I'm not nearly as big a fan of John Byrne as I used to be, but I'm not so far-gone that I'd want to pass on his return to his creator-owned supehero/sci-fi mind-bender
Next Men. Before the Wachowski's even thought of bringing Mr. Anderson out of the Matrix, Byrne was blowing my mind with Next Men, which follows a team of super-powered teenagers who awake in a lab and discover the world they grew up in was a computer-generated dream world.
The superstar artist behind my love for the
X-men, Fantastic Four, and
Alpha Flight left the majors behind to write and draw
Next Men and lured me for the first time into the wild, anything- can- happen world indie comics. Now after a looooong hiatus, Byrne and his creator-owned super-team have reappeared at IDW with a brand new #1 issue.Wanna see a preview?
Here's the Sales Pitch:
A NEW CHAPTER begins in the lives of the survivors of Project Next Men. New friends, new foes, and a tale that literally twists time itself out of joint. They said it would never happen, but it has! John Byrne has returned to his classic creation! This is where it STARTS, this is where you want to BE!
Yeah, don't feel bad if you're confused... that's part of the fun! Having said that, you may want to read
Next Men Premiere Edition Volume 1 if you're new to the series. Or dive into the deep end and cop the new
John Byrne's Next Men issue, which is in stores right now! In case it matters to you, I highly recommend it!
Byrne's old stuff was better.
ReplyDeleteThe art here is rushed and the backgrounds are sparse.
His writing is worse than ever - half the issue is a boring recap!
I Byrne-stole my copy - sat it right back on the shelf where it belogned.
Byrne is a bitter old man who should retire
Rod
People were more-or-less saying the same thing when I first read Next Men back in the day... but I liked it.
ReplyDeleteHis best work was in the eighties for sure.
hmmmmm..."anonymous" is obviously a coward. Byrne has evolved as a storyteller and is not as concerned with the splashy art that many people seem to crave. After over a decade hiatus from the title it is more than understandable for a recap for those who were not yet born, to understand a very complex storyline. Fortunately he hasn't listened to the haters and continues to amaze and thrill those who have grown with him...:) IMHO
ReplyDeleteI think it's harsh and unnecessary to call someone a coward, but other than that, I totally hear where you're coming from.
ReplyDeleteByrne "stopped trying to be Neal Adams" (his words, not mine) a long time ago. When I first picked up Next Men back in the day (my first issue was the Hellboy issue... I became an instant fan of the series), I was discouraged by most of the same criticisms that he receives today.
Superhero comics come with a lot of expectations already, and I'm sure that having achieved superstar status at Marvel and DC only intensifies them.
In my opinion, Byrne's art is not what it once was, and his stuff is no longer appropriate for top-tier mainstream books (his most-recent JLA run was atrocious), BUT I'll gladly check for him on creator-owned stuff, especially if it's imaginative and fun, like Next Men.