Do you want it good, or do you want it Wednesday? We’re not entirely qualified to comment on this, since our knowledge of DC continuity post-Crisis I is spotty at best, but here goes:
One of the big issues in the recent Marvel Civil War controversy was the eternal “Good or Wednesday debate. Editor Tom Brevoort argued that the book would live on in its most complete form in the collected edition and keeping lagging art boy Steve McNiven on the book rather than calling in a substitute legion of artists would make the ultimate collection a better book. (We felt that Brevoort was making the right call because, despite all the protests. there is no way any Marvel Zombies would stop buying the book.)
Now, the example of the “Wednesday” side of the equation most people chose to hold up was the pamphlet publication of INFINITE CRISIS, which called in that substitute legion, and was so rushed for its finale that the collected edition indeed contains a host of differences and fixes. Like we said, we can’t keep up with the ins and outs of DC continuity, so we’ll let Comics Should Be Good! and Blog@ do the heavy lifting.
CBR has several panel-by-panel breakdowns of the changes between the periodical and collected versions, with tons of minor art and text changes. Graeme at Newsarama has a more in-depth look at a single change that seems to affect millions of souls drifting between Earth 2 and Acheron…or something.
It also seems George Perez redrew the final two page spread (we’re just linking to small versions of the original scans, hoep this isn’t a no-no.)
Original:
Improved:
The annoying thing to me with the above Crisis comparison is that for those who bought it monthly, you lose the benefit of these types of extras and enhancements. This isn’t the first time this has happened, of course, but it’s sort of a dis-incentive (if that’s a word) to buy the monthlies if you knwo a collected version is going to have these types of extras and/or improvements.
Brevoort’s excuse was just that – an excuse. You can always go back later and fix what you don’t like, as DC just proved. I really doubt that crossovers really have a long shelf life outside the first Crisis – it’s the only one I see in any bookstore. I don’t even see House of M and that’s only a year or two old!
Brevoort was just trying to place the blame elsewhere instead of a being a man and taking responsibility for his mistakes.
It’s one thing to “fix” what you don’t like — the changes listed at Blog@ have major DC continuity changes from the monthlies. That’s a scary thought — that you’ll get one story if you read the story from issue to issue, and another if you read the collection. It’s one thing to fix continuity gaffes in the costumes or a typo in the lettering. DC is changing the ending, in a way that will rub many of their most ardent fans the wrong way. Not a good thing.
And Brevoort is doing the right thing.
Will, I think Tom Brevoort is an extremely responsible person. You have an interesting point about collections, but to me it didn’t come off as an excuse at all.
From what I heard recently, the reason Civil War was late was because McNiven had to redraw some panels that depicted characters that were supposed to be elsewhere in other books.
The original Infinite Crisis spread, I believe, was drawn by Joe Bennet. I think it was a lead up to 52, so he drew the main characters in it.
The Perez version doesn’t look like typical Perez (wondering who inked) but that Starfire is a dead giveaway.
Wow. That looks loads better. Though I have all the issues I will invest into this collection when it becomes a soft cover. ANy other panel by panel changes?
I think the big scream about Civil War was losing all the casual readers. Yes, Marvel Zombies will buy it but it wasn’t long before #4 was supposed to come out Joey Q was on the Colbert show flogging it. The book got a lot of press and sales indicated it was drawing in new readers outside the industry. Will casual readers wait? Sales figures will tell.
Steve McNiven lives “just down the street” from me, and what I have heard (and I am paraphrasing) is that the reason Civl War is late is:
1. Civil War #1 went to press practically right after Steve was finished drawing it. Thus, there wasn’t enough lead time to work on the other issues.
2. Because of conventions, holidays, vacations, illness, overworked, or whatever, etc, Steve pitched in to help with inking chores on an issue.
3. I might be getting this last part wrong, but I also have a feeling that Steve wasn’t getting the scripts in time because the editors are running a tight ship as far as contuinuity goes, and everyone wants to make sure everything is done right!
Steve has missed/cancelled several appearances this year so that he can get caught up.
Scratch that….
He is not trying to keep up, he is trying to meet unreasonable deadlines/expectations.
Maybe (definitely) I’m crazy, but shouldn’t Marvel by this point have enough capital to finance the creation of an important book like CIVIL WAR prior to solicitation? If you are spending money on TV and national magazine print advertising, wouldn’t shipping on time be more crucial than at any other point in the company’s history? I know that it is highly unlikely that either of the Big Two will ever get off the Wednesday sugar fix of income from floppies, but it sure seems like NOW IS THE TIME to examine your business model and perhaps begin to complete books prior to solicitation. No one outside of the comic book industry that I’ve spoken with views the current way of doing business as a good plan for anything other than creating a negative view of the industry and perhaps killing it altogether.
Are we sure that the final spread isn’t Jiminez?
(It seems odd that one of the major pieces wouldn’t be at least re-drawn by the guy who was ostensibly the series’ artist…)
In regards to Brevoort, a good editor doesn’t sell out his creative people. The whole Civil Wars lateness comes from poor planning – they rushed it out there to compete with Infinite Crisis/52. That’s the editorial and marketing department’s fault. The last thing Brevoort should’ve done is sell out Millar and McNiven the way he did. You don’t see the good managers/coaches in sports placing blame on the players for a mistake he/she made. That’s exactly what Brevoort did.