“Thank you for informing that I never should pick anything that you write in the future. With your understanding of characters, Slade must be your limit.” –Porto
LOL! Well, he’s probably right. The response to my stupid “And Now What?” question was/is overwhelming. I’ve tried to respond to a few comments and am including those responses in this new thread so we don’t all get carpal tunnel from endless scrolling. I really do appreciate every comment, even the ouch ones. Thanks everybody. –Priest
So, I’m reading all of this hoopla online about the Titans crossover event and how terribly I handled Damian and OG Wally and why didn’t I know this thing happened on page 6 of Obscure Comics #12 back in 2004. Okay, I heard you.
And now what? So, Damian is (apparently) no longer a little shit. He is thoughtful and more mature and less impulsive, less self-centered. Great. I got it wrong. And now what? What do we do with a character after we’ve smoothed out all of the rough edges and rounded off all the corners?
Wally *doesn’t* have a heart problem. Gotcha. And now what? How do we make OG Wally relevant or even interesting? I’m not trying to pick a fight or insult anybody, I’m really asking: and now what? What do the fans actually want? They seem to want their heroes to be perfect and problem-free. (more…)
The Classic Titans meet the Rebirth team
Well, Hosun (the real Hosun) hated it.
Overall, I was really happy with The Teen Titans Lazarus Contract Special #1. I thought Paul Pelletier did a fantastic job–most especially with Damian, who all but steals the episode– and I flat out loved inker Andrew Hennessey’s brush work. I thought it a kind of old school romp not unlike the classic Wolfman/Perez days. It was a real challenge with all of those capes and tights running around, but I think it plays well and finishes nicely, with great teasers for all three connected series.
And maybe that’s why self-assessing your own work can be a bad thing. I’m obviously way too close to the material to be objective about it. I found many problems with some of my work published over the past year that fans reacted well to. So here is the reverse. Hope that assessment is the exception and not the rule…
http://boards.4chan.org/co/thread/92739997/deathstroke-vs-jesus
“Priest is a hack and Deathstroke is overrated.” by Anonymous
“A nigger.” by Anonymous
“He’s also a self hating nigger”
And this guy–
http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/7017132.html?thread=185868972#cmt185868972
Such hostility. Sheesh.
FTR: No, I did not get permission from DC beforehand. And this nut–
“What’s his ‘Death of Jean DeWolff?'”
Actually, my “Death of Jean DeWolff” is “Death of Jean DeWolff.” I edited that book and helped Peter plot it in his living room.
It’s great to be back!!!
I never look at my Wikipedia page, mainly because anyone can post anything there and have things accepted as fact:
Professional and personal disagreements eventually led to his removal as editor and his leaving Marvel. Marvel’s editor-in-chief, Jim Shooter, later recalled, “I fired Jim Owsley because his tenure as an editor was a train wreck. When I fired Jim Owsley, he thanked me. Seriously. He said, ‘Thank you.’ He admitted that he just wasn’t good at the administrative stuff (i.e., schedules). P.S.—there was plenty of work for him as a writer, so it was not such a big deal. In fact, it was like giving him a raise. He … [was] meant to be a writer, not an expediter.”
So, now, I guess I can run around the web trying to un-quote people or correct derogatory mentions, but chasing your tail is a real waste of time. I have to respond to this quote if only so somebody else can update my Wikipedia page with a quote from me.
Jim Shooter was my mentor and a tremendous friend. The last thing I’d ever want to do is say anything negative about him personally. People who turn on or lash out at friends who’ve helped them are, in my view, complete jerks. Jim opened huge doors for me, and I will be forever grateful.
Everybody’s entitled to their own memories but not their own facts. As Spider-Man editor, I never missed shipping. If my tenure was “a train wreck,” it was because I never missed shipping, which meant throwing in fill-ins as needed. And they were usually needed because Jim was driving me crazy. That was his job– drive the editors crazy by rejecting everything that came across his desk. Nothing was ever good enough, no writer ever talented enough. If my watch was a train wreck, it was Shooter himself piling driftwood on the tracks. (more…)