sprain yours. That’s what The Invisibles is, meta-text and hypersigil and all.
In conclusion, fanboys pretending at serious literary criticism can go slam a cock.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
I think Dave Campbell pretty much covered this regarding Vimanarama. Regarding most of Morrison’s work, to quote Dave’s last line, “it’s an enjoyable read on any level”.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
“Now I can’t work out if I should feel smug for – for the most part – understanding Grant Morrison comics or depressed that so many people apparently don’t.”
It doesn’t have to be an either/or thing, Graeme.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
There is an Invisibles companion avialible called Anarchy For The Masses: The Disinformation Guide to The Invisibles , with a Frank Quintly cover, that I feel is pretty usefull. Its mostly two guys talking about what they think is going on, but does have annotations that are nice and help explain some of the artistic “problems” from the last story arc.
It also has a lengthy interview with Morrison about the series, filled with many comments on how the Matrix ripped him off.
Pretty cool if you can find it.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
I hate Grant Morrison. There are some authors I don’t like but I will outright refuse to read anything Grant Morrison has written. It’s hard for me to explain why without becoming emotional (I hate it that much.) but I’m willing to try.
I remember I read a review on The Fourth Rail of the Seaguy book that was so glowing it was sickening. So I bought it and from then on I stopped reading reviews on The Fourth Rail; they could no longer be trusted.
Sure there is lots of subtext in his work but when it’s nothing but subtext and the silly little thing called plot is thrown out the window the comic seems to be almost incomprehensible because of it.
I often get the impression people will label it as deep or profound because they find it confusing or don’t really understand it when really it’s just plain confusing. Most of the time it’s just pretentious. I do agree with the one comment, I often wonder if his work makes more sense to a drug user.
I realize most people disagree with me but whatever, it’s something I had to get off my chest. I’ll never read a Grant Morrison anything no matter how well reviewed it is.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
November 29th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
“In this case it’s not a function of the writer not knowing how to write or needing an editor so much as the reader not knowing how to read (that particular story).”
Exactly. That’s a problem way too many people have and don’t even know they have it.
November 29th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
“So I bought it and from then on I stopped reading reviews on The Fourth Rail; they could no longer be trusted. ”
It took you until their Seaguy review to realize this?
November 29th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
I seriously have issues with anyone who says they can’t understand The Filth.
In fact, anyone who “doesn’t understand” Morrison’s work – come out and admit you hate the guy. I’ll appreciate your honestly.
Although Seaguy was overrated
November 29th, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Oddly enough I thought We3 (used in the headline of this story) was one of Grant’s most easily understood stories.
November 29th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
“Although Seaguy was overrated”
Actually from its inception I thought it was the most disliked, judging from various boards.
This is not taking into account New X-Men, though.
November 29th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Nimbus: Exactly.
There’s a lot of people saying they don’t “get” Grant Morrison. But no one up there said that they disliked him.
I think Morrison’s incredibly entertaining regardless of how you tackle his writing, which supports multiple interpretations on purpose. However, I do think that really “getting” his books in the sense that you understand what Morrison himself set out to achieve means knowing something about the man’s personal philosophy. You could counter that Morrison’s philosophy is “all there in his comics” and it is, blatantly is, but so is a LOT of other stuff. It can get lost in the noise. (Once you read some interviews with him it’s easier to know what to look for. I think Morrison’s a good enough writer that you don’t have to do this to enjoy his books, but I’m the kind of person who NEEDS to know what the author was trying to do regardless of how she or he did it.)
Jesse: Seaguy isn’t the best place to start with Morrison. If you ever feel like giving him a try, I’d recommend Animal Man. (The entire thing, trust me) It’s more accesible than something like, say, Seaguy (which I thought was FUN but a little overrated, like David said) which is overflowing with surrealism.
If you still don’t like him, I wouldn’t worry about it. I dislike several big writers myself and sometimes wonder what the hell all the fuss is about. We all have someone like that.
November 29th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
I have a man crush on Morrison. His comix are pretty cool too.
