Taking On Just Enough – The Pull – 2-17-16



Silver Surfer 2Not too long ago, Matt Fraction was dominating. Not only did he have a runaway surprise hit in Hawkeye a few years back, he was prolific by adding independent titles such as Sex Criminals, Satellite Sam (which you definitely need to check out!), and ODY-C. The man was on fire. Then things went quiet. Sure, both him and his wife are delving deeper and deeper into non-comic book related projects, but still, it’s sad to see his work in this medium suffer as a result.

Not many artists or creators can master the skill of juggling a lot of different projects at the same time successfully. Some artists suffer. Take Charles Soule, for example. I was first exposed to his work when he took over Swamp Thing after Scott Snyder left. Soule was able to successfully keep the series in top shape. He then began to write She-Hulk for Marvel, which was fantastic. But after Marvel signed him to an exclusive deal, I sincerely felt his work suffered. The Death of Wolverine turned out to be a disappointment while his Inhumans series suffered. And while his Star Wars Lando book was amazing, Uncanny Inhumans seems to suffer. I feel like Fraction is having the same issues. ODY-C seems like it lacks focus and the only other book he’s putting out is Sex Criminals, which is on a severely strained release schedule.

On the other side of the fence, you have your Robert Kirkmans and Mark Millars. Kirkman not only runs a huge part of Image comics, he consistently releases monthly books in The Walking Dead and Outcast all the while overseeing the production of the massively successful Walking Dead TV series and upcoming Outcast TV show. How does this guy find time to put out such quality books each month? And Mark Millar? This man is juggling several great titles such as Huck, Jupiter’s Legacy, and Jupiter’s Circle (which is on delay more than likely due to the phenomenal artist, Frank Quitely), among others. All the while Millar continues to oversee several movie titles and scripts.

Not every artist is the same, though. Clearly.  And just because some can successfully juggle several different projects at the same time doesn’t necessarily make them any better.  Let me give you an example that I’m sure I’ll regret. Creedence Clearwater Revival put out six albums in the same amount of time that it took the Jimi Hendrix Experience to put out three. Both are highly influential artists that resonate to this day; I wouldn’t say one artist is better than the other. Both are awesome. But that is all subjective.

The point I’m trying to make is that I feel that artists need to find the right pace for them. Taking on a lot is not bad in and of itself, it’s only bad when the quality of their work suffers as a result.

Well, that’s my two cents for this week. So without further ado, here is what I plan on picking up this week.

Injustice Gods Among Us Year Five #4

Huck #4

Sex Criminals #14

Amazing Spider-Man #8

Extraordinary X-Men #7

Silver Surfer #2

Squadron Supreme #4

Star Wars #16

And that’s it for this week! Until next time!

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