Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: arthur suydam, Comics, entertainment, marvel

The 15th Rumour Awards 2015 – Feud Of The Year

It's a long long time since the very first one of these. I was 28 when I decided that an annual look back at the rumours and scoops of the year would be a good thing. 15 years later, that's still to be determined. But here we go again with a self congratulatory pat on the back. Mostly.

But feel free to catch up with previous years by clicking on all these links.

So what will get the Feud Of The Year? So many to choose from… here are a select few.

Marvel created two covers, aimed at DC Comics 1:5000 original art variant covers for Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1 – one for Star Wars: Vader Down #1, the only challenger to its crown in November from Chip Zdarsky, and another for Deadpool taking the mickey out of the DC Twix ads.

But what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and Dark Horse also took aim at Marvel with this Barb Wire variant… encouraging retailers to strip unsold covers of Star Wars #1 in order to get a copy.

Robbi Rodriguez, co-creator of Spider-Gwen was rather upset at how other creators were drawing her especially Frank Cho. So Frank retaliated and spent much of the summer drawing a variety of characters including Spider-Gwen, in other comedy exploitative poses with Spider-Gwen as a recurring theme shouting "Outrage". Which saw Robbi launching more jabs and Frank Cho putting together a fruit basket with yet more jabs inside. And Frank Cho donating the sale of the Spider-Gwen art to charity to benefit victims of domestic abuse.

We broke open the conversation at comic conventions that saw creators arguing over whether or not they should be charging to sign comic books, with Neal Adams taking Mark Waid over to the dark side, and Scott Snyder refusing to turn. Ben Templesmith and Peter David preferred the tip jar model, but for a while no one could talk about anything else and accusations of scab labour didn't exactly help.

There were also questions asked about the appropriateness of the Batgirl #41 Joker variant cover considering the contents and themes of the comic book, which saw the creative team of the book appeal to editors, against the marketing people who had commissioned the cover. DC Comics reverse-ferreted only after the artist Rafael Alberquerque expressed his own disquiet – but Bleeding Cool believe he was led down that path by marketing. Either way, we had an attempt at a #GamerGate controversy with #SaveTheCover as one part of the internet attacked the other, ending up with people mocking up their own version of what the comic would have looked like – and selling them to each other. 

Brett Breeding sent a shot across the bows at his old art partner Dan Jurgens after people asked him to ink commissions from Dan.

Please understand that I have no interest in working over Dan's work whatsoever. I have not worked with Dan since the late 90s, and have no desire to do so in the future. When our working relationship ended back then it was not pleasant. Dan's way of handling it was to tell me that "he would make sure I never worked on his pencils ever again" and I am more than happy to oblige him.

There was also the incredibly awkward Awesome Comic Con panel between John Romita Jr and Mark Bagley which got rather strained when attempts at jokes involving each others wives didn't exactly get taken the right way…

Bagley: You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?

Romita: Which is exactly why I'm here, you'd be boring if I wasn't a pain in the ass.

Bagley: I'm so not. Your wife didn't think I was boring.

Tim Seeley found himself the subject of internet outrage over Grayson #13's portrayal of female-on-male sexual assault as a joking matter. The result? Sales went up.

Dan Slott, as usual, found much of the internet to fight with, especially when the bi-rasure of Hercules became an issue earlier in the year. But found the tables turned on rather when John Byrne decided it was his turn and an old fight was given new life.

Slott, of course, expresses the all too common fannish position the Change Is Good! And a quick review of the last forty years or so shows us how well that has worked out!

If 2015 was a year of Comic Book Outrage, Alex De Campi made one of the most focused pieces of this type, bringing everything together.

I'm also talking about it because man, I am sick to death of corporate comics telling me they caaare about me and my lady-dollar as a reader, and then continuing to employ / protect known harassers. Kids, there are five known big-name, vindictive harassers in comics, and about three bad drunks. Two harassers are writers employed by DC; one is a DC editor; two are writers employed by Marvel.

