Bridges Byrned & Re-Byrned

John L. Byrne apparently likes to make it challenging for him to find a friendly face to give him a job, as he kind of offers a bit of snark about what Marvel should do and, conversely, what they'll most likely do in 2009:

As the new year approaches, it occurs to me there are some things I'd like to
see -- and most pointedly not see -- from the Condo of Concept.

• No new X-titles

• No recycling of 20 and 30 year old storylines

• No more "writing for the trade", which also means…

• No stories that run more than 3 issues

• No pinup covers

• No fake deaths

• No real deaths

• No breaking of the status quo by the latest flavor of the month
"talent".

Of course, even as late as they are with most of their product, this is
December, so at least the first few months of 2009 are probably in the
drawer. How many of these challenges have already been lost, d'you
suppose?

Thoughts?

Fake Art Adams PSA

If you didn't read about it already in LYING IN THE GUTTERS...you should go read that. But if you need convincing, here's a little snippet:

The current scam involves a letter sent to a number of mid-level publishers a month ago purporting to be from Art Adams looking for work at a very reasonable (for Art Adams) rate. Remember, this is from The Fake Art Adams:

Hello there..............

Allow me to introduce my self.

my name is Art Adams, comic artist and Illustrator; If you don't know me I have worked on just about every comic title from the X-Men to Batman, and everything in between, (Lol).

I am writting because I have quite a bit of time here in between gigs,, and am offering my artistic talents for contract.

Here is a link to my site; www.artadamsart.com or just go down to your local comic dealer

and better yet buy one of my books.

If interested shoot me an E-mail.

Art Adams, Zoinks!!!

The Fake Art Adams requests a deposit up front, stating that he's been screwed by some publishers in the past. The publisher negotiates a figure with The Fake Art Adam's supposed agent, one “Jeff Henzel.”

The money is paid and then the art arrives. It is clearly not from Art Adams.

Emails used by "Jeff Henzel" and The Fake Art Adams are: adamsarthur@rocketmail.com, cinemagic87@yahoo.com (sometimes with the name Anthony Birch) and crazypens@live.com.

Crazypens is one pseudonym used by Josh Hoopes to scam people on DeviantArt.

If you're someone in the market for artwork (and, with how a fan commissioned Byrne to draw his comic, there might be more of you out there than you think), you should be wary about any direct, unsolicited contact from a professional artist with a sweetheart of a price for their work.

Here's hoping that Rich Johnston will have more on this next week.