I can't think of a Marvel title off the top of my head (not said to sound like a suck up or anything). One that I can think of is Justice Society of America. I tried reading the previous volume and just didn't care for it at all for some reason. The current volume has me incredibly interested and entertained.

Posted by fergus22 on 2008-11-03 15:37:02
I'm thinking...

Posted by thomas more on 2008-11-03 15:54:25
I can't think of a better one right now, but this keeps on popping into my head. I remember having a hard time appreciating "older" comic books when I first started reading. The art just wasn't what I was used to and some panels had more text then many modern books. But as I got older, especially these days, those "older" books are respectfully classics, and I respect them as the very history of the characters that I read today, but back then, you probably couldn't have paid me to read some of them.

Posted by thomas more on 2008-11-03 16:13:46
Understanding Comics. Before I gave it a proper read, I considered it pointless and utterly pretentious. But now I'm a bit more mature I realise it's an invaluable read; insightful and entertaining. Not a Marvel book, but the only comic you'll have heard of that I feel that way about.

Posted by Fetsur on 2008-11-03 16:19:02
although in terms of the opposite, books I used to love that I now don't love so much? Anything by Grant Morrison.

Posted by Fetsur on 2008-11-03 16:20:41
Oh how wrong I was....
I hate to admit it, but when Jrjr took over as artist on the Xmen, I thought it was the worst thing that had ever happened to Marvel's merry mutants.

Shame on me. Ironically enough, although I'd be hard pressed to eliminate a lot of other contenders, if I had to name my all time favourite artist now, the winner would almost certainly be Mr Romita Jr.

On the off chance that JRjr ever logs on and reads these blogs; my most sincere apologies.

Posted by cjmcaree on 2008-11-03 16:21:15
I started reading comics around 1996 and, like cjmcaree, I didn't care for JRJR. I was in the 6th grade then and liked the more smoothly drawn and brightly colored books. It wasn't until after I stopped reading (just after the reboot and the whole Spider-man Chapter One mess) and came back a few years later (about 2001) that I took another look at JRJR and go "wow, this is kinda intense and edgy." I guess in those few years I began to appreciate unique and different styles and his is as unique as it comes. After the "black issue", JRJR was locked in as my favorite artist.

As for a story, mine I suppose is Spider-Man Unmasked. I hated the idea at first. Now, I wish that his identity had remained public for much longer than it did.

Posted by challenger_15 on 2008-11-03 16:45:46
One More Day! Kidding. Actually, my "evolution" wasn't with a title so much as an artist. When I was a kid, I hated Michael Golden's work on "Micronauts." But now I revere it.

Posted by MGuggenheim on 2008-11-03 16:55:03
I can't really think of something I literally hated in comics that I did a 180 on. I can think of things I hated that I grew to just not care about, or things that I didn't have an interest that I grew to love, but not a shift between the two extremes (unless it involved a change in creative team, but then it's not the same thing).

The closest story I could relate is that I had a complete disinterest in anything non-Marvel during my early comic reading years. But during the Heroes Reborn/Post-Clone Saga era, I quit comics altogether in disgust over all the revamps and cancellations that destroyed my favorites.

4 years later, while I was going to SUNY Stony Brook, I stumbled onto a comic shop in the Smithhaven Mall, and saw how much comics had changed. Marvel titles I can remember picking up on that trip were Maximum Security (as well as several tie-ins including Quesada's Iron Man, a JRJr drawn issue of Avengers, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Thunderbolts), several MC2 books, and Avengers Infinity.

But perhaps more important was the fact that I started sampling non-Marvel books for the first time. Planetary, Authority, Powers, Midnight Nation, Battle Chasers, Transmetropolitan, Rising Stars, Warlands, The Red Star, Static Shock, Spyboy, and various books from Crossgen, Gorilla, and the ABC imprint. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of comics.

So I guess the lesson is, if you really want people to start trying other companies' books, you've first got to suck as much as you guys did in 1996, and then wait a few years.

