Fury #6

[history79]

Comments

[thosefew]

Blood, War, and Poop Jokes: The Garth Ennis story.

[starwolf_oakley]

Is Garth Ennis doing "People have wars because that's what people do"? (From Star Trek.) Is he self-aware enough to do that?

[panelsarewindows]

I feel much of Ennis' work can be traced down to this principle. I mean his whole statement with Crossed was that the real horror was all within human capability. Ennis is strange to me, because he reveals and childishly indulges in this juvenile stuff, but I think he's a better writer than say Millar because he understands that this stuff is bag, even though he does it. He struggles with his own depictions. I'm not sure that EXCUSES some of the stuff he depicts, but it does make him more intelligent about it, and even capable of creating some genuinely great stories.

Sorry to bombarded you with that, I spend probably too much time thinking about Ennis.

[wizardru]

I think actually that's the most salient point, right there. Millar has no self-awareness of when he's crossed a line to where his juvenile tendencies harm his work. Ennis is vulgar, but he knows when he's doing it...and his characters are at least well formed. Most of Millar's characters are catchwords and snapshots. Many of Ennis characters are more caricatures than actual developed people, but he often has greater ideas bouncing around his work (and when he can restrain himself, his work is impressive).

Millar is much more about bombast; sometimes that's fun but other times it feels like he is incapable of seeing where the lines are or being able to restrain himself in the material.

[reveen]

I think Ennis's problem is that he simply doesn't have a lot of discipline as a writer. If wants to make a point or a vulgar joke or put in something fucked up then by god he'll do it no matter how ill advised or incongruent with what his work wants to do. This has only gotten worse over time as he gets hyped up by the comics industry, giving him the clout to do whatever the fuck he wants.

He's kind of an auteur in a way, but the problem with auteurs and auteur theory is that the tend to have trouble with stepping back and looking at their work as a product of consumption for the audience instead of their beautiful golden baby.

[palgrave_goldenrod]

Also, I think Ennis is a bit conflicted with regards to his uber-macho tough-guys-who-get-things-done favoured protagonists, which often comes through in his writing. He's not completely unwilling to critique them or show their rougher edges or darker sides, but there's always that edge of respect and admiration there, that sense that ultimately we need these guys on some level, that keeps him from fully sticking the boot in as hard as he could. Which can be particularly glaring given how viciously he's willing to stick it into his favourite targets.