Rokk breaks down LITG's DC rumors better than I could. A good point I failed to elaborate on that Rokk nails, regarding Tony Daniel writing "Battle For The Cowl":
"Now, I love Daniel as an artist, but I have never knew that he was a writer as well. Has Daniel ever written anything before? I have extreme reservations about DiDio tapping a relatively unknown and untested writer in Daniel to handle such a huge event in the Battle for the Cowl that DiDio has stated will outline the future for the Batman universe. I would have thought that DiDio would have wanted a big name writer to handle this important task."
The question here is: did DiDio pick Daniel because he genuinely thought he was the best man for the job, or was it partially out of desperation because he has alienated so many writers? Again, this is not a knock on Daniel's writing ability. And I think it's cool to take chances on new and untested talent -- it keeps things fresh.
But think about it: you have a highly important Batman event, dealing with issues coming off of Grant Morrison's high-profile "Batman RIP." Don't you give it to an established writer? Doesnt DiDio have a Rolodex? Is he hoping that Daniel might be another "Todd McFarlane" and pull in big sales with this writer/artist combo? Though I doubt the reasoning behind the decision was this deep.
A bigger question: is there a bias against comic book writers in the DCU?
The subject of writers and the DCU is starting to remind me of that classic Byrne X-Men cover, with Wolverine/Kitty & the wanted posters in the background:
Dixon: Alienated
Rucka: Non-exclusive
Shooter: Alienated
Morrison: Alienated
Robinson: Status Unconfirmed
Miller: Overpaid
Johns: Overworked
Will DC follow the comic book model of the late 80s/early 90s and focus on the art rather than the story? Will they stop trying to build a stable of comic book writers and look to Hollywood for new talent?
And in such a relatively small field as professional comic book writing, was has been the full extent of the DiDio regime's impact?
this worries me. i left comics in the bad 90's due to the art problem. And I pick up books for the writers not the artist (kevin maguire being the exception)
ReplyDeleteStarlin is still rockin' it in the DCU. Maybe not for long...
ReplyDeleteVal...somebody! Tell me everything's gonna be alright. Please, feel free to lie to me until your tongue turns fork. ...please? Heh.
is there any confirmation that morrison is alienated? and if so what effect will this have on his eagerly awaited (at least by me) upcoming vertigo work?
ReplyDeletemichael c. you said it... if DC is pushing artists over writers they better get their hands on some better artists.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this is just another example of the very worst thing about being a writer.
ReplyDeleteIf you can draw well, people look at that and go, "Hell, I wish I could do that."
People NEVER do that where writing is concerned. The reason for this is that everyone has been forced to write stories and essays through the course of schooling. This give people the idea that ANYBODY can write. It causes the skill to be undervalued.
I'm exhausted at seeing this over and over.
I once used to do live murder mystery events with some people. One time they needed a new scenario that would incorporate an audience of over a hundred people on three levels of a restaurant. At that time I was very inexperienced, so I offered to do the scene for my usual performance fee as an actor, plus fifty dollars (this was fifteen years ago now).
The guy said to me, straight-faced, "No writer is worth fifty bucks."
It was the first of a long series of similar occasions.
Anybody can write, possibly, to the extent of putting a sentence together. Writing well, on the other hand is as rare a skill as drawing well, and involves just as much craft. Plenty of very good writers have no sense of story. That's even rarer.
Sadly, I think the comics industry have come to the conclusion that books sell on the basis of art with very few exceptions. So, for their purpose, no writer is worth fifty bucks. Or dignity.
Marvel may be slightly better these days, but I honestly doubt it.
I buy comics these days based solely on the writing. The art matters, but I'm through with buying pretty looking books that have no content or, worse, really stupid stories.
A few people in the business do both well. Others, like oh...say...Frank Miller. Not so much. The Dark Knight Returns is a prime example of a book that looked so brilliant, and in which the art was so innovative that most if not all readers failed to notice the story was garbage. It's just terrible. Miller does not get Batman. Or Superman. Or human emotion. Blech.
To hear that James Robinson may be leaving DC makes my stomach ache. Of all the writers they have on staff, he is the one who is not only the most talented (possible excepting Grant Morrison) but he is the one who truly LOVES the characters and the universe.
My hatred for the Dan DiDio years at DC makes me want to vomit in terror
For the record, Tony Daniel created and wrote "The Tenth" for about three years, as well as the spin-off "Adrenalynn," plus "F5" and "Silke."
ReplyDeleteI hope like hell the Robinson thing proves false... and come to think of it, the Morrison/Final Crisis problems, too. I'd cut my comic buying way back over the past month or two, but both of those writers' works were at the heart of what made the cut on my list.
ReplyDeleteThen again... I could be saving some money, which is good in these tough times.
For a long time now I have been balancing my interest in one day working for DC with the obviousness of DiDio's mismanagement.
ReplyDeleteBut this one has finally turned me over.
This later clusterfuck, has finally convinced me that it is going to be VERY hard for DC comics to get back on their feet and face Marvel head-on for as long as DiDio(t) the EIC.
I think, Dan DiDio is DC's George W. Bush! (LOL)
I mean, think about it... His tenure started about the same time as GWB's and since then DC has descended into almost complete chaos, much like the US.
