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The original comic-book industry rumour and
news column, by Rich Johnston.
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Elmo Health Warning: This column is RUMOUR. Do not take anything here seriously. These RUMOURS are presented here as GOSSIP for their ENTERTAINMENT value. |
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Dateline: 29 Feb 2000 |
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Gene Happy! Gene Ha popped by to comment on the recent ABC rumours (see this very column!) "I am going to work on Top Ten as long as they'll have (me). I do want to take over color, so I won't be working on a monthly. There are a lot of things I'd like to do with the color, so this makes me very happy. It looks like they'll be more than happy to accommodate me!" "I will stay on the monthly until issue 12. Currently, there are no plans to continue the monthly book without me. That could change." "Alan's playing with ideas for non-monthly projects for Zander Cannon and me. The ideas are pretty vague right now and could change completely. I'm hoping we get to use Jack Kirby as a character somehow." "That's all I really know. I hope you're having as much fun in Neopolis as I am." Thanks Gene! Future Peek In the new Wizard, the Next Month section runs this line: "Stan Lee's Lost Marvel Hero! Did you know that Fantastic Four was NOT the first Marvel Comics comic book? One week before FF, there was another... how could we all forget?" That is the new Jenkins/Lee Marvel comic we've been hearing about for ages and that Ramblings reported on about a year ago now... happy anticipation! Marvel Delights Bill Rosemann, better known as YourMan@Marvel is quick to reassure Ramblings that both Black Panther and Spider-Woman are in fact very far from over. He writes "Yes... both titles are healthy and are not-repeat NOT-canceled! In fact, Black Panther was recently handed over to the editorial hands of Tom Brevoort, which only promises good things for this title!" Good to hear Bill... still, if you love any Marvel comic that's scraping the bottom of the Top 100, it's still not a bad thing to act now! Marvel Despair It wasn't too long ago that certain creators were singing the praise of Marvel's new-found committments to dealing well with creators. Well, Karl Bollers and Mike Higgins, writers of M-Tech title X-51 see if in a very different way. Quotes like "I think all of the problems really stem from the fact that Harras is interested in any number of things besides what is actually good for Marvel or its line of books." or "The people up at Marvel have very little understanding of or respect for Kirby and I think that`s very sad." and even "Mark Powers really dropped the ball every step of the way and success was virtually impossible once he became involved." certainly make for interesting reading. Read the full interview at http://www.fandom.com/x-men/editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=90234 X-Tracts Remember those rumours about Chris Claremont's hands-on involvement with the Xbooks? Well, we were directed to these little snippets, cut from the published Claremont interview in the new Wizard, but available on the website. Chris says "Well, everyone has a preconceived notion of what I am as a writer. I could probably write a silent story and we would get letters saying it was too wordy. I think there is a tendency to look at an author's work and judge it by your prejudices and expectations--good or bad--rather than by the work itself." "The irony is I've done some stuff in the last few years without credit. The fun part is looking at the letters and reviews of those issues compared to the letters and reviews I get for the stuff that's under my own name. And there is a difference." "So, on one hand, the name recognition carries with it a certain cache, on the other hand, it also...for a lot of people...pushes a very specific button. It's Chris Claremont, therefore it must be A, B, C, D. And if it isn't A, B, C, D...they're pissed off if it is, and they're pissed off if it isn't. Or they're excited if it is, they're disappointed if it isn't." "It's just part and parcel with the job. You step in and have to do some emergency stuff. It's fun. The fantasy is to do a whole series of books under a pseudonym and see if anybody notices...or claim that the last five years have been somebody writing under my name as a pseudonym." "That's the trouble--nobody has a sense of humor in the industry anymore. We all take ourselves too damn seriously." See this, and more at http://www.wizardworld.com/w103/claremontqna/claremontqna.html Spiders And Panthers Our man inside Marvel, Lt_Kali writes "Spider Man Unlimited : Cancelled as of #7... Spider Woman : It looks like the big events happening with Spider Woman are that the new girl will bite the dust, and either Jessica Drew or Julia Carpenter will become Spider Woman Again, but they will also lose the monthly. Bart Sears has already left for X-Men Unlimited, and it looks like John Byrne will be finishing the run with a rotating team of guest artists." Cancellation wise, Lt_Kali writes "Also rumoured, but I haven't got any more info on it is Black Panther, this probably is true as it sells lower than Spider Woman, although it is higher priced so it might be saved. Due