Posted by CylverSaber on 2008-11-03 16:56:25
For the third time, I have no answer to give you. The comics I hated, I still hate. At most, there are some comics I loved for what I thought they were doing with continuity, that in the end it turned out they weren't doing at all. But I don't hate those either- I just don't care anymore. There's not any comic I did a 180-degree-reversal on in rereading. A comic which evokes a strong negative reaction at first is going to evoke some sort of negative reaction later.

Posted by MoriartyL on 2008-11-03 16:59:51
The clone saga. That's not to say I didn't like Ben Reilly, who was a more sympathetic character than Peter Parker. I think what bothered me was that the quality of the story telling was inconsistent and it just trudged on forever and ever. I stopped reading spider-man completely during that period.
Now, thanks to the life of Reilly blog. It's fascinating to read it because it's indicative of the industry at the time and how things were done and everything that was wrong with a lot of comics in the 90's. Reading with a little insight into the whys and wherefores helps understanding the continuity. I guess the quality of the story never changed, but my forgiveness of it did.

Posted by Shonzi on 2008-11-03 17:10:47
It's funny, because it's so much easier to go the other way and list comics i loved as a kid and hate now. I've generally become more discerning rather than less.

Posted by Shonzi on 2008-11-03 17:17:47
None spring to mind.
I also honestly can't think of any I've gone from hating to liking. If I hated it then, I hate it just as much now. The only one that might come close is LEG. At first I thought it was only mildly interesting but later when I bought it in trade I grew to appreciate it a whole lot more. I could probably list a few others that could fall into that category, but nothing that I outright *hated* that I grew to like later on.

Posted by Hrungr on 2008-11-03 18:48:03
New Avengers. Invincible. Noble Causes. Most old comics (1960-1980's). Powers - Powers may be the best example. I thought the first story arc was RETARDED, but one day I sat down and read my brother's copy of 1-37 all at once, and I really got it.

Posted by stuckinazkaban on 2008-11-03 19:00:46
I suppose Quietly's run on AUTHORITY. It is mostly because of the art. It took me until he did ALL STAR SUP for me to really get what he's up to. Now I really enjoy his AUTHORITY STUFF.

Denny O'Neil's SHADOW comics. I was looking for the radio show Shadow, but got something much closer to the novels, which I now enjoy quite a bit.

Kirby's NEW GODS, but even to a greater extent his original THOR stuff. I tell you, I hated Thor as a character growing up. It wasn't until the latest reboot that I realized something was there. Then I read KING OF COMICS, and went out and bought the first two Essentials. It's great stuff, but I just didn't know how to look at it back then.

Posted by kyle-latino on 2008-11-03 19:25:46
I think THE ORDER was the best example of a comic I didn't like at first but then grew on me. Like most new comics, it seems to me like it takes too long for them to pick up steam. Same with The Order, but once it picked up steam I wanted more. It ended very hastily, I might add.

Another one has to be The Green Lantern of the 90's. I'm a Marvel fanboy and I looked down on DC comics, considering them not edgy enough or too goody goody. The Green Lantern changed my perception then. I might give it another chance now.

Posted by DRock1 on 2008-11-03 20:04:17
For some reason, although I don't loathe them for any reason, about halfway through just about any event I start to feel the fatigue. Inevitably, I'll go back and re-read some of the events to follow up on them and reading them straight through I always enjoy them more than waiting a month for the next issue to come out (and in the case of CW, much longer sometimes). Actually, I could say that about just about any title, but I consider it a blessing to enjoy something in retrospect than to have its appeal fade.

Posted by causeitwasfunny on 2008-11-03 20:23:01
Hate is too strong a word. If I hated a book, I wouldn't reread it years later, so I couldn't comment on a perceived change of quality.

However, Marvel books I learned to appreciate on second (or third, or eighth) sight:

Spider-Man 2099
The Casey/Manco run of Deathlok
Every JRjr book before Thor
Bishop's solo book by Joseph Harris and Georges Jeanty
The Weinberg/Ryan run of Cable
The Jenkins/Buckingham run of Peter Parker: Spider-Man


Posted by Michael Heide on 2008-11-03 20:39:31
X-Factor
Peter David and Larry Stroman's original X-Factor run. When I first read it, I just thought it was a mess, and unappealing. I picked up the Visionaries trade months ago on a whim and was happily surprised--a really, really good read, and Stroman's art was very interesting and compelling.

