I wonder. Have you guys seen that "Marvel Zombies" trash?
Hard to imagine a gorier or more disrespectful use of one's characters than that.
I can't find it in me to dislike Marvel Zombies as I'm not the target audience for it, and to the best of my knowledge this isn't happening in the "real" MU.
One of the reasons I'm able to be indifferent to the Hollywood style over substance antics of the Ultimates is because it's not the MU proper.
The Krypton Companion book from TwoMorrows made clear that even in the Bronze Age that were writers who really understood and loved Superman, like Maggin and Bates, and writers who wanted to do a Marvel version, like Gerry Conwey, Martin Pasko and Jim Shooter.
The ability to interview well does not necessarily indicate the ability to write well.
Actually, if anything, every interview I've read with Elliot Maggin, he comes off as slightly loony, comparing Superman to Abe Lincoln and Greek Mythology and so forth, in contrast to some of the more impressive stories he's done for both Superman and Green Arrow. On the other hand, Martin Pasko and Mark Waid come off as spectacularly funny and lucid interviewees, but they are merely competent and above-average as writers with the occasional great insight.
I don't know what you mean by "Marvel version," but I don't see how characterization-centered stories are incompatible with Superman, who is very much a complicated character.
Mark Waid and Grant Morrison are the new Elliot S! Maggin. Kurt Busiek is heir of Bates.
That leaves Johns as one of the Marvel guys...
Busiek reminds me much more of Len Wein than Bates, actually...Busiek's take on the Lois/Superman relationship (a topic that was Wein's favorite) and Superman's inner, introspective life under Busiek mirrors Wein's version of the character. The sequence where Lex Luthor realizes there's no Superman no oppose him in "Up, Up and Away," and Lex realizes how empty his life is without revenge, gave me flashbacks to the first few pages of the first Wein Galactic Golem story.
Actually, if I could compare Morrison to any Bronze Age guy, it would be Dennis O'Neil: a pro with a functional level understanding of the characters best served by being put in administration where they can do the least damage. I'd love to see Morrison as an editor much more than a writer.
I don't think its fair to judge Wolfman by his Superman stories, which showcase all of his weaknesses and none of his strengths, no more than it is fair to judge Englehart by his so-so NEW GUARDIANS, POWER MAN or SKULL THE SLAYER. Some writers just aren't cut out for Superman, who has to be written and plotted very differently and much more thoughtfully than other adventure characters...and that's not a poor reflection on them.
Funny, I was just reading Wolfman and Gil Kane's incredible JOHN CARTER WARLORD OF MARS comics, and it strikes me how well he was able to play around with the world ERB created, while staying true to it. The massive battle against a flying city was incredible. as was the sheer joyful fannishness of it; Tars Tarkas, a character ERB regrettably mostly ignored but who is beloved by fans, took center stage all the time in hois book...a sidekick like Spock or Kato, that is arguably way cooler than the hero.
Wolfman echoed all of the early ERB themes that even ERB himself forgot as time went on with his series: Mars as a dying planet, the Tree of Life, the Atmosphere Factory, etc.
I'm not sure I'm crazy about Dejah Thoris as a warrior-princess, but she was a pre-feminist, screaming distraction and contemporary writers have to do SOMETHING to make her less useless.
It was interesting to see Frank Miller as guest-artist in JC, WARLORD OF MARS #19; he drew an awful lot like John Buscema in the early days.