When someone is saying stuff about me that is deliberately false, I say they lied. “He lied.” “He’s fulla crap.” “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” “That’s bull.”
That’s how I put it.
So Todd McFarlane claims that Neil “gave away” all rights to Miracleman, and ha ha on Neil. And Neil, in the course of calmly dissecting Todd’s claims, says:
“Beyond that, he’s also distancing himself from the reality-based community in his description of the result of the legal case.”
Distancing himself from the reality-based community. You gotta love that.
PAD
• 
Words are like a playground for him. He’s on a different level.
He’s a master, that one. I still find his reading of “Being An Experiment Upon Strictly Scientific Lines..” to be one of the single funniest things I’ve ever heard, due almost entirely to the phrasing. (“Drawn fûçkìņg typewriters at dawn” and the like.)
TWL
Not that Neil Gaiman isn’t a master wordsmith, but I think that particular turn-of-phrase came from that New York Times Sunday piece blasting President Bush the Sunday before the election, where some White House official sneered to an interviewer at how they had no need to appeal to the “reality-based community”. It was a pretty amazing article in its own right- I’m pretty sure it came that day. I can dig it up if people are curious. But then again, maybe NG doesn’t read the New York Times- I don’t know.
Isn’t it kind of funny that with the exception of the putrid appearances of Miracleman, Todd has not really attempted to use the stuff that he “purchased” when he bought Eclipse. I wonder if he believes that he has no rights to the material. The basis for this is the lack of reprints. I would think that Airboy digest reprints would be a decent sell.
It’s a great line that could be applied in many places. I often feel that the Bush adminstration’s statements are trying to distance themselves from the reality-based community as well.
“He lied.” “He’s fulla crap.” “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” “That’s bull.”
vs.
“Beyond that, he’s also distancing himself from the reality-based community in his description of the result of the legal case.”
For ten points, which of these was written by someone raised in New Jersey, and which was written by someone raised in Britain? 🙂
Not to detract from your writing skills Peter, but I feel that the best writers of the English language are the people who created it.
What Garth Ennis says of the Irish, I’ll let you decide
Careful, Tyg — I was born and raised in New Jersey, too. 🙂
My cardinal rule of thumb is that dissing NJ is forbidden for those who have not lived there … and, of course, compulsory for those who have.
TWL
No offense to Todd (and I really like his dad who’s a really nice guy), but anyone who goes out and buys $3 Million baseballs has most likely been somewhat removed from the reality-based community for quite some time. That’s reality. So Neil’s assertion doesn’t exactly ring the astonishment bell.
I don’t know Tim, I notice that all the toll roads, bridges & tunnels between New Jersey & other states are one way tolls where you pay to get out of New Jersey.
>;)
“No offense to Todd (and I really like his dad who’s a really nice guy), but anyone who goes out and buys $3 Million baseballs has most likely been somewhat removed from the reality-based community for quite some time.”
God knows I’ve busted on Todd about a lot of stuff, but never really on that. It may sound strange to say, but it was $3 mill well spent. When one considers how much it costs to mount a commercial or publicity campaign under normal circumstances, Todd got gargantuan bang for his buck. For a while you couldn’t turn on any TV or radio without them talking about him, plus it got him huge contacts and contracts for his toy line.
What I do think was inappropriate was his not discussing it with his wife first.
PAD
Why, is she more of a Sosa fan?
Ryan,
I would be interested to read that article if you can turn it up without spending a lot of time on it.
It fits with everything else we’ve seen about Todd McFarlane that he would spend that much money without at least telling his wife his plan before hand.
gee that’s just super
PAD: “What I do think was inappropriate was his not discussing it with his wife first.”
See now that’s the type of smart, writer-type thing that gets your point across and gets you points with your wife.
Stuff that I as a newly wed still need to learn.