to all of this, Marvel are going to be more cautious with their new monthlies (After all of their new wave of titles, bar Bishop & Gambit have been cancelled) at the moment their are only plans for 2 new monthly titles(Marvel Knights and a new X-Men spin off)." Which means one thing chaps. It's time for... Ramblings Says 'Save The Panther'. Why, oh why did Marvel take it from Marvel Knights to Marvel Universe, if it was only going to be struck by the new-Marvel-series illness? Black Panther is Marvel's only truly innovative comic book at the moment (with Deadpool being innovative in parts) and its sales are bad. Hell, they're below Spider-Woman's. Black Panther goes places other Marvel comic don't. Self referential without going over the top like Byrne's She-Hulk, it plays with convention and expectation, dabbles in politics and the real-world impact of superheroes and the reality of a King who is a superhero and generally does all the things you wouldn't expect a Marvel book to do. Like being clever and original. It's written by Priest, who also writes wonderful books like Quantum And Woody and Deadpool and, as a group, demonstrates that quality does not equal sales. Along with Moore's ABC line and Ellis' Authority/Planetary stuff, he's one of the few creators currently pushing the superhero form. And if we don't do something, Black Panther might be in danger. So, here's what you can do. E-mail to mail@marvel.com. Write your own words or cut and paste this:
---- Go for it folks. Maybe we can do for Black Panther what we did for Deadpool. But remember, it's a lot easier to save a book before a cancellation notice than after one. DC Rumour Responses Jimmy Palmiotti writes to comment of the now much discredited recent DC rumour: "Well, that's really a funny story. We love DC comics and are flattered when they offer us any work, but that rumor is total bogus. I did get to pencil and ink a pin up for a new Transmetropolitan book - now that's news!! DC comics is in good hands with great talented people. As far as the Bob Harras rumor, I hope it is true, we need all the care we can get!" One well-placed industry source had some comments on the DC Rumour. Again, rumour-hard-hats on everone... "The rumor that Paul will be out on his ass has circulated every six months since I can remember. However, there are a few things that make it somewhat more believable this time around." Our source also stated other rumours about employment changes among the Warner Brothers executives. "His attitude about how DC fits with Burbank (Warner Brothers Studio) is quite odd. He allegedly told his executive staff, when Bob and Terry announced they were stepping down, that this was a good thing because it would take new guys longer to figure out what was going on with the comics." "Plus he's lost a lot of money lately. Plus Burbank isn't happy he's pulping books." However our source continues on an upbeat note. "I don't think you'll see lots of editors fired. Even if the books don't sell, they make a lot of money in terms of trademarks and copyrights. For example, Axel Alonso's stuff gets optioned lots and lots." And while we can't name any specifics yet, our source does tell us how other recent firings within DC are more significant... as it reduces payroll for certain individuals in that all-important first quarter... One other rumour, about Paul Levitz goes "There's a rumor that his stock options are worth $40 million." However, our source countered that with "There is this rumor, but I don't believe it. If Paul had that much money, he'd stay home and write. However, since I think rumors are interesting whether or not they're true because of what they reveal about the relevant sub-cultures, I think it's interesting that so many people have sworn to me that this is true." And that, my friends, is Ramblings in a nutshell. We reveal interesting aspects of relevant sub-cultures. Which is a hell of a good post-rationalisation for stirring it up a bit. It must be a hard job, being Paul Levitz. Not only do you run the USA's biggest comics company, but you have to deal with a half-assed column like this one. Everyone, raise a glass to the genius of Paul Levitz! Hoorah! And let's hope he releases the Elseworld's 80 Pager soon. And Ellis' Hellblazer story. And that Swamp Thing issue. And the Moebius Batman story. And the Twilight proposal. And... Gorilla Goes Grabbing. Ramblings has had a year-long history of printing the rumours about Gorilla Comics, many that came true... and many that didn't. We've now got a new one. It goes as follows: John T. Wells, the money man behind the upcoming Gorilla imprint, published by Image Comics is looking for floundering creator owned properties to be brought into the fold. He's got his feelers out, getting in contact with the creators of books like Happydale, trying to convince them to make the move. Look forward to an increase in familiar creator-owned titles from Gorilla before other publishers, like DC's Vertigo, Dark Horse's Maverick, Fantagraphics and others know what's hit them. ABC, It's Easy As One, Er... Two, Er... No, That's Not Right... We're received some interesting Ramblings rumours about the ABC line. Now remember, people, there have been lots of rumours about these comics and many have fallen. There's a lot of rubbish around... see what you think.
