And then he has to combine that side of his writing with those crass flourishes that you mention, and they seem so much worse because he’s had those other moments as well. The thing that I have always found bothersome about Millar is that he tends to have something in his work that’s good, sometimes even very good. Have either of you read Cates’ God Country? While it’s the work of a young writer still finding his way, it’s very affecting and made me a Donny Cates fan.

there’s at least a 50% chance that CGR gets through to Baby Thanos somehow and influences his character in some way, even if he does get disemboweled for his trouble. it feels less that the gratuitous shock value is the point, and 2. In Cates’ or Aarons’ hands … well, that still might happen, but 1. In Millar’s hands, Baby Thanos riding on the handlebars of Cosmic Ghost Rider’s space bike leads to a scene where Baby Thanos eviscerates or disembowels Cosmic Ghost Rider. While not everything Cates has done has landed with me, especially his Marvel work, I get the sense that his ridiculous parts, like Jason Aaron’s, come from more of a “Wouldn’t this be FUN?” place and that in both cases the writers make sure not to have that over-the-top goofiness overshadow or hurt the story. Rather, they and not the story are the entire point, and if one or the other has to suffer, it’s gonna be the story rather than the shot of Old Man Logan cutting his way out of a Hulk’s belly.

You can feel him patting himself on the back for giving a certain subset of readers what he thinks they want: “A whole family of cannibal redneck Hulks! They’re gonna go NUTS for this!” There’s no sense that his ridiculous/gory/over-the-top flourishes grow out of the story itself. Millar’s ridiculousness (to use your apt phrase) IS pandering, but I think it’s less desperate than it is deeply cynical. I think you’re doing Cates a disservice, or reading his intention differently than I am. Re: Jeff’s comparison of Donny Cates to Mark Millar, which made me want to throw myself from the roof of the Daily Bugle:

Lil wayne no worries mp3 hulk