(I’m still paying for that line I put down here quite a while ago that the whole Bill Clinton/Monica oral-office incident didn’t affect me in any way or even give my wife any ideas 🙂
I suspect that Neil may have taken his lead from the legislature of his birth where it’s against the rules of the Parliament to call another Mmember of Parliament a “liar”, so you end up with comments like “with every utterance he finds himself further from the realm of Ma’at.” [Egyptian Goddess of Truth]
American friends of mine whohave watched the proceedings of parliament in the UK have always expressed their astonishment at both the limitations as to what can be said overtly and the ability MPs show in what they can get away with covertly.
I suspect that Neil may have taken his lead from the legislature of his birth where it’s against the rules of the Parliament to call another Mmember of Parliament a “liar”, so you end up with comments like “with every utterance he finds himself further from the realm of Ma’at.” [Egyptian Goddess of Truth]
American friends of mine whohave watched the proceedings of parliament in the UK have always expressed their astonishment at both the limitations as to what can be said overtly and the ability MPs show in what they can get away with covertly.
Here’s a citation on the Bush aide. According to the Ron Suskind article:
And some people think only Ayn Rand villains talk that way.
Maybe Todd’s closer to a reality-SHOW-based community.
— Ken from Chicago
P.S. America didn’t make the English language, it made the language better (with turbo boost, remote control access and a keen mp3 player) and natch cosntantly updating with new patches available for free downloading and installing.
// I don’t know Tim, I notice that all the toll roads, bridges & tunnels between New Jersey & other states are one way tolls where you pay to get out of New Jersey. //
We like to think of it as paying to get into New York.
I’d rather pay to stay OUT of New York.
But seriously, Todd’s loopier than your average slinky if he thinks his excuses are gonna beat Gaiman’s purple prose.
But it takes really big balls to make the kind of claims Todd does. I should know. I bought some at the local toy store and now I feel like saying whatever I want.
aaron:
>But seriously, Todd’s loopier than your average slinky if he thinks his excuses are gonna beat Gaiman’s purple prose.
When I read this, I was immediately reminded of the less-than-spectacular debate between Todd and Peter that took place over 12 years ago (man, I’m getting old). From the initial article and But I digress column and subsequent transcripts, it appeared that a public debate was set up at a Con to settle ongoing disagreements (re:Image, etc) and PAD arrived expecting a public debate while Todd showed up just looking to entertain. McFarlane batted away any real questions or legitimate discussion with jokes that fell flat or less than stellar responses, while Peter responded with very well thought out answers and comments.
Fred
“McFarlane batted away any real questions or legitimate discussion with jokes that fell flat or less than stellar responses, while Peter responded with very well thought out answers and comments.”
And as a direct result, I went on to international fame and fortune and am now a multimillionaire with my own toy company while Todd McFarlane faded into oblivion, never to be heard from again.
PAD
Isn’t it kind of funny that with the exception of the putrid appearances of Miracleman, Todd has not really attempted to use the stuff that he “purchased” when he bought Eclipse. I wonder if he believes that he has no rights to the material. The basis for this is the lack of reprints. I would think that Airboy digest reprints would be a decent sell.
I think that Eclipse was, in some cases, doing series where they owned first serial rights and the writers could pick up and leave. Because if I’m not mistaken doesn’t Mark Evanier control some of the rights to DNAgents?
>>> I don’t know Tim, I notice that all the toll roads, bridges & tunnels between New Jersey & other states are one way tolls where you pay to get out of New Jersey.
—
Remember — and I say this as a native — we’re talking about the state whose legislature was once right on the brink of voting to make Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” the official state song of New Jersey, until it was finally pounded into their heads that the whole point of the song was that young people were desperate to get the hëll out of New Jersey.
And as a direct result, I went on to international fame and fortune and am now a multimillionaire with my own toy company while Todd McFarlane faded into oblivion, never to be heard from again.
Well, that’s what you get for not catering to the masses. 😛
Remember — and I say this as a native — we’re talking about the state whose legislature was once right on the brink of voting to make Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” the official state song of New Jersey, until it was finally pounded into their heads that the whole point of the song was that young people were desperate to get the hëll out of New Jersey.
What, you mean they don’t have the line “Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It’s a death trap, it’s a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we’re young” in the state bruchure?