And remember, if certain books do come to an end, Alan has plenty of other ideas for ABC... including the cowboy comic with Glenn Fabry we spoke about... ooh, almost a year ago. Still on the cards, apparently. Of course, there's still the issue of whether Alan will stay with ABC after the initial contract ends. We've heard reports that go both ways on that one. And while DC will get the control of characters if he leaves, will they want them without the Moore mind that gave them life? Possibly not... We e-mailed a query about these rumours to Scott Dunbier but were then informed by one of our trusted Ramblings scouts he was spotted comics shopping in London... literally 500 metres from where I'm typing this column. He'll probably be stopping by Alan while he's in the country, maybe addressing some of the issues raised above... certainly we hope he'll be able to reply to us on his return. |
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Dateline: 22 Feb 2000 |
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DC Back Atcha! She of the not-amused Queen Victoria variety, DC press-person-to-perfection Patty Jeres was quick to rebuff the rather-Marvel-biased allegations about DC's future. Brief and to the point, Patty stated "All you recount below is total nonsense." You know, some people could say that about the whole column, Patty, not just the article. X-Shaman writer, Steven Grant also had an opinion. That backed up our own comment on the rumour. "I don't have any inside information, but it sounds like bullshit to me. For one thing, it presumes Time Warner GIVES a rat's ass about DC, which it doesn't... I hear variations on this same rumor about every six months, and it hasn't happened yet..." As do I, Steven. But I couldn't pass this one up. Indeed, there was one person who replied confirming much of the rumour. But then their e-address was a free-web-mail one that parodied the title of this rumour, accusing me of ego mania... me? An ego maniac? Only I could think up such a thing. All hail DC! Long may she reign! Talking of which, I've got this great mini-series proposal for the Gas Gang, in which they put out their own perfume range in an attempt to conquer the world... or did they do that one already? Feeding The Worm A while back, Ramblings mentioned The Worm, a comic strip book plotted by Alan Moore (the plot and script excerpts are reprinted at the back), written by the likes of Garth Ennis, Jamie Delano and drawn by luminaries including Simon Bisley, Dave Gibbons, Hunt Emerson, David Lloyd, Al Davison, John Bolton, Kevin O'Neill and more, with translation into French and Swedish, came out in the UK this past month for ten pounds. It'll be out in the US in March for twenty dollars... quite a harsh exchange rate for North American types... well Twist And Shout are arranging a better exchange rate, bringing the price down to under $17. To order your copy when it's released, go to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/189986637X/twistandshoutcomA/ - go on, fit that into your browser. While I'm In A Capitalist Mood... I'm selling a lot of comics. About 10 long boxes have got to go. I've put a whole load on the web at http://www.geocities.com/evenwood/sale.html which you're welcome to browse through. But keep a pen and paper handy as I don't have the technology to do shopping baskets... Scroll through stuff alphabetically, or choose prominent creators whose work I've spotlighted. But no prices? that's right... if you choose one or two comics, it might cost you close to guide price. However, if you want to take a load off me, I'll be doing some slashing to the bone. And every order gets free comics of my own choosing (guaranteed no . Feel free to make any enquiries to giantbids@hotmail.com and I'll see what I can do. |
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Dateline: 21 Feb 2000 |
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DC-Cution Every now and then, I get a doom-laden rumour... and this one's no exception. It's the same Marvel source that gave us all that fun about changing conditions at Marvel and DC... and this source has always been heavily biased towards Marvel and against DC. However, a number of pros have backed up his observations in the past. Either way, this is heavy rumour territory, so remember... Rumour, not Fact. Rumour, not Fact. Got it? Okay, hard hats on... Apparently, DC's big man Paul Levitz had an uncomfortable meeting with his AOL/Time-Warner bosses recently. The deal is that he has one year to reverse DC's sales slump or he's, as the sourceputs it "out on his ass". Now, Ramblings has had a number of similar rumours concerning the threatened firing of Paul Levitz. And like John Major's childhood home, he's still here. And if someone threatened to fire me every weekend, I'd soon find somewhere else. So I'm a little dubious. Anyway... the rumour continues that Levtiz has also been told to make major cutbacks, and the first to be fired will be the expensive group editors. Allegedly Carlin, Helfer, Berger, Raspler and O'Neil are all on 100K plus a year and, according to the rumour, they're simply not justifying their income anymore. Berger's Vertigo line, for example, is running at a loss and she's