November 29th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
I’d bet several dollars at least that THE FILTH was far more reviled than SEAGUY ever was. SEAGUY, on its face, is a lot more “likable”. THE FILTH can be tough going, even for Morrison fans.
November 29th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
Most of Morrison’s work can be summed up thusly:
Weirdness for weirdness’ sake
November 29th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
“It took you until their Seaguy review to realize this?”
I’d only found the place a few weeks prior and
Sylv: Seaguy wasn’t my first venture into Grant Morrison but it will be my last. I’ve read some of his run on New X-Men, and the Invisibles. I read the Invisibles Vol 1 up to issue 12 or something and gave up. Someone promised me Vol2 was soo much better so I read about 4 issues of that before I realized they were lieing. I actually did pick up the first issue of the new Batman run and read it, then put it back down and prayed to god I could forget. Everything about his work just rubs me the wrong way, including how vehemently his fans defend him and how ready they are to proclaim him some super genius. If he’s a genius it’s certainly only in the Wily E Coyote sense of the word.
November 29th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
“If he’s a genius it’s certainly only in the Wily E Coyote sense of the word.”
ironic you say wily because one of his most famous works was the coyote gospel in animal man about a wily e coyote character. i think critics would point to that as the issue grant first started getting noticied. then arkham asylum. then damn near everything else.
November 29th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
I think Morrison is a brilliant, experimental writer. That said, sometimes his work can be convuluted, confusing, and full of itself. That said, the positives far outweigh the negatives in his writing. JLA for example was nothing short of perfect for the first half of the run and slowly meandered into sloppy mishmash by the end. And for every Seaguy there’s a We3 or All-Star Superman. The X-men story may have eaten itself, but Seven Soldiers pounded out a form of lateral storytelling not seen since Kirby’s Fourth World. Again, his work isn’t exactly the gold standard that Alan Moore’s is, but he’s done some amazing stuff.
Say whatever you want, Morrison’s experimental work has taken comics to place they’ve never been before and his work has influenced the entire industry.
November 29th, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Interesting contrast here between people who say “personally, I don’t get Morrison’s work” or “it’s not for me” and those who feel the need to lash out at anyone who likes what he’s doing and say “I don’t get it, therefore there is nothing in his work TO get, and anyone who claims to like his work is simply being pretentious and mistaking obscurity for profundity.”
Morrison’s work is not nearly as obscure or difficult as people make it out to be. Admittedly, I’ve had my share of fun teasing out possible subtexts or hidden messages in some of his stories, but I’ve also been driven by despair at seeing ardent fans straining to find concealed wisdom in stories that were perfectly straightforward. Either way, people should bear in mind that personal taste is just simply that: your problems are not the whole world’s problems…and if someone likes something you don’t, that doesn’t mean they’re lying and claiming to like it solely to piss you off!
November 29th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
I’m not the kinda guy to pay 2.99 for something I already read before.
I appreciate that Morrison’s work can sometimes be down right challenging. Gives worth-while to chew on.
November 30th, 2006 at 12:16 am
“Most of Morrison’s work can be summed up thusly:”
“Weirdness for weirdness’ sake”
Post-Modern?
November 30th, 2006 at 7:02 am
I suspect that it isn’t a case of people not “getting him” and more likely people not reading him.
It’s the Benids board and the majority of posters there are Marvel Zombies. Zombies don’t like or read anything that isn’t published by Marvel. Most of Grant’s work has been published by DC Comics and they especially hate DC Comics. Hell, a zombie won’t even read a smart book Marvel does (Moonshadow, I…Blood, etc.). Look at what they view as serious and complex (a term they use to deride DC). Characters are routinely crying about something, bragging how great they are, routinely fly off the handle and get into fights when something doesn’t go their way (I don’t want to have to register) or they see something new and/or different, and they are unable to actually accomplish anything other then the mess they leave behind. That’s not complex, that’s a four year old child.
You think a person that likes this and only this will actually read the Invisibles?
I don’t think so.
You can’t just browse through the Invisibles, you had to sit down and actually read it. So of course they “didn’t” get it.
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