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Topic: "Marvel Comics, The Untold Story" (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Andrew Bitner
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Joined: 01 June 2004
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Posted: 12 December 2012 at 8:59am | IP Logged | 1  

so true. i love walt simonson, f'r instance, but his FF just never worked for me.
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Sergio Calvet
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Posted: 12 December 2012 at 9:59am | IP Logged | 2  

When JB left I hoped for Kerry Gammill to be his substitute in the art chores.
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David Miller
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Posted: 12 December 2012 at 10:09am | IP Logged | 3  

What is the etiquette for performing editorially-mandated reworks of other creators' work?
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John Byrne
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Posted: 12 December 2012 at 10:58am | IP Logged | 4  

What is the etiquette for performing editorially-mandated reworks of other creators' work?

••

A lot of different layers to that question, and its answer(s).

First, of course, the circumstances of the mandate are important. At one end of the spectrum, we may have a penciler who has not quite generated "on model" versions of the characters, and the assigned inker is asked to correct this to whatever degree is deemed necessary. There can be different reasons for this. Perhaps the penciler "phoned it in". Sometimes, people are just there fore the paycheck. Perhaps the penciler was "riding to the rescue" of a late book, but was not fully familiar with the characters and was not provided adequate reference. Perhaps the characters have simply changed substantially since the last time the penciler drew them. Or, out of that same mold, perhaps this was an "inventory" story that had lain in the editor's drawer for a while, and, while being perfectly accurate when done, is not any more. In any of those instances, the penciler is not likely to mind (or care) that the work is being changed.

Unfortunately, those are not the only "settings" on this particular dial. As in the case of the Jean/FF story, again, we had something that had been approved on all levels and was ready to go to the printer, when the work was suddenly deemed "incorrect" and had to be changed. In that case, the changes had nothing to do with the quality of the work.

Then there can be cases where there is an editorial change in the middle of the production of a story. Myself, I have often argued that when that happens it behooves the new editor to simply "ride it out" until the previously approved material has been finished. Then s/he can take a more firm hand at the wheel, if such is felt necessary. Sadly, there are only a small handful of editors who operate that way, and I have actually witnessed writers being compelled to completely rework their stories to fit the new editorial "vision".

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David Miller
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Posted: 12 December 2012 at 11:27am | IP Logged | 5  

Interesting. Thanks, JB. 
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Larry Gil
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Joined: 09 November 2005
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Posted: 12 December 2012 at 3:42pm | IP Logged | 6  

Just ordered a copy. From this thread , seems like a very interesting book.
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Brian Miller
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Posted: 14 December 2012 at 9:50am | IP Logged | 7  

I think I may get this.
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John Byrne
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Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 14 December 2012 at 10:44am | IP Logged | 8  

According to Paul Kupperberg, Bob Greenberger has written a review. Having gotten in touch with many of the people mentioned, he seems to have collected a lot of "Well, that's sort of what happened. . . " responses.
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Fred J Chamberlain
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Posted: 22 December 2012 at 7:33am | IP Logged | 9  

I'm finding the book really engaging and am eating up these doses of
reported history, despite the author's clumsy editing with the most
blatant examples being a quote of a pseudointellectual college student
being printed twice in the span of a few chapters (Seemingly
unintentionally, based on the set-up leading to the quote.) and his
continued use of "Spiderman". The first appeared sloppy, while the
second seemed ignorant.

That said, I find myself facinated by names and tales as well as the
build-up of a company before my time in the hobby and artists that
either I didn't know about (Joe Maneely being the first that comes to
mind.) or projects that I was minimally knowledgable of or completely
unaware of.

Loving each page and I haven't even arrived to the Bronze Age that
drew me in and stole my heart.
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John Byrne
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Posted: 22 December 2012 at 7:52am | IP Logged | 10  

…his continued use of "Spiderman"…seemed ignorant.

••

For me, the first time that turned up I would put the book down and not return. That is so incredibly BASIC to the story being told.

Would you continue reading with constant references to "Stan Lea" and/or "Jack Kurby"?

It's one of those red flags I find so often, when I read about things with which I am acquainted. The stuff I know about, the writers get wrong. So what does that say about the stuff I DON'T know about?

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Jim Lynch
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Posted: 22 December 2012 at 8:00am | IP Logged | 11  

I just finished it. Trying not to reveal spoilers, but I thought the whole thing was a hatchet job. Ross Andru might be the only person named in the book who isn't later to made to look bad.

YMMV
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John Byrne
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Posted: 22 December 2012 at 9:33am | IP Logged | 12  

I just finished it. Trying not to reveal spoilers, but I thought the whole thing was a hatchet job.

••

Isn't that pretty much a given, with "tell all" books like this?

Heck, isn't that the reason so many people read them? They want to find out that Joe Schmoe beat his wife, not that he ran a home for lost puppies. I think of my own experiences, where my "good deeds" may get mentioned but quickly fade on the cyberwind, while "bad deeds" (especially those that are entirely invented) have infinite shelf life.

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