Wizard and McFarlane: The Art of Co-Invention

AceyBecey's insight that McFarlane was a family friend of Shamus' before Wizard even launched has left me thinking, and I've come to understand a lot more about Wizard's scope and development from that revelation as a result. In fact, while it should be no surprise that McFarlane essentially made Wizard (that first issue cover and interview made scoring investors and advertisers a piece of cake, and McFarlane got Shamus access to top level talents for the issues that followed), it's only now occurring to me that, in a sense, Wizard made Todd McFarlane too.

Now we all know that McFarlane was already a household name in comicdom prior to Wizard ever launching. His work on Spider-Man had made him the most high profile artist in the field, but Todd wasn't where he wanted to be. In essence, I think he used Shamus and Wizard to launch the career he really wanted just as mutually as Shamus used McFarlane to launch his magazine.


Exhibit 1: Breaking free from Marvel (or, "Why Do You Build Me Up, Buttercup?")

McFarlane doesn't beat around the bush in that first issue interview, clearly articulating that he one day hopes to publish a book over which he has his own creative rights and control; something Marvel wasn't going to give him and no one else was in a position to. But Wizard's unrestrained adulation for Todd helped to establish a fan base that loved Todd McFarlane, and not just Todd McFarlane's work on Marvel properties. That moment in the interview was key as well -- it put the reader in Todd's corner, rooting for him, and more likely to follow his work should he leave Marvel and set out on his own. Without a mouth-piece like Wizard, Todd couldn't be sure, when making the decision to leave Marvel, that there would be a fan base out there to follow him.


Exhibit 2: Building a Movement (or, "I Get By with A Little Help from My Friends")

Think about virtually every creator Wizard gave a cover and feature interview to after McFarlane: they were nearly all newer, young artists who were colleagues (and often friends) of Todd's, all working at the same company too. Partly, this was because McFarlane could get Wizard access to these people, but even after Wizard begins to be a recognized force in the industry, it's continually using its influence to build hype for McFarlane's friends. Remember that McFarlane never wanted to go independent on his own; he always envisioned taking all the best with him (strength in numbers and all that). Wizard solidified that fanbase once again, ensuring that fans would follow these artists even if they left their favorite publisher and titles.


Exhibit 3: Todd's Departure (or, "You Say Goodbye, and I Say Hello")

It's rather convenient that McFarlane announced his departure from Marvel within months of Wizard growing into the most widely read and purchased news outlet in the comic industry. Again, Wizard's success and influence had offered him the assurance he needed before making that move. It's also worth noting that Wizard begins giving less and less attention to Marvel at this point and stops carrying their advertisements for a while. It's true that this might be because they lost their clout with Marvel after McFarlane left, but I doubt it. They were big news by this point. Also worth noting: they replaced many of those spaces with ads for Valiant, a company McFarlane was rooting for.



Exhibit 4: The Image Dilemma (or, "Are You Gonna Go My Way?")

How many times did I ask in this thread why Wizard wasn't ready to cover Image until months after it happened? McFarlane was already regularly flying Shamus out to LA to talk business long before this point (and they even hung with Rob Liefeld while he visited), and yet Wizard was the absolute last to discuss Youngblood #1. The reason now becomes apparent to me: McFarlane hadn't signed with Malibu yet. There was no "Image" until shortly before Youngblood #1 hit the stands. Wizard didn't jump on the bandwagon and start talking Image until McFarlane was onboard, at which point Spawn got a tremendous send-off.


And, of course, literally every issue since (aside from #16, when no new Image issues hit the shelf for a month), there has been extensive coverage of and hype supporting Image Comics.

It's true, at this point, that both Shamus and McFarlane are big enough that neither needs the other anymore, but there's little doubt the two benefited from each other immensely between 1991 and 1992, and it's entirely possible that neither would have attained the heights they achieved without the other.


Thoughts?

