Your thoughts on the Doom Patrol sound pretty close to my own. That first season was amazing and the best thing to come out of DC's short-lived streaming service. I'm still on board for this season, but yeah, it is looking like it's time to stop while they're still ahead. Four seasons is a good run.
"To compound the situation, a few issues later, needing another stopgap issue so as to give incoming artist Olivier Coipel enough time to get through the whole of the āRed Zoneā storyline, which expanded from five issues to six after feedback from Marvel President Bill Jemas, I brought in Ivan Reis."
Back then, Geoff said one of the main reasons he left Marvel to go DC exclusive was this sort of interference from Jemas (I recall you having to put out some fires when that became public). It's a shame, I would have liked to see him continue also doing work for Marvel. But hey, if Joe Quesada can go to DC and Paul Levitz can write for Marvel, the future could bring anything. Maybe Geoff Johns and Jim Lee on X-Men?
DiDio had his favorites, and Johns was definitely one of them. People like Mark Waid fared less well-- but hey, he's back at DC now, which drives home that these fallings out and realignments are always temporary.
I was implicit instead of explicit. I was referring to last minute directions changing plans, storylines, directions, etc. Having favorites tends to be something of a norm and sometimes thereās good reasons for it.
Yep, but as unfair as it is, the favorites often get excluded from the directives that drive everyone else crazy. Remember how Grant Morrison's Batman was able to retain pre-New 52 continuity when everyone else's books were fully rebooted? Even under Jemas, Bendis and Millar were given much more of a free hand than some writers who made their bones at Marvel before that regime.
Just what does the EiC do? Obviously, theyāre the face of the company, and I presume they have final say creatively. But beyond that? I presume they donāt have final say on what gets published ā thatās for the bean counting department.
For that matter, what does an executive editor do that an editor or group editor does not?
Pitches
Youāve touched on it somewhat, but: Does the editor seek creators? Put out the word that solicitations are sought? When a writerās runās getting close to an end, does an editor get an idea what theyād like to do next with the book and seek a writer in synch with the concept? Like, who had the idea for Aaronās Avengers run to go hugely big? Do creatives give proposals without knowing that a new writerās sought?
FF: How did Ryan North come to right it?
Judgment Day: Sort of ditto. Kieronās on record saying that it grew from his Eternals run. Still, apparently issues 13-19 grew into an event (and one of the best is some years).
Breakdowns of editors: what level does what?
What does the EiC do and the Executive Editor?
Feige is ultimately responsible for publishing. Has he done anything? (Yes or no will do.)
And a DC question, if you know: Back in the day, how much say did editors have in selecting the artists whoād draw their books? Iām going back and thinking about Schwartzās 60s work. Read something (in one of your blog posts? Canāt remember) that Sol Harrison assigned the artists.
How are exclusives working these days? What does Marvel commit to providing exclusive creators, generally, I mean. Are they, like, on a fixed retainer so thereās some payment and/or benefits even if Marvel doesnāt provide maximum work?
Iām also curious about the breakdown of the price of a comic. Who gets how much of the cover price? Should note Iām not asking about, like, how much specific creators getting paid. Generally breakdowns would suffice. Like, Marvel gets X%, of which creatives get Y-Z%.
And I guess while Iām asking for secrets and such, this (at least generally because I know how you feel about BC):
Thanks for the answer! I am excited about it finally coming out.
You might have addressed this in detail in the past, if so feel free to skip this question. You mentioned that Ed Brubaker was able to satisfy all the concerns you had about bringing Bucky back. What does it take for you to be convinced of a major retcon? What are those questions? Are there still events that you hold cannot be retconned?
Thanks so much for answering my question! I really appreciate it. I figured there were a lot of legal entanglements involved, but canāt help but be a little disappointed at how unlikely it is that weāll see the Ultraverse characters again. I often joke that Iād write six issues for any of them for free! Lol
On a lighter note, my husband and I are big fans of Money Heist, too! Weād kid each other while watching it that heād be Bangkok (where heās from) and Iād be Chicago (where weāve settled). Do you have a city that would be your code name if you were part of the Money Heist crew? XD
Iām curious, how far in advance do you match a writer with an artist? I ask because I think Johns and Reis did a Vision miniseries 6 months or so before their Avengers issues, but Iām wondering if youād already paired them up for Avengers before that (or perhaps you did for the miniseries).
Happy to keep be catching back up with these! I hope the upcoming holidays find you well!
I have a question that may be somewhat related to some of my recent askings, having to do with how books are collected and put together nowadays.
In the past, why did some collected editions put entire comic book stories together with no breaks between issues when collecting them? For example, the original āAttack of the Clonesā comic adaptation from Dark Horse runs the whole 4 issue story in one go with no breaks between individual issues with the inclusion of individual covers. I believe a hardcover copy I have of Smith and Hesterās āQuiverā Green Arrow book does the same. I donāt really see that too much anymore, books are separated issue by issue, cover and credits appearing every 22-32 pages or so. So sometimes I think reading older books is kinda of interesting, seeing all the covers crammed in the back or in tiny thumbnails, or sometimes just omitted entirely. Itās a different reading experience I feel having the story go continuously -- any particular reason itās no longer practiced?
The cover of Mighty Mouse #5 got me to pick it up a few years ago, so Iām firmly in that venn diagram! š
Your thoughts on the Doom Patrol sound pretty close to my own. That first season was amazing and the best thing to come out of DC's short-lived streaming service. I'm still on board for this season, but yeah, it is looking like it's time to stop while they're still ahead. Four seasons is a good run.
