And yes I read it before posting.

A: No.

Ever since Slott left, the book has turned into a piece of shit. As credible a Hulk writer PAD is, he's got ZERO handle on Shulkie. He stinks. He's driven her book into the ground. To take her from "Ally McBeal" to "Dog the Bounty Hunter" destroyed everything that made the book so unique.

With the exception of the X-Factor SI crossover, I happily dumped this book from my "must read" list a long time ago.

She-Hulk works best when it's a funny book first and a superhero action book second. Even with her superhero antics, it's always worked best with that court room dramedy vibe first.

As for killing off 616 Sue... Totally possible. Jean Grey has croaked more times than Kermit. Shit. Even Thing died... and then Reed "rescued" him from Heaven. Death in comics is like going to New Jersey. It sucks, but at least you can always come back.

Daredevil tends to be much more serious in tone and hard-core.

I'm not a F4 guy, never have been, but am also enjoying the current run. It took a few issues to get rolling, but it's easily the longest run of F4 that's ever held my interest.....

I haven't received my shipment with X-Factor yet, but it's good to hear they have a new artist. I was ready to quit that bitch, but when I heard that there was going to be some changes, I was willing to give it a few more issues.... Hopefully they allow PD to do his thing, and not hobble him with another slew of forced crossovers.

I did drop the Avengers/Invaders crossover.... After five issues and a two month hiatus, I just didn't give a shit anymore. When I realized that the "bad guy" looked like it was going to be an army of robot decoys.... well that was enough for me.

I mean, if Marvel resurrects the freaking black suit Spiderman just so kiddies who see the movie won't get confused by the comic....

That is my problem with Mark Millar, he seems spend most of his energy trying to get our attention and then not delivering a payoff; his hype in always the best part of his work. He is like a barker to a strip club promising the lewdest, sexiest and hottest girls in the world, and when you finally do enter you find that the place is just a bikini bar.

Or the dancers have penises.

There is of course exceptions to this, but even these cheaper deaths obeyed certain rules: villains would die of course, most often in a mysterious way so they could be provided some sort of story of their amazing survival (Hammerhead becoming a ghost from a nuclear bomb, anyone?); a hero would die only to return in the same or very next issue, often changed by the ordeal (Jean Grey becoming Phoenix for the first time); and of course, a character would appear to die and the world would morn him or her but we would all know that they had survived (“Oh my God, Mr. Stark! They just killed your body guard Iron Man!”),

I mean, you write a story called “The Death of the Invisible Woman” and then get away with it on a technicality because you killed an alternate version of the character. It doesn’t smack me as clever, but as weak and desperate. It would be as cheap as writing “The Death of Cyclops” but instead of Scott Summers it is the Cyclops who fought the Thing back in the 60’s, or “The Death of Peter Parker” and having some guy who happens to share the same name as him getting off-ed. Or to stretch this premise even farther, write a story called the “Rape of Wonder Woman” and then say “Well she had all of her memories stolen, so based on Webster’s Dictionary of rape being ‘to take something by force against someone’s will’, this is technically true.” These stories are the comic book version of the phone contract: legally correct but very misleading.

I will also admit I am probably being overly critically because Mark Millar wrote this. If this had been some relatively unknown writer I wouldn’t have made such a big deal. But Millar wrote this, and besides the fact I don’t really care for his work, he has only himself and his reputation to blame. He is associated with shocking moments and breaking comic book taboos, you can hardly blame people for having a preconceived notion or expectation that they are going to see something shocking. It is like a magician known for doing dangerous stunts telling everyone that his next trick is called the Dead Man’s Hand, and all it turns out to be is a mere card trick.

He might not be Satan himself, the enemy of God, but like I said earlier he is at least equal to one of the Nazi High Command standing next the Führer.

Well quit looking in the mirror you doof!

BONUS ROUND!

1. What is 'the' devil's true name?

2. What was his original sin?

Hey, somebody at Marvel, I got an idea for you: come up with WWII team that fought the Japs under MacArthur and call them the Marauders (after Merrill's Marauders). I nominate The Defender & Rusty, the Fin and the Blazing Skull as members. Now the entire story of the war can be told.

Eh, maybe some things are better left untold.

Ever notice how there was a comic book called THE DEMON, and it coulda been about just about any demon you wanted, but in this case happened to be about Etrigan? Good luck pulling that one with a comic book called THE DEVIL. Know why? Cuz there's only, y'know, ONE DEVIL. Call a book THE DEVIL, and everybody's gonna expect it's about THE DEVIL, not "a randomly selected dude we're calling The Devil, but he's really A devil." That devil dog won't hunt.