Fred… If that was what I thought it was… THAT hurt. A comparison to Todd… (shudder)
What, you expect coherance at 6:30 am?
Really, Todd’s ongoing arguments are the equivilant of a train wreck. You know it’s horrible, but you can’t bring yourself to look away.
For a less cliche example, see all anti-comics legislation of the past five years… Although, I WILL give them Carnage.
If only so we never see him again.
Neil linked to the NYT article ages ago and commented on what a vexing phrase “reality-based community” is, so yes, he’s purposefully invoking it in this case.
Actually, no, despite common restatement of this (and in fact I’ve been misled by it in the past) “Born to Run” was not going to be named Official State Song. There was a bill drafted to name it (officially) the “unofficial theme of our state’s youth”, but that bill never even made it to a vote. More details here: http://www.welcometoasburypark.com/borntorun121.shtml
Todd has worked on and planned to produce other Eclipse-related items, such as a Black Terror series where work was done toward a couple issues and then scotched. Eclipse owned some rights to some of what they produced, but not all. As a publisher, I’ve done well more with printed material from About Comics than Todd has. So far, we have issued four trade paperbacks made up of material that originally saw print at Eclipse — Kurt Busiek & James Fry’s The Liberty Project, the Lela Dowling adaptation of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland (released simply as Alice), Evanier and Meugniot’s DNAgents, Evanier and Spiegle’s Crossfire — plus a pamphlet-format one-shot that was all Eclipse-published material (Gerber and Colan’s Stewart the Rat), and usage of Eclipse-published material in the pamphlet Wild About Comics, and one script for a story that was originally published by Eclipse in Panel One: Comic Book Scripts by Top Writers.
–New Jersey born Nat
Re: the “Born to Run” as state song — I can’t be the only one who remembers a great stand-up routine from Robert Wuhl riffing on that exact bit.
I don’t know Tim, I notice that all the toll roads, bridges & tunnels between New Jersey & other states are one way tolls where you pay to get out of New Jersey.
It’s not that. Delaware is worrying about being overrun. 🙂
TWL
“breaks me up”? Wha Huh? Did those goshdarn kids change it from “cracks me up” without telling me?
We like to think of it as paying to get into New York.
and
It’s not that. Delaware is worrying about being overrun. 🙂
As a native Pennsylvanian, I’d just like to point out that the toll bridges work the same here: Free to enter NJ, pay to get the hëll out.
Interestingly enough, when I attended a conference in Trenton*, I noticed something interestinng: A lot of NJ state workers live on our side of the Delaware river and commute to Trenton, whereas PA has a residency requirement to work in state government.
*Incidentally, is it possible to have an entire city declared unfit for human habitation and torn down? You should look into that for Trenton. Ðámņ, what a cesspool. 😛
Tim, I get to make fun of Jersey because I’ve lived in Philly.
West Philly at that.
Which reminds me of a newspaper article I saw shortly after I moved to LA from Philly. USC was recruiting a couple of athletes from Philly, and they were being given a tour of the campus and its surroundings. The guide was apologizing for the general area around the campus, explaining that it was easy to get to better places, etc. One of the recruits said, in what I’m sure was cleaned up for the article quote languagee, “Shoot, in Philly this is a suburb”.
Tim, I get to make fun of Jersey because I’ve lived in Philly.
As Tom Servo would say, “Ah, well, of course, that makes perfect se-wha-HUH?”
And to Den — I’ve thought for years that Trenton was … not a wonderful place. I’m from *northern* NJ. 🙂
TWL
Besides, calling it “Jersey” is rather like using “Frisco” when you’re in the SF Bay area. It’s good way to ensure you end up in the actual bay…
TWL
Tim Lynch:
“Besides, calling it “Jersey” is rather like using “Frisco” when you’re in the SF Bay area. It’s good way to ensure you end up in the actual bay…”
Hi Tim,
I’m originally from the San Francisco area. Pretty cool city, overall, and I recomend Pier 39 highly.
But when some dìçk refers to it as Frisco because they think it’s cool… Alright, now I’m pìššëd!
