Speaking of unfinished/unpublished Killraven stories, what about Don McGregor's fully scripted (but not fully illustrated) KILLRAVEN: FINAL BATTLES, FINAL LIES, FINAL TRUTHS which he still hopes might be finished one day? Apparently, P. Craig Russell has already drawn some of it.
Another great post Tom! Would love to hear more of your fave old TV shows (NYPD BLUE was a fave in my house especially those first seasons - good memories watching it with my parents at the time).
In terms of YOUNG AVENGERS - I loved that series and was one of those readers that lost interest when it did not return on the shelves for a long time..do you think it is better to keep a series going with new/fill in teams so as to keep 'momentum' going? Keeping it on the stands and on readers 'eyes'/attention than waiting for a high level creative team to come back?
Im sure some creators and readers could never follow Stan and Jack on certain Marvel titles but despite highs and lows the comics went on and gave us some classic moments (obviously the industry has changed since then...but interesting trend to get your thoughts on).
Thanks for another great newsletter! As always, I loved your peek Behind the Curtain. I also enjoyed reading about the details surrounding the creation of “Ma” Hunkel’s Red Tornado! I see that character often cited as an example of Golden Age queer representation, so it was a fun way to close out Pride Month. Lol
Hmmm. I don’t know anything about comic strip syndicated books when it comes to ownership rights, but I wonder if Superman had been a strip first would Siegel & Shuster have owned their character? And/or would it have been as popular without all the other creators who jumped in at DC?
Siegel and Shuster would most definitely not have owned Superman if it was a comic strip first. The habit of comic book publishers owning the property is modeled after newspaper syndicates, which traditionally own everything. Chester Gould didn't own Dick Tracy, Alex Raymond didn't own Flash Gordon, and Harold Gray didn't own Little Orphan Annie, just as some examples. If a syndicate syndicated it, then it owned it. In more modern times, syndicates have been more willing to sell all (or part) of their assets, especially if they can keep running the strip. Jim Davis bought back Garfield in the '90s (and then later sold it himself in 2019) and Peanuts was sold back in 2010.
I was so happy to read your section on YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS, I never knew that amazing detail about Cheung and those covers. Out of all the Young Avengers works pre-2013 that were not written by Heinberg/Cheung, Presents is my favorite. I go back and read the YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS: WICCAN AND SPEED issue often, followed by Oliveira's recent MARVEL'S VOICES: YOUNG AVENGERS INFINITY COMIC (2022), because it is amazing to me how Oliveira picked up that Master Pandemonium plot thread from PRESENTS from 14 years back in 2008, and told such a beautiful story in 2022 through him and Thomas Shepherd (Pandemonium's dialogue in 2008 and in 2022 is top-notch).
Now a (question?):
I've read your Blah Blah Blog writing from that time period before Children's Crusade where you were meeting fans demands to see the Young Avengers by having them show up in events and such with creative teams not named Heinberg and Cheung. However, I don't believe you have ever posted any of your thoughts on what led to the decision to launch a full-on Young Avengers run in 2013 with Gillen/McKelvie. By then was it known Heinberg/Cheung were too busy to return again so new creatives were the way to go? Were you still as involved in 2013 with the Young Avengers as you had been in the prior decade?
As an aside, I am happy whenever I see your name on a YA book in some way/shape/form -- for example, the recent Young Avengers Voices Infinity Comic was EXCELLENT.
Out of respect I will refrain from typing my annual mheroes email plea for more Young Avengers here... there is a time and place for everything :)
This may be too big a question to address (or you may disagree with its premise!), but: FEAR ITSELF--what happened there, creatively and editorially? It had excellent creators and a bunch of interesting tie-ins, but the central story itself seems to have gone awry somehow; a lot of its major plot points were immediately reversed, and it didn't have anything like the long-term impact of, say, SECRET INVASION or CIVIL WAR. Did something get lost along the way?
While I’d never dispute a creator’s feelings, Kirkman’s story here has a lot of trouble passing the smell test, particularly that thing about being given $5,000 to produce... I’m not sure what exactly.
And back to that smell test: I have no idea what the (alleged(?)) program even was.
Tom, can you share any light on this? The more I ruminate on it, the more confused I get.
I’ve missed quite a few of these due to running a Kickstarter (we got funded!!) and general college life, but it’s good to be back! Thanks for always answering people’s questions and giving us BTS stories.
General college life has actually made me interested in your thoughts on something -- Marvel Unlimited! It seems great for the consumer (in terms of saving money), but I can’t imagine it’s super helpful for new comics overall? It appears to me that success is mostly measured by physical issue sales (with an emphasis on pre-orders), so I’m curious to hear what a comic creator who’s books could be affected by Unlimited thinks about it. Do you think it’s helpful or detrimental, or are their trade offs that make it more of a gray area? Where’s all the money even go?
I'm behind in my reading, but I wanted to agree with you about NYPD Blue, Tom. It's my favourite TV show of all time, and I've been rewatching it (again) lately. Unlike a lot of TV from that era, it hasn't dated at all. Yeah, they're still using typewriters in the squad room and the twin towers are still visible in the background some episodes, but in terms of writing, acting and production values, it can stand tall with the best of today's TV. I never really cared for Caruso, but once Jimmy took over, the show rarely missed a beat. And Dennis Franz is one of the best actors of his generation. Fair play to him for retiring when the show was done too. Way to protect your legacy.
Speaking of unfinished/unpublished Killraven stories, what about Don McGregor's fully scripted (but not fully illustrated) KILLRAVEN: FINAL BATTLES, FINAL LIES, FINAL TRUTHS which he still hopes might be finished one day? Apparently, P. Craig Russell has already drawn some of it.