"I'M THE GODDAMNED DEVIL!"

Case closed.

On the other hand, I read the first two issues of Millar's current FF run and it sucked so hard, so bad, so quickly I decided to cut my losses and bail before it got any worse. I've read nothing anywhere from anyone that's even suggested I made the wrong choice.

Which brings us back to Mephisto, whose name is a derivative of Mephistopheles. While Mephistopheles is sometimes as just a demon (but a powerful and clever one) who serves Satan in Hell, many times he Satan himself and the name is just an alias. His name, Mephistopheles is thought to mean “Not a lover of light” in parody of his original name Lucifer, or combination of the Hebrew words meaning liar and destroyer. Even if he wasn’t Satan, any deal you made with him would be just as damning and blasphemous.

No matter if Mephisto is Satan himself or a different demon, he is one of the same power level and the same disposition. Most Christian demonologist would recognize him as a powerful demon, one of the Dukes of hell and possible ranking him as one of the most powerful in the hierarchy of hell, possible only behind Satan (or maybe even equal with him). The Catholic church did not view any sort of devil or demon as being lesser than another in terms of evil, to them Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Astaroth, Baal, and all the others are considered infernal creatures, each one an epitome of evil.

Still he didn't have to die - just recieve a massive makeover (and then probably forgotten afterwards).

Worst death ever.

Not only did they ripoff Kraven's Last Hunt with the buried alive part, but then Batman falls to his death fighting a mystery bad guy that turns out to be Satan????

yeah, sounds like a hack job to me... is this really the same Grant Morrisson who wrote the great All-Star Superman?

You know what we all really, really need? DAN SLOTT'S BATMAN. There.

"Here's our hero. He's the common schlub with problems just like them. We've limited our character development potential by having him be married. What can we do?"

"Hey, Joe, since over half the marriages end in divorce and all of our readers have some experience with divorce, why don't we explore some real character issues with Peter and Mary Jane by having them realistically split up? Talk about taking a toll on Spidey--"

"Who let this idiot in here? I've got it! Aunt May dies, like, you know, everybody does, and Peter and Mary Jane make a pact with Lameocus."

"Yer brilliant, Joe."

"Now, the only problem is, the fans will be split on whether this is a bad idea or the bad idea."

"Fans? Those guys don't care. They haves to have their funny books and where else are they gonna get 'em?"

Although their could be a kiddie rapist out there named Joenathan, so I could be technically right. See how misleading some of these comic blurbs are?

Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving Joenathan. I'll argue with some more about BND later.

Joenathan do you work for Newsarama? That would explain a lot.

seeing this grabage, I'm now thinking that All-Star Batman and Robin isnt so bad after all...

Not that I care what some stupid troll thinks.

There is such a thing as being too ponderous, and from the TBs alone I can tell I need to keep trusting my instincts and ignore RIP.

REALITY CHECK: This is known as 'having one's own opinion', get a lawyer and try suing me if it gets you that hot and bothered.

I can’t stand his glib handling of pain and death, his treatment that every character is an asshole or a jerk. I can’t stand his stories where no characters have any moral outlook, where a protagonist rapes and murders and never regrets it, and that all that matters is that you are cool or witty. I can’t stand the fact that he seems to enjoy killing people in his comics, as if it was some big joke. It reminds me of a quote by Raymond Chandler, It is not funny that a man should be killed, but it is sometimes funny that he should be killed for so little…” Millar seems to find it funny that a man should be killed.

I can’t stand how he has disdain for the idea of a hero. Heroes in his world seem to be someone who hits a man on the ground or tortures someone or kills an unarmed opponent trying to surrender. It is like Millar can’t believe there could ever be anyone out there who does good deeds for altruistic reasons, that they must be fucked up or assholes. I think this says a lot about Millar and about his fans. I mean, what kind of people go through life thinking that the ones who save us are doing it for ulterior motives, or for personal gain, or because they are sadist who love beating people up. I once told a friend I don’t really like watching 24 because it seems to be saying to be a hero you HAVE to be an asshole; well Millar and his fans seem to say heroes ARE assholes.

Some of you would say that it this is my personal viewpoint and that not necessarily Millar’s. Yes, you are half right. It is my personal viewpoint, but that is the only way we judge art is by making decisions based on are own personal perceptions and experiences. You can only take out of art what you take in. I mean, I wish I could read every comic or see every movie as a tabula rosa, but unfortunately I can’t, I have to bring with me some of the baggage of past things I have read or seen, or my own life experiences and beliefs. And my personal reaction to Millar’s writing is that I don’t like it.

