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Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Comics, dan didio, dc, Jim Shooter, marvel, MVL, stan lee
Dining With DiDio, Corruption At Marvel And Creating Transformers With Jim Shooter
JIm Shooter has been running his blog for months now, telling behind the scenes takes of his time as Editor-In-Chief. And fascinating stuff it is. And over the last few weeks, he's given us some belters.
Now, it behooves me to state that when talking with other industry types, including those who have held positions similar to Jim's, and have worked with him, they've pointed out that their versions differ, even their side of a meeting that Jim has described that they were party to.
But this is Jim's say, and while not all will take it as gospel, it's making a fascinating read. Here are some excerpts with relevant links.
His Legion Of Superheroes pitch document part one, part two and part three.
Halfway through my story, while at the Baltimore Con, Dan DiDio invited me to breakfast. The main subject of discussion: Dan informed me that I had to write Karate Kid and Duo Damsel out of my story because Geoff Johns was using them in some storyline of his. I asked how Johns had the right to usurp those characters. Dan said that Johns was so late with his scripts that his books went in and out of the house before things like that could be reviewed and considered, much less changed. He had written the beginnings of his story, which made it to print, and therefore it was fait accompli. My scripts, on the other hand, were far ahead of schedule, and therefore, could still be changed. Reward lateness, punish the guy who's ahead of schedule….
After I turned in the first draft of my looong outline for my Legion of Super-Heroes mega-arc a few years back, I was called to a meeting with the editor and Dan DiDio. They asked for a rewrite—not because they didn't like the story, but because they wanted me to add a part that would introduce a new Super character, a Superboy of sorts.
And here's one reason why: the Siegel and Shuster estates were suing over the original Superboy, and were likely to prevail. A new Super young man, cleanly owned by DC, was needed. The clone-cousin and Prime hadn't really worked out.
Also, a Super in the LSH would certainly drive sales.
On Marvel Corruption, the quick fingered receptionist;
The next day, I showed my evidence to Kathy. Clearly, the receptionist was stealing any cash that came in with a sub form and was throwing those forms away. Kathy, however, steadfastly refused to believe it. I was dumbfounded. She insisted that no such thing was occurring. She adamantly refused to take any action. What th…?
I took my evidence to the financial V.P., Barry Kaplan. He believed it.
Barry carried the ball from there. The receptionist was fired that day (over Kathy's objections!) and that was the end of that scam.
When the voucher system went wrong;
John [Verpoorten] would let a creator voucher a job in advance. He'd put their voucher through, as he did with Gerry's voucher for SSM #3. They'd get paid. Then, for some reason, they didn't deliver.
So, someone had to actually write a script for SSM #3. In that case, me. I dutifully delivered the job and my voucher to John. John tucked my voucher for #3 in his desk drawer and wrote out a new voucher for a future issue, in my case, SSM #7. When the check for SSM #7, made out to me, came down from accounting to John, he removed the hard copy of the voucher for #7 he'd filled out and put it in his drawer. He pulled out the voucher I'd filled out for SSM #3, stapled the hard copy to the check and delivered the check to me. It was for the right amount and had the right hard copy attached. The only indication of what the check was for was on the hard copy. No such info appeared on the check itself.
John would have repeated the process when someone actually wrote #7. This, in accounting parlance, is called LAPPING.
He did it a lot.
Nonetheless, one guy, a hall-of famer who shall remain nameless, who did a lot of work for Louise Jones (later Louise Simonson) managed to pull some trickeration on me. Louise, like most editors, usually came in a little late. Creative people, I think are more often the up-late type than the early riser type. Anyway, she'd come in around ten (then work way more hours than a human should have to). The freelance artist in question used to stop by the office early. I was always there early, and usually I was the only one. The artist would claim that he had to rush to the dentist/doctor/bank/dry cleaner, whatever, and couldn't wait for Louise. Would I please sign his voucher? Sure. He would show me a batch of pages. I'd count 'em. Yep. Twelve. I'd sign the voucher and put it in the interoffice mail to accounting. He'd say, "I'll put these pages on Louise's desk," and hurry off.
