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I honestly don't know how I would answer that question (that is, within twenty minutes).

I recently picked up the trade of his run on JLA; I had a couple of the individual issues when I was a kid and was desperate to see how it ended.  Turns out the JLA won.  Go figure.  But I was, on the whole, thoroughly disappointed with the whole shebang.  There was info-dumping all over the place, tongue-in-cheek sarcasm seemed to stand in place of wit and major threats were dealt with in the space of a few anticlimatic panels after pages and pages of build up.  

On the other hand, I thought that the Invisibles was marvellous (especially the earlier arcs) and I thoroughly enjoyed the Filth, even though it was impossible to follow.  That seems to be the principle problem, as far as I'm concerned: Morrison is clearly an ideas man, and it seems he can't get past a page without spurging a load of fresh creamy ideas all over the place (dirty bugger).  But this really crams up his space, and essential elements of the narrative get left out.  

Take the final book of The Invisibles: we have, at one point, Jack Frost waking up in a jet, with no memory of having got in the thing, or knowledge of how to land it safely.  He is informed over the radio that he has to learn to land the plane in order to demonstrate his status as the messiah as opposed to being a 'mere boy'.  He's gonna have to be quick, or he'll collide with a continent.  A great setup - how the hell is this gonna work out?  But next thing we know, several pages later, the plane's on the ground, with no depiction of the action between.  'Congratulations,' Jack's told, 'you just learned to fly.' Well, that's fine, but there's little satisfaction for the reader, because there's been no showing of the actual sequence of events.  It's like the need to cram so much into so small a space meant that the middle of the sequence - the bit where things actually happened, where the setup worked itself out - had to be left aside, leaving only setup and denouement (which I believe is some sort of donut).  

In terms of story-telling, I think Morrison just hasn't been better than in We3, where there was one simple driving idea behind the narrative, and a set minimum of speech (it was a story about animals, after all) meant he had to rein in the info-dumping.  

See what I mean?  It's been at least twenty minutes.

Thoughts?  Am I being too harsh?

I think he's brilliant at the build up, the journey, the sidetracks. Not so much at endings.

Only if you dont underrate him!!

Is Grant Morrison flinging a pot of paint in the public's face?

Personnally I think not. If only because I don't think he is rated that highly.

What I mean by that if is there is one comic book creator that will polarise opinion it's Grant Morrison. Some people adore him, some people hate him. Even those who love the fella's work (and I include myself in there) often don't like particular bits of this stuff.

I think Zenith and Animal Man are the best comics / strips ever written. love um. Seven Soldiers and what we have to date of Final Crisis are close to the top of my lists as well. On the other hand while I loved Doom Patrol back in the day I find it a little cold now, a bit to cool for skool. The JLA stuff I've read (and I must admit its not a great deal) not so keen on.

I think if he was held in the high and almost universal esteem that Alan Moore is then yeah I think it would be fair to say he was over-rated (and whether Alan Moore is over-rated is a debate for another time). I think as it is his status as controversial but largely admired is about fair.

All good points, but I think the 'fill in the gaps yourself' style of storytelling can a like-it or loathe-it proposition from book to book, or day to day.  Sometimes I really enjoy working out what's going on from the tiniest visual clues (I'm thinking Seven Soldiers here) because it gives a comic terrific re-readability (which after all is otherwise €4-€5 for a 5 minute read), and can be very satisfying when it all clicks.  Other times however I just want a good read with an exciting conclusion, and Morrison is usually not that man.

Quote from: "skoi"On the other hand, I thought that the Invisibles was marvellous (especially the earlier arcs) and I thoroughly enjoyed the Filth, even though it was impossible to follow.  That seems to be the principle problem, as far as I'm concerned: Morrison is clearly an ideas man, and it seems he can't get past a page without spurging a load of fresh creamy ideas all over the place (dirty bugger).  But this really crams up his space, and essential elements of the narrative get left out.  

Morrison tends to inflate his ideas of himself and his talent, he's also just a lazy writer. Alan Moore, who has often been criticised by Morrison on many an occasion, is also an ideas man but is hardly ever lazy in how he tells his story, when Moore shows off his knowledge of culture he generally covers all the bases in storytelling.

Yes.

IIRC, In an issue of The Invisibles and facing declining sales, he asked readers to bang one out over a symbol he had prepared. I gave up on him right there (but went and cracked one off anyway).

