Comments on: Editorial shuffle

By: Katherine Keller

Katherine Keller — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 22:48:40 +0000

My husband read this article to me yesterday, and from the way it was written, both of us had the impression that Wacker had just up and quit.

While (with some exceptions) it’s a person’s right to quit/resign from a job on the spot , it’s considered professional behavior to give 2 weeks notice, and both of us wondered what had happened at the DC offices to make Wacker so angry he suddenly quit, and doubtless burned bridges behind him. (We even went so far as to wonder if Marvel was attempting to torpedo 52 because they’ve screwed up Civil War’s shipping so badly, but nah, comics industry intrigue is rarely that diabolical or interesting.)

It wasn’t until, several pages in, when Ralph read Mark Waid’s comment that we realized that no, this was no more exciting than when other editors have changed companies, and, well, the introductory paragraphs of the article made it seem like something else entirely.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 19:49:35 +0000

>Yes, it is! Who should I complain to about the people complaining about the >complainers?

the next person…the very next person…who dares even hint that they are complaining about the complainers who complain about the complainers is going to be eating through a straw for the rest of his goddamned life.

By: Brian Davison

Brian Davison — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 19:07:00 +0000

>>So exactly how are these various complaints and insults posted here about >complaining Newsarama fanboys any better than the complainers >>themselves? Seems just a tad hypocritical.

>bottom line: complaining is AWESOME.

Yes, it is! Who should I complain to about the people complaining about the complainers?

By: Nate

Nate — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:21:34 +0000

LAWLZZ first post!!

what is wrong with steeve wacker. 52 is my faverite book. evry on e who posted above me is an idiot. *smiley face* *rolling eyes face* *angry face* *additional smiley face*

By: Tommy Raiko

Tommy Raiko — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 15:02:12 +0000

There’s something about some of the fannish reaction–the worst of it, the kneejerk, uninformed part fannish reaction–that reminds me of bad breakups. Y’know…the kind where the one being dumped lashes out with things like “I thought we’d be together forever!” and the dumper says things like “No, I never promised that.” And there’s yelling and screaming and rending of hair and throwing of furniture all through the night…

Man, some fandom is twisted…

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 12:26:21 +0000

>So exactly how are these various complaints and insults posted here about >complaining Newsarama fanboys any better than the complainers >themselves? Seems just a tad hypocritical.

bottom line: complaining is AWESOME.

By: Pete Bangs

Pete Bangs — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 08:31:00 +0000

I’ve one last thing I want to say, good luck MR Wacker and enjoy your time at Marvel. Personally I look forward to seeing you back at DC hopefully in five years time.

By: Gary Dunaier

Gary Dunaier — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:10:05 +0000

While the current issue of 52 is #21 (on sale 9/27/06), we all know that comics are prepared well in advance of publication date. So one important question is: how many issues of 52 were completed at the time of Mr. Wacker’s resignation?

By: val dorazio

val dorazio — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 02:30:54 +0000

Just my two cents here. I’ve worked with Steve at DC for 3 years and during that time he has proven himself to be a consumate professional and a down-to-earth colleague. One of the nicest people there. I haven’t read the Newsarama boards, really don’t want to. People talk trash but they don’t know the person. This is a person who truly loves comics and is committed to excellence, and his future Marvel work will speak for itself.

By: NVigneaux

NVigneaux — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 01:05:25 +0000

It amazes me how many people think they can comment on another person’s personal/professional life. It’s as if by merely buying a pair of Nike shoes you can be critical of a Nike executive leaving the company for Adidas. I doubt that everyone commenting in the talkback who claimed Mr. Wacker was “unprofessional” even reads 52. They probably just jumped at the chance to complain about something (to fill their empty lives).

By: Heidi M.

Heidi M. — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 21:02:22 +0000

Complaining from knowledge trumps complaining from ignorance.

By: Brian Davison

Brian Davison — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:51:25 +0000

So exactly how are these various complaints and insults posted here about complaining Newsarama fanboys any better than the complainers themselves? Seems just a tad hypocritical.

By: Evan

Evan — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:49:41 +0000

Books out on time?

Most of them on Newsarama definitely over-reacted but what’s the first thing they thought:

Great, now one of the weeks isn’t going to ship on time.

What does it say bout professionalism in general in this industry when no one expects anything to ship on time anymore?

I think the late books situation is the underlying complaint among most everything right now and all anyone really seems to want to do is sweep it under the rug.

But in the end, it causes other complaints like the ones that happened against Mr. Wacker that went over the line.

By: Erik Scott

Erik Scott — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:19:06 +0000

>>For what itâs worth, I doubt Wacker used the word âtenuredâ?. He was probably misquoted. The guy is pretty bright.

I should have prefaced that with the fact that I don’t believe he said that. As a matter of fact, as quickly as the article got pulled off the Wizardsite, I’m not so sure that quote actually came form him at all.

By: Tony Bedard

Tony Bedard — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:05:15 +0000

For what it’s worth, I doubt Wacker used the word “tenured”. He was probably misquoted. The guy is pretty bright.

More importantly, folks should realize that when you start on staff at a publisher, it’s pretty unusual to keep working your way up, and up, and up. You usually hit a glass ceiling somewhere along the way. To some extent, your employer will always see you as that little Assistant Editor they hired five years ago.

So, unless you want to spend the next five or ten years stuck at your current salary, sometimes the only way to improve your situation is to jump ship and go across town, where they’ll bring you in at a higher starting level and look to move you up from there.

Ironically, by the time you hit the glass ceiling at your new publisher, your old publisher will see you with fresh eyes and probably hire you back at an even higher level than they ever would’ve promoted you to in the first place.

And so it goes…