After a while, I finally figured out that he wasn't putting the pages on Louise's desk, and had been showing me the same twelve pages week after week.
On BWS creating Bruce Banner's abusive background;
Barry came to me with a completely penciled and written graphic novel. It was the about the development of the "mighty, raging fury" inside Bruce Banner, who, he revealed, was the product of an abusive home. I looked it over. I thought it was brilliant, one of the best comics stories I'd ever seen. I offered Barry a contract and an advance. He turned me down — temporarily. He proposed to finish the thing — then, if I would agree to publish it as created, no alterations whatsoever, he would sign a contract and take the money. I was willing to agree to that in writing on the spot, but he said, no, when it's finished. Okay. Fine by me. I already knew, from what he'd shown me, that there'd be no problem.
Barry showed the work around a bit to people in the office. I guess he allowed Al Milgrom or someone to make photocopies of it. Ask Al.
I was later given to understand that Al kept the copies in the Hulk drawer of his flat file.
Bill Mantlo, looking through the drawer to see what current Hulk artwork had come in, saw the copies. He then blatantly ripped the story off for a regular issue of the Hulk.
Where the Transformers came from;
Some months later, the Hasbro exec who was Marvel's main contact, Bob Prupis, came to my office. He pulled a few toy vehicles out of his bag and proceeded to open and unfold them into ROBOTS.
They were bigger and much more complex than the Mysterions. Different Japanese technology, same general idea.
Hasbro, he said, had the rights to the technology and toys based upon it. The problem, he said was story. He said that the Japanese storyline associated with the toys wasn't useful. Japanese kids, apparently, don't require much justification. Cars become robots, robots become cars. Well, of course they do. What do you mean, "why?"
(P.S. To this day I've never read or seen any of the Japanese storyline.)
American kids, he thought would like to know why. Did I think we could develop this toy concept for comics, animation and other entertainment the way we developed G.I. JOE?
Sure.
DePatie, who had been simmering from the moment he walked into the room, blew up. He launched into a diatribe about how ugly, amateurish, unreadable and stupid our comics were. Complete crap. There was nothing useful that we could possibly do.
I pointed out that we had created G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS. DePatie said that we had NOTHING TO DO WITH TRANSFORMERS.
That took me by surprise. I had my Hasbro file with me. I pulled out my TRANSFORMERS treatment. I said I wrote this. HE CALLED ME A LIAR, insisted that SUNBOW had written that treatment, that Sunbow had done all the development. He got up and stormed out of the room.
So much for cooperation.
Margaret apologized. She said she'd address the situation. But nothing much changed during the rest of my time at Marvel.
P.S. As far as I know, with regard to G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS Sunbow never created or contributed anything.
Stan always told me never to crop a pretty girl so high that you couldn't see her bust. Or at least some cleavage. I used to have tremendous problems with John Romita, Sr. when I was plotting and laying out the Spider-Man syndicated strip. John would always crop the girls extra-tastefully at the shoulders, even if I laid the panel out properly, per Stan. John actually considered becoming a priest when he was young. What a choirboy. Then Stan would go honking at John, then John would get annoyed with me for getting him in trouble. What did I do?! Then the redo would make the strip late. Then…well, it's a long story. Anyway, show her charms.
On the announcement of his appointment as Editor In Chief
Then Stan came in with his wife Joan, fresh from some upscale soiree, judging from the way they were dressed.
Stan decided it would be a good time to make the announcement. And he did.
There was dead silence. Archie and his wife Ann were shooting straight razors at me from their eyes. I believe that Archie thought I had thrown him under the M57 Crosstown.
Everyone else seemed to be thinking: "HIM? HE'S in charge now? Uh-oh." Fear and loathing permeated the joint.
More and more and more to come…
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