M@

Quote from: "mbanners"IIRC, In an issue of The Invisibles and facing declining sales, he asked readers to bang one out over a symbol he had prepared. I gave up on him right there (but went and cracked one off anyway).

M@

you wanked about Grant Morrison?

Grant Morrison is bald. Hair is associated with youth which means that bald people are old and old people really fucken' suck therefore Grant Morrison really fucken' sucks.

Real answer: Morrison has given some of the most exciting, thought-provoking and moving moments in comics history. That said, he's always been mainly just a "moments" guy rather than a "story" guy preventing from having the lasting legacy that the elite creators have. In an ideal world he would have more influence on the comics mainstream than say, Frank Miller but that's just my crazy [spoiler]and incredibly right[/spoiler] opinion.

While he has a brain, and obvious writing talent, I think his real ability is as a charlatan and flim-flam artist.  I'm sure if he hadn't made his fortune in comic books, he'd have made it somewhere else.  Perhaps we're lucky he chose comic books.

For me, he was everything that went wrong with comic books for me.  Writers should prove themselves through their stories, not their PR and bullshit as become the case for some writers.  Alan Moore's success was built on his stories, and he discarded the cult of personality.  Morrison took the opposite path.

I really enjoyed Zenith Book 1.  It had great ideas, characters and a story.  I suspect Morrison was reigning in all of his basic instincts to get a story published.  Once he had his success, he just seemed to give in to the spectacle and zeitgeist (I was tempted to say nonsense, but there's probably more to it than that).  To be fair I think he managed to finish Zenith with a coherant and satisfying end long after the story's plot had turned to jelly.  I often wonder if this is why he tries to claim ownership, partly out of devillment, partly because he can, but partly because it has something his later work doesn't.

Arkham Asylum, which was the first DC thing I bought by him, it was shit, but hugely succesful.  Which no doubt would have been a lesson to anyone.  I have dipped into other books he wrote, and they have been entertaining (I read some of Doom Patrol and Animal Man).  But I am always repelled by the self-awareness in his books and while Morrison appearing at the end of Animal Man may have been a stroke of genius to some, for me it was the revelation about what his comic books were really about.

He is clever at entertaining readers and sensing what they want, and making them feel like they've been given just that, like a perfect christmas present.  But I've developed the anti-bodies and can't read this stuff anymore, like scientology pamphlets or soap operas.

I met him once, and I could tell he was underwhelmed (many are, so I can't blame him for that), but that was the point when I stopped reading.  Grant Morrison had appeared and that was the end of the story.

p.s. I'm not trying to wind anyone up with this post, but for me this is just yet another tale of my attempts to move beyond the core writers who I loved on 2000AD in the eighties, of going on a long and often expensive journey, only to end up dissapointed and back where I started.  I'm clearly not as big a fan of comics as many people who love Grant Morrison's stuff and no insult is intended to anyone who does like his work.  They are probably much cleverer than me.

Yes. Apart from Zenith.

Which, thinking about it, is a more than apt title for his first ever 2000ad strip.

I find that a lot of high-profile comics writers try to create this eccentric, cool persona to separate themselves from the nerds that traditionally buy comics. Morrison is by far the worst offender in this case, and I find his whole PR thing pretty tedious. As a writer, though I think when he's good, he's up there with the best.

I find that I tend to prefer his work when he has strong editorial control that reels in his more pretentious excesses. Stuff like New X Men, Zenith and We3. I must admit that I also have a fondness for The Invisibles, especially Volume 1, though parts of it do my head in. Fans of Zenith should definitely get hold of the first three trades, especially Apocalipstick and Entropy in the UK. I haven't read Animal Man so I can't comment on that, though Doom Patrol left me completely cold.

In my mind, he's a bit like Tarantino - cherry picking bits from other media to create cool moments, that are maybe a little style over substance, but I'm glad he's around.

I used to be a great fan of Grant Morrison's comics: Zenith, Doom Patrol, Animal Man (though it was mostly Doom Patrol for me!), and I liked some of what went into the 2000ad Summer Offensive and his run on JLA. I liked some of the writing on '52'.

