52 and the MCU

I don't know how it happened, but I somehow recently ended up reading a significant chunk of the 52 comics, the weekly series published by DC from 2006 or so, and written by Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Geoff Johns.

And they were fine enough comics, even if they've been rebooted at least twice since then - not even 20 years old and already a relic of a bygone age. But when it comes to the storytelling on display, what they really reminded me of was the Marvel movies.

The 52 writers were some of the best superhero writers of their time, with real individual strengths that they were bringing to the table. And at that time there were plenty of interview where the writers all compared it to being in a band, but ultimately the comics felt a lot flatter without that unique perspective of the single writer.

TV shows can have their writers rooms and make that work, but for short form narratives, writing by committee is never really as satisfying, with no single viewpoint, no personality. (And we're not even touching on the possibilities of AI scriptwriting in this, because that it pure anti-art, and can get in the fucking sea.)

Comics are obviously a collaborative medium, the beauty often lies in the synergy between writer and artists (not to mention the rest of the team). But the more people sticking their fingers in the writing, the less attractive it is.

And the Marvel films feel like this - they always have their designated writers and get out some nice lines and even occasional moments of real human connection, but always buried under the many, many notes holding the script together. It's all about that big picture, and any individual points it makes are almost by accident.

It all comes out fine. Nothing actually awful, but nothing brilliant, and that's the valley where 52 rolled in and showed the way. Perfectly competent and nothing too awful, but nothing great either. Just fine.