Wacker52 editor Steve Wacker is ankling DC for Marvel, Wizard Entertainment reports:

Capping off a tumultuous summer of editor swapping, DC editor and overseer of 52 Stephen Wacker is leaving his office for a new job at Marvel Comics.

“I tenured my resignation with DC today,” said Wacker. “I’m quitting DC to go edit comics at Marvel.”


No word on what Wacker will be taking over at Marvel, but as one of the rising stars at DC editorial, as well as the ringmaster behind 52, he leaves behind some large loafers.

UPDATE: Newsarama adds that the departure was…sudden.

UPDATE UPDATE: Wizard’s story has now been taken down. Man, this is developing fast!

1 COMMENT

  1. ” “I tenured my resignation…” ”

    I hope that’s a typo and what he actually said was that he “tendered” his resignation…

  4. The departure is sudden because of DC corporate policy: If you leave to go to another comics company, you leave immediately. It doesn’t imply anything else.

    Good luck to Steve. He’ll do great!

  5. Fuck Steve Whacker. Leaving 52 before it’s over shows a total lack of character. I’ll try hard to keep track about what he’s editing at Marvel so I can make it a point to not buy it.

  6. I bet that the reason Wizard pulled the story of their site was because the supposed quote from Stephen Wacker in their story was never actually uttered.

  7. I’m sure that as soon as he tenured, er, tendered his resignation, he was frog-marched from the premises….

  8. Uh, if DC’s looking for an editor for 52, I’m available. Y’know, just in case they’re looking. I offered to illustrate a couple issues of Civil War, too, but Quesada didn’t like my stick figures.

  11. Fuck Cully Hamner. Spouting off and swearing shows a total lack of character. I’ll try hard to keep track about what he’s drawing so I can make it a point to buy it, then rip up the pieces, the burn them, then stomp on them, then burn them again!

  12. I get very few comments of the tenor of Michael Climek’s here at the Beat — because the vast vast majority of my readers are smart and intelligent, no lie. I’m leaving it up as a caution, but suffice to say that to my knowledge, Steve Wacker is a prince of a guy. And that’s all I have to say about THAT!

    Stuart, thanks for the reminder of DC’s policy, I had actually forgotten all about that.

  14. Awww… [super tear drop]…. I just hope 52 continues to kick ass without him… now a Marvel weekly… oooh… that would be sweeeet…. mmm, pie…

  15. Cully and Rich—

    Get a motel room, willya?

    As to Wacker moving to another job, it’s his right to take any job he wants. I’m disappointed that he is leaving 52 and DC, but I wish him all the best.

  16. IF Steve Wacker ran screaming from the horror of editing 52 to Marvel, I don’t blame him one bit.

    Climek should be hired henceforth to edit 52. And prohibited from leaving on pain of death.

  17. What’s a 52?

    ‘Kidding, from a fan’s perspective, Steve Wacker was/is a stand-up guy everytime I had an occasion to chat with him and he did his job well as far as I can tell, so I look forward to what he brings to the other softball team now.

    And as for that Cully guy…keep up the good work. Really love what you’re doing on Blue Beetle. Fun book!

  18. Climek should go over to the Newsarama Wacker thread and join the chorus of Holy Idiots Who Know Nothing About Publishing Yet Opine Hugely and With Notable Ignorance. Waid had to come over and make bodily threats to bring a halt to all the know-nothing spew.

  19. Fuck Rich Johnston. I’m going to read Civil Wardrobe five times – just FIVE TIMES – and then I’m going to fold it up, stick it in a rocket and blast it to the Moon. The MOON, I tell you.

    The thing I love most about this (having read the Newsarama boards) is that 80% of the comics fanbase seem to think that editors edit due to love of a higher purpose – that they just want to spread the message, get the word out – like preachers of the printed page. Money? Wow, we get PAID to edit this? Holy Moly! But I just do it because I love it so, Mister Didio! Jeepers!

    They forget that actually, it’s not that way – as it’s a JOB. Yup, just like working at the 7-11.