Nowadays I wouldn't buy a comic just because it had Grant Morrison's name on the cover. In fact, I'd probably give it a miss on account of the fact. I hated his recent run on Batman from the word 'go'. I used to find what he did entertaining, but I'm not entertained by what he does now. The writers whose 'voice' I enjoy reading nowadays are Mile Allred, Mike Mignola, Todd Nauck and Robert Kirkman.

I loved his work on X-Men, especially the earlier half.  Probably the best incarnation of the X-Men since Claremont's heyday and far exceeding the more fanboy-friendly (indulging?) Whedon.  

His All-Star Superman is also brilliant and everything that is good and great about Morrisson as a writer and Superman as a character.

Ultimately though he is a hit and miss writer.  For all his bluster, he tends to work better with established characters, the more mythical or legendary ones who can only be changed so much, while a lot of his stuff tends to be great ideas that are poorly explored or realised.  We3 is good fun (mostly due to the concept and Quitely's art, if you ask me).  His Batman work is mediocre. As is much of his other stuff, not a huge fan of The Invisibles or The Filth (have yet to read Animal Man or Doom Patrol).

If only they'd collect Zenith into Case Files, I could give that a proper look  

Hmm. I'd rate Grant Morrison as pretty much my favourite comic writer ever. On the other hand, it's been a while since he's done anything that I really enjoyed. I'm not interested in his mainstream DC stuff, his Batman was pretty shonky (despite the really cool way he wrote him in JLA and the basic awesomeness of Arkham Asylum) while I missed the boat on All Star Superman so I'm waiting for a collected edition on that.

Since you're asking, Seaguy was the last thing that really pushed my buttons.

I can reread Zenith and The Invisibles endlessly, but I've never "got" The Filth and I found Animal Man a real letdown. What I've read of Doom Patrol is fantastic, as was his X-Men but I'm a bit wary talking about that as I've never really read any other take on the characters. Same for JLA: to me he seemed to really be able to make the team dynamic work, with every character getting nice little moments to shine but I can't compare it to any other run or any of the characters' own comics.

Mostly, I'd like to see him get back to firing off a few crazy one-offs alongside the universe-changing stuff I don't care about. More like Kill Your Boyfriend please. Less Aztek.

It's a bit like asking if Pat Mills is overrated.  /steps away carefully/

No.  I think he's rated at 5.6.  Whereas I have him as 5.8.

Some hit, some miss.  

I think he works better with a great artist on his side - that must point to some deficiencies in story telling stuff.  

Really enjoyed THE FILTH (didn't quite get it but THE WORLD OF ANDERS KLIMAX is just brilliant!) pretty sure I didn't like SEVEN SOLDIERS (definitely didn't get it), really enjoyed ZENITH and ARKHAM ASYLUM and ALL STAR SUPERMAN but really just loved the art on WE 3.

On Christmas Eve I received a parcel containing Grant's full run on Doom Patrol and I just finished reading them this evening.

This was scintillating stuff from start to finish with some great moments, outstanding issues (Cliff's brain vs. his body) and only one duff note (the Lee/Kirby pastiche.) I know there are certain things he keeps returning to, but I was surprised to see so many elements of the The Invisibles prefigured so clearly. I reckon it'll take another read to get it completely but, for the moment, it's jumped straight to the top of the list and answers the question with a resounding "NO!"

One of the things I like about reading old comics in the original issues rather than trades is getting to sample the preposterous letters pages. I'll eat one of my many hats if the Paul Cornell who despatched a missive from the Manchester - London train isn't the creator of Xtnct and occasional Dr Who episodes, while it would be neat if Cameron Stewart of Toronto was the very chap who went on to illustrate Morrison's Seaguy.

Quote from: "The Cosh"This was scintillating stuff from start to finish

I actually envy you ...! The experience of discovering a little gem like Doom Patrol for the first time is priceless. Glad you enjoyed it so much!

Cheers

Jim

The one with Cliff vs. his body actually prompted me to write a letter. I think it appears in #34, but I may be wrong!

Fantastic! I'm envious too! I just dug mine out the other day for a long overdue re-read.
Did you get to read the Flex Mentallo miniseries too?

I've heard nothing but good things about Doom Patrol and feel i must check it out - which book is the first (or best to start with)?

Quote from: "dandontdare"I've heard nothing but good things about Doom Patrol and feel i must check it out - which book is the first (or best to start with)?