Wizard #21 (May 1993)



Though the comic book world may be stuck in a significant rut at this point, with very little new happening and folks about to realize the big boom has passed its watermark, this is an interesting issue for Wizard itself, as we finally see the big shake-ups Shamus promised in reaction to the reader survey given out in issue #18. Many of the changes are superficial, and some involve the addition and removal of features that aren't really of interest to this thread (do we really care that they added a Hunk and Babe of the Month?), but a more significant shake-up comes in the form of Wizard backing off on its two biggest biases regarding DC and Image.

For the first time ever, DC gets the front of the news section, taking up nearly a full page, and it's not because DC has anything particularly amazing in the works. Lobo, Robin, Supergirl, and the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit were hardly properties that were suddenly exploding in the Spring of 1993, but it would seem Wizard finally got an earful from fans that actually like DC and were sick of seeing it completely ignored by Wizard. Batman/Grendel gets its own separate article later in the news section as well.

Later in the issue, we get a big article hyping the four new Supermen and enticing the fans by trying to solve the manufactured mystery of which one will turn out to be the real Superman back from the dead. It's Wizard's hype machine at its best, working for DC for once. Heck, even Market Watch of all places begins discussing the rumors about the upcoming Death of Batman and the roles Azrael and Bane are allegedly going to play in it, encouraging collectors to run out and buy their first appearances. Wizard's finally beginning to realize that, while Marvel spent three years getting rich off of repackaging old ideas with shiny covers and collectible #1 issues, DC is actually doing some interesting stuff, even if the Death and Return of Superman stuff really is just a stunt. It's still better than watching X-Men do nothing particularly new in far too many titles.

To add to Wizard's reversal of its previous biases, it takes an interesting approach to Image with this issue, purposefully reuniting interviewer Patrick O'Neill and Rob Liefeld for a follow-up to their interview from Wizard #10, in which the gloves were clearly off. O'Neill is the only staff writer who regularly combats the hype and pushes for quality books instead, so having him interview Liefeld proved incredibly interesting, as he asked all the tough questions that must have made Shamus turn red. After that interview, O'Neill was never allowed to interview the Image guys again, and each interview with them that followed shamelessly stroked the interviewee's ego. But apparently fans preferred O'Neill's approach, and so he's back asking all the right questions, and (to Liefeld's credit) Rob takes them mostly in stride.

A few excerpts:


On expanding too quickly:


On whether or not Erik Larson being Liefeld's editor actually means anything:


O'Neil goes on to point out the excessive delays, to which Liefeld can only say that they are putting out quality work, and O'Neill even suggests that the company is on shaky legal ground with its trademarks and copyrights. Liefeld is a good sport, but O'Neil is merciless in exposing Image as an incompetent publisher destined to run into serious problems.

Market Watch also finally drops the ruse that Image back issues are selling well, conceding that Valiant essentially is the back issue market right now, with very little moving from any other publisher.


So, to recap, Wizard is now pro-DC and critical of Image (while still promoting them, of course), and very little is said about Marvel at all. Who'd of thunk it?


Hindsight glimpses into the comic industry:

Not much happening...at all. Interesting that we watch Wizard continue to hone its own product and expand out into other ventures (comic supplies, comic conventions, special editions) while the industry it was created to cover is getting stuck in the mud. I guess we can begin to see how Wizard will survive the bursting of the '90s bubble as a multimedia magazine while the comic industry as a whole will spiral into an all time low by the end of the decade.


Marvel: 46.51% (down 2%)
DC: 15.66% (down 5%. Valiant is getting uncomfortably close to passing them!)
Malibu: 15.56% (this should be the last month that Image will be included in this number. I'm very curious to see how much of sales belong to each company)
Valiant: 9.62% (up 3.5%. A new high)
Other: 9.41% (A new high. Apparently, some of these smaller universes are selling)
Dark Horse: 3.24% (same)

So Marvel and Dark Horse are standing still, the Death of Superman offered DC temporary relief, but the company is back in trouble again, and everyone else is biting at their heels. Worth noting that Wizard's new focus on DC is clearly not a response to a surge in their sales (this is the lowest their sales have ever been) nor to anything particularly exciting they have coming out this month. It has to be a reaction to fan feedback from the issue #18 survey.