still making top dollar and employing six full-time editors. It's time for these guys to go, but oddly enough, we're told Berger is the only one who's going to survive the slaughter. The rumour continues, stating that Levitz plans to bring her back into the DC fold when he closes Vertigo down in late Summer, but the other group editors and DC's executive editor will all be fired by the Chicago convention in, what the source describes as "a last-ditch attempt to save his own ass." Lovely. We've certainly heard the Vertigo-closing-down rumour many a time, and yet it hangs on resolute, publishing high-quality comics that get noticed by the critics if not the punters. The medium would be at a loss without it. As to who will replace them? Well this is where the Marvel bit links in - apparently Bob Harras has been warned to take care of his Marvel Knights hot-shots. The new, stream-lined DC might be headed by none other than Marvel's own Quesada and Palmiotti. Bob Schreck is also very highly regarded by Levitz. Of course, purely personal speculation, this could also be a moment for someone like Jim Shooter to step in. He's been rather queit recently, hasn't he? Any comment on this article, fan or pro alike would be well received. The usual address, twisting@hotmail.com will suffice. The Other Shoe Plummets. X-Fan at http://www1.fandom.com/X-Men reports the cancellation of both New Warriors and X-51 as originally rumoured on Ramblings 2000, making a clean sweep of that first rumoured cancellation list. But is it the end? Regular rumourmonger Lt_Kali reported in with the same news just before the second cancellation was announced... and there may be more to come. A retailer contacted us to say that their Diamond rep stated that a number of Marvel books are waiting on incoming sales figures this month to determine their viability. Credits Due. The latest X-Men (issue 99), although this time actually credited with a scripter (Terry Kavanagh) has, again, fallen victim to accusations of actually being written by Chris Claremont. It's less clear cut this time... and the actual credit does make me believe that Kavanagh actually had a hand in this, but the verbosity of script, and a selection of choice Claremontisms makes another good case that Claremont has returned to the X-books before his credit catches up with him. Cover Charge We were the first to bring you news of the last internal Image memo, right? Well that place is leaking like a sieve at the moment... We have received the following memo, from a source we believe to be trustworthy, which we reprint for your pleasure.
Okay people, interesting memo... let's dissect it. Image has never quite had the variant cover obsession that other companies have had... well not since Rob left anyway. Again on constant cancellation and resolicitation, there's far greater culprits. Even so, this is responsible publishing, even if it's expressed purely for short-term financial reasons as opposed to a long-term brand building decision. A good thing all round I reckon... now if only the likes of Marvel, Avatar and Awesome would learn from their example. |
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Dateline: 14 Feb 2000 |
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It's Knockin' Up Time! Our lovely Lt Kali returns with more Marvel rumours. What's the word, sir? "There is one big rumour that is currently going around... since Chris Claremont is definitely leaving his writing duties on Fantastic Four, it's been rumoured that he's going to go out with a big bang - Sue Storm is to get pregnant again. Could this have something to do with the upcoming Marvel Girl mini-series, which will expose the history of the supposed daughter of Doom &Sue Storm, especially now Mr. Fantastic is trapped in the body of Doom? The only other possible news is that if the 2nd Inhumans mini from Marvel is successful then Blackbolt &Co. will be returning in their very own monthly." Thanks Lieutenant! At ease, everyone. Look Who's Writing? Uncanny X-Men 379 no news to readers of rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks, but the rumour is going round that Chris Claremont's return to the X-books has been sooner than expected with several books being scripted by Claremont without due credit. Prime suspect is Uncanny X-Men 379, a title usually scripted by Terry Kavanagh. This issue only had a 'story' credit for Alan Davis. Paul O'Brien, long-time Xbook reader printed a list of suspect phrases from the issue that show the heavy hand of Claremont on the issue. Another issue from the same book revolves around Kitty Pryde's age being stated as being 'barely sixteen'. Previous writers have been writing her as eighteen and over, seeing her engage in sexual relations, drink alcohol and stating that she's of legal age. And while sixteen is fine for sexual relations while she's in Britain, the 'barely' aspect coupled with the fact that she and Ellis-created character Pete Wisdom got it together ages back in Excalibur continuity have a few people screaming 'statuatory rapist' at Pete Wisdom, now heading up the X-Force book. Chris Claremont wouldn't make a comment to Ramblings on any of the issues above, but in e-mail to another inquirer, he