Morrison's earliest issues are collected in Crawling from the Wreckage:

Here. (//http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doom-Patrol-Crawling-Grant-Morrison/dp/1563890348/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231101568&sr=8-1)

... Which looks like it might be out of print.

Morrison's Doom Patrol is clever and funny, nicely characterized and as well written as you'd expect. It skates a superb line along the border of horror, with its sense of the surreal deftly crossing over into macabre and downright sinister with an ease that should make other writers weep.

Cheers

Jim

Jim, it wasn't entirely new as I've had a few random issues for years which never made much sense in isolation, but it was a real treat being able to sit down and read the whole lot.

Quote from: "House of Usher"The one with Cliff vs. his body actually prompted me to write a letter. I think it appears in #34, but I may be wrong!

Excellent stuff. In the spirit of the mighty Letters Beast, I can exclusively reveal that #34 actually featured the story in question, with letters discussing it appearing in #39. One David Knight of Brighton included a reference to The Tempest in his. Have I got my man?

Quote from: "satchmo"Did you get to read the Flex Mentallo miniseries too?

I bought that when it came out, not realising there was any connection. I've never been keen on it.

Quote from: "dandontdare"I've heard nothing but good things about Doom Patrol and feel i must check it out - which book is the first (or best to start with)?

The whole series has been reissued in six volumes in the last couple of years. You can find the current Vol 1 here. (//http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doom-Patrol-Crawling-Wreckage-v/dp/1848562071/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231103106&sr=1-7) Or, if you're interested, I've got a now-redundant copy you can have for a fiver.

Wassgoing? Ears burning...

Let's see if the Letters Beast can interface with it's Doom Patrol cousin...

Whirrrr...

(//http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/usherlet.jpg)

No idea what's going on in the issue or indeed in Usher's letter, but a letter's a letter as I always say at seminars citing my own Eagle 1982 effort which due to no demand is not shown below.

Mr Usher has yet to break his 2000ad or Megazine duck however, with the title of 'Knight Writer' being held jointly by Maggie and Tristam on four apiece.

Quote from: "Buttonman"with the title of 'Knight Writer' being held jointly by Maggie and Tristam on four apiece.

Wow, that's thorough!

I was pretty chuffed to get that letter printed. But *tsk* they left the 's' off the end of The Smiths (admittedly, I left the definite article off all by myself because it scanned better without). I do have yet to get a letter printed in a Rebellion publication. I don't think I've got the knack of writing in the right style or making the sort of point that's worth printing in the Nerve Centre. I think putting in the effort necessary to accomplish that particular goal would tend to conflict with my first new Year's resolution!

I'm playing catch-up with Morrison's back catalogue, and found this in Animal Man 24:
(//http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/jacksphotobucketalbum/AnimalMan26p11-p3.jpg)

Quote from: "The Cosh"The whole series has been reissued in six volumes in the last couple of years. You can find the current Vol 1 here. Or, if you're interested, I've got a now-redundant copy you can have for a fiver.

Cheers mate - PM me your address and a crisp bluey will be on it's way! and I'll chuck in a random old comic or two to cover postage!

Quote from: "Bongo Jack"I'm playing catch-up with Morrison's back catalogue, and found this in Animal Man 24:
(//http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/jacksphotobucketalbum/AnimalMan26p11-p3.jpg)

Man I always prefered his Animal Man run to Doom Patrol (as mentioned earlier). The most human of superhero stories all the more remarkable as it was from the post Dark Knight days when grim and gritty was all the rage. Morrison sat all that aside and said well actually if Superheroes were real aside from the grimacing, gun totting killers some of them might just happen to be confused husbands and fathers dealing with real, real issues and ethical questions not just informing the reader how many ribs were broken and what that felt like. Sure it had its dark, dark and heart breaking moments, I remember crying on the bus on the way home from my LCS reading issue 21 I think it was (those that have read the series will know the one) but it was all based on a very real human story about the most wonderful family in comics.

From there he sent it down a crazy path of typically brillant Morrison maddness, while still rooting it at the books core, the family, leading to the brillant issue 26 (sorry to be anal). My favourite run in comics ever possibly?

Quote from: "ctaylor"I remember crying on the bus on the way home from my LCS reading issue 21

Ah, happy days! He he. The one that made me cry was #16, 'The Clockwork Crimes of the Time Commander'. Poor sod!  

Death of the Red Mask.