Posted by hayeshenderson on 2008-11-03 20:44:04
X-Treme X-Men
When I first read this title, I think I ws just getting it to buy everything X (5+ years later and I am still doing the same thing) When I first got them I thought the dialouge was forced and the stories realy made no sense to me in regards to past characterization. Despite this I bought the trades for the later issues and for some reason I go back to reading them at least once every couple months. I think for me it is mainly the characters he used, who at times do not get the same spotlight in the other titles... It also helps that Claremont's stroies seem to run into each other. He does not just drop plot threads, I know eventually most things would be answered.

Posted by KingRambo912 on 2008-11-03 21:24:30
Thor and Captain America
The latest Thor and Captain America are the ones that come to mind for me. I have always been bitter when major characters are killed off. Even though the stories were good (can’t argue with that), when both characters came back I was adamant about not buying the books. On first glance I dismissed both titles. I even read issue #3 of Thor and dismissed it.

It was not until months later, for each, that I actually began to go from appreciation to being a big fan again. I picked up a copy of Thor #1 and started reading the story from the beginning, and was hooked from there. The artwork is stunning and the story compelling. Most of all I developed an appreciation for the human element and infusion that was put into the title.

To my surprise the same thing happened with Captain America. As convinced as I was that there was no way to continue the character after the death of Steve Rogers I was proved wrong. Although it took me a couple of reads to accept the new Captain America, I now find the stories very compelling. I needed to let go of my expectations of the title.

On a side note, there is a boy who has abilities just like Daredevil- blind he uses clicks that he makes to walk without a cane, ride a bike, play basketball, etc…pretty amazing and I thought I’d share that for anyone interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLziFMF4DHA&eurl=http://www.oddee.com/item_91848.aspx


Posted by joeyzen on 2008-11-03 21:35:56
Challenge III
Actually, Tom, this post has nothing to do with your "Challenge III" blog post. I just wanted you to know this.

I've stopped buying Marvel Comics. I haven't stopped *reading* them. I've just stopped buying them.

You see, I live in Seattle where we have not one but three excellent public library systems -- Seattle Public Libraries, King County Public Libraries, and City of Renton Public Libraries.

These three libraries buy pretty much all of the Marvel graphic novels as soon as they come out. And these libraries have excellent "Borrower Hold" services. Using the online library catalog, you can order any graphic novel from any library branch in the system and have it sent directly to your local branch library.

So all I have to do is wait a few months after the original comics are published for the graphic novel collections to come out. This means, of course, that I'm always several months behind the regular comics buyers in knowing what's going on in Marvel, but hey, I have no problem with that.

Now, I realize, technically, I'm still paying for the comics. My tax dollars support the purchase of new books for each library. But I figure that, of the $1000 or so that I pay annually in local taxes, about $30 of my annual tax dollars go to the libraries. (Plus, I freely admit, I pay about $20 per year per library in overdue book fines.)

So if each library system gets about $30 per year from me, I figure about $7 of that goes towards the purchase of new books, and maybe 20 cents per library goes to purchases of Marvel Comics graphic novels.

So that's it. Since I stopped buying comics about four years ago, I figure I've sent about 60 cents annually to Marvel via the local libraries. I can live with that.

Why did I stop buying Marvel Comics? Well, because of stories like "Civil War," "Fallen Son," and "One More Day." If you and your comrades are going to write stories that piss off your readers by destroying the long-cherished history, traditions, and characters of beloved heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America -- well then, that's fine. You go ahead and write those stories.

Just don't expect me to pay money to read them.

P.S. To all of you bloggers who read this blog post. Are you tired of the Marvel writers and editors jerking your chain with bad story decisions about your favorite characters? Then try following the same strategy I did. Stop buying Marvel Comics. Wait a few months for the graphic novel collections to come out, and then visit your local library. You can save a bundle of money and send the Marvel writers and editors a definite message.


