Marvel Writers’ Retreat 1997 and more

Originally published February 28, 1997, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1215

Assorted fun stuff…

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I’ve just returned from a Marvel “writers’ retreat” in Long Island. At that august gathering, an assortment of editors including Bob Harras, Bobbie Chase, and Tom Breevort, and creators including such luminaries as Chris Claremont, Kurt Busiek, John Romita, Sr., Tom DeFalco, Klaus Janson, Larry Hama, Scott Lobdell, and others who are going to be hacked off with me because I didn’t mention them by name, gathered to try and sort out the “Lee-feld Universe.”

The deal with Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee which has them rebooting the Marvel Universe is slated to end around August of this year. Rumors have been rampant through fandom that an extension of the deal is being discussed.

But we were informed at this January meeting that Harras had been given the go-ahead by the Boys in the Back Room to plan the folding of the MIA heroes back into the Marvel Universe. And of course, the thought of the Boys changing their mind is absurd, so we proceeded on the assumption that the return of the heroes was a go.

Now it wouldn’t be proper or cricket for me to go into detail as to precisely what was said and/or discussed.

In point of fact, nothing was absolutely, bottom-line decided upon.

Various ideas were tossed around, giving the editors food for thought as to which direction they should go.

However, there was something about the gathering that really impressed me. And considering the number of times in recent months that I’ve raked Marvel over the coals, I figure it’s only fair that I finally say something positive.

I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve seen postings from fans on computer boards making snide comments about the creative personnel at Marvel.

I’m always reading that various creators are just hacking material out, or are cynical, just going through the motions, sleepwalking through the stories, not giving a dámņ about the characters. In short, there’s a plethora of nasty thoughts which would indicate that the creators are producing comic books about which they simply do not care.

I wish all of those sarcastic fans could have been flies on the wall at the meeting. Well—maybe, not all of the fans, because that would be one hëll of a lot of flies and there would have been lots of buzzing and, frankly, it would have been kind of disgusting.

What happened over the course of the three days worth of meetings was that various people came up with an assortment of notions about how the re-merge should be handled. And each concept acquired supporters as people started to form into several small “camps.”

And in an extremely large meeting room, with all the tables formed into a giant circle (rectangle, square—whatever—you get the idea) the different camps locked horns as to what would be the best way to go. What storyline would be the best for the characters and, ultimately, for the readers.

I wouldn’t say the discussion became heated, because that implies that there was anger. I don’t think anyone got really angry with anyone else. But the debate over the shape of the Marvel Universe for 1997 was aggressively spirited.

And I was struck by (a 2 x 4 across the face? Nah) the passion that the people around that large table had for the Marvel Universe. You think fans get into intense discussions? It’s nothing compared to the enthusiasm in that room as different creators put forward a variety of concepts. Concepts which were then subjected to scrutiny, criticism, dissection. The “old hands” around the table hurled themselves into the fray with zeal, while some of the newer arrivals in the Marvel talent pool just sat and watched in amazement as creators whose work they’d been reading for years locked horns over the best way to handle the return of the beloved characters.

Now, of course, the fans may not like what finally sees print. The story, whatever it turns out to be, may not satisfy everyone concerned. Although, let’s face it, what story has ever satisfied everyone? It is the readers who ultimately decide whether they think a story works or not.

But for any of you who think the caretakers of the Marvel Universe care any less about the characters than the fans do… well, I don’t want to be so insensitive as to say you’re wrong…

But you’re definitely not right.

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Presented for your inspection: The odd case of Gary St. Lawrence vs. Wizard Press.

St. Lawrence might be known to CBG readers for various articles he’s produced for this noted publication, including the transcript of a certain debate I’d just as soon forget. He’d also been a regular writer for Wizard, including a detailed article a couple years back about the history of Wolverine.

Some months after the St. Lawrence “Wolverine” piece first appeared, Wizard produced a mutant special magazine—and had a writer essentially recycle the St. Lawrence piece. The rewritten piece was—to be honest—better written its predecessor, but nonetheless the basic rehashing of his research work without so much as a by-your-leave bugged the hëll out of St. Lawrence. He took issue with the folks at Wizard, which was smart. He also took his complaint to the computer boards, which wasn’t smart, because it cheesed off the editors at Wizard who would have preferred to handle the grievance quietly.

