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Resurrecting an old thread to discuss lateness in comic books and whether it actually harms the book. We're all far too wonderful and perceptive here to recycle those old messageboard cliches about lazy spoilt prima donna artists sitting around on PlayStation (please note: this part of the cliche may now have been upgraded to a next-generation console) when they should be slaving hard at a drawing board for THE FANS.
As many posters state in the vintage thread above, I'd rather wait for a comic to be done properly, with the original artist at what they feel is the right pace, than get a fill-in issue. Watchmen and Dark Knight were both late, after all, and it didn't do them any harm. The collected work is stronger for a few delays, according to this alternative wisdom, and that's what will last. The tens of thousands of people who buy League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in bookstores couldn't give a fuck that singles buyers were left hanging for months. In fact they get a rather amusing piece by Moore and O'Neill about said lateness, so bonus for them.
There are series that it's harmed, however. Up this thread there are complaints about the lateness of Planetary being made in 2001. It's still not finished. When it came out it was a sensation, the idea of repackaging all the fantastic fiction of the 20th century into a secret history of a world, pastiches and tributes in every issue and led by archaeologists. The idea was better than the execution, perhaps, but the execution wasn't half bad.
With Planetary yet to conclude, it's already irrelevant. The fashion has moved on. That pastiche thing has been done to death - the Authority fought the Avengers, the Justice League fought the Authority, etc. Everyone's bored of that idea of treating the fictions like they're real, and the series itself has lost all impact because it trickles out so slowly. All novelty spent, it's not substantial enough to be worth the wait.
IMO a similar thing happened with Seven Soldiers. If it had all happened fast enough the flaws and the first-draft writing might have been obscured by the rush of ideas and Silver Age magic. When it started to slow up the holes were more than obvious. Waiting an extra six months for a conclusion that didn't bother to answer the questions raised in the series was thoroughly underwhelming.
Then there's the All-Star line. Launched with much attendant publicity, eagerly awaited, the publishing schedule of ASSBAT leaves the comics public largely indifferent to it. If it was coming out monthly, the story would at least have the chance to redeem itself. Instead it's ossified, the characterisation missteps passed around the internet until they're the only moments anyone remembers. ASS Superman has a better reaction on here, and at least has been consistently sporadic, but there's no real buzz about it. It appears to be popular among people who like that kind of thing. Which is exactly the opposite of what it hoped to be.
On the trades thread, inspiring this post, was a rant Boboss stole from elsewhere:
ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK shipped an issue back in February, and then fell off the face of the earth. The book has now officially been cancelled altogether, and Marvel claim it'll be resolicited at a later date. I don't believe a word of it. I think it's another Daredevil: Target. The actual content is rather good, but the absurd delays have long since overshadowed that... The idea that a book can run over a year late because, hey, shit happens, is a ridiculous one, and yet it's essentially the only explanation Marvel ever offer, usually in a slightly hurt "How dare you expect us to deliver books on time?" kind of a way.... they've been cossetted for years by a cottage industry that thinks it's a publishing giant, and encouraged by fans so desperate to believe that Comics Are Art that they'll accept the most ludicrous delays on the most absurd action comics as a sign of artistic integrity. This business needs to grow up.
Is lateness harming the industry? Is it harming individual comics? Will the battle between Hulk and Wolverine only be resolved in slash fiction? Whaddya think? |
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