So, I'm just about done reading the third Uncanny Xmen by Claremont omnibus. Which is the last one produced, but his run does admittedly carry well after that, so I certainly haven't come close to reading all of his old stuff. But that's still a big, hefty chunk of comics that frankly still hold up as solid classics. But it's kind of interesting to think that Claremont's totally still around, but after a number of failed attempts at series in the 2000s and on, he seems to have gone dormant and is apparently effectively being paid by Marvel not to write at this point (from what I remember of that thread, it's effectively that they don't want him doing work for competitors, but I guess due to his recent track record, they also don't really want anything from him.)
Additionally, his modern writing seems to be generally disliked, far as I can tell. Of that stuff, I've only really touched his bit on Exiles, and yeah... much as that book was already declining, he absolutely murdered it the rest of the way with some real crap.
So yeah, what exactly makes his modern work so poor, while his earlier stuff is so beloved? Is it simply the change in times making him "outdated," or are there other issues at play? Like, one thing I realized in thinking on this is that back in the day, he was almost entirely playing with his own toolbox, and was given ample time to do so. As in, pretty much his entire team was his own creations, as were a lot of the supporting cast and villains. Heck, far as I can tell, a lot of the stuff even linked to other works in his Uncanny X-men was stuff he worked on (like how Misty Knight becomes Jean's roommate, likely due to Claremont working on Iron Fist, or the way that Carol Danvers became so involved with the Xmen, after Claremont had a decent sized run on Ms Marvel). And one of his greatest strengths in writing during his Xmen (of what I've read) was that he was able to carefully weave together plot threads, with a ton of elements always being developed over time in the background. So yeah, it seems of at least some note to me that he was so heavily in control of his cast and developments, and largely didn't need to worry about what was developed by other writers. Which is at least part of the problem with his Exiles: it just fits horribly with the comics that come before his issues.
Of course I have very limited exposure with him in the past 2 decades, and I admittedly haven't read a good chunk of his old stuff, so I'm far from the best person to be analyzing this. But I'm sure we have people on here who are plenty knowledgable, so does anyone have some insight into what exactly happened to so thoroughly change the reputation (and likely quality in general) of his comics over the course of these decades?
Additionally, his modern writing seems to be generally disliked, far as I can tell. Of that stuff, I've only really touched his bit on Exiles, and yeah... much as that book was already declining, he absolutely murdered it the rest of the way with some real crap.
So yeah, what exactly makes his modern work so poor, while his earlier stuff is so beloved? Is it simply the change in times making him "outdated," or are there other issues at play? Like, one thing I realized in thinking on this is that back in the day, he was almost entirely playing with his own toolbox, and was given ample time to do so. As in, pretty much his entire team was his own creations, as were a lot of the supporting cast and villains. Heck, far as I can tell, a lot of the stuff even linked to other works in his Uncanny X-men was stuff he worked on (like how Misty Knight becomes Jean's roommate, likely due to Claremont working on Iron Fist, or the way that Carol Danvers became so involved with the Xmen, after Claremont had a decent sized run on Ms Marvel). And one of his greatest strengths in writing during his Xmen (of what I've read) was that he was able to carefully weave together plot threads, with a ton of elements always being developed over time in the background. So yeah, it seems of at least some note to me that he was so heavily in control of his cast and developments, and largely didn't need to worry about what was developed by other writers. Which is at least part of the problem with his Exiles: it just fits horribly with the comics that come before his issues.
Of course I have very limited exposure with him in the past 2 decades, and I admittedly haven't read a good chunk of his old stuff, so I'm far from the best person to be analyzing this. But I'm sure we have people on here who are plenty knowledgable, so does anyone have some insight into what exactly happened to so thoroughly change the reputation (and likely quality in general) of his comics over the course of these decades?