HA yeah a book so good that at least three seperate people have blubbed at three different issues AND no ones mentioned issue 5 the Coyote issue yet - I'm sure that got a few people going too!

It would have been really interesting to see how this series would have got on in the Internet age. People think some of the things done today are controvesial but Morrison did some stuff in this run that we'd have been raging about/defending with real vigour!

QuoteHA yeah a book so good that at least three seperate people have blubbed at three different issues AND no ones mentioned issue 5 the Coyote issue yet - I'm sure that got a few people going too!

The Coyote Gospel is fucking heartbreaking!

If anything, I'd say Morrison's grotesquely underrated.

I'm sorry to say I engaged with The Coyote Gospel on a mainly intellectual level, and I found more humour than pathos in the death of the Red Mask. Each to their own! Something different for everybody (to cry over), I think.

I never used to follow writers or artists and so I rarely know who wrote what - I've just checked Morrison's full bibliography and there are some absolute gems in there - Zenith was a highlight of a bleak period for the prog (long overdue for a reprint - have you seen the prices on e-bay? Crikey!); the Venus Bluegenes one-off sticks in my mind; some great Future Shocks and I even liked Big Dave!

The Filth is an insane but wonderful paranoid fantasy, and JLA : Earth 2 has some of the best "alternate versions" of heroes ever.

Finally, I can't pass up another chance to big up our public libraries and encourage y'all to visit yours - I've enjoyed Vimanarama, Seaguy, JLA-New World Order, Sebastian O, most of the Invisibles  and a couple of the Animal Man books from mine in recent years.
   Libraries - Use 'em or lose 'em, creeps!

Finally, I've recently bought All Star Superman vol1 based on glowing reviews but I can't say I'm that impressed. Ah well!

I still remember reading Death of the Red Mask in one of those London Editions reprints for the UK along with Black Orchid and the Morrison/Lloyd Hellblazer two-parter when I was about nine or ten. Naive bastard that I was, I actually thought he was going to fly at the end.

Still, I have to say I'm shocked, with all the Morrison-love going on round here, that no one's yet mentioned the lonely and well-oiled depilous quest of the Beard Hunter...

(//http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/BVirgo01/WTFDPatrolBeardHunter1.jpg)

Of course, as usual, Jimmy Olsen got there first:

//http://www.ihoz.com/comics/beard.html

Quote from: "Byron Virgo"Of course, as usual, Jimmy Olsen got there first:

//http://www.ihoz.com/comics/beard.html

That there is pure gold!

Quote from: "Byron Virgo"Still, I have to say I'm shocked, with all the Morrison-love going on round here, that no one's yet mentioned the lonely and well-oiled depilous quest of the Beard Hunter...

That was another brilliant issue. Funniest thing I'd read since that LowLife story with the Nazi babies.

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread to recommend you all rush out and buy the first issue of the new Seaguy series, The Slaves of Mickey Eye.

I really enjoyed the first Seaguy series and this one seems to have the same tone. A slightly less over the top weirdness accompanying a tale of a man lost in a world that somehow isn't quite right. Cameron Stewart's drawings are quite a lovely accompaniment, capturing the dayglo world and its sinister shadows just right. The centrefold owes something to an episode of Calvin & Hobbes. Or Cricklewood Man from the Goodies Book of Records.

Remember, the world's made out of history and science.

Is Chubby in it?

Quote from: "Godpleton"Is Chubby in it?

That would be telling.

Yes.

I got it yesterday, it's brilliant, I've read it twice now.
[spoiler:27vi35l6]half animal on a stick shit me right up.[/spoiler:27vi35l6]

Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 04 November, 2008, 04:20:18 PM
The JLA stuff I've read (and I must admit its not a great deal) not so keen on.

Well what a fool I was. Finally got around to reading Morrison's JLA run. Well still have World War III to go but that'll have to be some sort of spectacular howler to change my opinion. Its frankly brillant combining great traditional superhero fun and superb characterisation with Morrison own vision of the potential realities out there. Just wonderful stuff.

The fill-ins are superb as well. There's a particularly fine one by Millar to boot which reminds you when he's not going over the top or pampering to Hollywood what a fine writer he can be.

Ok its not as good as Animal Man or Zenith but still its great.

Also what struck me looking back on it, is that there are plot threads that he dropped in here which simmered away until cropping up in stories like Seven Soldiers.

