David Brothers does a good job of explaining why the story was unnecessary, saying:
More than any question of Mary Jane's motivations, more than Spider-Man being constantly off-balance and behaving like a schmuck throughout the story, the biggest problem with "OMIT" doesn't have to do with the story itself. The biggest problem is a question: Who wanted this story?He goes on to suggest that regular readers had been enjoying "some of the best Spider-Man stories in twenty [sic] years," while "O.M.I.T."'s most vocal critics proudly boasted of no longer reading the title, and ASM #641 was as much a kick in the face to the former as it was yet another round in the chamber for the latter. However, one commenter takes him to task and explains precisely what I said about the entire thing sometime back:
I quit Spider Man [sic] because I can't think of a better example of lazier, sloppier, and more personally fan-offensive writing in the history of comics. [The handling of the story] is nothing short of a slap in the face to the fans. And it's SO LAZY.
I've said it at least a handful of times here: I love comic books and I'd love to work in the industry, specifically at/with Marvel on at least two characters (Moon Knight and Daredevil), and I understand that some of my criticisms may -- if not already have -- ruin[ed] my chances of doing so, but seeing as how we're talking about my goddamn money, I'll say whatever the hell I want and deal with the consequences like a big boy. Unfortunately, I doubt the Devil will "wave his magic wand," as Caesar so succinctly puts it, and change that for me; I'll have to deal with the decisions I make, and as a reader -- and, specifically, a writer -- I was flat-out offended by the entire concept! So my decision was to voice that opinion and not read Spider-Man.
If you are that bad a writer, QUIT! There's a Johnny Cochrane for you: "If you must O.M.I.T., you ought to quit!" Step away from the keyboard and get back to the drafting table, Joey Q; you are a phenomenal penciler, but any two-bit hack who can chicken-peck his way across the QWERTY can pull the crap you did on ASM.
Again, at the risk of cutting my own throat (I'm fucking talented, and that used to count for something, so for whatever it's worth -- I'm the man, not the work), Marvel Comics haven't been very good since Joe Quesada took the helm. Period. How many mega-crossover events, reboots, retools, and reshoots should we subject ourselves to? The overall quality of the entire line -- the Marvel Universe -- and the Marvel brand itself has suffered from, what seems to be, one man's misguided vision.
The great thing about art is that there is more than enough room for mistakes -- hell, some of the best works were hated by their creators -- but Joe Quesada doesn't seem to get that his vision for the Marvel Universe is not winning the Marvel brand any fans. Either that or he just flat-out does not care.
Quesada's -- and Marvel's -- position on their characters is clear: They are properties -- not characters, not art, not entertainment; comic books are product, not art. These are commercial properties to be exploited for maximum financial return and anyone who fails to understand that, frankly, deserves a "slap in the face." I disagree, Frank Miller disagrees, Alan Moore disagrees, and many, many others disagree... but, you know. Whatever.
Marvel's Submissions Editor, C.B. Celuski, explained Marvel's position in about 140 characters yesterday. To quote someone else, "'Nuff said."
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
3 comments:
They should've have made it so that the Spider-Man who made the deal with Mephisto was actually a Skrull imposter; then when the real Spider-Man came back he could've been all, "WTF mate?" Then everything could have gone back to the way it was; thus retconning the retcon. That's brilliant; maybe I could get a job writing for Marvel.
I other words; they should have omitted O.M.I.T.
HA haha! That's actually really good. I would have checked that out -- just circuitous enough to count as "ironic," yet comic-booky enough to be acceptable. Plus it maintains the 20+ years of continuity they jettisoned!
Seriously though, that is actually not bad at all, comparatively speaking! It proves what I, and many others, are saying: There are at least three dozen ways in which the whole thing could have been handled without resorting to one of the laziest bits of "writing" in the history of Comicdom. And make no mistake about it, "O.M.I.T." will go down in history as exactly that. Now, do you really think Joe Quesada wanted that indignity? Or do you think he even cares?
Your idea could have accomplished everything O.M.I.T. did without the bad taste. Mary-Jane and Petey could have reunited and she could have been so traumatized and upset by the whole Skrull thing as to be like, "I just don't know that I'm strong enough to be married to you... and Spider-Man," and off we go! Hell, Aunt May could have turned out to be a Skrull as well, thus saving her from death. Cheap? Sure. But nowhere near as cheap as O.M.I.T.
As was mentioned in the original post on Comics Alliance, why did any of this have to happen in order to bring back the large cast; why could they not simply reintroduce the large supporting cast?
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