And I wanted to do the same for some other comic book writers.
Today, our man is....
Daniel Way.
Good, bad...
Daniel Way's sort of a mixed bag for me.
I've got mixed opinions about the guy.
On one hand he has lots of great ideas, can pick your interest easily and glue you to a book like a good mystery drama show would.
On the other one, he's got problems keeping up the pace, the flame dies after a while...and he's also able to throw at you some not-so-good ideas... (to not say
Who am I to judge!
Huh...a reader, therefore a "client" from a marketing point of view.
Anyway, this is my own opinion, you're free to disagree.
When Daniel Way starter aruond the 2000s, he's a relatively young writer, he surprised many with his indie comic Violent Lifestyle.
There was this new writer who could write a very interesting pitch, interest the reader in a new direction and use action, violence and humour in a single pack.
So it wasn't a surprise a big company quickly brought in Way under its wing.
Way joined Marvel Comics where he wrote several small story arcs for various titles.
His more famous one, that made his reputation as a solid writer you can give a franchise to was Spider-Man's Tangled Web (only issues 16 & 17).
His trademark was playing with those themes (violence and dark humour) and playing with the story at its best.
Playing with Spidey's motivations, or any of the other characters he wrote. And also pitching very fun original stories. His writing is the kind that grabs you in the story, intrigues and has you turn page after page until the last one, a cliffhanger, leaving you wanting for more.
He's a pro.
He also wrote various mini-series.
Some of my favorites, to quote a few, were the Punisher/Bullseye crossover or Bullseye Greatest Hits. He really gets a character like Bullsy, clever, dangerous, fun and sort of psycho. Perfect for his writing.
(I'd like to see him writing more Punisher by the way)
Then he also wrote some great pitches, some story openings.
For exemple The Incredible Hulk issues #88-93. Collected now as Prelude to Planet Hulk.
If only I knew it was gonna show some elements I would hate later on....
You see, with the way he writes "very interesting pitch, interest the reader in a new direction" as I wrote above, he can create fantastic new storylines. Original fresh directions for long running on-going characters.
It was perfect for Hulk, then Greg Pak picked it up and took it under his direction for his own story called Planet Hulk.
Then he brought the Ghost Rider.
A great character, one of my all time favorite Marvels.
Johnny Blaze had been replaced (by Danny Ketch in the 80s/90s), gone to very extreme dark routes (in a Marvel Knight mini series by Devin Grayson in the early 2000s), and ended up in hell (in Garth Ennis's Ghost Rider: The Road to Damnation).
Daniel Way was able to bring back the Ghost Rider to its former glory (surfing on Nicolas Cage's movie), create a sort of on-going self-contained stories with a road movie-like setting.
Blaze was after 666 pieces of Lucifer himself, who broke off hell as well and each took form of different demons across the world.
The pitch was fun, promised a long series and was a unique move for the Ghost Rider. Nobody really set a goal for Johnny Blaze (apart originally, trying to escape from his pact with Satan).
The issues went by, the story was fantastic, fun and dark.
Then angels started to appear.
No big deal! There's demons, I can take in angels as well, plus they weren't portrayed as "good" as you'd imagine them to be.
Then, this:
Dun duun duuuun~
Going in a totally unexpected way, which I usually like but not here, Daniel Way started throwing contradicting elements. Like this...this thing above.
Johnny Blaze was supposed to be an angel!!! It all ties in together, don't you see?? He's always supposed to be special, even when his cousin Danny Ketch became the Ghost Rider. Because he was an angel!!! See?? 1!1!!!1!!LoL!XD!PAWN
...hum..
*Cough...*
The story went in what I'd like to call the Fanfic Zone.
Argh...Then he simply left the book, another great writer I like came on the book, tried to fix as many loose ends as he could and resurrect the title under a better direction, bringing in old classic enemies, Danny Ketch, forgetting about the angel-part yet ending that storyline in an epic war, etc..
That guy is called Jason Aaron, the new cooler original fun, fresh writer at Marvel who seems to have to pass everytime Daniel Way messes everything..but that will be the subject of another post...