wrote "Kitty's age was reaffirmed in a recent issue of one of the X-books. As for the impact that may or may not have on existing stories, you'll have to draw your own conclusion. Regarding her status in the teams, the question of whether or not she has earned her position among the X-Men was resolved way back in Uncanny X-Men, during the Paul Smith run, circa 166 - 175. It isn't strictly a matter of age but of maturity and experience. In both those regards, she's way older than her contemporaries in GenX or X-Force." Intriguingly, many of the X-Force characters when introduced were younger than Kitty Pryde, but are now stated to be older. Still, Pete Wisdom had better keep his hands off... who knows when another writer will suddenly decide that they're fourteen again. Eagle Matters. The Eagles, the long standing British comics awards nominations have been announced, and we've got two! Flip to http://www.comics-international.com/eagleawards/eagleawards.html to see for yourself, but here's some highlights. Preacher is up for loads. North American colour comic, favourite comics artist, favourite comics writer, favourite comics artist (colourist), favourite comics character, two nominations for supporting character, favourite comics villain (sponsored by B-Hive... regular readers will know how apt this category is, according to some London shops) and there are good look ins for books like Transmetropolitan, Authority, Batman, JLA and 2000 AD. Surprisingly considering their popularity, the ABC line gets little mention... could too many books have split the vote? It's annoying to see only American cartoon strips nominated, especially when contrasted with the voters obvious preference for British creators in the lists. There are a couple of nice surprises in that Acme Novelty Library gets nominated for Best Ongoing Colour Comic and both Goodbye Chunky Rice and You Are Here appear in the graphic novel section. And yes, www.twistandshoutcomics.com gets a nomination with some tough competition in the fan weppage category. And X-Flies gets some even tougher competition in the E-zine section. So folks, go out and vote! Hey, and why not vote for Mania this time too? Since we're not in competition this time, go ahead! That address again, http://www.comics-international.com/eagleawards/eagleawards.html Thanks For The Mammaries. We have been informed that the Top Cow books EVE and Soul Saga are moving from Top Cow to Image Central. This raises a couple of points. i) Will the books be affected by the Image Central memo we printed, detailing objections to massive... portrayals of women? ii) Is this part of Image Central's consolidation of creator books that aren't owned by the founders? And what fate then, Gary Frank's Kin? Any opinion welcomed, at the usual twisting@hotmail.com address. |
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Dateline: 08 Feb 2000 |
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Growing Authority. So what happened between the last issue of Stormwatch and the first issue of The Authority? Ramblings has had a keen interest in these books, printing the first rumours of the books demise, the rumours of The Authority's existence and now the cold hard fact about Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of The Authority. Ignore the rumour warnings folks, this is fact! Written by new Authority writer Mark Millar and drawn by Hitman artist John McCrea, the five-issue mini-series details the first meetings between Jenny Sparks and the Authority members. In the first issue we'll discover who the new Doctor is, where he came from and how he found the Carrier, the colossal, fifty mile wide headquarters on the edge of The Bleed for a start. Not to mention how Jenny, Swift and Jack Hawksmoor struggled to assemble a team to replace the recently-defunct Stormwatch. Now, some speculation. There has been discussion concerning how Mark Millar could express delight about writing Jenny Sparks, when everything points to her death in Warren's last issue. Being a living zeitgeist, the spirit of the 20th Century (expressed by electricity), surely she hasn't got long to go? This could be the answer to the continuing story of Jenny Sparks. |
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Dateline: 05 Feb 2000 |
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The Naked Truth. Editors often get into hot water (can you hear the gears screeching on this introduction?) but we hear that DC editor Andy Helfer apparently spilled scalding hot water on his naked self not too long back, burning his genitals. Ouch. So how did we come by this tittle tattle? Well, Andy then delighted in telling the entire office about this incident, including excruciating details about what it's like to have sex when the skin on your dick is peeling. Lovely. Ramblings has heard that DC's policy is now to promote editors rather than individual creators. We hope this article helps. Here Shi Comes... Or Not. Psycomic (www.psycomic.com) said Shi: Year Of The Dragon is moving to Image, Mania's Daily Buzz (www.mania.com/buzz) says it isn't. It was reported that Jim Valentino gave the go ahead, but Billy Tucci has had a change of heart. But is it simply coincidence that when asked about