THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND

I don't like Joe Quesada. Let's get that out of the way early.
I don't like Dan Didio. So there you have it.
I'm biased. My opinions will be skewed that way. I just thought every one should know.

Of course, having met these two guys and having worked under one of them should not enter into it for the purposes of this post. I don't like what they stand for and I don't like what they are doing to the industry I've always loved. I not only think they are incapable of pulling the industry out of the morass it is currently in, I doubt they even have the capacity to realize there is a problem. In truth, THEY perpetuate it on a monthly basis.

Recently, I was reading an old comic (the only comics I read these days) and I came across something on an old "Bullpen Bulletins" page. It was a response Jim Shooter had written to the question "What do you do as Editor-in-Chief?" I'm going to type it here word for word.

When I was a bit younger, one day it occurred to me that Marvel Comics could be even better than they were, if only the people who made them would hire a bright, knowledgeable fan -- like me-- to read over the stuff they were doing before it went out, catch some of the little gaffes, check the continuity, give creative advice from the fan point of view, and in general, guard the integrity of the Marvel Universe.
Well, they DID hire such a person --me, in fact -- back in 1978. Since then, I've learned how hard it is to do all of the above --even when you're vested with the absolute, staggering authority and wonderfully nifty title of Editor in Chief.
It still amazes me sometimes, being Editor in Chief -- being pretty much "in charge" of all the comics and magazines Marvel publishes and all of the editors and other people who work on them.
But, I haven't forgotten what the title really should be -- something like Executive Fan Representative or maybe Designated Fan. And, I haven't lost sight of what I'd hoped to accomplish way back when, before I got this job.
Like I said, as it turns out, it isn't easy.
But, I'm still trying. And I'm getting better at it, I think. I hope you'll agree, after reading about what each of our Marvel Editors has coming up and I hope you'll agree even more after you've seen it all unfold in the comics issue by issue.
If you don't... or even if you do, let me know. You know my address, and you know I read every single letter. Hey, if I'm going to be the DF here, I've got to keep in touch, right?


Now I'm not here to debate Shooter's legacy or anything. That's for a different post. I just can't imagine Quesada or Didio ever thinking along those lines, let alone actually saying or writing it. Anyone who's paying attention can see that Quesada cares more about meeting supposed "famous writers" and getting them to write comics than worrying about the books themselves. He's so happy to hobnob with the Babylon 5 creator or the guy who wrote Commando or some guy who wrote a couple of novels. And Didio is just trying to be Quesada, which might be the saddest of all endeavors. I can't imagine ANYONE (including Quesada himself) actually wanting to be Quesada. What has either one of them done to make comics better? Is signing Mark Millar or Gary Frank to an exclusive contract that innovative? Is the Ultimate line reinventing comics or simply retelling them? How many times can we see a new Doom Patrol comic come out and get cancelled? Where are the new ideas? Where? I mean, sooner or later Vertigo will have milked the Sandman franchise completely dry (if that didn't happen 4 yrs ago). Civil War? Identity Crisis? 52? Am I supposed to be impressed by this shit??!? Say what you will for Shooter but not only did most of titles at Marvel have their definitive runs during his tenure but Marvel also was putting out the toy line comics, Marvel Magazines, the Epic line, The New Universe and he put out a multitude of miniseries' for the first time.
Didio and Quesada do nothing except what's already been done...only their innovation is that they use the "hot, new talent." Quesada is to blame for unleashing Kevin Smith on comics and I defy you to show me anything that load has written that will stand the test of time. The lasting legacy of Quesada/Smith is that now there are no real deadlines and the "talent" can finish the book whenever the hell they feel like it. Have to wait months for the next Smith comic? Who cares? He's such a genius we should just be thankful that he's deigned to slum in the comics genre. After all, he's a very busy man making truly shitty movies that don't make any money. Why should he have to meet a deadline?!? Millar/Hitch on Ultimates? Let em do it at their own pace! Who gives a shit? Not Quesada! Hey, here's a good idea... let's relaunch the Challengers of the Unknown yet again! Didio will say yes! Come up with a new idea? Fuck you! Not at Marvel... Not at DC. Not when we can relaunch the Legion for the 12th time with yet another "great, new creative team!" Now, we can tell that Mordru/Fatal Five/Ferro Lad story again! Let's have Bendis turn Peter Parker into a complete asshole in Ultimate Spider-Man and retell the first 10 issues of Amazing Spider-man but take 40 issues to do it.

Here are 5 anecdotes telling you what editors really think about the comics they work on and the fans who read them. And these aren't here say or second hand accounts, I was actually there when these happened.

I brought up an issue of Catwoman to the editor and he asked me what I thought. Now, this is one of the few editors who would even ask... most don't want to hear any opinions on the books, especially not from someone they considered a peon like me. I said "Wasn't all that good if you ask me." He looked at me and said, "Yeah, I wish it was better but what can you do." In my head, I screamed, "You're the fucking editor! If you can't make it better, who can?!?!?" He just didn't care at that point.

Upon hearing that Superboy would be joining the Legion I was very exciting because I'd always loved the old Superboy/Legion stuff so I went to the editor of the Legion and told him that I thought it was very cool that Superboy would be in the Legion. He said, "Oh, I wasn't even thinking about that. I just figured if we slapped the big red "S" on it we could sell more copies."

The previous Legion editor was just as bad. He would constantly complain that readers/fans always told him that they didn't like Lightning Lad being called Livewire and ShadowGirl being called Umbra and so on. He said, "When will these people realize that we don't care what they want! We're not changing the names and we're not bringing back Hal Jordan!" (Until it can be used to sell a few more comics)

In fact, the friggin publisher once said that he really didn't understand the comics being put out these days but it really didn't matter since he's not the target audience. But then again, this is the guy who thought the biggest problem facing comics was his employees getting credit at the local comic store for their comps.

The editor of The Dark Knight Strikes Again (who is a really nice guy btw) once said that when he first saw the pages for that book, they brought tears to his eyes. lol of course, they did... they were HIDEOUS.

But it's a vicious circle... there are so few actually qualified editors working in comics today. Anyone who has the balls to actually say what they think will be weeded out because you can't have them upsetting the "talent." If you only knew the actual qualifications of some of these people, you'd scream. The main focus for all of these people is very simple: Keep their jobs. In this regard, they are alot like politicians. No matter how idealistic they are when they are starting out, once they get there, they forget about everything else but staying there. And if your motivation is to just keep your job, you're only going to work just hard enough to not get fired. (a wise man in the movie Office Space once said that) That's not a recipe for great comic books. Of course, hiring the same 15 people over and over again doesn't really work either. Now, they can put all the spin they want on it and say comics are enjoying a resurgence right now and sales are improving but, come on. All the evidence I need to look at is that everyone I know who used to read comics doesn't anymore. Even the most hardcore fans finally had enough. And that's sad... very, very sad. But at least Didio can have lunch with Brad Meltzer and he can use his buddies names in his new "bestseller." And thank God Quesada can talk to Stracyzinski whenever he wants because in the annals of great comic book writers he's number two on the list.... right behind EVERYBODY ELSE.

Let me end this with a question I'd really like answered. When was the last time anyone in comics created a new character? What was the last new idea? What was the last innovation?

When are the people in charge going to wake the fuck up?