Ales Kot, Nathan Edmondson, Ryan Bodenheim and Mitch Gerads went hammer and tongs over the use of the Punisher by Chris Kyle….

Ales Kot: Hey @nathanedmondson is is true that you're a raging homophobe or is that just industry lies? Serious question, pls let me know

Edmonson would also receive considerable controversy and comments over alleged sexual harassment, but every time I followed one of those allegations down the rabbit hole it would end in nothing. That didn't stop many people from boycotting his new series Red Wolf.

In comparison, Scott Allie's situation received relatively little feuding on-line, everyone including Scott, seemed to realise he had done a bad thing. Of course, my decision to publish a private mailing list correspondence regarding the rereporting of that story – which also tied into the Nathan Edmonson allegations, leaked to me by one of its participants shocked at what was being planned seemed to refocus that a little.

The allegations of harassment made by Valerie D'Orazio towards Chris Sims saw him make some apology, but repeatedly were highlighted as he gained greater comic book credits through the year.

Indeed, many of the biggest feuds over the year had to do with that oh-so-familiar issue, credit.

Whether it be Michael Davis, co-founder of Milestone and co-creator of Static, being wiped out of the publisher's history in light of the new DC Comic revival…

Discarded and played for four years, used for my resources without a thought to my efforts and without even a word to me when the bomb would go off in my life. Watching rumors become fact and a cover story concocted that erase's my labor and history.

Will Gerry Conway both attacking DC Comics

I first learned how this change would effect DC's approach to creators equity when I received a letter from DC Entertainment's new president, Diane Nelson, informing me I would no longer receive equity payments for Power Girl because she was now considered a "derivative" character. To soften the blow and show "appreciation" for my "contribution" she enclosed a check for $1000.

Then capitulating in apology. As both Bill Finger and Tony Isabella started to receive credit for Batman and Black Lightning, Al Plastino's granddaughter Mary Ann Plastino Charles called for Al to get credit for co-creating Supergirl.

Please get Al the credit he is due and all the creators who have died recently and will not see their characters come to life on television or in the movies. They never received any pensions, or health insurance, nothing at all. How ironic that DC has waited until these gentlemen have passed away to begin producing programs like Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Legion of Super Heroes,.

Instead DC Comics took any chance away, changing a "based on character created by Siegel and Shuster" to "Supergirl created by Siegel and Shuster" – for a month at least. Another shot across the bows?

And the oldest chestnut, the importance of the comic book artist over the writer or vice versa got a full scale revival with Greg Capullo and Kurt Busiek, with a smattering of famous guests along the way.

"I'm sure Greg is a nice guy- super talented artist for sure. But this makes him seem a dick. Sorry." – Jonathan Ross.

There was also a heavy escalation over one internet fight between inkers and colourists. This mad back-and-forth fight between inkers and colourists that saw all sorts of dirty laundry aired, bringing in Thomas Mason, Jonathan Glapion, Cory Hamscher and others diving on.

Jonathan Glapion First off Cory Hamscher talk about shit you do know, you f-cking one nib using hack! We can go down this road, no problem, just have your facts right Mr. Never-Inked-Capullo-At-All. Let's not talk credits in books. The fact that you wait 12 pages down the line before you bother to scan is a joke. So there, now I'm in the middle.

If ever we had a real-life version of Banky from Chasing Amy pay out it was here….

But the Feud Of The Year for me had to go to the pile on, over Arthur Suydam's decision to take tables allocated to other creators at a comic convention Artists Alley, seeing those artists moved elsewhere. As the controversy built, so did comments about his credit inflation, swipes, more dodgy show behaviour and photoshop forgery of his publicity photos to make it look as it he was more popular than he was – coupled with denials of it all from management, that had to then be rescinded…

#Suydamized was the Feud Of The Year… and it still continues.

Read more from the Rumour Awards here….

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!