Can't work out morrison out its like the marmite thing. I love animal man and its a shame that he isn't one of the greatest and most famous characters out there. Think about it he's millions of creatures/powers to chose from not just spiders;. But whilst morrison's run is superb and it you only have to keep reading the rest post-morrison to see what a struggle it was for some to follow in his wake. I wasn't overly keen on his personal appearance neither but you have to admire his confidence. I've got a ton load of his doom patrol run recently and i am starting them from kupperberg onwards, but hope it does'nt go the way of filth which is just too far gone and i lost interest in parts. i will read it again one day when in the mood and perhaps it wil make more sense. Overall he is one of the most famous comic names there is and to question his ability is also to question comics as a genre in some ways. Should they just be fun and entertaining or also make you think, even a bit too much on occasions.

Is it bad that Tesco are offering Morrison's "Batman: Black Glove" for 19p?

http://www.tesco.com/books/Product.aspx?R=9781845769628 (http://www.tesco.com/books/Product.aspx?R=9781845769628)

Quote from: worldshown on 17 August, 2009, 07:49:05 PM
Is it bad that Tesco are offering Morrison's "Batman: Black Glove" for 19p?

http://www.tesco.com/books/Product.aspx?R=9781845769628 (http://www.tesco.com/books/Product.aspx?R=9781845769628)

Ahh, but if you check the site closely, you'll see it's discounted from a RRP of 20p.
Which is just crazy money.

I wonder if he'd ever be willing to do his own version of Slaine. Maybe it would be about one of the Cyth Gods underlings who is forced to watch Slaine's every move on behalf of his master who develops an intense attraction for Slaine and the underling goes insane (inSlaine?) and tries to kill Slaine. It would also include a bunch of obscure Slaine characters from the 1950s.

Quote from: Dandontdare on 17 August, 2009, 09:42:47 PM

Quote from: worldshown on 17 August, 2009, 07:49:05 PM
Is it bad that Tesco are offering Morrison's "Batman: Black Glove" for 19p?

http://www.tesco.com/books/Product.aspx?R=9781845769628 (http://www.tesco.com/books/Product.aspx?R=9781845769628)

Ahh, but if you check the site closely, you'll see it's discounted from a RRP of 20p.
Which is just crazy money.

Its a pre-order and its been out for a while now hasn't it??? Will it ever come?

Interesting talk between Morrison and Clive Barker here. No 2000ad reference but interesting. Either video or transcript.

http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/2009/08/18/grant-morrison-clive-barker-mental-meltdown/ (http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/2009/08/18/grant-morrison-clive-barker-mental-meltdown/)

Well bugger me overrated or not Grant Morrison is 50th today. Not sure quite why that's surprising me as much as it does but it does.

Happy Birthday Mr Morrison.

Happy birthday Mr Morrison. 

His stuff usually fails to work for me more often than not (although when he's on form, he's very very good) but he's doing well for himself and lots of folks enjoy it so well done him.

I was surprised when I realised he'd be 50 this year. Happy Birthday to my favourite comic writer evar (note that I didn't say he was the "best" comic writer evar").

I'd say a lot of his work is overrated. I thought Final Crisis was rubbish and Batman RIP was beyond horrible. Just hated it. But then the all prose Batman one shot issue he did was amazing as was JLA Earth 2 and his X-Men run etc etc

My main problem with him is the Morrison groupies who remind me of the Emperors new clothes characters. He writes a page and they all come up with all this clever stuff in there, most of which Im convinced wasnt written. They are just so caught up in how clever and frigging "meta" he is that they see stuff that isnt there.
"Oh that man in the background has purple trousers... thats obviously an analogy to the Hulk and mans duality and inner demons cleverly juxtaposed against the main focus of the panel which is blah blah blah"

Plus he does fall into the category of writers, for me anyway, where when he is being clever it comes across as smug and deliberately complicated in a "look at how clever I am" kind of way. I personally find that really off-putting. You can be as clever as you like but your main focus has to be telling a good story. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesnt.

I don't bother with any of that Crisis stuff, but I do still buy most one-off things he writes and I can report that the first issue of Joe the Barbarian was pish. Nice art and may very well work as the start of a longer form work but, as an individual comic, completely lacking in almost every respect.

I really loved his Doom Patrol as a whole.  Crazy Jane was a great character and the ending was beautiful, to me at least.