Aaron's initial run and final run on Thor was great. Very mysterious, adventurous through space. I like that kind of storytelling. I jumped off after the initial run till the final one. Dragged on too long and got weird.
I liked the beginning with the three concurrent storylines and all that, but by the point of NuThor and Unworthy and all that he was showing his cracks and faults. I don't care much for him as a writer in general.
Ennis' run on Punisher is the run, but definitely had some weird art that doesn't fit my Punisher and other weird stuff. The Barracuda story was terrible. My mind's eye always has a better view on these characters, a more comprehensive take on the character that doesn't go off into obscure everyday stories that are a borefest.
I liked it back in the day, but now I can't say I love it. It's the best thing Ennis has written, alngside Fury: My War Gone By, but I've grown to really dislike his style, ideas, everything.
The best Strange story everyone suggests is The Oath, but I wasn't impressed by it. I like some of Kirby's art from back in the day, just otherworldly and....strange.
Clearly, those panels inspired the end of DS1. Strange just never had any ongoing series that went for awhile and never had a jumping in point for me till Aaron, and it was obviously disappointing. I always enjoyed team ups with him, like how he was featured in Bendis' New Avengers. Very cool.
The Oath is alright, but it's not what Strange really is. I prefer it when he goes full-on 2001 instead of battling vampires or whatever, but I don't mind those stories either; they're just too cliche. I never liked him in Avengers teams, he was fine in the Defenders. I didn't like the Bendis Avengers era in general, but maybe that's because I wasn't an Avengers fan, as I loved Dark Reign. I still like his Ultimate Spider-Man though, maybe it's nostalgia. And I'll say this, despite an awful, terrible Iron Man run, his Infamous Iron Man staring Doom was actually pretty great. He wrote a very good Post-Clarity Doom and I was sad when it was undone.
I can only go down the occult route so far to where it is more disturbing/out of place odd than entertaining. Has to be done right for me. I would like to see a Defenders take on the MCU. Can get Strange, Ghost Rider, Hulk and Surfer together. Maybe even a Blade/Punisher/Daredevil/Moon Knight combination down the road.
I'm mostly the same. Horror isn't my favourite genre, and I tend to gravitate towards the Gothic look. So Slashers do absolutely nothing for me. If we broaden the genre I can go for some space/cosmic horror or something related to "mad science" with experiments and whatnot. But I do want it to be more disturbing than just throwing monsters at you and overflowing with bloog and gore. I prefer that in action games or something. As far as all those edgy Marvel supernatural guys go, I used to love them once upon a time. Now, I don't know. I don't know if I care enough to buy the figures and I don't know if I like that kind of stories anymore. Horror to me is about atmosphere, and when it's a bunch of people in leather walking around NY and blasting ghosts it gets too silly and drab. I liked them mostly due to nostalgia for that era, but as that wanes I find myself debating whether I really need to plan for a 500 euro Ghost Rider. But considering that Todd will never make a good 1/6th Spawn, and I'll already surely buy a Punisher & Moon Knight, I might get tempted.
Honestly, I don't know what I really "like" anymore. I'm tired of most fiction as the same beats keep repeating. I just pick one or two things from most genres, the ones I've invested the most time/money in, and run with it. I have to be in the right mood to enjoy a piece of genre fiction, which is why I follow very few things nowadays. And it's why I'm so particular about building the perfect collection. I only want to own the things I'll like forever, not passing fads and phases. Most of my cape-wants are centered around liking the concept, not the execution so much. I've found that my tastes tend to run towards Space Operas and generally franchises with a distinct and particular look instead of drab monotony. Tron is minimalistic, but it has an undeniable aesthetic, whereas Star Trek I see as 50s Space Age banality. And character wise I favour the mad scientists, the conquerors full of hubris, and so on. I can do something like Corto Maltese, but that's more because he's a Seaman. So characters like Mercs, Assassins and whatnot, tend to not be on my radar so much, unless they're someone like Big Boss who affect the global world with their mad plans. I suppose I like grander stories in fiction and more personal ones rooted in the real world. Or not. I don't know anymore, there's just too much ******* content and my taste is too all over the place.