And for the idea that Millar doesn’t really believe this stuff, I leave you with a quote by Kurt Vonnegut, which was one of his major themes through much of his work, “You are who you pretend to be.”

JJ Binks: Uh yeah, nice try there but still so far from the mark. What I care about is the entertainment medium of comics which HAS been a lifelong pleasure of mine. Said caring allows me to freely fling disdain at any Book, Writer, Artist, Editor, or Company that I choose and for whatever reasons I may have at any given time. As can any of you. :)

You brought up Clockwork Orange, which is a good example. I don’t think you are like Alex if you like that movie; however, I would be concerned about you if the only reason you liked that film is because of the rape and “ultra-violence”, and that is all you cared about. And let’s be honest, there are people out there like that – I have been to many screenings of the film where some douchebag is sitting there cackling and laughing when Alex and his droops rapes a women thinking it is the funniest thing since the Three Stooges, but try sitting next to a rape victim and tell her how funny it is (and I know some TB will probably use this as an excuse to crack some joke, proving the point about how sensitive and compassionate geeks really are).

Clockwork Orange is more than just an exploitation flick for people to get their jollies off; it is a treaty of violence and human nature. Sure it is shocking, entertaining, and strangely seductive, but in the end the film is about how these horrible things we do are just as much part of us being human as anything else, and if we believe in free will we have to accept that. It is the fact that it is trying to say something that separates the Clockwork Oranges of the world from the I Spit On Your Graves.

Plus if message and content is so unimportant to a movie or comic or any art form, then why do we worry about the racist propaganda in Birth of a Nation or Triumph of the Will? I am sure ALL the people who saw those did so to admire the skill and technique that goes into it and didn’t even notice the racist message they advocated. Yes people do watch those films for purely aesthetic reasons, but I doubt those people would claim themselves fans as much as admirers of the techniques used in them; you can like the skill involved in making them without actually liking the film or what it is saying (and no, I am not comparing Millar fans to racist, I am only doing an extreme example to demonstrate my argument).

I expect art at times to be shocking and pushing the boundaries, and sometimes offend my sensibilities. I also expect it to have something to say and be about something. Those works of art that I find that seem to only exist to provoke and offend only to attract attention or push an agenda I disagree with, I will point out and criticize. I am not going to sit through the Turkish movie “The Valley of the Wolf”, biting my tongue saying, “Who cares that they show American soldiers harvesting organs for a Jewish doctor; it is only a movie”, I am going to challenge those that like it by pointing out that viewpoint or opinion is wrong. Maybe those who like that movie are not anti-Semitic, but it would be hard for me not to assume that or expect anyone watching that film have their opinion swayed in a negative way.

And once again, this is MY personal viewpoint and opinion, what I consider good. And what I consider good might not be the same as yours, and I might have some things on my list that you find hypocritical (I love Battle Royal, and that is pretty violent), but to me those films still work within my personal belief system and moral code. Just because I criticized violence doesn’t mean I am ant-violence, I am just anti-bad or pointless violence.

I also understand that people will have a different viewpoint or opinion based on their viewpoint and life experience, and while I might not agree with them I respect it (unless I figure it to be so odious and disgusting that there is no way I can ignore it). I also dislike the film Monster and think it is a bad, radical feminist apology for Aileen Wournos on why she killed all those men, but I can understand why Charlize Theron was drawn to the script based on her life experiences. I could never believe the film’s rationalization of why she killed those men, as if it was somehow justified by her being victimized once; Charlize Theron could very well believe this, since her mom killed her father in self-defense. I could understand how she came to that opinion that the film was accurate, but I would still argue with her that she was wrong despite her reasons why until one of us changed our opinion or we both agreed to disagree. I would do that with anyone here, because that is what we do here; we debate, criticize and compare notes on each other’s opinions about a comic, films and other art forms.

Obviously Millar is not nearly as far out as some of these examples, otherwise I really doubt there would be these arguments concerning him. But Millar is definitely in the grey area, where there is much room for us to debate if what he says has merit or if he is just all sound, no fury. As I said earlier, I was listing why I don’t like him and why I think he is a bad comic book writer. If you want, next time I will list specific examples from some of hi work, but right now I am going to take a break,

Mind the spaces.

After a smash hit like TDK, why would you chance possibly killing the renewed interest in Bruce Wayne by actually killing him?!? What the fuck DC?!

The one character that people want to see after all the amazing PR from TDK! And you kill him... nice one.

Don't forget your Kewpie-Doll.