For fans of Sam Humphries, this interview with CBR about his upcoming Ultimates run is good stuff:
When I came on to it [outgoing writer Jonathan Hickman] did a really generous thing and said, “Here’s where I wanted to go with this book. You can use these plans if you want, but you need to focus on what you want to write. Make this a book that you want to write. Find the characters that mean a lot to you.” Even though I came in and put things on a different path than he would have on his own, he’s been very supportive. He’s given me a lot of freedom to inject my own voice into the book, and for someone who’s put as much thought and planning into the book it was a very cool thing for him to do.
Reading the above, though, I started to wonder how fans who were reading the book for Hickman feel about the change. As Humphries himself points out, Hickman’s writing is all about the long-term planning, and I wonder if knowing that his plans and schemes won’t be coming to fruition even under a new writer feels… disappointing, or retroactively making his nine solo issues a waste of time or whatever. I’m not reading Ultimates, but I have read books before where writers have left the series for whatever reason before they’d finished their storylines, and there’s always been a sense of frustration when that happens – but with a writer like Hickman who is so about planning for the future and the slow build, is that magnified because the immediate payoff is always delayed in his early issues…?
I imagine if Morrison had left Batman after ten issues, say; without even Batman RIP, the whole run would have felt far different to the way it does now that we’ve reached Batman Incorporated. I’m genuinely curious, Ultimates fans: How do you feel about Hickman leaving, and does it affect your feeling about the issues he wrote?
April 12th, 2012 at 9:49 am
As someone who wasn’t reading the book before Hickman started writing it, I started picking it up because of an impression that he and Spencer had long term plans for the Ultimate line. As soon as I heard Hickman wasn’t going to be on for the long term, I dropped the book and won’t be picking it up again, and yes, I feel like reading the issues he did write was largely a waste of time.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:17 am
I don’t feel like it was a waste of time, because I enjoyed reading the issues he wrote. But I was reading for Hickman, not for the Ultimates, so I’ll be dropping the book and be disappointed that we didn’t get to see the rest of what he had planned.
Can’t wait for his upcoming Avengers run though.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:57 am
I’m there for Hickman, and while Humpheries is a very good writer, Hickman is the only reason I’m reading the book in the 1st place. So when he goes, I go.
April 12th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Yeah, I’m dropping the book myself. Not just because of Hickman, but Ribic is gone too, looks like. It really felt like he had a long-term plan for the book, but he just up and leaves. WTF
April 12th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
i would feel elated if another writer came and took over a column and actually made it readable….
let’s start with everything you contribute to Graeme….
April 13th, 2012 at 6:43 am
With Hickman and Spencer leaving and Ultimate Spidey being typical complacent Bendis I think I’m out on the whole Ultimate U. It’s sad because Ultimate Spidey got me into comics.
I was reading Ultimates for Hickman, and money is tight, so while I know it sucks for Mr. Humphries, I’ve gotta save my money where I can. With Hickman gone, this is an opportunity to do just that.
April 14th, 2012 at 2:13 am
When I came on to it [outgoing writer Jonathan Hickman] did a really generous thing and said,