It's ok to use your life experience as part of your protagonist's experience. What Glenn meant was not to forget who your protagonist is. The protagonist should never be the writer.
Putting a writer in the characters shoes versus putting the character in the writers shoes are two completely different things. I agree. It should be a professional level of compromise. Find yourself in the character but, ultimately it has to make sense what the character decides to do. I would love to write for Wolverine. I would not write a story through Wolvie about being broke, hating waking up early and feeling unappreciated.
I'm still not a fan of Tom King. I want to read his personal story, I really do. I am tired of reading his impression of superheroes though. He's such a good writer and collaborator with artists, but an awful superhero storyteller.
Your points are valid, but obviously you can't expect a newcomer to start dishing out masterpieces left and right. Even Tom King had to start somewhere at some point. I don't see the point of sharing your indie book review with us in this context, because that person obviously is at the start of their "career" and it's going to be a long learning road for them. I don't know what it will take to get Big2 fans to finally realize that Marvel and DC are just doing IP management at this point, not creative work, and should stop expecting the latter.
Both of you have good points. Glenn doesn’t want each writer that comes along changing who Steve Rogers is and his core values if theirs is different than the history of the character. The Vision mini-series is excellent but it works because it’s a one off. Nobody is reading 300 issues of a hero who works a 9 to 5 and hangs out with his family and neighbors. Tom King is great but he didn’t defeat the Nazis, the Red Skull, and held off space aliens trying to destroy earth. Glenn’s point is nobody wants to collect Captain America if he has Tom King values. Your point is why The Vision, What If books, and Elseworld tales work so well they are different takes on a beloved character. Just my opinion.
I think it is really hard to write good stories but for established franchises with decades of history you have to know and understand what that character also. Good luck to these franchises going forward
Tom King is a hack. Doesn’t know how to write superheroes. There is no action it’s all talk. If there is action it’s off panel or told within 1 or 2 pages . His miss characterization of Wally West in Heroes in Crisis is so bad DC has undone that entire storyline. He turned Batman from a book selling over 100k to 75k during his time on the book. And the whole wedding fiasco.