Another great post Tom! Would love to hear more of your fave old TV shows (NYPD BLUE was a fave in my house especially those first seasons - good memories watching it with my parents at the time).
In terms of YOUNG AVENGERS - I loved that series and was one of those readers that lost interest when it did not return on the shelves for a long time..do you think it is better to keep a series going with new/fill in teams so as to keep 'momentum' going? Keeping it on the stands and on readers 'eyes'/attention than waiting for a high level creative team to come back?
Im sure some creators and readers could never follow Stan and Jack on certain Marvel titles but despite highs and lows the comics went on and gave us some classic moments (obviously the industry has changed since then...but interesting trend to get your thoughts on).
Thanks for another great newsletter! As always, I loved your peek Behind the Curtain. I also enjoyed reading about the details surrounding the creation of “Ma” Hunkel’s Red Tornado! I see that character often cited as an example of Golden Age queer representation, so it was a fun way to close out Pride Month. Lol
That’s fascinating to hear about the Young Avengers Presents covers. I would not have guessed that Cheung did those background drawings himself!
But there's no mini-skirt Hawkeye!
Hmmm. I don’t know anything about comic strip syndicated books when it comes to ownership rights, but I wonder if Superman had been a strip first would Siegel & Shuster have owned their character? And/or would it have been as popular without all the other creators who jumped in at DC?
No way to know but fascinating to think about.
Siegel and Shuster would most definitely not have owned Superman if it was a comic strip first. The habit of comic book publishers owning the property is modeled after newspaper syndicates, which traditionally own everything. Chester Gould didn't own Dick Tracy, Alex Raymond didn't own Flash Gordon, and Harold Gray didn't own Little Orphan Annie, just as some examples. If a syndicate syndicated it, then it owned it. In more modern times, syndicates have been more willing to sell all (or part) of their assets, especially if they can keep running the strip. Jim Davis bought back Garfield in the '90s (and then later sold it himself in 2019) and Peanuts was sold back in 2010.
I figured, but wasn’t sure. I don’t hear about complaints about ownership or fair compensation involving comic strips.
I was so happy to read your section on YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS, I never knew that amazing detail about Cheung and those covers. Out of all the Young Avengers works pre-2013 that were not written by Heinberg/Cheung, Presents is my favorite. I go back and read the YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS: WICCAN AND SPEED issue often, followed by Oliveira's recent MARVEL'S VOICES: YOUNG AVENGERS INFINITY COMIC (2022), because it is amazing to me how Oliveira picked up that Master Pandemonium plot thread from PRESENTS from 14 years back in 2008, and told such a beautiful story in 2022 through him and Thomas Shepherd (Pandemonium's dialogue in 2008 and in 2022 is top-notch).
Now a (question?):
I've read your Blah Blah Blog writing from that time period before Children's Crusade where you were meeting fans demands to see the Young Avengers by having them show up in events and such with creative teams not named Heinberg and Cheung. However, I don't believe you have ever posted any of your thoughts on what led to the decision to launch a full-on Young Avengers run in 2013 with Gillen/McKelvie. By then was it known Heinberg/Cheung were too busy to return again so new creatives were the way to go? Were you still as involved in 2013 with the Young Avengers as you had been in the prior decade?
As an aside, I am happy whenever I see your name on a YA book in some way/shape/form -- for example, the recent Young Avengers Voices Infinity Comic was EXCELLENT.
Out of respect I will refrain from typing my annual mheroes email plea for more Young Avengers here... there is a time and place for everything :)
This may be too big a question to address (or you may disagree with its premise!), but: FEAR ITSELF--what happened there, creatively and editorially? It had excellent creators and a bunch of interesting tie-ins, but the central story itself seems to have gone awry somehow; a lot of its major plot points were immediately reversed, and it didn't have anything like the long-term impact of, say, SECRET INVASION or CIVIL WAR. Did something get lost along the way?
I stumbled across this:
https://screenrant.com/invincible-creator-interview-marvel-criticism-why-writers-complain/
While I’d never dispute a creator’s feelings, Kirkman’s story here has a lot of trouble passing the smell test, particularly that thing about being given $5,000 to produce... I’m not sure what exactly.
And back to that smell test: I have no idea what the (alleged(?)) program even was.
Tom, can you share any light on this? The more I ruminate on it, the more confused I get.
I’ve missed quite a few of these due to running a Kickstarter (we got funded!!) and general college life, but it’s good to be back! Thanks for always answering people’s questions and giving us BTS stories.
General college life has actually made me interested in your thoughts on something -- Marvel Unlimited! It seems great for the consumer (in terms of saving money), but I can’t imagine it’s super helpful for new comics overall? It appears to me that success is mostly measured by physical issue sales (with an emphasis on pre-orders), so I’m curious to hear what a comic creator who’s books could be affected by Unlimited thinks about it. Do you think it’s helpful or detrimental, or are their trade offs that make it more of a gray area? Where’s all the money even go?
I'm behind in my reading, but I wanted to agree with you about NYPD Blue, Tom. It's my favourite TV show of all time, and I've been rewatching it (again) lately. Unlike a lot of TV from that era, it hasn't dated at all. Yeah, they're still using typewriters in the squad room and the twin towers are still visible in the background some episodes, but in terms of writing, acting and production values, it can stand tall with the best of today's TV. I never really cared for Caruso, but once Jimmy took over, the show rarely missed a beat. And Dennis Franz is one of the best actors of his generation. Fair play to him for retiring when the show was done too. Way to protect your legacy.