Later, after a fantastic origin story for Wolverine by Joe Quesada and co., Way launched a new on-going series for Logan called Wolverine Origins.
This series was built upon a fantastic premise.
It would reveal bits of Logan's past in an original way, without simply telling past events but living new stories and showing little by little many details about his background, the wars he lived through, the loves he had...
The story was, one more time, fun, fresh and originally!
It quickly grabbed me in and interested me in buying more Wolverine books, thing I hadn't done for so many years!
Quickly he introduced a new plot device, there was a blade that could definitively kill Wolverine, and new characters. Like Daken, Wolverine's son. Yes, he had a son who was on the path to become his worst enemy!!
Many past figures reappeard slowly, Sabretooth, Omega Red...
Then as soon as Deadpool, who hadn't been on a book since the Cable & Deadpool series, guest starred in a story arc...the series jumped the shark.
Deadpool was goofy, stupid... was he still a merc? Didn't he try to become a hero in his last appearances? (Daniel Way probably didn't care about that character's past anyway) He had a funny pool-o-vision, double narration boxes...
Anyway, after that things went downhill...
Then, this:
Dun duun duuuun~
What the heck is that??!
A fancharacter made it into the actual book??
That's right, it's the -sing with me kids!!- the Fanfic Zone!! Nanana~na!
Wolverine discovered the truth about his past..he wasn't a mutant like he thought so many years.. but a LUPINE!!!
It seems he was more like a mutant wolverine, an animal species that evolved in parallel to human race. (Way really recycled a rejected origin story from the 70s, which was really rejected for a reason back then). He, Daken and Sabretooth all were being controlled all those hundred+ years by an other older Lupine called Romulus (the above fancharacter). Romulus had been controlling their whole lives and directing them one against the other for a sole purpose...preparing them to replace him!!! DUN DUUN DUUUN~
I know, I know...it doesn't make much sense..
Plus it's implying, though not saying it really, that Omega Red and Cyber are also Lupines (since they're also in line to replace Romulus, nothing denies they aren't Lupines either)
So like Johnny Blaze's angel retcon, Logan was retconned as "not a mutant"...was it really necessary??
It was no surprise that his book was cancelled shortly after that...
But fear not, cause not far from there, Daniel Way already started working on a new on-going series!
After his guest appearance, Daniel Way was given a new on-going series for the Merc-with-a-mouth Deadpool!
But it's nothing like past Deadpool stories by Fabian Nicieza, Joe Kelly, Palmiotti, gail Simone/Udon...
It's more like the hillbilly retarded cousin of the former 'Pool. Deadpool is still funny sometimes here and there! (the pirate special issue was great!)
But Daniel Way tries to much...
Ties in with other comics/events, guest appearances every issue...
He doesn't get Deadpool's personality right... He couldn't handle a fight against T-Ray or Wolverine now...
He's always goofing around... We know Deadpool can break the 4th wall, don't turn this into his gimmick, he's no the Ambush Bug!
Anyway, I sort of liked it at first...but then the bad ideas started to appear everywhere...
The Deadpool Corps may not be written by Way, but it's based on his current premises and using his ideas.
A Deadpool-dog, a Deadpool-kid (there already was a dwarf-like clone! use that parody of clones instead of making a new similar character!!), a Deadpool-military, a Deadpool "head with a mouth", a Deadpool-with-boobs and many more!!
I miss Deadpool's original own Corps; Weasel, Bob, Blind Al, Agent X, etc..
Anyway, that's Daniel Way for you.
In short,
he's got plenty of ideas, can write very fun witty violent books and gets some dark characters. Also, his original pitches are quite unique (666 pieces of satan, Wolverin's son..)
BUT
In the long term, he'll find a way to screw up his own stories.
He's better on short/mini-series. Or Preludes/first arcs.
Then he'll start throwing fanfic at you.
Also he's trying really hard to make Deadpool survive this time, unlike his previous books. Even if he's taking the character in strange directions and drowning the market under tidal waves o' Deadpool.
If you want to read Deadpool now, that isn't under his direction try the mini-series Suicide Kings or the sidebook Merc With a Mouth.
