Oh Bendis, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

Anyone who has read a bit of my work here knows I tend to slag on Marvel. My dislike has little to do with their product and everything to do with the manner they hawk it (going beyond hucksterism and into direct lies, recently).

But through the work of the wonderful John Siuntres Word Balloon work with Brian Bendis, I started to soften my stance on Marvel. The reverence he has for Quesada helps reinforce that, whatever outlandish lengths they go to in their efforts to sell books, their heart is always in the right place.

Then there was the thread on the Bendis Boards (covered by Rich Johnston at the link) where he seemed to overreact to hype from Grant Morrison that attempted to dissuade readers from checking out Secret Invasion, as it was all "been there, done that" type material. The thread was started by a pro-Marvel/anti-DC troll (pictured at right with Bendis) and humored by the comic book creator with a response.

guys calm down. he shit talked. so what? i thought it was a little beneath him too, but, hey, its comics. he's having a row, as they say.

same shit gail does all the time. they must teach a class in it over there.

and although i pulled a hammy holding in the jokes goofing on that picture, i say let it ride.

knowing what everyone in the industry knows about what's going on with 'his' book behind the scenes, even jokingly, he really should keep his yap el shutto.

Adding later:

in 2012 when final crisis is done, we'll see what's what.

Gail Simone called him on it, somewhat cordially. She couldn't understand why he was being so sensitive and attempted to defuse it all by assuring Bendis how everyone in the industry knows he didn't become a top talent in the industry by being a hack. Simone repeated this sentiment often, expressing how the fans were going to be the winners this summer because there are two great events to be interested in.

There was a large lull in responses from anyone of note, just a lot of useless back and forth by message board posters. The originator of the thread found himself in the barrel, having jokes made at his expense regarding how he has often carried himself on those boards. I went away for the afternoon to hit the gym and, when I came back, the thread was gone. Thankfully, Rich Johnston (and his sources) were not away at the gym for the end.

Below is an account of some of the stuff he typed, according to Rich's column. I don't know if it was all in one post or spread out over many responses, so I'm reprinting it as it was found:

"holy fuck!! this is the dumbest thread full of stupid on the entire internet!!! and that is saying something.

"you see the fucking smiley faces on my original posts?? it means i'm goofing around!!! like grant seemingly was!!

"see how i have no smiley faces here?? means i'm not!!

"who gives a fucking shit about any of this!! what does it have to do with comics or storytelling or art or fun!!

"gail, go outside, you're losing your mind!! you're on here 24/7 taking shots. i mention you once and we get a lecture. you ARE dave sim. so get some air!!!

"comics are fun!! they are art!! none of this thread is.

"go read the killer. its fucking fantastic.

"and if you were el douchy enough to cut and paste my other posts, minus smileys, on other boards, to see if you can start shit or something.... time to do some soul searching, i would think."

Now, there's really no "joking" way to say "knowing what everyone in the industry knows about what's going on with 'his' book behind the scenes". Smiley face or not, it isn't a good-spirited statement of any kind. Which is what throws everything he originally said into a different light and, while I like to believe he knows what he meant better than anyone, makes it doubtful that he is being truthful about how he meant his initial statements.

Gail comes back and has a brief statement that, while not filled with bile and venom, isn't meant to be building any bridges to peace, either.

"Yikes. The Bendis over-reaction train keeps a'rollin' on!

""Taking shots 24/7?"

"Have you gone nuts?

"Yikes."

Then the thread goes bye-bye. Bendis made some sort of post where he thanked people for reporting posts in the thread and that it had become all "lord of the flies in there", which would seem to be his reason for nuking (rather than just locking?) the thread.

There's a temptation during our less than stellar moments to find some way to erase them if there is any way possible. The internet/information age makes that even harder to do than it might have previously been. You're better off just trying to forget it happened than trying to make it disappear. It only gets worse.