it on www.savagedragon.com, a certain Mr Erik Larsen revealed an inside-Image agreement. "Shi is NOT coming to Image. There could NOT be a book called 'Shi: Year of the Dragon' at Image. The guy who owns a character called the Dragon at Image has been assured that there will NOT be any titles at Image besides Savage Dragon that include the word 'Dragon.' Somebody jumped the gun here and announced something prematurely." One reader responded "what about last years published-through-Image Jade Dynasty books, Solar Lord and MEGA DRAGON AND TIGER? What's up with that?" Erik clarified "Megadragon was supposed to NEVER be run as anything other than as a single word at my request. It contributed to the 'never again' policy that exists at Image now." Veitch To Leave ABC? It all depends really. Rick Veitch has stated that unless DC talk to him about the issues surrounding the publication of the original version of Swamp Thing 88, he will leave Greyshirt when his commitment for 12 issues (agreed when Wildstorm were still in Image) is up. Veitch is calling for an equitable face saving solution to the problem. He's not even asking DC to back down and publish the book, He'd be happy getting a licence so that he or another party could publish the book, amending the issue to that offending portions no longer offend, or even just a mutual apology from both parties for acting pig headily, but there's been no movement from DC since 1989. Indeed, one way to make a load of cash for both sides might be to release a TPB with the Time Travel run, including issue 88 and a suitable wrap up to the story. Veitch says "The final bit with the battle between Swampy, Constantine, and Arcane over the soul of Abby's baby was going to be killer (and had a plot assist from Neil Gaiman!) I'm sure it could be jigged so it wouldn't screw up whatever continuity they've built up in the last decade." Since the day when Swamp Thing 88 was pulled, DC/Vertigo have published work which has pushed the boundaries far further. The role of God and of Jesus' children in Preacher goes far further in desecrating the Christian faith than Swamp Thing ever did. Come on DC people! Publish and be damned... maybe literally. And you'll also keep the services of Rick Veitch on Greyshirt. Mind you, DC have been getting very friendly with Will Eisner of late... but then so has Rick Veitch. X-Movie Responses With more evidence that this rumour about the X-Men movie previously published has been spreading amongst comics professionals before being posted on a mailing list (where our source presumably picked it up from), a well known industry professional responded "The differences in the economics among movies, toys and comics is great. Publishing is an honorable business, and one can make a lot of money in it, but one can't move the large amounts of cash (either in profit or loss) that toys and movies do. Therefore, I find it hard to believe that any businessperson, even a Marvel businessperson, would expect Bob Harras to make or save enough money to counterbalance a loss from movie or toy licenses. Also, being American, I find it difficult to believe that a bad movie will necessarily lose money. People might still want to see it. And it could be horrible but still inspire great toys that kids want. You'll have a better idea about this after Toy Fair." Buried Rumours. In Haunted Gotham issue 1 on the final page, we've been told there's a gravestone with the name of a familiar comic book industry rumourmonger upon it. Mind you, they forgot the 't' in the surname.. Knight Lies. Sometimes we come across a rumour that seems just wrong. And when we pass it by another source or two it seems even more so. Well, one rumour monger had a few bitter and twisted observations about Marvel Knights and how they operate. And Joe Quesada had some responses, some of which offer an interesting insight into how Marvel Knights relate to the rest of Marvel, clearly learning lessons from the Heroes Reborn crew. Rumourmonger says "It seems when Joe & Jimmy renewed their contract with Marvel it was for a lot less money and this is causing cash flow problems." Joe Quesada says "Not true. The contract rolled over so it's the same as year one. Actually we had some incentives built in." Ramblings says "I've heard variations on this for a year now. Good to set the rumours straight." Rumourmonger says "Remember the Knights are not really employees of Marvel in the traditional sense. Joe Quesada says "This is true and common knowledge." Rumourmonger says "They are more like outside contractors who supply Marvel with x number of comics for a fee. This fee is/was paid in a lump sum in the beginning of the contract." Joe Quesada says "Not true. The fee is paid as if we were freelancers. We hand in a script-we get a portion of our fee. We hand in pencils we get a portion of our fee. No company would be out of their mind to pay anyone in full before getting the work. Kevin Eastman made that mistake with Bisley. This rumor can be dismissed on sheer common sense alone." Rumourmonger says "They (Joe and Jimmy) then create comics with prior approval (in regards to characters and content) and then Marvel publishes them. Joe Quesada says "Common knowledge again. All