I wonder if we shaved that beard of his we would find out he was actually GWB's CLONE or something...
What DC needs now, and I mean NOW, is an Obama.
Someone who will make DC appealing again to the comic fans, ESPECIALLY younger, new ones. As much as Obama being elected completely changed (believe me) the way the rest of the world sees America.
Who do you guys think it might be?
Doing a better job as EIC is not enough anymore, whomever follows DD has to have the talent an the charisma to turn public view.
Has to know how to nurture talent (as Val always says), to make sure they put out GOOD books, and that they come out ON TIME
Who could be DC's Barack Obama?
I think a lot of artists are good storytellers, and good plotters. But you can look at Jim Starlin's work with Steve Englehart and his work without Steve Englehart and you can tell that he needs someone to do the dialogue for him. Same way with Kirby. New Gods, Forever People, and Mr. Miracle were awesome, but they weren't the awesome that Fantastic Four and Thor were with Stan providing dialogue (at least that's how I understood it to work -- Kirby - story and art, Lee - story and dialogue). Conceptually, the 4th World books blew everything else of the time out of the water, but the dialogue and characterization were sometimes embarassingly bad. And I say that as a huge Kirby fan.
ReplyDeleteIf Dan is going with the all-in-one model, he needs to reconsider.
And isn't it against the Union of Comic Book Creative Professionals (UCBCP) for an artist or a writer to do both?
I hope Morrison is not alienated.
ReplyDeleteBetween 1988 and 1998 I pretty much stopped buying Marvel comics not written by Peter David or Kurt Busiek (there were a few other exceptions). In that time period Marvel appeared to be all about art and could not care less about story.
I preferred DC then by 4 or 5 to 1, because they had much better plotting and characterization.
Today, it seems like we might be seeing a complete reversal. In the last ten years Marvel has invested significantly in writers and I have given them a much bigger share of my weekly outlay. DC has Geoff Johns and Gail Simone. It's a little sad and a little weird.
All Didio bashing aside, whatever Marvel's numbers relative to DC's may be, didn't he increase total sales there for awhile? Is DC better or worse off financially now than it was when Didio started? I ask that honestly having no idea. If it's better off, the man is not going anywhere soon.
ReplyDeleteI think it's more writers getting fed up with DC than the reverse. And really, who can blame them?
ReplyDeleteFor the love of Pete!
ReplyDeleteVal, while your anti-DC rants are always cute, and you've tossed any notion of objectivity out the window long ago - don't you ever get tired of the Anti-DC theme?
As a reader, I sure am.
I think part of the problem is that, as far as the bottom line goes, DC has WB to fall back on. Unlike Marvel, who genuinely faced non-existence in the '90s, DC is part of a giant media conglomerate, and WB is probably willing to let DC go unprofitable, as long as their characters make the film studios a shitload of money.
ReplyDeleteOf course, where this leaves the writers, artists, editors, etc...
'If you can draw well, people look at that and go, "Hell, I wish I could do that."
ReplyDeletePeople NEVER do that where writing is concerned. The reason for this is that everyone has been forced to write stories and essays through the course of schooling. This give people the idea that ANYBODY can write. It causes the skill to be undervalued.'
That's not quite true. I've heard almost precisely those words said regarding the work of Aaron Sorkin, with whom great actors fall over themselves to work.
'A few people in the business do both well. Others, like oh...say...Frank Miller. Not so much. The Dark Knight Returns is a prime example of a book that looked so brilliant, and in which the art was so innovative that most if not all readers failed to notice the story was garbage. It's just terrible. Miller does not get Batman. Or Superman. Or human emotion. Blech.'
I agree about Frank Miller's work. Everything I've read of his has been terrible, save for some panels of Daredevil featuring Captain America and Thor, which I've only ever seen out of context.
I think there are probably more people on that alienated list. Why couldn't DiDio bring in a big name from the past for the Battle for the Cowl storyline? Daniel could still write it but bring in a big name artist. (btw I do like Daniel's art, I just think he might need help on his first big writing gig).
ReplyDelete"Will DC follow the comic book model of the late 80s/early 90s and focus on the art rather than the story? Will they stop trying to build a stable of comic book writers and look to Hollywood for new talent"...
ReplyDeleteAs long as batman gets sweet shoulder pads and his ankles shrink, i'm allfor it.
NO BACKGROUNDS!!!! woohoo
JBL, if you really care that much about DC, you should sincerely ask them to stop destroying themselves, scaring away talent, bringing shame upon their classic characters, and, in some cases, defrauding the retailers who buy their books.
ReplyDeleteI sure as hell didn't do all that. I'm watching a publisher -- or at the very least, a division of a publisher -- go up in flames, and I'm just reporting it. And I'm not even reporting all of it -- not even near that.
I did my part -- I shut down the James Robinson post before another cock-up happened.
I understand that some people want to just read the comics and not know what happens behind the scenes. And I understand that. I've had many books permanently ruined for me because of this very reason.
I think the prevailing wisdom is correct -- let's wait until all the facts come out.
Let's have all those facts come out, before retailers get suckered into buying into another huge event or high-profile series that was knowingly doomed from the very start.
Comments closed, because if I get dragged into another debate on this, I'm going to say shit I shouldn't.