Let's examine a few press releases from Marvel:
No mention of the colorist.
None here, either. I think that Marko might do his own colors, though. Don't have any of his current work handy to be able to say for certain, though.
I know for certain that Joe Mad doesn't do his coloring, though.
So...I think it is fair to say that we've established that Marvel generally doesn't mention inkers or colorists in their PR.
So...here? They skip right over crediting an inker to credit Stephane?
Just seems a bit off to me. I'd like to think it is just trying to help bring attention to a great colorist that fans will, unfortunately, not get to see further work from.
I fully recognize that others might not be so quick to think this is Marvel trying to cash in. Trying to look at it fairly, I can't come up with a scenario where they could have mentioned him in the PR that would have came off any more sincere and admirable, nor would I suggest that it is fair to say they should simply not have mentioned him at all. Possibly the only thing that might have saved it was that, if they were going to go all the way to crediting the colorist, maybe they could have credited the inker as well.
Edit: looking at David U.'s mention of Hulk #2 having the colorist noted, it might be that this is a new decision by Mark Paniccia to credit colorists because of the huge effect they have on the comics they help produce. Maybe the loss of Peru and the realization that probably not enough people recognized his great contribution to the titles he worked on led to this change?
Credit David U. for finding the one possibility that could eat its way through my normally insurmountable cynicism and allow me to see a sincerely noble reason for the crediting.
Update 2 (7/11/12): I had this old entry brought to my attention in a discussion with Stephen Wacker on BleedingCool.com. Man, I'm embarrassed that I considered this as not only a possibility, but one worth sharing with the masses. I'm, also, embarrassed that I responded with snark to David Uzumeri pointing out how appalling my cynicism was, since he was pretty much right on the money. I'd just delete the whole thing, but I feel like that'd seem more like I was trying to hide from my error. It's unlikely that many will bump into this addendum, but, if they do, my sincerest apology for the offense caused by my cynical theory.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Update: Marvel Trying To Capitalize On The Loss of Stephane Peru?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I'm borderline shocked by the disgusting level of cynicism on display here.
ReplyDelete1. Jason Keith is mentioned and credited in the solicit text on the latest Hulk press release. Five minutes on google shows this.
2. Even if stephan was the only colorist mentioned, it's incredibly cynical to assume that they were "cashing in." perhaps greg and fred and mark wanted to credit their late creative partner and friend.
This is kind of a post an insensitive prick would make.
Sorry, wrong account
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of post does a person with two different accounts for commenting make that only seems to directly want to insult an individual? :)
ReplyDeleteYou miss the part where I tried to admit that, from my cynical perspective, there probably wasn't a way that Marvel could handle it that I wouldn't question their intentions? That's trying to point out that it could be completely innocent but they'd have had no way to do it without me probably questioning their intentions. It is pointing out that I'm probably just being a cynical ass.
But thanks for adding your confirmation to that. Now that you've done that, please go have a deep breath. You've earned it after starting an argument with me earlier for no good reason and now apparently overlooking my own admittance that I was probably just being overly cynical.
Sorry...I know you probably have two accounts to separate your private posting and your Funnybook Babylon posting. Didn't mean to imply anything else. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you're still reading this, David, I attempted to e-mail you privately, but the e-mail you have listed with your Uzumeri account appears to be incorrect, according to the response I just got back.
ReplyDeleteA'ite, this should work as an email you can respond to.
ReplyDeleteI flew off the handle, but dude, it's a bit like that "I'm not racist, BUT..." prefix. You still put up an article with a headline that was a pretty huge reach, and I mean I don't work for Marvel but if I did I'd be pretty annoyed about it, and it took about five seconds of looking through press releases for comics that usually have their colorist listed -- bigger releases, stuff from the Paniccia office, etc. And there, for Hulk #2's press release, was "Colored by Jason Keith."
As far as I'm aware, the major reason why inkers don't get listed is because they don't get chosen 'til later on in the process, and can always get swapped out. It's kind of sad, but I think we've hit the point where the colorist has a far, far, far, far, far more important contribution to the comic than the inker.
OK...so that's twice you flew off the handle on me in one day? :)
ReplyDeleteI think the examples I took were pretty much comparable. I didn't think of the "same editor" angle, which is fair.
http://comicnews.info/?p=1252
That contains the press release from Incredible Hercules #113 that doesn't credit the colorist and comes from the same editor. So it isn't simply that this editor credits colorists, it would seem.
But, again, it could very well just be the idea of making sure to note the work of a lost friend like you're saying.
Saying "containing some of the great colorist Stephane Peru's last work" would wind up sounding ghoulish. Like I said, there's probably no way that they could have done it that I wouldn't have looked at cynically.
I think comparing my admission of being cynical to someone acknowledging being racist before saying something is probably the biggest stretch I've been involved with lately (and I won't mention the other one for fear of you flying off the handle again). :)
Oh yeah...we, also, agree that inkers get sloughed off as being replaceable. It is a damn shame, because there are so many books with one penciller and 3 inkers where you can clearly see the effect of an inker. I normally figure it was the penciller's fault for running behind (fair or not) and feel like they got what they deserved...but then the fans definitely lose out.
ReplyDeleteGreat work, Columbo. Youve made the world safe for dead colorists everywhere.
ReplyDeleteDude, also, the reason the Ultimates 3 blurb didn't mention chris lichtner is because the third printing is pencils only.
ReplyDeleteDude your pathetic. Somewhere after the turn of the century they started listing colorists ON THE COVER. It looks like the only trying to capitalize on Peru's death is you in your pathetic journalistic endeavor .
ReplyDelete"Somewhere after the turn of the century"?
ReplyDeleteSome time FAR removed from the turn of the century, as to make mentioning the turn of the century in the statement seem out of place? Sure. Started doing it on the cover largely when there isn't an inker. Some pencils go straight to colors now...and that generally frees up a credit spot on the cover for the colorist. Even then, though, there have been times where they only credited the writer and un-inked penciler on the cover.
David U: you'll see that you changed my view on this whole thing now.
ReplyDeleteDude, don't be a putz that makes shit up to prove your point. Every comic that I can think of that names a colorist ALSO names an inker. Look at a Daredevil cover, they list like four or five names at times. What's your confusion with "After the turn of the century"? Post 2000 AD Some colorists have their names featured on the cover, so to list them in a blurb doesn't seem like a big deal.
ReplyDeleteI know what turn of the century means. But colorists have not been credited on the covers or press releases of books at Marvel since the turn of the century. You're, in fact, the party that is making shit up as they go along. :)
ReplyDeleteA surprising number do have it credited on the covers, but the press releases don't generally have it.
I don't buy as much Marvel as you likely do, but I was able to find several books that don't have the colors credited on the cover and, in the cases where they do, more than a few of them are where the penciller did their own inking or the pencils went straight to colors. So there was no inker to credit...hence the third credit drops down to the colorist.