In Praise of Winick

I come here tonight to sing the praises of one Judd Winick.

Now I know this is probably not going to be a particularly popular thing to say. Judd Winick is a heated topic among comic fans. Apparently you either love him or you hate him. Unless, of course, I'm thinking of the mysterious "Judd Winnick" that I keep hearing about...

Seriously, though... Justice League: Generation Lost is a really fun book. I don't know about the other people reading it, but I find it consistently entertaining. What's more, I find that I look forward to it even more than I do Brightest Day. I think that's saying something.

Now it's true that Generation Lost has brought back the villainous Max Lord. I know that a great many people don't like that turn for the character. I can understand that; I still have some trouble seeing it myself. But at the very least Judd Winick seems to be making the best of it (through liberal use of retcons).

Speaking of retcons, you know what else is great? Power Girl. While it's true that nobody can replace the style of Palmiotti, Gray, and Conner, Judd Winick and Sami Basri have managed to make their version of Power Girl work in their own way. It's just flat out fun super-heroics.

Now, I'm sure I haven't convinced anyone one way or another. If you already liked Judd Winick then you probably agree with what I've said. And if you don't like him then nothing I say is going to change your mind. I just thought I'd share the why and how of the fact that I really dig what he's doing right now.

And to remind everyone that it's spelled "Winick."

Just The One

It has been over four years since I first begged the comics world to stop spelling Judd Winick's name wrong. It doesn't seem to have helped.

Just today over at CBR they have once again spelled Judd Winick's name "Winnick." It is well known among those who know well my idiosyncrasies that this drives me up the wall for no good reason.

Now, I expect this from ill-informed message board commenters. They are the most likely to spell his name wrong, after all. But I do not expect a site like Comic Book Resources -- which regularly has cause to actually interview Mr. Winick -- to make such mistakes.

This is my last warning, people. Get it right. There is only one "N" in Winick. Just the one. There has only ever been one.

The Future is the Past

Well well well... Look who's coming back to Batman. It's funny, because I was just rereading Winick's earlier run on Batman (as a means of refreshing myself on the most recent Black Mask appearances). While I was reading them I was thinking:

"Damn, Winick writes a good Batman story. I wish he'd come back and write some more."

And lo, it did occur. Really, with the exception of his pre-"War Games" arc Judd Winick's Batman fired on all cylinders from beginning to end. Snappy dialogue, brilliant fight scenes (though a lot of that was Doug Mahnke), and a fantastic take on Jason Todd. Really, Winick is the only one who's been able to write a decent Jason since he came back from the dead.

Might that be telling us something? Judd Winick's the go-to guy for Jason Todd, after all. Maybe we'll be seeing him under the cowl. I figured Jason was a big long shot, but now... Who knows?

Oh, and for the record: I've never been one of those people who hates Judd Winick's work. In fact, you could probably put me in the "Judd Winick Fan" category (if there is such a category). Despite the wailing I always hear on the Internet, the man must be doing something right. Otherwise he wouldn't still be writing comics.

And one more thing... I really hope Black Mask is coming back. Because Winick's Black Mask was the best. Period.

Ignore This Rant

So information about Titans East was released at Baltimore Comic-Con. Apparently the team is going to consist of Nightwing, Cyborg, Donna Troy, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy. In other words, the non-teens that I thought I'd finally gotten rid of.

I didn't read the Wolfman/Perez Titans. I have no interest in reading it. I don't find most of those characters particularly interesting on their own. Why would I want to see them all together?

To tell you the truth, I'd considered Titans East. Especially after seeing the cover to the one shot. Some people were turned off by the appearance of Power Boy, but I was turned on by the appearance of Vulcan. And to a lesser extent, Lagoon Boy.

I'm a rarity in this stretch of the universe: I tend to like the stuff that Judd Winick does. And to me, a team of misfits and weirdos like that seems like a perfect fit for him. He could do some interesting things with it. Plus, Vulcan.

But instead we get another attempt at bringing those same old tired Titans back into a team book together. What exactly are they going to do? Fight Deathstroke again? Fight Brother Blood again? Fight Trigon again and again and again?

I like to see new characters mixing with old characters. Sometimes I like just new characters. And yes, I do sometimes enjoy just old characters. But the funny thing about the line-up for this team is that even though there are characters decades older, they all seem awfully dated to me.

I'm just not sure they've got what it takes.

I Am Easily Pleased

The above statement is a statement of fact. I am ridiculously easy to please. Give me a comic book that doesn't say "Marvel" on the front and I'll probably like it. Hell, chances are I'll love it.

Case in point: Judd Winick. I know that a lot of people don't like Judd Winick's work. A lot of people actively despise what he does. That's cool and all. I respect that. But me, I've pretty much enjoyed everything he's done. There hasn't been a lot that's bothered me.

Take the last issue of the Outsiders/Checkmate crossover. I was talking with Kalinara and she was positively livid about certain scenes in that book. And in retrospect, I believe that she was right to feel that way.

But at the time it didn't register with me. I enjoyed the issue, thought it was a good romp, and that was that. So either I'm dense, thick, insensitive, or simply very easy to please.

I sure hope it's the latter...