I think it’s time I found an old rusted guitar string that I can use to re-wire the voice box of the next person who says Friso, Jersey, ‘Bama, or any other bìŧçh-šhørŧëņëd form of a proper name!
Temper… flaring…
Rage… building…
Blood vessels…
Um… Can I borrow a mop?
😉
And as a direct result, I went on to international fame and fortune and am now a multimillionaire with my own toy company while Todd McFarlane faded into oblivion, never to be heard from again.
Everybody finds their own way. And then we die.
Tim,
‘Tim, I get to make fun of Jersey because of Jersey because I’ve lived in Philly.’
“As Tom Servo would say, ‘Ah, well, of course, that makes perfect se-wha-HUH?”
As one who has also lived in Philly, I believe what Tom Galloway is saying is that having lived in the city that has made booing an art form and even infamously booed SANTA CLAUS once at the Vet, being from Philly means you have a born (or eventually transfused) right to make fun of EVERYTHING. It’s in the blood 🙂
Aaron Thall,
“For a less cliche example, see all anti-comics legislation of the past five years. Although, I WILL give them Carnage. If only so we never see him again.”
Well, based on the events in “New Avengers”, Bendis may have granted you your wish. It appears that the Sentry took carnage out into space and ripped him in half!
Of course, if he “gets better”, you realize that we can’t GIVE the anti-comics extremists anything, because once we concede on that character, what about The Joker, who is also a killing machine? Or The Punisher? Or even less-profile characters like Carrion?
I will grant you I do think the Carnage character is completely vile, but a good wtiter like J.M. DeMatteis has done god stories with him. To me, he represents a test for Spider-Man that has yet to be fully explored.
That being: If this villain not only kills when he has to, or even often, but is CERTAIN to kill innocents every time he breaks free from ‘momentary’ prison, is Spider-Man, in effect, killing people by refusing to kill him?
I, for one, believe he should.
Re: euphamisms for lying. I always liked the one that was fashionable in the latter days of Margaret Thatcher (AKA the Evil Old Bat) where politicians described each other as “being economical with the truth”.
And to Den — I’ve thought for years that Trenton was … not a wonderful place. I’m from *northern* NJ. 🙂
Like that’s any better? I got in-laws in Linden, Rahway, and Elizabeth. Aside from Cape May, does Jersey have any towns that don’t make people want to kill themselves?
It’s not just Philly. All Pennsylvanians claim as our right to dog Jersey. It’s the only thing we have in common with New Yorkers.
Oh, and Mitch –
Frisco
Frisco
Frisco
Frisco
Frisco
Frisco
Frisco
Frisco
Frisco
Frisco
In speaking of British things, the new Doctor Who series started in the UK. There’s a site that is going to have on it the episodes after they air. The site is:
http://zap.to/newdoctorwho
Just thought I’d let you know, PAD.
“God knows I’ve busted on Todd about a lot of stuff, but never really on that. It may sound strange to say, but it was $3 mill well spent. When one considers how much it costs to mount a commercial or publicity campaign under normal circumstances, Todd got gargantuan bang for his buck. For a while you couldn’t turn on any TV or radio without them talking about him, plus it got him huge contacts and contracts for his toy line.
What I do think was inappropriate was his not discussing it with his wife first. “
I’m not privy to the deals that resulted from the publicity so I can’t speak to the value of the stunt in those terms. I don’t believe that he was doing so badly with the toy line anyway that he’d need to pull something sensational for that specific reason. I do know that most everyone I talked to at the time did indeed have Todd on their minds…..but mostly as a nut-case (Their opinions). In fact as I recall the news items on it, these also treated the purchase as a curiosity and the whole thing faded within a couple of days.
During the ensuing times when the record was eventually broken again the common musing was that Todd would need to go out and hire Tonya Harding to whack a knee so that the record wouldn’t be broken and render his balls worthless. Now there’s an interesting vision…..Todd walking around bemoaning his worthless balls…..
