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If you want to know why Aztek, The Ultimate Man (all ten issues!) are Comics You Should Own, go read about it here. Such a neat comic. So sad it died so quickly.
posted by Greg at 10/04/2005 12:52:00 PM
7 Comments:
Aztek ruled!
Then again, it should not come as a surprise, as it was written by Grant Morrison...hehe.
Good piece, Greg!
You know what's sad? I remember passing this up as a youngster just because I thought his helmet made him look like a douchebag.
Wish I got it.
Ah, the vagaries of youth, T. If you can find them, buy them. They're good. I'd actually be interested in your take on them, as I think they do such a good job of balancing a "realistic" take on superheroes without falling into cynicism and still making Aztek heroic. It's right up your alley!
I sort of disagree the theory that the fanbase rejected this title. I searched everywhere for this comic when it was released and was unable to find a single fucking copy. Same with Alan Moore's SUPREME run. Same with FLEX MENTALLO. Even now, where I live the only comic store within five hundred miles has decided not to carry any of the SEVEN SOLDIERS books because Grant Morrison is "too weird", so I am shit out of luck. Having a better distribution system outside of specialty shops might've saved this series and more besides.
Unknown character + poor orders + "weird" tone - superstar creators (at the time) = cancellation. See also: Vext.
Judging by his current work, I bet that Superman scene came from Millar. I dug the last pages of issue 10, where the JLA starts their initiation ceremony with the Crimson Avenger's costume. Too bad Aztek didn't get to do much in "Rock of Ages."
Thanks for the memories, Greg!
Not sure if it's true, but I heard this a ways back...
Apparently, once the series hit the point where Aztek accomplished his mission of preventing the Shadow God, in the next issue he was going to be hit by a bus and die. Seems like a sick punchline, but not one that's out of place with your take on the book.
Naturally, this could all be bull, but hey, who doesn't enjoy a rumor?
It died quickly because, frankly, there was nothing to hook its potential readership and let them know this was something which might interest them. I would never have seen it myself had it not been for my curiosity about anything Grant does. The interior art was inappropriate for the concept, while the character name and design don't give any clue to the direction the book had in mind. Something has to entice you to READ a book before you can appreicate the quality of the writing!
"In this regard, its failure means that the complaints we read across the Internet about how people want Silver Age-superheroics are bogus. We don't want Silver-Age superheroics, because when we get them, we don't buy them."
Nah...it means that if creators want to do something that isn't cookie-cutter, they have to find some way of announcing it to the public so we know we should have a look.
Mind you, I'm still puzzling over the whole Jack Staff dilemma, where it seems to me the creator is doing everything "right" by my definition...
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