Raja's Blog

This morning I reread E Is for Extinction, the trade paperback collecting the first 4 (gosh, is it only four?) issues of (writer) Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men (or New X-meN to follow the logo ;-). I didn't quite enjoy it as much as the first time I read it; at the time, I found it a comfort while recuperating from some surgery. But now, while the art is still incredible, that's sort of expected in “Big Two” comics these days. (All praise computer coloring and lettering ;-). What's still brilliant, though, is the Morrison Manifesto, dated 20 October 2000, that Morrison sent to the Marvel editors, arguing for a more modern and streamlined take on the characters, (in some ways) following the lead of Bryan Singer's X-Men movie. Morrison is writing directly for me: Though I'm a long-time comics reader, I was never that interested in the goofy costumes, hundreds of characters, and convoluted continuity older than me that I associate with the X-Men comics; so streamlining that was a bold move, and I think the right move.