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Column:
Variant Coverage
"Where's My Priest?"
By Adam White
Published: 25 May 2006
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Every time I see a crap book or disappointing series direction by mediocre or flat-out terrible creators I wonder why so
many talented writers and artists go neglected by all the companies in a position to hire them, especially the Big Two.
Seriously, why do so many ridiculously awful artists get exclusive contracts and mega-hype while solid illustrators who can
even turn in books on time are nowhere to be seen? Why do so many hacks get six books a month while great writers have none?
The great contracts and top series have virtually no correlation to the talent of creators they are handed to, and the
distribution of assignments is massively disproportionate to the quality of the creators getting work. I’m not saying
that nobody worthwhile has a job, because that is not the case, but there are too many great creators that just can’t
get the time of day from editors or the companies they represent.
As I stated in my recent review of
Angel Spotlight: Illyria, Nicola Scott is a knockout artist that I had never
heard of before that issue. Upon doing a little research I found that she has been seeking out a steady job in comicbooks
for at least the last two years to no avail. Which is maddening to me, mainly because of
Nicola Scott has talent, which is more than I can say for any Wannabe McManga getting an
exclusive.
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all the godawful art that litters the comicbook landscape; I mean, here is a wonderfully talented artist trying to catch a
break while thirty substandard pseudo-manga wannabes get picked up as if they were a rare commodity. Scott conveys emotional
depth and subtlety in her work, yet her neglect of macrocephaly and speed lines means she doesn’t make the cut. Nicola
Scott has talent, which is more than I can say for any Wannabe McManga getting an exclusive.
The recent cancellation of DC’s best series, Manhunter, means that Marc Andreyko is somewhat in limbo as far
as continuing series go, and that is a crime. Andreyko took a worthless property and turned it into a creative high point
for DC, something that none of their “big guns” have done lately with any
Manhunter has the class and dignity that most other DC series aren’t even entitled to
fantasize about.
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of that Infinite Crisis nonsense. Where many DC books have relied on crossovers and substanceless
“events” to sell them, Manhunter has the class and dignity that those other series aren’t even
entitled to fantasize about having. Andreyko’s Kate Spencer is the most fascinating character in the DC Universe, yet
she goes by the wayside to make room for another Teen Titans book (and the one already in progress isn’t any
good, anyway). Sure, Spencer will probably be put in the background of JSA, but without Andreyko at the helm there
really isn’t any point.
Before I get to my main gripes for this column, I would like to mention that companies’ neglect is not limited to
newer creators — they ignore plenty of veteran professionals as well. I want to explore this topic in more depth
later, so I will limit myself to a few names for now. Steve Gerber is a great writer that couldn’t get Hard Time the
audience it deserved, and now it’s gone. Doug Moench wrote tons of books that I love, yet I can’t think of a
single thing coming up for him.
Paul Gulacy should be so in demand that he has to turn his phone service off.
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One of Moench’s classic collaborators, Paul Gulacy, is another guy that should be so in demand he has to turn his phone
service off; sure, he was on Catwoman for a while, but DC was never really behind him, and then they dumped him the first
chance they got. Hell, Gene “The Dean” Colan may be getting up there in years, but his work is still getting
better by the day; yet apparently he can’t even rate a one-shot? And don’t get me started on Rudy Nebres —
he made a “comeback” splash on Crossgen Chronicles right before the company folded, then disappeared
again; I would have walked through fire to get him on a monthly.
Which brings me to my main point today: Where’s my Priest? Christopher Priest is my favorite writer, having
secured my enduring praise especially on books like Black Panther and Quantum & Woody. While I like the
current series well enough, Priest’s Black Panther was infinitely superior in every way not only to the new
series but to every superhero comicbook out there. Priest mixed politics, intrigue, action, drama, comedy, and everything
else you can think of or make up into Black Panther, yet Marvel was ho-hum about it and eventually canned it.
Priest’s main artistic collaborators on the series, Sal Velluto and Bob Almond, also have all but vanished despite a
project here and there — those guys need a monthly book right now. As does Priest’s co-conspirator on the
phenomenal Quantum & Woody, M. D. “Doc” Bright; Bright does action and comedy better than anyone I know,
yet the best anyone can offer him is Bill Jemas’s abysmal Marville? It makes me want to scream, which I would
if I wasn’t busy banging my head against the computer screen.
Priest’s Black Panther was infinitely superior in every way not only to the new series but to every superhero comicbook out there.
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And Priest himself? Nowhere to be found, as far as
comicbooks go. Priest had an excellent series called The Crew which he spun out of Black Panther when Marvel
killed it, and then he had Captain America and The Falcon, which got axed when that Avengers Disassemble
bull$#!% came around. In fact, virtually every book Priest does gets cancelled despite the peerless quality with which he
infuses his books. All of which I chalk up to tasteless readers and ignorant corporate suits.
There are plenty more that I have neglected to mention simply due to space/time, but rest assured these creators I do
mention are only the tip of the iceberg. Whether a new talent or beloved veteran, these people all get the same poor
treatment. What does it take to get respect? Certainly not talent, creativity, or the ability to meet deadlines. So what
is it that companies find so appealing about ditching their most honored and inspired creators in favor of hacks and Young
Bums? You got me. All I know is that it is a shame and a travesty, and that I have to go month after month without any of
these great creators gracing the pages of the medium that I love.
—CCdC—
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