    Wacker was working on 52. When he took on the book, he took on effectively a multi-arc monthly – that came out four, five times a month. So effectively, even if he (on a best case scenario) had NO BOOKS TO EDIT he increased his workload in one penstroke by a factor of 4. Added to that this book could never miss a week, didn’t have a stable WEEKLY art team as the art department constantly changed due to the time restrictions, each week pretty much having a different artist etc and he had to repeatedly work on this weeks issue – next weeks issue – next months issues – the month after issues – the solicits for the month AFTER’s issues…

    Dear god – after five months or so – I think I’d be screaming and grabbing my sniper rifle, heading for the nearest clock tower.

    But Wacker didn’t. He made sure that over thirty issues were sorted before finally bowing out.

    We, at the moment don’t know why he left. Perhaps it was his health? Perhaps the workload was so much it was affecting his home life? Perhaps Booster Gold’s death affected him in a deep and meaningful way?

    Now I don’t know about DC and Marvel policy, but i do know how such a job relates to the other medias. In most media, if you quit and go ‘Oh, by the way, I’m going to [insert rival here]’, you’re given ten minutes to clean the desk, you’re marched to the door and you’re told you’re on leave until your notice is up. Hell, some places do your desk FOR you. This way you can’t spend your last few weeks building up a portfolio to take with you. This way you don’t learn any more of the upcoming events that you can then use against the company when you move.

    I saw people compared this to Mike Marts on Newsarama – some even thought he was still at Marvel, working his notice. He’s not. I know because I’ve spoken to him at DC. he worked out a very short notice and again, was gone. Axel took over all the X-Books he was working on. ALL of them. Including mini’s he was working on. Yes, Mike too left projects hanging.

    Because an editor ALWAYS has projects hanging. An editor has the books he/she edits. They have the ones in productions. They have the ones in planning. They have the ones they’re looking at pitches on. They NEVER have a ‘dead’ period where they can go ‘hey, I’m off for a walk… I may be some time’…

    So cut Stephen some slack. I bet every one of you, when you quit a job, move somewhere else etc wouldn’t give a second thought about leaving immediately if you had the option.

    And those who ‘won’t buy another Wacker edited book’? Good. Fuck off. Because to be honest? Comics don’t need fans like you. Go read something else. Start reading technical manuals or something.

    T

  20. I think I can safely say Steve loves that people on the Newsarama site are being melodramatic. I think if they weren’t posting about how they feel betrayed, he would feel royally gypped. No one needs to defend Steve here because I am pretty confident he would rather read the moronic attacks and wailing and get a laugh rather than read nothing at all on the subject.

    I am going to just say that I am 99% certain I know Steve better than anyone on that Newsarama thread including the people he works with, and unless he’s changed and become humor-challenged in the few years since I’ve seen him last when it comes to online bashing and silly insults, he’s hoping Usenet’s “eternally” pipes in and give his two cents. And if he isn’t laughing, he needs to be smacked silly.

  21. Steve is a great editor and I’m sorry to see him go, but I know he’ll do great things for comics no matter where he ends up, and I wish him only the best.

    Gail

  23. Oh! My! God! An assistant editor on 52 will have to do more work! Or another editor would need to take over! It’s the end of the world, i say!!!

  24. HOw come no one’s commenting on the fact that Wizard pulled the story off of their site yesterday and has yet to put up and edited or re-written copy? I think that’s the story here.

  25. The thing that I find interesting is that people automatically assume he’s going over to Marvel to do a weekly book there, too. The poor guy’s become a one trick pony now.

    Of course, now that I’ve said that, watch for the next announcement being that Marvel brought him over to edit the new bi-weekly MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS. heh

  26. Maybe I spoke too soon. Initially I took the move by Whacker as an insult to Waid, Morrison, Johns, and Rucka. Now I think that may not be the case. Leaving in the middle of a project still seems questionable to me, but I admit freely that there are aspects to editing and publishing that I may not be aware of, and this may in fact be a very logical and acceptable move. Sorry about earlier, I was speaking in a somewhat misguided defensive stance, brought on by how much I enjoy the book. I suppose a defensive stance wasn’t really needed or neccessary, it was just a silly fan-boy knee jerk reaction. I apologize.

  29. I like this thread, it’s all huggy now :)

    And Cully, your art is sweet-ass. Just so you know :p

    (Also: Steve Wacker on Spider-Man books with Slott and Nicieza as main writers alongside PAD? Forming one huge, subtly interconnected story the way it was during the Conway/Michelinie years? Please, oh Holy Lord Of Comics Great And Small Out There In The Great Beyond?)