I kind of got pulled into it all because on the one hand, Gary is a friend of mine, and on the other hand, I’ve had a long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship with Wizard. So because I have the IQ of squash, I tried to mediate the dispute. Wizard promised to pay Gary for the recycling of his work, and print a notice that his work had been used in the other article. They also assured that there would be no hard feelings and that St. Lawrence would continue to work for them.

With an egocentric “Well, my work here is done” mentality, I went soaring off into the sky.

Upshot was, St. Lawrence got paid, but the notice was so small and buried that no one noticed it. Also buried was St. Lawrence himself, who was informed that suddenly his work was no longer up to Wizard’s editorial standards. He was frozen out of assignments and even dropped off the comp copy list.

And, of course, since I do have the aforementioned squash-sized IQ, I now publicly call Wizard on it, saying, “Bad form, gentlemen, bad form.” And if I suddenly vanish from the “most popular writers” list or don’t get asked to help with the Wizard awards ceremony, well… that’s the way it goes, I guess. Probably would have been smarter to sit by quietly. But, no one ever accused me of excess brains.

* * *

Sometimes you just stumble over something in a catalogue and there is no question that you’re going to pick up the phone immediately and order it.

Such was the case for me when, paging through Signals, “a catalog for fans and friends of public television,” I stumbled over plush toys from Wallace & Gromit, the three delightful clay-animation British short films by Nick Parks. There are five dolls in all: Wallace, the gently eccentric inventor; Gromit, his mute but infinitely wiser dog; Wendolene, Wallace’s love interest who looks so much like Wallace, one wonders if incest will be the theme of the next short; Shaun, a sweater-wearing sheep; and, most hilariously, Feathers McGraw, the formidable outlaw penguin sporting his devilishly clever chicken disguise. They’re a nice size, averaging a foot tall each.

I’m a sucker for cute plush toys, and for Wallace and Gromit, so this was a lethal combination for the old American Express card.

* * *

For those poor unfortunate devils who aren’t enthusiasts of Wallace and Gromit, the foregoing was a colossal waste of time. To try to make it up to you, it’s about time for—yes, that’s right—another But I Digress contest!

I figure, why not? Now that I have an assistant, Bashful Bernie, I can actually process winners and send out prizes in something less than a couple of years. So, what are we doing for the contest this time?

Well, just to be really ambitious, it’s going to be a two-parter.

What put me in mind of this was when, at that selfsame Marvel retreat, I was chatting with Kurt Busiek and Tom Breevort and we were discussing team ups that made Marvel vs. DC look tame. Basically, we were coming up with historic meetings you’ll never see between mainstream superheroes and characters from the Harvey Comics line. These included: Henry Pym vs. Stumbo; Vision and Scarlet Witch vs. Casper and Wendy the Good Little Witch; The Ghostly Trio and the Warriors Three; Tony Stark and Richie Rich (with a separate team up between Jarvis and Cadbury); Sergeant Fury and Sad Sack.

And now I’m thinking, well heck, let’s really do it up. The first half of the contest involves coming up with battles that are between any two companies or universes except Marvel vs. DC, up to and including anything comics related. That includes animation, comic strips, anything that’s really appropriate (Martian Manhunter and Marvin the Martian vs. Mars Attacks).

But what took Marvel vs. DC to the next level was the Amalgam Universe. So, just to make it challenging, entries must also feature appropriately bizarre combos as if characters or teams of characters or even characters and places had been merged. None of this “Dark Claw” or “Super Soldier” stuff, though. The combos must have clearly identifiable names, and the weirder the better. For example: Popeye the Sailor Moon; The Inferior Babylon 5; Pinky and the Brainiac.

Extra points will be given for entries accompanied by illustrations.

Entries should be addressed to: To Be Continued, Inc., PO Box 239, Bayport, NY 11705, ATTN: Everybody vs. Everybody Contest.

Good luck. You’ll need it.

(Editor’s note: Of course, this contest has long since expired. Please do not send in entries).

(Peter David, writer of stuff, can be written to at… aw, hëll, I just printed the address above. Go read it.)