I worry that criticism has become synonymous with “hating
and disliking” to the point that I often
read reviews of things and wonder if whoever wrote the pieces even likes movies
or video games or whatever is being reviewed to begin with. Many focus on the dozen things they don’t
like, while ignoring everything that does work.
Being an introspective and sensitive guy, I’m concerned I
might come off as self-entitled and jaded—taking for granted the bounty of
entertainment available to me because it doesn’t fit within a narrow category
that I’ve deemed acceptable. At the end
of the day I want people to like comics, and more importantly I want to like
them. All the issues I’ve read had some
merit, and I like to think that even though I am quite fond of the X-Men, I
hope I can still be fair, logical, and somewhat objective. And so I sit here typing, pondering if the
majority of reviews and criticisms today are spoiled people holding modern
creations to unobtainable standards or if they actually push artists and
creators to be better and more relevant.
Does this current climate automatically lead to toxic cynicism and
negativity for the sake of negativity, or does it in fact hold creators and
audiences to a higher standard of quality?
And where on the spectrum does my writing fall?
I can’t change my opinions, and really I don’t think that
my reviews up to this point have been that mean-spirited, but I can change the
way I rate issues. Letter grades are so
open to interpretation, and often carry negative associations, so I decided to try
creating a more accurate way of measuring the quality of an issue. I want to create a system that better
reflects my enthusiasm and appreciation as a fan, and hopefully makes the
issues more accessible. I’m not claiming
I’m the first one to come up with a system like this; this is just what I came
up with. So, without further ado, my new
rating system.
Everyone Should
Read: When I was an undergrad in college, I always had between one and
seven roommates, and I went to the comic store every Wednesday. Although none of my roommates read comics
habitually as I did, all were open to the medium as they were fans of the
various comic book based-movies and cartoons that have come out. The only problem was they didn’t know where
to start. And as comic fans, we should
all realize that it is our duty to pick out books that not only we like, but
that we can share with non-fans to keep our hobby alive. Long story short, I actually got some of them
to subscribe to a few titles at my local comic store thanks to the likes of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, Brian K. Vaughn’s Runaways, and Bendis’s New Avengers because of their quality
and universal appeal. Looking back on my
reviews, the one’s I’ve rated highest are, for the most part, the ones I’d most
likely share to grow appreciation for comics.
For X-Men Fans:
There are a lot of comics out there, each with their own audience and
appeal. The X-books are no different in
that respect. In my mind, being an X-Men
fan doesn’t mean having read every issue—it means having an appreciation for
the characters and the universe, and being able to put up with some flaws as
long as it leads to some great character moments. Or being able to put up with some lousy
character moments for some amazing events.
It means that you’re willing to overlook some minor problems for the big
picture, as long as it leads to something true to the themes and characters of
the X-Men. And this label is for books
you might appreciate that others might scoff at.
Completionists
Only: I place myself firmly in this
category. Even if you don’t own every
X-book out there… if you own a couple hundred issues, you’re probably in this
category. If you’ve ever found a story
dreadful, but continued to buy it every month, whether for the little moments
you might enjoy, or because you just needed to know how it ended, this is the
category for you. These are books that
may not be the favorites, or may’ve been ill-conceived, but still fit into the
texture of the X-Men one way or the other.
So there you have it, my new rating system. Was it necessary? I have no idea, but I figure it’s something
new. Plus I like how instead of
qualifying a book as good or bad, it instead breaks down the appeal the book
might have to different audiences. Some
might argue that this is just a different looking good to bad scale, and they’d
probably be right, but I promise my intentions are pure. So happy reading.
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