Previous Post This might be (Oh heck, I'm pretty sure that it is or will be.) an unpopular opinion on this board, but I'm kind of sad that Marvel will be Bendisless for at least a year. I think that the big problem with Bendis was that he was just overexposed and on too many darn books. That, and he works really well with certain characters and certain types of books. Daredevil, Alias, Scarlet, etc. I don't think that he's a good fit for team books or for writing characters like Thanos. He could still do good work. Overall though, he obviously brought a lot to the Marvel Universe, and they got quite a bit from him. He left a legacy (Although surprisingly, for a guy who's been there for nearly two decades, he really hasn't created THAT many new or long-term characters. Especially considering the fact that he killed off dozens and dozens of established characters.), and I would have liked to have seen his future plans for his books. I AM glad that he's moving on from Spider-man, as he's had more than his say at this point. So, if they kept Bendis to one or two books (And maybe keep him away from big events.), I really don't think that there would be any problem. But I have read some articles that claim that this is another sign that Marvel is going downhill, and I just don't see it. I do think that this is certainly a loss for Marvel, but it's hardly an end sign, and Marvel will go on. Especially after all of these movies, which seem to be where the money is these days. And there's also Jason Aaron, who could very well be the new Bendis of the MU. I wish Bendis well, and part of me is disheartened by this. Bendis didn't always do good work, but he definitely contributed, and he definitely loved the characters. So, here's to Jason Aaron.

I thought he was good with certain corners of the Marvel Universe. He wrote young people really well (Ultimate Peter Parker and his supporting cast, for example). I thought he was good with street-level characters like Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. He also wrote neurotic characters very well - kind of like the Woody Allen of comics.

Unfortunately when they let him take over the Avengers it all went wrong. He made the mistake of limited writers, and tried to parlay his strengths into a new genre. Unfortunately that meant he tried to write the Avengers like they were a bunch of neurotic teenagers. He reduced them rather than elevated them. And even the most amateur of writers ought to know that a character like Captain America doesn't banter.

His idea to take the big sellers and put them into a single book was a commercial success, granted. But it wasn't good for the characters. Having Spider-man as an Avenger diminished his solo book - what villain could be threatening if he could just whip out his Avengers ID card and call in reinforcements? Spider-man worked well as a solo character and always will. As for Wolverine as an Avenger - ugh. That worked just as well as when they tried to make Reed Richards an Avenger.

His events seemed to have good ideas at first, but usually they just sort of petered out by the end, and left you wondering why you spent all that money. Near the end his events were pathetically repetitive, boiling down to only one concept - hero vs. hero, in one form or another. In the words of the Barenaked Ladies, it's all been done before. It really doesn't surprise me that he is moving on - I don't think he has any ideas left that could seem fresh or surprising.

DC readers are in for a roller coaster. But not a fun one.