Posted by LindsayRS on 2008-11-03 21:49:51
In Response to LindsayRS
Since your post lies in roughly the same area as my previous post (that being bitterness resulting from the changes the Marvel Bullpen makes to our cherished characters), I felt compelled to say something here.

First, boycotting Marvel comics will hardly bankrupt the company. I think its safe to assume that with Feature Films, Video Games and the like that Marvel will survive uninjured from such an attempt.

Second, if you are really that upset about “Marvel writers and editors jerking your chain with bad story decisions about your favorite characters”, then why do you continue to read the titles at the library? My guess is you discovered the same thing I discovered; even though you are angry that they changed your beloved childhood title into something different, the writing is solid and the stories are compelling. So, like me, begrudgingly you read and somehow find a way to enjoy it.

Third, buying comics helps support the industry as a whole, not just Marvel. Marvel comics are sold at mom and pop comic shops that need to earn a living and stay afloat to keep the comic industry alive and well. We live in a great time for comics right now, and an exciting time. I’m not in the comics industry in any way myself, but I’ve been buying comics from the same stores for years, and I’ve seen quite a few go out of business. I have nothing against reading from the library, but I still enjoy supporting my local comics shop.

By the way, I liked your post…it made me think.


Posted by joeyzen on 2008-11-03 22:08:30
Heh
Extremely funny and true post by CylverSaber.

Not sure I can say that I have an answer to this challenge. I never thought I would like certain books (Heroes for Hire, Avengers:Initiative) but I never hated them and ended up liking them quite a lot.

I guess the closest thing I have would be not liking Kirby or Ditko art as a kid (they looked weird and old) but "getting it" as an adult.

Posted by hamgravy on 2008-11-03 22:49:45
NLP ( Neuro-linguistic programming )
At first I couldn't bare this title, then I changed my mind when I learned what it was.

Posted by bulgarianyogurt on 2008-11-04 00:50:22
Alan Davis' Excalibur. When I first read it I was too mired in the other X-Books of the day to appreciate it. Now it's one of my absolute favorites.

Posted by ljacone on 2008-11-04 07:38:34
A recent example for me is the current Ms Marvel series. I read the first two issues and threw it away. Came back with Civil War and have really loved it ever since.

Posted by NewChad on 2008-11-04 07:45:51
Comics I've changed my mind on
Gaiman's Sandman and Moore's Watchmen. When they first came out they weren't the kinds of things I would even think of reading.
I didn't hate them. I was indifferent to them ie not my kind of stuff leave it on the shelf. However, as I've gotten older I have found that I do like a more serious story especially if it isn't about characters that I prefer in a more formulaic story. I reread my Sandman trades all the time and pull Watchmen off the shelf at least once a year.

Posted by izzatrix on 2008-11-04 09:22:53
There are comics I hated and still hate thoug
Heroes Reborn still makes me ill to even think of.

Posted by izzatrix on 2008-11-04 09:24:37
I find this challenge very curious.I'm sure that each Marvel books is market-targeting a long time in advance for a particular audience, so I really like to know where you want to go with this questioning.Is there a part of your readership that you don't know ?

Posted by bulgarianyogurt on 2008-11-04 11:46:14
Y the last man
The first time I tried one issue I didn't like the art or the story line but a friend told me to read from the beginnig of the story and now that the serie is over I miss it

Posted by JJEF3 on 2008-11-04 11:54:49
' So much of why we like what we like has to do with when we encounter it, and under what circumstances.'
I agree with that, but I think that comic-books is like almost most of all art-forms :
you have a crush on a particular thing because it talks to your sensibility as nothing has done it before, and you open the door or not. If you don't have a crush, you can choose by yourself to interest you onto it, I think by example that jazz is an education, then you can choose to pay attention onto it to understand it.
This remains circumstances you're creating by yourself.
But if you really want to be as objective as possible about something, you have to get rid of what doesn't count to make your own judgment.

'Reality is what's resisting' as said Schoppenhauer, a bad or a good feeling after the reading as well. So all you're saying is 'give Marvel books a chance ' ?

