By J.C. Vaughn
Back in 1999 along with my friends Mark L. Haynes (now a writer-producer living in Los Angeles) and Jim Kuhoric (now VP of Avatar Press), I took over a small press company called Realm Press, which had the license for Battlestar Galactica. This was about five or six years before it would have been trendy to have the license, but we all loved the original series or at least its potential and so we made our plans and did what we could to create good comics. Jim K. wrote our main series. Mark handled the lettering, production, and the continuity editing (stuff like the Galactica terminology). I handled the story editing, working with the artists, and so on.
The main series was a painted comic and for a variety of reasons it ended up always being late. Even though we had our regular jobs to go to the next day, Mark and I (Jim K. was married and had a life) would end up doing rewrites overnight as Mark lettered the issues, trying to make Jim’s scripts match up with the art we received. Best quote ever during this period – Mark: “Which one of these four panels is Panel Six?”
Anyway, I did a lot of panels talking about, and talking up Marvel projects. These speeches were usually followed by a Q&A.
Inevitably, someone in the audience would complain that they had subscribed to one or more Marvel titles, but no books ever came. Why? Once, in Chicago, I asked the crowd if anyone had subscribed to any Marvel titles and received no books. A dozen hands went up.
I told them that I would look into it.
One day, I’m sitting at my EIC desk and my assistant says Mike Gold is on the phone. Mike, among other things, was one of the organizers of the Chicago Comicon. This was 1984 and the theme of the Con that year was Superman.
Mike asked me to do the cover art for the program book. Not could I please get John Byrne or some other Marvel star artist to do it. He wanted me to draw and ink the cover.
1. Bill Gaines’ opening remark to me, each and every time I saw him: “My ambition in life is to weigh less than my refrigerator.”
2. Editor Carl Potts to me: “The problem with you is that you’re stubborn.”
Me: “Well, that’s the Potts calling the kettle black.”
3. Editor Larry Hama to me: “All the really creative people are crazy.”
Me: “I’m not crazy.”
Larry: “Exactly.”
4. Gil Kane to Louise Simonson: “Yes, my boy.”
5. Jack Abel to anyone who displeased him while in polite company: “Ingest excrement and expire.”
Dialogue Year In Review Questions
What is the biggest challenge facing the comics industry today?
The recent collapse of the sports trading card market presages the biggest threat now facing the comics industry.
Collectibility is an advantage intrinsic to the comics medium. However, during recent years, so much emphasis has been placed upon the collectible aspect of comics that the entertainment aspect has been neglected. This trend has been fostered, promoted and exploited by publishers, distributors, retailers, fans and creators. Lately, a great many tricks that can only be pulled once a decade or so have been used to add collectibility to comics, including new number one issues, various cover gimmicks and even the “death” of Superman! That’s how enamored we’ve become with the short-term benefits of collectibility.
Comics are an entertainment medium first and collectible merchandise second. We as an industry, must resist the urge to turn comics into a fad.
Here’s what happened:
Chris, X-Men editor Jim Salicrup and I went to lunch at the Ultimate Lotus, a Chinese restaurant that happened to be in the same building as Marvel (575 Madison Avenue) to discuss a new story arc for the X-Men. Freewheeling, I pointed out that while Marvel had many heroes who started out as villains–the Black Widow, Hawkeye, several others–we’d never had a hero who went bad. I suggested that Chris evolve Phoenix into a villain, permanently and irrevocably, the new “Doctor Doom” for the X-Men. Salicrup and Chris liked the idea and Chris began work on what eventually became the “Dark Phoenix” saga.
In those days, I had so much to deal with besides the comics–the change in the copyright law, schedule problems, two or three lawsuits against Marvel, domestic licensing, international licensing, fighting with the board of directors re: royalties and incentives, trying to teach the writers to write, the pencilers to tell stories, the inkers to ink, the colorists to color (the letterers were basically okay) that I often didn’t read the comics until they were in the “make-ready” stage. Make-readies were, essentially, printer’s proofs.
So, I started working on it. If you read the extra looooong revised series outline, you saw how the character would be introduced.
But, I thought this might be of interest. It’s a document I wrote early on in the process:
Here are some thoughts regarding Super Lad:
First of all, remember that I’m wicked old….
Jack Kirby was crowned King by Stan Lee when Stan gave Jack the Marvel nickname “King.” Did Jack deserve the coronation? Certainly. His creative record is not only unmatched in the comics field, but possibly, idea for idea, unmatched by anyone in any field. Ever. At his peak, in the early to mid 1960’s, Jack was the absolute master of comics storytelling, and had evolved a powerful, wonderful, exciting, magical style that blended just enough solid drawing with just enough abstraction and just enough exaggeration. He changed everything. He influenced countless creators. He awed and entertained millions of readers. His work moved people. King, indeed.
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