[B5JMS] Spidey on NPR

[b5jms-admin at cs.columbia.edu]

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From: "Dave Thomer" <dave at notnews.org>
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 16:13:24 GMT
Lines: 39

"John Peacock" <jpeacock at rowman.com> wrote in message
news:3BC898D9.29F71AAC at rowman.com...

> I wrote to them that night.  The thing that I emphasized was that, like
> a television show, comic books start with a script.  I can pretty much
> guarantee that John Romita, Jr, now matter how good an artist (and he
> is),
> is drawing what JMS wrote, and no more.  I can easily name a half a
> dozen
> artists who left regular comics because they felt contrained by the
> writer.
> Even more than in TV, in comic books the author of the work is the
> writer
> and the artist is at best an equal partner and in many cases is
> subservient to the writer.

I'd have to disagree with this.  There are a number of comics where the
artist receives only a plot from the writer, which the artist then uses to
break down the action and draw the story, and only after this does the
writer add dialogue.  Even comics that are full script, as I'm sure JMS'
are, leave room for interpretation and embellishment to the artist, so I
hesitate to say the artist draws only what is written, and no more.  For
every artist who feels limited by writers, there's a writer complaining that
the artist's creative choices diminished the work.  And ideally, each brings
something new to the work and makes it better than either could do alone.

> I also wrote that I think it was very shabby of JR, Jr. to not mention
> that
> he was working off a "fantastic script" by JMS.

Didn't hear the interview, but I agree that this was shabby.  Any response
from your letter?
--
Dave Thomer
This Is Not News - www.notnews.org
Philosophy, public affairs, and pop culture




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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 15 Oct 2001 03:22:39 GMT
Lines: 14

As an FYI to the question posed here earlier, no, I wasn't contacted by NPR,
but I was interviewed for this by the New York Times, the New York Daily News,
and the Washington Post, so I think we can let this one slide....

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2001 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)