Posted by bulgarianyogurt on 2008-11-04 11:59:23
For me the most recent was New Avengers. My first point against it was that it was Bendis who was writing and after seeing his work on Daredevil and Alias, I didn't think it would be my cup of tea. Then when I saw where the line up was going aka bringing on both Spider-Man and Woman as well as Wolverine, I felt that it would just be too gimmicky. I come to realize this book has just the right blend of dialogue and characterization to make me like it a lot. And I really like what has been done with the Hood and other lower end characters like Cage.

Posted by mastulogan12 on 2008-11-04 12:35:37
both sides of the coin
When I read the first few issues of JMS's current run on Thor I couldn't stand it. I don't even know exactly what it was that I didn't like, it just didn't connect with me. Somewhere around issue 5 or 6, though, it really started to pick up for me, and now I love it.

On the other hand, I used to LOVE Exiles. It was my favorite series from the very first issue all the way up to Claremont's run, and then it just died for me. I'm still reading New Exiles, but only because my prior investment requires that I see it out until it gets good again.

Posted by bpmcgackin on 2008-11-04 13:04:59
From the Distinguished Competition
Not that I "hated" them but I've always been turned off by Vertigo coloring (PINK and YELLOW) and still can't bring myself to pick up Animal Man. I had a similar experience to an earlier poster that the art of Y turned me off and I fear Preacher would be "faux edgy" but both proved to be masterpieces in their own right.

In fact, I would love to see Marvel try more finite (70+ issues) stories with a single creative team.

Posted by hamgravy on 2008-11-04 13:07:10
RE: hamgravy suggesting Marvel should "try more finite (70+ issues) stories with a single creative team."

Can I second this please!

Posted by cjmcaree on 2008-11-04 13:37:04
New Avengers
New Avengers. I hated it. I'm an old school Avengers fan and that new team was a slap in the face, especially after dragging through the mud my favorite Avenger, Wanda. Over time and several re-reads, I began to like the story, to separate it from what happened before and enjoy it.

Posted by valechan on 2008-11-04 13:38:37
Marvel minus Image.
Marvel comics minus the “Image” creators, meaning, the books that circa 1991 lost the artists that made them ultra-popular. Case in point X-Men or Spiderman. Of course, then I used to pay attention to the name of the artist not the writer.

Posted by freyes2000 on 2008-11-04 14:03:02
"Get Mystique" Wolverine
I read the 4 issues, hated it. Had NO IDEA what was going on. It was all the time jumps. He'd show you one panel, then "24 hours ago." Then one panel, then "100 years ago." Then 2 pages, then "24 hours before present day." I hated it, had no idea what was going on.

I loved the artwork though. The coloring was especially excellent.

I skimmed through it again, and it was easier to understand on re-read. I don't hate it anymore. But still think it was a bad idea to use so many time jumps. That's the wrong way to do it. Waay too confusing and unnecessary.

Posted by pineappleprotein on 2008-11-04 15:00:39
Please do cjmcaree!
Imagine how cool a Dr. Strange series would be if it had a point to it. Think Alan Moore's "Swamp Thing" or Gaiman's "Sandman."

There's obviously a place for ongoing series but you'd think that in a bookstore market there would be an emphasis placed on beginning, middle, end, STORY.

Posted by hamgravy on 2008-11-04 15:13:55
Dr. Strange: The Oath
"Imagine how cool a Dr. Strange series would be if it had a point to it."

You haven't read Dr. Strange: The Oath? Or New Avengers? He's awesome in those.

Posted by pineappleprotein on 2008-11-04 18:05:52
Believe it or not, Avengers. I never really liked Avengers comics when I was younger, but I enjoyed Busiek's run so much that I went back and read older issues again. Now I love em!

Posted by brandechh on 2008-11-04 18:33:58
Strange
I thought the Oath was good (the Martin art is beautiful) but limited and his New Avengers appearances hardly count for much (I can't fly, my hands hurt, it's a Starbucks!). I'm thinking a full story with subplots and supporting characters and an end goal larger than the character conventions. "The Oath" is a decent start but the character deserves an epic on the "Preacher" scale.