our books have to be approved by Marvel. It's their characters, they have final say." Rumourmonger says "If they want to pay Garth Ennis $500.00 dollars a page for the Punisher they can do that." Joe Quesada says "Well, no we can't. We have a handshake agreement with Marvel to keep our freelancer rates comparable to theirs. In other words, if John Romita Jr wanted to do a Daredevil cover, we are can't pay him more than what Marvel pays him. Now this isn't written in stone, but is more of a gentlemen's agreement. It's these kinds of agreements that have paved a road for us to be accepted by Marvel's regular editorial staff. Try to play by the same rules as everyone else." Ramblings says "And it's on this point that the Heroes Reborn people had difficulty and pissed some Marvel editorial people off." Rumourmonger says "And if they make money at it, a percentage of the profit goes back to Joe & Jimmy. The problem is you need product OUT to generate this cash flow and they don't have it." Joe Quesada says "Not true. Cash flow is always coming in. We have tons of product in the canal ready, which means that it's work that we've already been paid for. Marvel gets their profits as the books see print. The problem with this ridiculous rumor is that the person who's spreading it seems to forget that Daredevil isn't the only book we put out. Did you know that there are already 12 issues of Punisher written by Garth?" Ramblings says "Yup!" Rumourmonger says "That is why Daredevil is going to have this fill-in issue. So that if they can get the book back on a monthly basis, that along with Punisher in Feb will be able to get them some Money." Joe Quesada says "No, the reason is to help us catch up and get a book that is heinously late back on schedule. It's a simple as that." Rumourmonger says "The bigger problem is the amount of money they are paying Garth and Steve for Punisher and Grant for Marvel Boy. Not to mention David Mack, Jae Lee. So how to get some cash coming in every month?" Joe Quesada says "I think this person is mistaking us with Wildstorm's page rates." Ramblings says "As previously noted, Wildstorm has a reputation for good page rates and more creative freedom. But, paywise, Marvel can also score well against DC according to some pro reports." Rumourmonger says "Well, find a mediocre talent who will work for non superstar salary and is reliable. Enter: Marvel Knights by Chuck Dixon and Eduardo Barretto. Well it makes Chuck feel good about himself anyway." Joe Quesada says "That is absolutely the nastiest thing anyone could possibly say. Chuck is doing the book because he's the bast man for this job. Eduardo and Klaus are doing the artwork because we want a certain feel for the series. I think that Eduardo is one of those talents, much like Phil Winslade, who given more exposure can really make a difference in sales! Ramblings says "Phil Winslade is an artistic god. But he must ink his work himself. And paint it himself too if he can do we all remember the wonder that was Goddess? Joe Quesada also went on to tell Ramblings that Marvel Knights have been looking at a Devil Dinosaur project but haven't been able to find a suitable artist. Hey, you don't think they could persuade Steve Bissette... or how about Walt Simonson? And John McCrea did a good dry run in recent Hitmans... Steve Pugh could do that well too. Morrison And On And On... Recently Grant Morrison gave a big old rant to Wizard about how terrible DC and how much he hates them. One rumour monger passed us this titbit. "Is Grant Morrison really leaving comics? Is he so furious with DC that he would never write for them again? No. Morrison is going on walkabout for about 6 months but he will be back. And his 'I hate DC' rant is just an act so that when he returns to comics it will be hailed as this great rapprochement. The kind of return that would have greeted Alan Moore had he ever went back to the DCU. And this approach is also designed to get him Superman and the kind of Carte Blanche that only a spectacular return can give. Now I don't mean to say that Morrison isn't pissed at DC, he is. But Morrison has no real interest in creator owned characters but has a tremendous interest and affection for the DCU. He also realizes that he isn't going to get any editorial freedom at Marvel, Marvel Knights not withstanding." Mark Millar, fresh from his hectic schedule preparing to direct his Channel 4 TV series, Sikeside went on record about this. "It's mostly bollocks. The truth is that there's no real story. He's finished Invisibles and finished JLA. He's tired of the mainstream again and he's pissing off for a while to spend the royalties, writing a book and working on some movie and TV stuff with me and on his own. He loves this shit too much to turn his back on it forever. Where will he pop up again-- Who knows? Although he did say that Jimmy and Joe were great guys, treated him really well and got him some of the best artists in the industry. I wouldn't be surprised seeing him doing more Marvel Knights stuff. He's already been telling me some of his ideas" Mark was also bubbling over with news about his TV debut, "It's all going incredibly smoothly. I'm just not used to the optimism and speed of