§ This is so annoying: Colleen Doran writes:

Well, I won’t link to them, and I don’t know why I should be surprised, but I’m surprised.

I woke up this morning to find the details of a private meeting on an industry website. I seem to recall a couple of fans in the area who clearly could not wait to send out carrier pigeons, a flair, and a satellite transmission to relate the details of this private meeting in a public forum.


We’ve seen the item in question and it’s pretty clear that the “reporter” overheard a private conversation and wrote up the meager news within as a “news item.” Note to all wanna-be journos out there: eavesdropping doesn’t count unless your name is Mata Hari and it’s this kind of ridiculous behavior that gives serious journalists such a bad rap.

§ Tom DeFalco and Marvel look to be parting ways:

DeFalco said there are several reasons why his relationship with Marvel may be ending, chief among them being the simple fact that he’s getting little to no other work from the company. “The bad news about working on the same thing for that many years is that editors start to believe that it is the only thing you can do,” DeFalco told CBR. “So the only way I can get non-Spider-related work is to work for other companies.”

DeFalco continued, “The truth is that editors are a cowardly and superstitious lot. They are constantly looking for the ‘next big thing’ that will magically jump the sales of every comic book. The sad truth is that, with the market we have today, there is no magical ‘next big thing.’


§ Irresistible headline: Middletown author’s manga ‘Tantric Stripfighter Trina’ goes nationwide

1 COMMENT

  1. Why is it that the older you get, the less people think you might be capable of writing a good story. isnt the experience thing important as well? Some of the best authors out there are doing their best work later in life…lol…and tom isnt that old!

    so dumb…and tom knows his stuff. really. good guy, good solid writer with more chops than most of the new talent out there. someone smart will find tom and hire him in no time. Just watch!!

    as far as the person reporting on colleens conversation, they should print this persons name so we know who to avoid at all costs. really low.

    jimmy

  2. “Note to all wanna-be journos out there: eavesdropping doesn’t count unless your name is Mata Hari and it’s this kind of ridiculous behavior that gives serious journalists such a bad rap.”

    You’re speaking for serious journalists?

  3. I think it is a shame. I like Tom’s stuff myself but more importantly, Spider-Girl is the book that hooked my daughter on comics and made her stop believing that only boys could be the hero. Meeting him at NY Comic Con last year was the hit of the show for her. From what I can see, he can still bring in the kids.

  4. Overheard conversations and gossip are reported in the media, but they’re reported in gossip columns, not as news articles. Gossip columns can be newsy; see, for example, the “Washington Whispers” section in U.S. News & World Report magazine.

    SRS

  5. The first item has no context whatsoever and that renders it completely meaningless. There isn’t even a vague suggestion as to what this “Private meeting” was: Doran’s next project? Her Social Insurance Number? What’s for lunch next week? It’s hard to share in the outrage when there is no indication how serious the transgression was.

  6. How can a meeting be considered private when it’s done in public and within earshot of other people? Not being able to read the actual offending news story, it’s hard to understand exactly what this unnamed person/journalist did that was so wrong or unethical.

    I read Coleen’s blog and from what I read in the comment section, it seemed as though she was having her agent deal with what she referred to as an “unauthorized story”. Since when does something have to be authorized before reporting it as news?

  7. Rick:

    So snooping on people’s private conversations is reporting now?

    There is a huge difference between “Authorized” and eavesdropping. For instance, someone reported that Carla Speed McNeil was seen at the Vertigo booth — could something be up? Well maybe. Who knows. People are seen dining together all the time. It’s public, and when you’re a public figure, it, sadly, comes with the territory.

    Had someone said “Colleen and soanso” were seen in talks…I do consider that legit “reporting.” But listening in on a private (even if publicly conducted) conversation and then WRITING ABOUT IT without asking is, frankly, reprehensible.

  8. Heidi:

    No, I don’t consider snooping in on people’s private conversations to be reporting. You’ve read the the piece. I have not. Was the unnamed person truly snooping or could they not help but hear the conversation?

    She doesn’t even know that the story came from any of the fans she recalls being within earshot of the conversation. She is only assuming that it came from them, right? In fact, she even jokes that perhaps her laptop was bugged. For all we know, it might have been leaked from the other person she was having the secret private discussion with.

    Stranger things have happened.

  9. “So snooping on people’s private conversations is reporting now? ”

    It is in the UK, I guess it must be different in the USA.

  10. Jess Lemon was a work of fiction, and I never ever said she was a real person. I said she wasn’t me or Jen, which is TRUE.

    All fiction is lies.

    I love the fact that people are still burned up about this 6 years later.

    If you’re still offended, then pretend it was an ARG and maybe you’ll feel better.

  11. I think the comics news from now on should be nothing but eavesdropped convention conversations:

    “Food at Rei Do Gado Kept Comics Superstar From Taking A Proper Dump For Two Days.”

    “Ed Brubaker Older And More Married Than Pair Of Female Fans Thought He Would Be.”

    “Publisher Promises To Hire Just So He Can Fire Intern That Wandered Off With Tape Gun.”

    “Editor Narrows Down Post-CBLDF Party Elevator Make-Out Partner To Exclusives Section Of Previews.”

    “Deception At The Hyatt: Younger Creator Not Actually That Big A Fan Of Older Creator’s Work.”

  12. As much as I love The Comics Reporter, I kind of wish Tom’s writing there was an snarky and dead-on as his posts here.

    I don’t get why people expect other people to keep their secrets for them. If you want something to be private then keep it in private. A public space is not the place to conduct private business.

    It’s funny how the comics business dumps older creators just as it seems to obsessively cater to an ever-aging fanbase. I think my head will explode if I think about that for too long.

  13. The worst thing about the eavesdropping asshole is that what he reported wasn’t even NEWS. It’s one thing if you overhear Colleen Doran talking about her unannounced Vertigo graphic novel, it’s another to overhear her talking about MAYBE hooking up her IP with some producer, a conversation virtually every established creator has all the time. This was just creepy.

  14. Hey Jimmy maybe you could convince Dan Didio to offer DeFalco a job at DC! I’d love to see what he’d do over their.

  15. ” It’s public, and when you’re a public figure, it, sadly, comes with the terrority. ”

    Jeez Heidi – you make it sound that all our pro statuses has been elevated to salacious tabloid coverage.

    I shutter to think that the day will come when Frank Miller’s sex life becomes the lead story on TMZ or slapped on the front page of National Enquirer.

    I mean, meek little independent comic book writer/publisher me has somehow managed to score a date tomorrow night with a actress who was one of the top finalists on Big Brother last spring.

    I wonder what channel I should tune in to see if there’s mention of myself on Thursday night?

    ~

    Coat