Industry news:

The excitement over the Death of Superman is waning, and DC is working hard to revive it with the four new Supermen and the now hinted at subsequent return of Superman himself.

Marvel doesn't appear to be doing much of anything...at all.

Image is continuing to solicit a slew of upcoming #1s even as Liefeld concedes in his interview that they're pulling a lot of books that simply won't be ready in time.

Valiant is the only mainstream company that appears to have their ducks in a row this month, with Turok #1 causing a stir, followed by Secret Weapons #1 and the Deathmate crossover, as well as buzz continuing to surround the new direction for Magnus: Robot Fighter and Rai and the Future Force.

A lot of content and ad space continues to be devoted to smaller publishers attempting to launch superhero titles and universes, including Harris Comics, Continuity Comics, Defiant Comics, Topps Comics, Malibu Comics, ARComics, and Frontier Comics, but what doesn't get any further mention in this issue is the upcoming Dark Horse superhero universe we were hearing so much about last time around.



Wizard shaping the comic book market?

It would seem that the fans shaped Wizard this time around, or at least called Wizard out in its responsibility to be less biased in attempting to shape the market. I guess the real acid test will be that, assuming Wizard keeps up its new interest in DC, will we see DC's numbers consistently rise beyond the Superman and Batman hyped events coming our way? If DC rises out of the 15-20% market share slot, then it's likely Wizard did play a role in its lack of performance over the past three years. And if Marvel starts finally losing its control over half the market while doing absolutely nothing of interest to warrant those sales, that will tell us something too.


Wizard's Comic Watch:

Ah, the one place in Wizard where the old biases still remain strong. Marvel hasn't been doing well in the back issue bins for months now (New Mutants #98 and Spidey #300 aside), so giving both books to Marvel seems...unrealistic.

Web of Spider-Man #18: Possible 1st cameo of Venom (okay, this one makes sense considering how Spider #300 is doing)

Thor #391: 1st Eric Masterson (the new Thor)


Wizard's Top 10:

I don't think we've ever seen this much stagnation on the Top 10. Pretty much the same books for the last three months.



1. Magnus Robot Fighter #12 (1st Turok)
2. Rai #3 (low print run)
3. Rai #4 (low print run)
4. X-O Manowar #4 (1st Jack Boniface, later Shadowman)
5. Rai #0 (sets up the Deathmate crossover, 1st new Rai, lays the foundation of the Valiant Universe)
6. Solar, Man of the Atom #14 (1st Fred Bender, later Dr. Eclipse)
7. Spawn #4 (low print run, Image #0 coupon)
8. Superman #66 (possible first appearance of Doomsday)
9. Shadowman #8 (1st Master Darque)
10. Simpsons Comics and Stories #1



Final thoughts:

The industry is more or less out of ideas. Marvel has become status quo, DC is trying to rally interest and finally has a platform with which to do it, but doesn't really seem to know what to do, Image is badly mismanaged and folks are starting to notice, and Valiant is doing some things right but has maxed out its hype factory after Bloodshot #1 and Turok #1. Deathmate will be a nail in the coffin.

Meanwhile, Wizard, itself, continues to grow as both a product and a company.

That hasn't really been the case since the Silver Age. In fact, there were instances in the 80s and 90s of powerful artists and writers completely circumventing their editors (McFarlane did this at Marvel) or clashing with their editors and getting them off the book (John Byrne did this to Andy Helfer at DC).





Agreed. And while the Big Two may have been struggling to get the balance right themselves, O'Neill's point is that it was a farce at Image. With one guy doing art and writing AND being the creator and copyright holder AND desperately trying to meet deadlines, there was absolutely zero quality assurance.

From what I recall, it seemed like there was a big blow-up every other week about some creator leaving DC during the first or second year of the New 52.  George Perez was a big one, and he commented publicly on it.  I'm sure you can find interviews with him talking about if you Google search.  I also recall Andy Diggle being announced as the writer for Superman, and then another announcement saying he was leaving before his first issue even hit the stands.  Rob Liefeld also had a very public Twitter meltdown when he left DC.  I think it's calmed down a bit in the last couple of years though.