"To compound the situation, a few issues later, needing another stopgap issue so as to give incoming artist Olivier Coipel enough time to get through the whole of the āRed Zoneā storyline, which expanded from five issues to six after feedback from Marvel President Bill Jemas, I brought in Ivan Reis."
Back then, Geoff said one of the main reasons he left Marvel to go DC exclusive was this sort of interference from Jemas (I recall you having to put out some fires when that became public). It's a shame, I would have liked to see him continue also doing work for Marvel. But hey, if Joe Quesada can go to DC and Paul Levitz can write for Marvel, the future could bring anything. Maybe Geoff Johns and Jim Lee on X-Men?
Sounds like SOP at DC under DiDio. OTOH, at some point Johns' involvement with DiDio -- or control by DiDio over Johns? -- became fairly non-existent.
DiDio had his favorites, and Johns was definitely one of them. People like Mark Waid fared less well-- but hey, he's back at DC now, which drives home that these fallings out and realignments are always temporary.
I was implicit instead of explicit. I was referring to last minute directions changing plans, storylines, directions, etc. Having favorites tends to be something of a norm and sometimes thereās good reasons for it.
Yep, but as unfair as it is, the favorites often get excluded from the directives that drive everyone else crazy. Remember how Grant Morrison's Batman was able to retain pre-New 52 continuity when everyone else's books were fully rebooted? Even under Jemas, Bendis and Millar were given much more of a free hand than some writers who made their bones at Marvel before that regime.
Again, my point is that Johnās left Marvel over what was SOP at DC under DiDio. But yeah, maybe Johnās was special and wasnāt affected by it.
Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying.
You want questions, so here:
Just what does the EiC do? Obviously, theyāre the face of the company, and I presume they have final say creatively. But beyond that? I presume they donāt have final say on what gets published ā thatās for the bean counting department.
For that matter, what does an executive editor do that an editor or group editor does not?
Pitches
Youāve touched on it somewhat, but: Does the editor seek creators? Put out the word that solicitations are sought? When a writerās runās getting close to an end, does an editor get an idea what theyād like to do next with the book and seek a writer in synch with the concept? Like, who had the idea for Aaronās Avengers run to go hugely big? Do creatives give proposals without knowing that a new writerās sought?
FF: How did Ryan North come to right it?
Judgment Day: Sort of ditto. Kieronās on record saying that it grew from his Eternals run. Still, apparently issues 13-19 grew into an event (and one of the best is some years).
Breakdowns of editors: what level does what?
What does the EiC do and the Executive Editor?
Feige is ultimately responsible for publishing. Has he done anything? (Yes or no will do.)
And a DC question, if you know: Back in the day, how much say did editors have in selecting the artists whoād draw their books? Iām going back and thinking about Schwartzās 60s work. Read something (in one of your blog posts? Canāt remember) that Sol Harrison assigned the artists.
How are exclusives working these days? What does Marvel commit to providing exclusive creators, generally, I mean. Are they, like, on a fixed retainer so thereās some payment and/or benefits even if Marvel doesnāt provide maximum work?
Iām also curious about the breakdown of the price of a comic. Who gets how much of the cover price? Should note Iām not asking about, like, how much specific creators getting paid. Generally breakdowns would suffice. Like, Marvel gets X%, of which creatives get Y-Z%.
And I guess while Iām asking for secrets and such, this (at least generally because I know how you feel about BC):
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/comic-book-publishers-not-paying-comic-book-creators/
Thanks for the answer! I am excited about it finally coming out.
You might have addressed this in detail in the past, if so feel free to skip this question. You mentioned that Ed Brubaker was able to satisfy all the concerns you had about bringing Bucky back. What does it take for you to be convinced of a major retcon? What are those questions? Are there still events that you hold cannot be retconned?
As always, thanks for the great newsletter!
Thanks so much for answering my question! I really appreciate it. I figured there were a lot of legal entanglements involved, but canāt help but be a little disappointed at how unlikely it is that weāll see the Ultraverse characters again. I often joke that Iād write six issues for any of them for free! Lol
On a lighter note, my husband and I are big fans of Money Heist, too! Weād kid each other while watching it that heād be Bangkok (where heās from) and Iād be Chicago (where weāve settled). Do you have a city that would be your code name if you were part of the Money Heist crew? XD
Thanks again for everything!
Iām curious, how far in advance do you match a writer with an artist? I ask because I think Johns and Reis did a Vision miniseries 6 months or so before their Avengers issues, but Iām wondering if youād already paired them up for Avengers before that (or perhaps you did for the miniseries).
Happy to keep be catching back up with these! I hope the upcoming holidays find you well!
I have a question that may be somewhat related to some of my recent askings, having to do with how books are collected and put together nowadays.
In the past, why did some collected editions put entire comic book stories together with no breaks between issues when collecting them? For example, the original āAttack of the Clonesā comic adaptation from Dark Horse runs the whole 4 issue story in one go with no breaks between individual issues with the inclusion of individual covers. I believe a hardcover copy I have of Smith and Hesterās āQuiverā Green Arrow book does the same. I donāt really see that too much anymore, books are separated issue by issue, cover and credits appearing every 22-32 pages or so. So sometimes I think reading older books is kinda of interesting, seeing all the covers crammed in the back or in tiny thumbnails, or sometimes just omitted entirely. Itās a different reading experience I feel having the story go continuously -- any particular reason itās no longer practiced?