Posted by hamgravy on 2008-11-04 18:35:26
Dr Strange
I very much agree.

Posted by notapotatoe on 2008-11-05 01:31:06
I have to say that anything from DC disgusted me (which isnt' the case anymore). But if I had to narrow it down

Green Lanter, and Superman.

Thanks to in heavy part of Geoff Johns, and a little bit of Jeph Loeb (Superman/Batman) I've grown to like Green Lantern, and Superman has peaked my interest.

Posted by PiratePat1587 on 2008-11-05 08:13:23
Hustons Moon Knight
At first I didn't really like it, the story seemed lacking, but I like it a great much now that I'm older and can appreciate Finch's incredible art and why Huston did some of the stuff he did.

Posted by DevynR. on 2008-11-05 18:46:03
Pre-Marvel stuff bored me at first now I can't get enough of them. Strange Tales, Journey Into Mystery, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, Amazing Adult Fantasy and the old Marvel Tales were made up of monster stories and alien invasions amongst other things. When I was a kid I passed on buying these comics at the bookstore downtown. After reading them in reprint form, I've come to love the campiness that surrounded them all. I'm also kicking myself hard because if I did like them then, I'd have gone full board and bought everything in sight. That would have made my collection a little bit more prolific.

I guess in modern titles, I missed out on Annihilation. That was beautifully crafted! DnA rules!

Posted by bzoo2000 on 2008-11-05 18:57:16
New Mutants and X-treme X-men
When I 1st read New Mutants #18, I was horrified! What happened to the art? Upon re-reading it after, I learned to appreciate Mr. Bill's art. It's beautiful!

X-treme X-men was boring for me initially, but I learned to love it even more than Uncanny at that time. Except for "God Loves, Man Kills II," the stories just got better and better.

Posted by quiddie on 2008-11-06 05:45:48
One comes to mind
Walt Simonson's Thor. Hated it a passion at first, and shortly after, and to this day, I consider it the greatest achievement in the history of comics!

Posted by Dusty. on 2008-11-06 21:47:31
I have a good one
I went out to this small town in Ontario and visited there comic book store (the only one in town) and as I was going through there back bins and I was amazed to find some old friends of mine.

Havok & Wolverine Meltdown mini series created back in 1988-89 created with Watercolor and I think Acrillics. I remember as a kid having those issues and hating them to death because the pictures looked so abstract and blurry and the text so technical.

Now its 22 years later and I'm a watercolor and acrillics painter myself so I can appreciate the work and style that went into the books. What makes these books classic? they were monumental at the time the style of realism in comics wasn't at its peak like it is today.

I managed to buy the books again becauase I chucked out my old ones when I was 13, I got the issues for COVER PRICE 3.50 US NOW tell me there are now second chances in the world?

Posted by terciera on 2008-11-10 07:12:09
Origins and Endings
Initially, I really disliked Logan (still can't think of him as J. Howlett) getting his memories restored after HoM. I felt his past worked best as a mystery for his story. I was quite jaded to see his memories unfold in his main title and in Origins. Initially.

Then I realized that "mysterious past" Logan stories have been done to death over the last twenty five years. Marvel has also done a great job in showing that even though Logan has essentially gotten what he always wanted, he has to contend with the fallout of what he is. They've taken what could have been a shark-jumping moment and crafted relevant artifacts from his history to weave into his current narrative. A sort of LOST-ish approach.

So Origins and Endings was an arc that I disliked on first read, but with time, have grown to appreciate. I was struck by this recently in the Weapon X: First Class issue. What's past is prologue, tis said.

Oh, in regards to those who refuse to buy Marvel comics, but continue to read them. 1) I happily spend my money on Marvel every Wednesday and can't thank them enough for daring to change the status quo. 2) At least you're still reading them, so don't be too indignant. And the more you read them at your library, the more apt they are to purchase more, so you're still supporting Marvel in the long run, whether you choose to or no.


Posted by TheCRZA on 2008-11-24 02:14:06