Regarding the Image guys when they were at Marvel -- I actually think there's still a little bit of that going on.  Going back to DC, it's pretty clear who the golden boys are.  They pretty much let guys like Scott Snyder and Grant Morrison do whatever they want.  In fact, that was one of George Perez's complaints.  Perez was writing Superman and Morrison was writing Action Comics at the start of the New 52, and apparently Perez was in the dark about what Morrison was doing, so it made it harder for him to make certain story decisions -- especially given that Morrison's story was set in the past, while Perez's story was set in the present day.

The thing with golden boy types in any organization is that there are only so many of them, and no matter how well-intentioned management may be, the non-golden boys will end up having to accommodate them.  

Not exactly what I meant: I was more pointing out that one guy doing art and writing AND being the creator and copyright holder is a normal situation for any independent comic. Of course, good writers and good artists know the value of a good editor and will consider his/her editor's creative input, but in the end if there is a disagreement between editor and artist, the artist is going to get the last say on what's going appear on paper and O'Neill is framing it like this is a problem.

(And let's be honest, no editor is going to save Liefeld's work. And people interesting in Youngblood know exactly what they are going to get.)

Yeah, I'm not a fan of deadlines. Or multi title universes. Dave Sim did something monumental, sure. But I'm still not a sticlker for a regular comic like that. If a comic comes out annually, semiannually, that's fine with me. Some of my favorite comics have deadline complaints in the letters section. One of them being Love And Rockets, to which Gary Groth gave a fantastic reply I had reposted on CBR a few times in the past. It was during the Death Of Speedy/Human Diastrophism era, where Groth basically says comics that focus on deadlines don't give a whit about art and the complaining readers will thank him for not demanding the Bros turn something in when it's time rather than when it's done. He said years from now we would be looking at that series as a high watermark of comics as an art form. He was right. I'm of the opinion that even if Youngblood and all of Liefeld's creations came out on time as promised, none of them would be remembered as high watermarks of the art form.

Wizard #24 (August 1993)



Ah, the controversial cover in which Wizard apparently ran the above advance image of Azrael as Batman against DC's wishes. Funny thing is though, Advance Comics' advertisement in this issue sports a cover that also has Azrael as Batman on it. Go figure...


Well the party really does seem to be wrapping up at this point. Even the letter column, much to Pat McCallum's surprise, reflect the voices of fans who have awoken out of their daze and no longer want the Kool-Aid. Two criticize Wizard for depicting female heroes as sex objects (Wow. I didn't think Wizard fans had it in them), and one criticizes Wizard for being too much of a mouthpiece for Image. "Geez, usually by this time I'd have answered about half a dozen silly questions and at least one hate letter from some jerk," responds McCallum.



Hindsight glimpses into the comic industry:

Though Deathmate is in full swing and yet to miss a deadline, Gareb Shamus has to apologize for the absence of the second part of a promised Rob Liefeld sneak preview because Liefeld has (surprise!) fallen behind on his deadlines. Meanwhile, Savage Dragon is now up to issue #3. The book launched as a monthly title over a year ago. Seriously, Market Watch goes on to admire the fact that Spawn is the consistently top selling monthly comic book right now, but that's likely because it's the ONLY Image comic getting out on time each month, and considering the amount of hype that publisher has received, their one consistently published book had better be doing well.

Meanwhile, the hype surrounding "Knightfall" has convinced fans that DC is worth paying more attention to. Death of Superman and Reign of Superman back issues are now back in demand, Batman back issues are quickly rising in value, and Wizard even gives their lead interview to Peter David about writing Aquaman. Seriously...Aquaman. Granted, Peter David had star power at this point, but that's quite a departure from Wizard full blown ignoring even the biggest things DC was doing as recently as six months ago. DC is also pimping Batman out for a slew of crossovers, including with Grendel and Spawn. For the moment, they are where the buzz is.

