I like BMB quite a bit... not fanboy levels or anything, but I do end up reading a lot of his stuff. He is a good writer and has great characterizations... on certain characters.

I can't disagree with the comments on some of his portrayals of characters. If he likes them, he REALLY likes them. If he doesn't, he finds a way to tell you (I don't think he's too fond of Iron Fist, but accepts him because of his ties with Cage). That definitely sucks if you are a fan of one of the characters he's ripping on. It does.

BUT I will say that he's getting better. Being in the limelight has caused him to tone down those negative voices... and he seems to be concentrating on story a whole lot more. He still needs to work on the payoff vs the build-up... but his (Avengers) work is far more enjoyable than it was 4 years ago.

I see a lot of people ripping on him for the statement listed in the first post, but I will say it takes a brave man to come out to the internet and admit he did the wrong thing by fans. He admits that he was the toy-breaking jerk.

And to me, that's the key. He realizes (learned) that he could've done things with more tact, and to a better conclusion than just where his whims could take him. As long as writers (or people in general) are willing to learn and evolve, I really can't bash them.

So thank you Mr. Bendis, for writing some great stories and realizing what you could have done in the past and in the future to keep good ideas from going bad.

Because every day of your life is never affected by the previous ones?

I really like how each event unfolds into the next, it shows more forethought than a bunch of independant 6 month story arcs. I will take an event that is seven years in the making over whatever that #### is that Morrison pumps out for DC.

I actually gave up on New Avengers, not because I wasn't enjoying the story, but...because it went to 3.99 and I'm vehemently opposed to paying 3.99 for Marvel or DC comics that aren't special imprints (like Vertigo or...well, I can't think of anything Marvel).

It's good to see he realizes he was a bit too hardcore with Avengers Disassembled, but hey, it's done and it all worked out in the end. The Avengers will soon be back to something long time fans will recognize, even though that shouldn't necessarily be the end all be all goal of getting Cap Thor and Iron Man back together.

I have to agree that Bendis' like or dislike makes a huge difference. Probably why my favorite books by him are Spider-Man and Powers.

Also, I dislike the events running into each other (and it's been going on at DC adn Marvel both, hate it both places). Give me back my semi-independent books!

Shrug, Bendis is why I don't read main stream Marvel any more. I read Thor, Nova, and Abnett and Lanning stuff, but that's about it.

Bendis' fatal flaw, to me anyways (as I know not everyone would agree with it) is that he just jams any tom, dick, or harry into a talking head role without concern for what that character might say. His writing feels to much like what he wants to say instead of what the character might say.

agreed. sadly. but still agreed.

agreed also. he has power over to many characters. it all starts running together in the same voice. i love nova and guardians of the galaxy but the sometimes feel like im reading the exact same book. but at least their fresh, new books. i feel like bendis has for some reason existed since the beginning of time and just wont take a vacation.:cross-eye

Secret Invasion is the worst cross-over I have ever read..................EVER. And I remember "Deathmate" from the 90's. Not one good part to that story, ZERO.

Try me on this, I'm dying to know what part is worth a damn.

Like it or hate it...you have to at least respect a writer who promises to shake up the status quo and actually delivers! In the current climate of company wide crossovers running ALL THE TIME, you're hard pressed to find as many lasting effects as Avengers: Disassembled had.

Because for all the people who complain about him, he still sells a ton of books.

Well, Crisis o Infinite Earths for one... things are still referred to as Pre-Crisis or Post-Crisis for a reason.

But overall, I don't really care for earthshaking changes just for the sake of changes. Especially when done in such a ham-handed way.

Spot-on.

Granted, it's not just Bendis - nobody else can really script worth half a darn nowadays, either. You get three or four basic dialogue archetypes, and that's it.

That's why I like Bendis on the rare occasion that I do (Ultimate Spider-Man) and a big part of why can't stand him otherwise. I liked USM because I thought he captured the frenetic mindset and pace of what a teenaged, first-time hero would think and sound like. And with that success, I was really excited to see how he'd write an adult Spidey, or Cap, or Iron Man in Avengers... until he wrote them the exact same way. I'm convinced that's why most major characters now get their own unique font for dialogue - because you can't tell who's talking otherwise.

The best part of the Bendis quote (and the best proof of his one-note scripting) is that when you read it, it sounds just like Ultimate Spidey, or any other character he writes. Good for a chuckle, and completely confirms Maniac_nmt's point.

Because editors are weak, and have been so since the Image-inspired "creative teams as gods" movement began in the mid-1990's.

That's a good point. I frequently feel like Bendis and Geoff Johns are making just as many universe-wide decisions as Quesada or DiDio.

I'm one of those who quit reading Avengers after Disassembled for the same reasons people mentioned above.

At the time, that was a third strike, in my book, for Brian Michael Bendis.

First Strike:
I tried out the first three issues of Powers, based on the cool premise (which was a LOT like the premise of a Champions campaign I'd run 15 years earlier). While I loved the art and was sad to give up on the cool premise, the dialogue was so jarringly awful, and some of the supposedly more realistic characters in the police force felt like they were created by a 13 year old, which utterly deflated the tone of sophistication he seemed to be going for, so I dropped it like a rock.

Second Strike:
I had been a longtime Daredevil fan and was really put off by the drastic stylistic difference that came with Bendis. In the first few issues, he punked the Kingpin in the most dismissive way, which I hated. The stories moved at a snails pace, with very little payoff from issue to issue. I dropped it after 6 or 7 issues, checked back in a time or two based on the good word, but couldn't figure out why it was so adored.

Third Strike:
Disassembled. 'Nuff said. I was officially done with this guy.

Since then, I have purchased the New Avengers Annual in which Cage was married and had the opportunity to read a few issues of Ultimate Spider-Man, the first trade of New Avengers, and a run of later New Avengers. Mostly I found that stuff to be pretty boring, but the few parts that were interesting and well-written were inevitably negated by an equal number of parts that were hideously bad. A story arc in New Avengers had Doom and Iron Man trading the stupidest, most out of character quips I have ever had the horror to read. Whatever humor Bendis was trying to get out of that scene fell utterly flat. While I hear that Alias is considered quite good, there isn't a single, solitary reason why I should bother with it. I have tried to see what people like about this guy time and time again. I have given his writing plenty of chances to impress me and it doesn't seem to be able to.

Mighty Avengers, under Dan Slott, has been a life-saver for me. I also continue to read the Initiative, but I don't really think of it as an Avengers title, but a fascinating comic in its own right.

Here's what I will give him credit for: He sells a lot of comics. He has made the Avengers title the center of the Marvel U. Both of those things, though, seem to have a lot more to do with fan mentality than the quality of his writing. As one of the masterminds behind the never-ending crossover, he simply never bothers to finish a story. Those stories blend seamlessly into the next giant crossover, which does the same thing, so on and so on. Marvel's fans have bought whole hog into the notion that they have to keep reading this stuff. They complain about stories never finishing, about the decompression, about the poor characterization, about the unsatisfying plot points, about the horrible number of titles they have to buy to keep up (often as not keeping them from buying titles like Hercules, Nova, or excellent offering from DC or other companies), yet they continue to support the never-ending crossover in astonishing numbers. The idea that this is so important that they cannot miss it trumps all.

I am not convinced the sales are stricly due to people enjoying his writing. I think Bendis and Quesada have created the perfect, never-ending hook into the completist fan mentality and they're going to play it out until that fish is dead.

For what its worth: I know everything I need to know about Civil War, Secret Invasion, and Dark Reign to enjoy every Marvel comic I enjoy reading. I don't have to read the core books in any of those stories. Neither do you.