Well now. House of M, according to somebody--probably Rich Johnston--is really nothing but a quickie response to DC’s Infinite Crisis mega-crossover. What’s the difference? Well, I read House of M. It’s a weird time to try and find good mainstream comic books to read and it shouldn’t be. “Entertainment Weekly” covers comic books fairly regularly now. They cover some indie stuff (they just gave Black Hole a B+ and Infinite Crisis an A-), but there’s a no-Marvel sentiment--probably because Time Warner owns both “Entertainment Weekly” and DC Comics. But those reviews aren’t really for people who read comic books or would even read good comic books (DC puts out good books, but “EW” covers either the biggest or the most movie-friendly). The online community, as I’ve experienced it, seems to support DC right now and eye Marvel rather suspiciously, even though Marvel sells more comic books. I’m not a Marvel person, I’m not a X-Men person. So, it’s a little odd for me to say House of M is great.
I mean, I love Bendis. Bendis is in the top three of the best comic book writers working right now (and it makes no sense, given how he’s always name-checking Robert McKee). House of M is a superhero achievement. It has effective, heartbreaking moments, and it never cheapens them. Numerous things happen in this comic book, the style changes from being a New Avengers issue to a Wolverine issue to something entirely different. Bendis got a lot of shit for his Avengers Disassembled, which was good in the mainstream sense. He had to suffer through negative reader reaction and Joe Casey making snide remarks. Well, House of M is much better, even though I think it took me less time to read it. I really don’t know that I spent more than 50 minutes on it. 50 minutes on 8 issues, which ran $3 a pop and I’m not pissed off. Because it’s rare I’m happy with such mainstream stuff (another example, though different, is actually Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man). Most mainstream stuff is mediocre or terrible shit. There are people out there--adults in respected graduate programs--who think Batman: The Long Halloween is really good and it’s not. It’s bad. It’s shit. That’s the problem with mainstream comic books, they’re expensive and they’re almost all awful. And it’s hard to talk to people, because most of them are dumb. That is one thing that bugs me a lot. Rarely here on The Stop Button (anymore) do I ramble incessantly about comic books with a level of familiarity that would a layperson. No, this thought is not the start of a cry for respect for the men-in-red-tights comic books. People who make fun of comic books read Harry Potter books and watch Armageddon. They think Peter Jackson is good. They take “Entertainment Weekly” seriously. They do not watch "Arrested Development." And they’re winning. The collective intelligence of the human species is dissipating. Perhaps--to tie in to House of M no less--the energy will become something useful. Like a race of super-monkeys who will enslave the humans--though probably intelligent enough to give them health care--and work on restoring the environment.
Anyway, as for Bendis. Bendis is now my Maria, I’m skipping along after this guy and singing Do Re Mi. I will blindly follow his writing efforts--though his recommendations are frighteningly poor....
...oh, an actual review or recommendation or something. Umm. If you like good comic books and you’re familiar enough with Marvel Comics to know who Spider-Man really wanted to be married to, read House of M. Otherwise, you won’t get it.