Here’s a link with the whole of the Ron Suskind article for those who were curious and didn’t see it back when. Just for informational purposes – not to derail this thread.
http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/sloth/2004-10-16b.html
The esteemed Mr. David said:
“God knows I’ve busted on Todd about a lot of stuff, but never really on that. It may sound strange to say, but it was $3 mill well spent. When one considers how much it costs to mount a commercial or publicity campaign under normal circumstances, Todd got gargantuan bang for his buck.”
Really? It did get him on Howard Stern’s radio show to show off his custom Howard Stern doll. It possibly got some baseball fans to notice it. But as a PR person, I measure its effectiveness in the actual results – people coming to the con, buying the CD, whatever. I doubt he sold ten more copies of “Spawn” that month. It’s very much like Michael Jackson’s hyperbaric chamber…or, if the rumors are true, his playing around with kids in that infamous documentary film. PR that does nothing for the subject is bad PR – and yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as bad PR.
Jerome,
As one who has also lived in Philly, I believe what Tom Galloway is saying is that having lived in the city that has made booing an art form and even infamously booed SANTA CLAUS once at the Vet, being from Philly means you have a born (or eventually transfused) right to make fun of EVERYTHING. It’s in the blood 🙂
Ah. Could be, but so far as I can tell that just puts him firmly in the “people who’ve lived in glass houses…” category. 🙂
And Den:
Like that’s any better? I got in-laws in Linden, Rahway, and Elizabeth. Aside from Cape May, does Jersey have any towns that don’t make people want to kill themselves?
Montclair (well, okay, except for the property taxes). Dover. Rockaway. Cedar Grove.
Just fer starters.
Get more than a few miles away from the NJ Turnpike and you’ll find that lots of the state is perfectly nice. If all I ever saw of California was the I-5 corridor, I wouldn’t be impressed with my current home state either.
All Pennsylvanians claim as our right to dog Jersey.
Well, coming from a state which boasts town names like Throop, Moosic, Accident, and Intercourse, it’s understandable that you’d be scrambling to find SOME right or other…
TWL
In addition to Phillyites having the given right to boo anything, keep in mind it’s right next to Jersey. In this case, we know what we’re slamming. : -)
And I note that Tim left out a certain Ivy League bastion as a town in Jersey that doesn’t make one want to kill themselves. Even a Penn alum has to admit that Princeton the town is a lot nicer than West Philly (although the area around the Penn campus has improved a *lot* since I was there 20 years ago).
And I note that Tim left out a certain Ivy League bastion as a town in Jersey that doesn’t make one want to kill themselves.
I went to Cornell. NOBODY at Cornell is willing to say anything nice about Princeton, the town or the school. 🙂
(I have visited the place, both to see friends and when I was looking around at grad schools. Even taking into account that Ithaca spoiled me, I wasn’t especially impressed…)
TWL
Tim, those names are nothing. How would you like to live in Blue Ball or Bird-in-Hand, PA?
Yeah, PA has some funny names for our towns, but I’ve been all over Jersey and the entire state is a trash heap.
And while we’re on the subject of the NJ Turnpike, why are the cashiers at the rest stops so incredibly stupid? And what’s the deal with the not having self-serve pumps at any of your gas stations? Nothing makes long distance travel more fun that waiting 20 minutes to pay 10 cents more per gallon for the privilege of having somebody who can’t speak English pump your gas for you.
Tim, those names are nothing. How would you like to live in Blue Ball or Bird-in-Hand, PA?
I can only assume that Blue Ball is some distance away from one of the other cities I mentioned earlier…
Yeah, PA has some funny names for our towns, but I’ve been all over Jersey and the entire state is a trash heap.
Hey, I can’t change your perceptions — but I lived there for 16 years and am voluntarily going back this summer.
And while we’re on the subject of the NJ Turnpike, why are the cashiers at the rest stops so incredibly stupid? And what’s the deal with the not having self-serve pumps at any of your gas stations?
Those questions I can’t answer — but the former problem, at least, seems to me to be pretty common at most rest stops regardless of state.
I’ve NO idea why NJ doesn’t do self-serve, though. That’s struck me as bizarre for quite some time.
TWL