Comic books are just like any other medium, it’s all subjective. Just because something is loved and even critically praised doesn’t mean everyone has to love it. Now of course many classic stories I have read I also loved. “The Killing Joke”, “The Judas Contract”, and even “The Great Darkness Saga” though I am not a huge Legion fan. I never read Watchmen, which is a sad thing for a good comic fan to admit.
It’s easy to not like something that is generally considered bad. How about not liking something which is praised as amazing? Here are five classic comic book stories that most people love, but I never did. And I am not saying that “everyone” loved them except me, this is all opinion and if you loved it then great.
Batman:Year One
I always thought DC regretted not making this a special graphic novel rather than just presenting it in four stand alone issues of the regular run of Batman at the time. Either way, this is considered one Frank Miller’s best works and is considered a classic, even being the basis for the Nolan Batman movies. And while I loved The Killing Joke, this one never did it for me. I have never liked it. Not because the story is bad, but because of the choppy artwork and the way it’s written in that Miller style. It just wasn’t what I used to in 1987 and even today I can’t quite get into it. Speaking of that…
Batman:The Dark Knight Returns
Ok before this becomes a Frank Miller bashing bog, last one of his. I have said before I hated Frank Miller long before it was popular. I didn’t like his gritty style or his awful art work. I read it and simply had no idea what I was reading, and the social commentary was right over my head. I respect this and the last one as the classics they are, but I never liked them and never will. I guess for me I don’t want comic books that “realistic”. They’re supposed to be escapist fantasy not reality. This may be why while I did enjoy the Nolan Batman movies, I never loved them as much as others.
Superman:Red Son
I guess again it comes down to a writer I just don’t like. Mark Millar is as hard to read as Frank Millar but I an not a fan. The idea is gold, what if Superman landed in Russia as a baby? But the story just didn’t work for me. This is one of those that I bought without even looking through it because I thought it would be fantastic. It was not.
Superman/Batman:Generations
This seemed like yet another slam dunk. It was a what if story about Superman and Batman through various time lines except it was done in order. It was written by one of my favorite writers of all time. I looked everywhere to get a copy and when I finally did–I did not like it. I did not like the way it was written and I did not like where the story went. John Byrne made choices in the story which ruined it for me. I hated it so much I literally threw that copy I wanted to find so much into the trash. So once again it comes down the writer of this one.
Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals
I said before that I liked the George Perez version of Wonder Woman we got in the 80’s. And I did, but it was really hard to get into her book. The worst was the opening arc where she fought Ares. I actually liked the book better once that arc was over and we got into the “Challenge of the Gods” storyline. What was wrong with it? There was just something about the way it was written that I couldn’t follow it. Perez is an amazing artist but as a writer he gets a little to detailed and I find it hard to read his stuff. I had no idea what was going on and it was frustrating. Ironically, I liked the new Wonder Woman movie which at least in part is based on this story line. So, maybe it’s time to give it another shot.
Ok here are a few Honorable Mentions, I don’t “HATE” these but I don’t “LOVE” them either :
Superman, “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow”
This is generally considered an absolute classic. It’s an imaginary tale of the “last adventure” of the silver age Superman, before the John Byrne version would take over in 1986. And it took me a long while to appreciate it. I love Alan Moore, but this story was kind of, well, depressing. And some of the choices a little odd. As I’ve gotten older I get that was sort of the idea, and this story works if you forget it has ties to any continuity and just accept it as it is. It probably would have worked better had I been a fan of the pre-Byrne comics but I didn’t start reading until after his relaunch. And so I can’t come out and say I hated it, I think it’s safe to say I never really “loved” it. It’s a good story and deserves its place in history. And yes I know there is Batman version I never read it.
America vs THE JSA
I don’t think this is a classic but wanted to mention. This came out back in the 80’s and seemed cool. I had seen the ads for this story and when it was released in trade I really wanted to finally read it. You know what it is? A CLIP SHOW! Yeah not kidding, most the book is filled up of the JSA members relating their history to a court and the “plot” of the book (they find an old letter from Batman accusing the team of treason) has no meat in it at all. At least "Last Days of the JSA" was better even though in that one they just made the characters go away because DC had no idea what to do with them after the Crisis.
Superman vs. Muhammad Ali
This book does serve as a fitting tribute to both Muhammad Ali and the way Superman stories were written in the 70’s. I finally found a copy when it was re-released and read it. My reaction? Ehhh…it’s ok. The plot is contrived and all over the place, as I said which was standard for corny Superman stories in the 70’s, but it’s also not got awful. In the 70’s Superman spent way to much time fighting crazy aliens from space, thank god that stopped eventually. It’s not awful but if anything else it’s a real fitting tribute to a great man and boxer.
Finally it’s only fair to throw one more Batman story in here:
Knightfall
This is the classic Batman story where his back was broken by Bane. The problem I have with it? It’s just so long. I know, that’s not really fair. I loved “The Death of Superman” arc but this one just went on forever with every Batman comic at the time involved and tie-in specials. It’s well written and drawn but to this day I don’t think I’ve ever read it straight through. I enjoyed the KnightsEnd story, where Bruce regains the mantle of Batman, much more.
That’s it for now my friends.
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