So, will DC really put the screws to late talent, or will the superstars and flavors of the month once again be handed a Get Out of Jail Free card?



*It was a sliding scale. One day I did the math, and discovered that I would have to turn in my work 10 weeks late to get my normal page rate!!!

The thing that depresses me the most about threads like this is that I find myself being held up as some kind of religious zealot for insisting that people should do the job they have been hired to do!!

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What depresses me, as well as pisses me off, is that other creators have such a huge problem with it!

People SHOULD do the job they're hired to do in the time that they're given to do it.  Period.  If they're unable to follow through, then they should not accept the job.  It doesn't matter if it's an arc or an open ended "month in, month out" assignment.

Over dinner a few weeks back, Dick Locher told me the story of a cartoonist (who will remain nameless), that was chronically late on his comic strip.  The guy just couldn't stay on schedule (according to Dick it was because he was busy doing everything BUT draw the strip).

Apparently, one day, he got a call from his editor DEMANDING to know where the strips were at as he was TWO WEEKS behind deadline and they NEEDED the Sunday pages to get to the printers (the Sunday pages are printed far ahead of the publication date).  The cartoonist had been listening to the radio and had heard that a plane had crashed in New York (where his editor was) and told the editor that the strips were on that plane and that he needed another week to redraw them!

MPH

QUOTE: So, will DC really put the screws to late talent, or will the superstars and flavors of the month once again be handed a Get Out of Jail Free card?

Haven't they already done this with the Jim Lee deal or is that different because he is Wildstorm and not DC proper.

One of my biggest issues with this plan of DCs is that they could give passes out any time they want to justify lateness to a superstar. Maybe Bryan Hitch signs an exclusive with DC but part of the deal is that he gets a pass similar to Lee's? It won't mean anything if they pick and choose their favorites.

"The cartoonist had been listening to the radio and had heard that a plane had crashed in New York (where his editor was) and told the editor that the strips were on that plane and that he needed another week to redraw them!"

I've heard that story before, but I think you left out the punchline. As I heard it, the artist hadn't bothered to learn where the point of origin of the plane was, so the editor made a witty and  sarcastic remark (I wish I remembered it!) in return. "What were the pages doing on a plane arriving from Canada when you live in Florida ?" or some such.

Haven't they already done this with the Jim Lee deal or is that different because he is Wildstorm and not DC proper.

One of my biggest issues with this plan of DCs is that they could give passes out any time they want to justify lateness to a superstar. Maybe Bryan Hitch signs an exclusive with DC but part of the deal is that he gets a pass similar to Lee's? It won't mean anything if they pick and choose their favorites.

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Jim Lee is also a VP, so that does add to his workload.  However, he never should have taken on 2 series when he can't even get one out on time based on that.

As far as Hitch, or any other similarly slow artist, is concerned:  Do NOT give them monthly titles as their regular assignment.  Give them an arc that can be fit in when done.  Give them mini-series.  Give them Annuals.  Something that can be planned out well in advance, knowing how long it takes for them to draw x-number of pages.

If editors know an artist can only do 20 pages a month, then give them a head start and have planned issues for fill-ins.  For example, DC is doing this with Dale Eaglesham on Justice Society.  And, I don't believe, it's missed its schedule yet.

George Massou to JB wrote: no one listens or cares about this particular crusade of yours...

Really?  No one cares about late books at all?  Thanks for speaking for me, but I'll state my own opinion if you don't mind.  I do care about books being late.  I can't say that I've never bought a late book, but it does affect 99.9% of my purchases in that if a book is consistently late, I drop it.  Trust me, it affects the money I put down on the counter of my LCS.  I also have noticed Marvel and DC, to varying degrees, attempt to address their late book dilemma over the last year or so.  Hardly a case of "no one listens or cares".

Finally, if you were speaking for yourself, one has to wonder why you've chosen to post in this thread if it's not an important issue to you.

The implication behind the thinking that it doesn't matter if it's late as long as it's done right is (I think) what torques professionals who get their work done on time.

The implication being that those who DO the work on time ARE NOT taking the time to do it right.  Imagine someone coming up to you at your work and saying, 'Oh, you did the job in half the time I would have, but I would have done it right.' And see how you feel about that person.

What concerns me is the churn I've seen lately. We get a good writer and a good artist on a title and everything's good but sales fall slowly every month until they get to a point where you have to try something to keep it afloat so you bring in new talent. You get a bump for a while but fall into the same pattern.  Consistent quality should cause sales to eventually rise from word of mouth, shouldn't it?  I've been blown away by how much I've enjoyed Jim Shooter and Manapul's Legion issues and I hope they come out every month and I hope they're as good as the first two issues. If they are and the sales still start that constant creep downwards what more can a publisher do if consistent quality doesn't seem to be what the fans want?

Todd McFarlane will burn in Hell. Even if I have to become a devout Christian to make sure it happens!