Tom DeFalco may be done at Marvel
Published by Avi Green on Friday, February 13, 2009 at 2:37 AM.
Comic Book Resources says that veteran writer/editor Tom DeFalco may be done working at Marvel after Spider-Girl concludes, or after Amazing Spider-Man Family does:
It'll be a shame if he goes, since I'd rather he be editor in chief again than have to make do with someone as awful as Quesada. But the inmates are running the asylum now, making it hard for older, more sensible talent to return to being editors again.
The industry veteran tells CBR News that Marvel editors have stopped calling. In fact, as will be elaborated upon in next week’s REFLECTIONS, DeFalco goes so far as to say his “Amazing Spider-Man Family” gig is “an assignment which could be my last for Marvel.”The Clone Saga is one serious mistake he made in all his career, but other than that, most of career's been pretty successful. I have an issue of Marvel Two-In-One #91 where he wrote an origin for the Sphinx. Now, he's finding himself edged out because of how editors are relying on "talent" that's usually in name only, as they have in Bendis, overrated as he is, but whom they'll most likely dump when they feel his name doesn't carry any dollar signs anymore. And if they do rely on older pros, it's usually just symbolic.
Such an admission is shocking news from a man whose career has been so closely linked to Marvel Comics for decades. DeFalco was the publisher’s Editor-in-Chief for seven years, and was partially responsible for bringing the company public. As a writer, DeFalco enjoyed legendary runs on titles including “The Amazing Spider-Man” -- where he participated in the controversial Clone saga – as well as “Thor,” “The Fantastic Four” and “Spider-Girl” and its aforementioned successor, ”The Amazing Spider-Girl.”
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.’"
It'll be a shame if he goes, since I'd rather he be editor in chief again than have to make do with someone as awful as Quesada. But the inmates are running the asylum now, making it hard for older, more sensible talent to return to being editors again.
Labels: good writers, marvel comics
