In Which We Get All Sassy About Mark Millar

 

 

Yesterday, Laura Hudson ran across an article about Mark Millar that made a few points that were… well, somewhat sketchy, so today, she enlisted me and Caleb Goellner to do what we do best: make fun of it thorugh the time-honored medium of Hackers references.

I don’t know how you guys run your lives, but any day that I get to reference the finest cinematic triumph in the history of hacking the planet, it’s been a good day.

11 thoughts on “In Which We Get All Sassy About Mark Millar

  1. “LH: If Millarworld were an amusement park, what would it be like?”

    Why, South of the Border, of course. [Insert image of Chris and his fried ice cream here]

  2. I can’t tell you how excited I am to learn what magical textile device guides Kick Ass’s actions! I’m hoping for a Spinning Jenny!

  3. Never been a super-hero-comic set in the real-world? What about Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe?

  4. Firstly, I think they meant a bestselling comic book writer not the bestselling writer. In the same way that Stephen King is a bestselling author of novels but so are lots of others.

    And although you may disagree, I do feel that movies made it more acceptable to like superheroes. And, it seems, a lot of the mainstream media believe this too. You certainly get far, far more people feeling that it is acceptable to see an Iron Man movie than you do who feel it is okay to read an Iron Man comic book.

    Still, “I’ve lived in reality my entire life, and I’ve never disemboweled anyone with a katana or beaten people to death with my bare hands. Am I doing it wrong?”

    Genius!

  5. I think they meant a bestselling comic book writer not the bestselling writer.

    That certainly would make the story more accurate, but it isn’t how I tend to parse the phrase “Britain’s bestselling comic-book writer”. Perhaps it’s a British-ism, but I would think if the writer meant what you said he would have said “one of Britain’s bestselling comic-book writers”.

    And although you may disagree, I do feel that movies made it more acceptable to like superheroes.

    The part I find funny is that stories like the one being mocked here have been written for a long time in exactly the same way. At least since 1989, when the first Tim Burton “Batman” movie suddenly made it acceptable for grown-ups to like superheroes. I was young at the time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone turned up a story from 1978 where the writer discusses how Richard Donner’s new “Superman” movie makes it acceptable for grown-ups to like superheroes. You can only read the same set of copy so many times before it makes you roll your eyes and wonder where the guy writing it has been for the last few decades (and if it really has ever been that unacceptable for grown-ups to like superheroes, or if it’s now just a cliche that isn’t true but journalists keep bringing it up to fill copy).

    I gotta say – if Mark Millar both believes that there’s never been a [superhero] comic set in the real world AND that his “Kick-Ass” is set in the real world, he may need an intervention. (FWIW I don’t think Mark Millar actually believes a third of what comes out of his mouth – I think he’s a really good huckster and knows how to cater his words for a particular audience. Stan Lee has always been good at that too. Millar is a good salesman – a better salesman than he is writer these days, but that’s to be expected I guess.)

  6. “but any day that I get to reference the finest cinematic triumph in the history of hacking the planet, it’s been a good day.”

    An article composed entirely of War Games references? SOLD.

  7. So, when the Adventures of Solomon Stone is turned into a comedy with Jonah Hill as a schlubby loser who plays world of warcraft and smokes pot on a wild adventure trying to get into bed with hot chicks… you will be psyched, right Mr. Sims?

  8. What world do people live in where it’s unnacceptable for adults to like superheroes or read comics? I mean,people on the internet often act like you get harrassed or laughed at if you’re an adult who likes comics,and I can’t really think of a time where that’s happened to me. Am I just surrounding myself with the right people or something?

    Come to think of it,I know several adults who like comics,and no kids who do. I really doubt they even make them with kids in mind,since most comics are cover-to-cover violence and tna.

  9. @Jer: To use an example, someone like Dean Koontz is often referred to as “the bestselling author” but I don’t think that means he sells more than other thriller/horror writers. It just means he’s the author of a bestselling novel (one that has topped a chart). Same goes for Millar – he’s a bestselling comic book writer. Though I agree they could have phrased it better.

    @Kid Nicky: I don’t think it’s unacceptable for adults to read superhero comic books – just that films have made superheroes more acceptable to the non-comic book reading public. Most people I know (not my immediate friends) snigger at the idea of reading superhero comics or watching superhero cartoons/animations. But, for some reason, movies are okay.

    And I don’t think cover-to-cover violence and TnA put off most teenagers. In fact, for some, they’re probably the reason they get ’em (and why that sort of stuff often puts me off). I think that sort of things is put into comic books to bring in the teens, unfortunately.

  10. I think that sort of things is put into comic books to bring in the teens, unfortunately.

    Seriously?

    I always figured that the cover-to-cover TnA and violence that both seem to get more and more gratuitous year after year was to hang onto the aging, getting-more-jaded-every-day fanbase that they’ve already got. I’ve thought for a while that they gave up on attracting new younger readers a couple of decades back and are mostly concerned with dragging out as much money as they can from the fans they already have for as long as they can. Any new readership they get seems to be considered a bonus.

    If the books they’re writing now are meant to attract teenagers, the downward trend of the sales figures for the last few decades means someone is doing something majorly wrong, and they probably need to seriously rethink things.