working in an industry which isn't on the slide and dealing with editors who aren't fucking idiots, I suppose." America's Best Contracts. We also get word about the contractual situation at America's Best Comics. A source writes "Do you know that The ABC line is not creator owned? It is actually owned by DC. At least it will be if and when Moore chooses to end it. It seems his contract originally had the ownership in Wildstorm's hands, but when DC bought WS the Firewall was created. But it isn't so much a wall as it is a curtain. When Moore decides he doesn't want to do the line anymore (This means either as writer or as Editor) or it's sales fall to unprofitability, the Firewall copyright automatically defaults to DC. Moore knows it. Lee knows it. Levitz knows it." Wildstorm told us they don't discuss contractual issues. Paul Levitz sent the same message via his press people. And no response was forthcoming from Jim Lee. However Rick Vietch, artist on Tommorrow Stories told us straight up that "The line is not creator owned, but includes a decent percentage of everything for the creators. We went with comfy up front pagerates rather than creator control. This is how it could be a card played by Wildstorm in the deal with DC and why we had to go with it. Our only other option was to drop the series, which was already in production!!" The Eagles Have Landed. Kev F Sutherland has leaked a few of the nominees for The Eagles Awards. And some make interesting reading... Favourite British Comic: The Beano, Judge Dredd Megazine, 2000AD, Viz, Warhammer Favourite Comic Strip in a UK Comic or Magazine: Action Man, Dr Who, Judge Dredd, Nikolai Dante, Sinister Dexter Favourite UK non-newsstand title: Class of 79, Kane, O-Men, Sleaze Castle, Strangehaven Favourite Comics-Related Website (fan-organised): twistandshoutcomics.com, sequentialtart.com, fanzing.com, x-fan.htm, cybergoth.net(Class of 79) Favourite Comics e-zine: Astounding Space Thrills, Comic Book Net, The Matrix, Rust, X-Flies: Flies In Black Thanks Kev, and thanks to my loyal readers for getting is two nominations, for both the Twist And Shout website (what you're reading right now) and X-Flies: Flies In Black (just a link away). There are 28 categories in all and the full ballot form will be appearing in 2000AD, Judge Dredd, The Megazine, SFX, Comics International. You know what? It might just appear here too with instruction as to how you can vote. Kev ends with "Fans of the National Comics Awards will be disappointed to learn that the new Eagle Awards trophy is to be a stylish piece made of glass and wood which, sadly, won't fall to bits as soon as it's raised aloft. There's also no category for which Eagle comic or Dan Dare have been nominated. Ahhhh." Doomed Patrol. An industry pro writes about the recently-denied-on-Comic Wire (www.comicbookresources) Doom Patrol by Peyer and Byrne story. We hear the only name I've heard attached to the development of a new series is John Arcudi... We await further developments with glee. Baby Eisner. One of my copies of the DC Elseworld 80 Page Giant is winging itself to the Eisner judges at their request. The Kyle Baker story, Superman's Babysitter is being considered for the best short story prize. It won't be the only DC story up there though, as one of my other faves, the Greyshirt story from Tomorrow Stories 2 is also likely to be in the nominees. Sanity Clause. We had one entertaining e-mail, responding to the recent rumour about Marvel copyrights lapsing. Our correspondent wrote "Hey Rich, it's been rumoured that you don't have much of a clue how copyright law works (especially US law, but UK law isn't much different, so that's no excuse). A) There's no such thing as a copyright "renewal" anymore. Renewals haven't been necessary since the 1970's. B) The Silver Age Marvel characters you listed were all created about 40 years ago, which means that even under archaic copyright law (before copyright terms were extended... twice) their copyright would still be years from expiring in 2007. C) Characters created by company employees at the request of the company (which I believe is the case with all of these you listed) are not subject to the kind of "reversion" that applied to Supes and apparently Cap (which were created by freelancers who then sold them to the publisher).If your goal is to try to scotch rumours, you might try running this kind of tale past someone familiar with the law next time, so you can just issue a denunciation, rather than giving the rumour wings." Catching The Ferry. The news comes to us... "Now Warlock's eaten a bullet, expect Pascual Ferry to do the new Silver Surfer Galactus miniseries that Louise Simonson is writing, which will tie into something Kurt Busiek is planning." We wait in awe... |
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Dateline: 03 Feb 2000 |
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Rumour Ducked. We have received rumours that Steve Gerber has parted company from Stan Lee Media, a net comics company that he has been associated with for a while now. Steve Gerber had no comment to make at this time. |
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©1996-1999 Twist and Shout Comics. All Rights Reserved. |