And Wizard, very much aware of how fleeting a moment can be, isn't sure where to turn the spotlight next. They write off Continuity Comics as of this issue and the luke-warm reception Deathwatch 2000 has received, but will the next big thing be Defiant, Malibu, Dark Horse's Greatest World, or will it revert to Image, Valiant, or stay with DC? The only thing they seem sure of is that Marvel is out of gas, even though Wizard's about to give the X-Men their own 30th Anniversary Special Edition this very month. Incidentally, no one seems at all interested in it being the Avengers' 30th anniversary as well.

Marvel: 35.46% (up slightly, but still shockingly low for the publisher)
Image: 22.63% (wow. Their first time being measured without Malibu, and they came in at #2 for the month)
DC: 20.32% (their slump prior to Knightfall beginning)
Valiant: 9.74% (up slightly)
Dark Horse: 1.82 % (still struggling to remain visible)
Other: 10.03%

I wonder what the reason was for Topps' spike last month, as they are off the radar once again with this issue.



Industry news:

DC is currently on top, but that's pretty much all riding on the hype of Knightfall. Can DC capitalize on that and sell fans on some other properties before their minute of fame is up?

Marvel seems to have absolutely nothing in the works beyond reinventing Daredevil and putting Tony Stark back in the armor.

Image is still launching a new title for every prime hour of the day, but few of them appear to really be sticking. Spawn and Cyberforce are the only two that Market Watch recognizes as continuing to hold fans' interest.

Valiant just keeps churning out new surprise first appearances ahead of their ongoing slew of new titles, but most of the excitement is gone. Wizard is beginning to wonder if the magic didn't leave along with Jim Shooter, and so his new company, Defiant, gets a nice featured article in this issue.

Also, a VF copy of Action Comics #1 is about to go on auction at Southbys and is expected to fetch $80,000. Remember when that sounded like a lot of money for a bunch of printed paper and staples? Who would have thought that, twenty years later, you could turn around and sell it for about twenty times that amount?



Wizard shaping the comic book market?

The market has become a speeding car without a driver, and no one's quite sure where it's headed and whether or not a crash will soon follow. The market is more fractured than its ever been with no stable publisher really holding on to sales. Even Marvel is down more than 50% from its high over the past two years.



Wizard's Comic Watch:

Superman: The Man of Steel #1: 1st appearance of the Eradicator, who is expected to turn out to be one of the four new Supermen.

Megaton #1: 1st appearance of Vanguard, a dude who is scheduled to return in a flipbook shared with Savage Dragon #2. I think Wizard messed up their timeline a bit, though. Savage Dragon #3 is already published.



Wizard's Top Ten

Apparently, Valiant's practice of sneaking first appearances into their books is working right now. Fans are still speculating like its 1991.



1. Bloodshot #1 (1st Ninjak)
2. Shadowman #16 (1st Dr. Mirage)
3. Sword of Azrael #1 (1st Azrael)
4. Vengeance of Bane #1 (1st Bane)
5. Batman #492 (part 1 of Knightfall)
6. Spawn #4 (low print run, Image #0 coupon)
7. Spawn #2 (get this -- lower print run than #1. Seriously)
8. Youngblood #2 (1st Shadowhawk; 1st Prophet)
9. Rai #0 (sets up the Deathmate crossover, 1st new Rai, lays the foundation of the Valiant Universe)
10. Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1st full Venom)



Final Thoughts:

Even Wizard doesn't understand the comic book market anymore, but, interesting enough, though it's finally grown critical of Image and Rob Liefeld, it's also still worshipping Todd McFarlane.




What the hell was that? Most of that paragraph had absolutely nothing to do with Spawn #2 or the Top 10 and was just random praise of Todd McFarlane in contrast to the rest of the Image staff, finally spending the very last sentence explaining why Spawn #2 is on this list, which really just comes off as a commercial for why everyone should continue to buy Spawn and see it as a good investment.

Need I remind you all that Wizard has a definite agenda for promoting Todd McFarlane?