ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1/2

Getting picked up from Image brought that work to a new audience, especially after working on Todd McFarlane's Spawn and Sam And Twitch titles. Headhunted by Bill Jemas to co-write and script Ultimate Spider-Man, when Harras fell and Joe Quesada took residence at Bill Jemas' right hand, Bendis' work was looked on favourably. Ultimate Spider-Man was the first of the ongoing Marvel monthlies to get its recent work reprinted in hardback, with the 'DVD' treatment of springboards, scripts and insider details. Despite turning down Ultimate X-Men when he was approached to recreate that title, as he felt uncomfortable with the characters, he is to take over the book for an arc after Mark Millar leaves.

 

While having an occasionally abrasive temperament, Bendis is known in the industry for good times, big smiles and for being a self-deprecatory, approachable individual. Let's see, shall we?

RICHARD JOHNSTON: Brian, you are charged with polluting children's literature. Taking certain characters created and intended to tell stories to an all-ages audience, and specifically children, and writing stories featuring them to exclude the younger readers. You are in fact part of a modern decline in standards. Monsterman's parody of you writing Peanuts, while amusing, speared the point that in both Daredevil and Alias, you are doing the equivalent of Tijuana bibles, slash/fiction sponsored by the current copyright owners. Alias is the equivalent of a Miramax horror film that co-stars Winnie The Pooh. Daredevil is Winnie The Pooh: His Life In Crime. You have a moral duty to wither write these characters as they were intended, or create other titles/characters from new cloth, and tell their stories without featuring existing juvenile characters in any way. Defend yourself.

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS: Well, I think my work defends me fine. But Daredevil isn't Winnie The Pooh. And you damn well know it. From the first issue it was a pulp hero comic about paternal revenge.

There is no swearing or gratuitous violence in Daredevil or Spider-Man. In fact I could argue that there is less violence in my mainstream comics than any other titles. My violence is quick and painful. And if there is violence it is covered up by gratuitous word balloons :)

Alias is an adult book marketed and created for adults. If you are accusing me of not writing down to people, I take that very kindly. It's not my job to be dumb, it's my job to be interesting.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN TPB

The world is fifty times more sophisticated than it was twenty years ago and so is our audience. The books reflect our times, compare the Dick Van Dyke show and Friends, same plots, same jokes, right? But everything else about the tone and craft of it are different. We have to move forward, join us. RICHARD: I'm not accusing you of not writing down, merely not writing inclusively for a character which was created to appeal to all. BRIAN: I don't agree with this either, not everything is for everyone, in fact some of my most diehard readers don't read USM because they aren't into the character. But they do like Jessica Jones. That's also why there are different Spidey comics published every month, so fans can choose which type or types they want.

RICHARD: Do you see a difference between using Luke Cage or Captain America in Alias and, say, using Tigger, apart from the copyright issues?

BRIAN: I really don't. It's not like I used the characters without corporate permission, you act like I am involved in some anarchistic publishing coup. Marvel Comics published the book because they thought it was an interesting way to present the characters...TO ADULTS. It wasn't and never will be marketed towards children, my new born daughter will wait twenty years to find out what is wrong with her father :)

RICHARD: Would Tigger make for a fun sex toy?

BRIAN: If that's what Pooh Inc wanted to do. Marvel, like Disney, has branched out to their older audience by creating product for them.

You really are out on a limb on this one, it doesn't hold up. The warning label on Alias couldn't be larger. And frankly, a kid wouldn't be that interested in it. Batman has been in his fair share of Vertigo books long before I was allowed in the game.

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