Why I'd Doubt JMS's Explanations

(Editor's Note: yes, a string of JMS posts. I've been rather sporadic in updating this blog, but, when I do work on it, I shoot out a bunch of posts about a subject I'm passionate about. One thing I'm always passionate about: railing against bullshit when I feel someone's trying to shove a steaming pile in my direction. {sniff sniff} Whattaya know? I do believe I smell some...)

So, JMS has been giving more reactions to the news of him leaving monthly books to focus on Superman: Earth One (and possibly other self-contained projects). And, to my mind, he is giving people more reason to doubt his word on the whole thing each time he grants an interview.

Why is that, you say?

Inconsistencies.

On Newsarama, JMS said on Friday, regarding Brave & The Bold:

I filled in a bit on The Brave and the Bold to kind of get my sea legs in the DC Universe.

And on CBR:

I came to DC primarily to do "Superman: Earth One," and filled out the time on "The Brave and the Bold."

Back in January on CBR, JMS sang a different tune about the series:

When we last spoke, you said you've told DC that by the end of 2010, "The Brave and The Bold" will be somewhere in the top 20 or 30 books and that you have a plan to make that happen. Can you share any details about how this will happen?

Step 1 is to build up the credibility of the book as something other than an oddity. We've made some good progress in that area, given the majority of the reviews and attention the book is now getting from critics and the blogosphere.

Step 2 is to start upping the ante, taking some real chances with the storytelling, getting more experimental.

Step 3 is a secret. I've talked about it with [DCU Executive Editor] Dan DiDio, and he's on board. It's our Manhattan Project, for lack of a better term. If we pull it off, it'll draw enough attention to bring the book the rest of the way up.

So, he was making declarations about how he'd turn his feet-wetting, fill-in book a Top 30 title...and he needed to get his sea legs in the DC Universe when the main focus of his hire was just Superman: Earth One, which is not set in that universe. Coupling a series you're just passing time on with bold claims of sales success you plan on having due to a secret master plan you've cooked up makes no sense, unless, possibly, if your name is Mark Millar.

He, also, contradicts himself on the matter of Wonder Woman, in my opinion, in his interview with Newsarama...and manages to do it all in one answer:

Nrama: Was this connected to recent delays on your comics?

JMS: No. First, there's only been one delay on Superman due to a recurring lung infection that has, happily, been resolved once and for all. There were no delays on Wonder Woman, and before the B&B hiatus, all of those issues came out on time.

Once the decision was made to shift me from the monthlies a few weeks ago, they put out the word that the next Wonder Woman issue would be pushed, but that was just to buy time to find a new writer to finish the story.

If your scripts were coming in on time, why is an issue that you should have handed in the script for long ago pushed "to find a new writer"? Where is the logic to that? Are you suggesting DC wants to scrap a perfectly good script that they surely paid for so they can have the new writer re-write it from your plots, JMS? Or are you, as I suspect, just trying to hide your repeated lateness issues behind excuses that insult the intelligence of the readers?

Let me say again, the answer boils down to this: he had no delays on Wonder Woman, but DC is delaying it because they needed to find a writer who would have nothing to do with contributing to the actual issue in question.

If the issue was held for any other reason than lateness on someone's part, the only explanation I can think of is that, contrary to public statements thus far, they plan on trying to condense the conclusion to the JMS storyline so they can bring in a new permanent writer sooner. If that is the case, then his "I had no delays on Wonder Woman" is accurate, but his explanation for the issue getting pushed back is a lie of omission.

Let's not ignore that he talks about Brave & The Bold going on a hiatus that was never announced that I can find. You know, he wasn't late on anything with the book...it just took an unannounced break that had nothing to do with his timeliness. If you can find where it was announced, I welcome a link to it in the comments, dear readers.

What we seem to be seeing here, folks, is a pattern of inconsistency. Which is to say a pattern of making up excuses on the fly that seem to forget that Al Gore invented the internet, which allows us compare what you're spitting out now with previous statements and other known facts. Making up excuses is, also, known as bullshitting.

If you're going to follow J. Michael Straczynski's spin-filled statements and interviews on this subject, may I suggest you wear your high waters? Because he's shoveling on the readers pretty deep.

Earth One OGNs: Is Serialization After-The-Fact Completely Dead Now?

So, we all know that JMS had that famous statement at a SDCCI panel that he later chastised bloggers for getting wrong (when they didn't) about Superman: Earth One debuting as an OGN, being serialized afterwards, collected again and then further volumes debuting in serialized, non-OGN format.

DC attempted to address the tempest-in-a-teapot, but, as David Brothers pointed out, they seemed to sidestep directly answering whether the project would ever be broken into single issues.

I'm guessing that the reported success of the initial volume rules that out or at least tables it for the time being. As a huge proponent of OGNs, I'm glad for their apparent win here. As someone who'd have died of curiosity had he been born, instead, as a cat, I'm saddened that the OGN's performance likely means never knowing for certain whether there was anything to JMS's misstep.

Top 5 Other Things That JMS Recalls Incorrectly

A reader e-mailed me the following. Wish I could take credit.

#5: The Telepath arc of Babylon 5 didn't suck.

#4: Wonder Woman is an Amazonian princess, as opposed to a member of Prince's band.

#3: Superman on walkabout is a new idea. Since Superman splits after every major event for a little alone time (see Infinite Crisis, 52, etc.).

#2: One More Day.

#1: Norman Osborn fucking Gwen Stacy.

JMS Upset At Folks Quoting Him Accurately

From Rich Johnston's BleedingCool.com:

Could somebody do me a favor and pass this on to the folks who have been saying that I announced that plans for the OGN Earth One series have been changed? It’s not what I said but it’s all over the net and nobody checks with me to confirm… what was said before going out with these stories?

In brief…I was asked about the format of the graphic novels, was it going to be single issues collected as is the rule or a straight-up GN, to which I said it was a novel, unlike B&B [Brave And The Bold], which was single issues gathered into a hardcover (thus trying to promote the book, which is coming out this week), having a little fun with it when the fan said he was confused, and I said I was too. That was it. Somehow these two statements concerning two different books got conflated into one.

The one has nothing to do with the other.

The bolded part is new, while the rest had been previously shared. Well, new to being publicly reproduced from the e-mails, as I'm sure it was in what The Beat and Robot Six received.

Now, thanks to Nathan in the comments section of the previous, here is the transcript of what he said from DC's podcast of the panel:

Q: With your Superman: Earth One story, is that going to be like an ongoing graphic novel series, or is it just going to be one and done, or do you have plans for other Superman graphic novels, if this is a one and done?

A: What they're going to do is, as I understand it, first the graphic novel will come out in hardcover, then it will come out in individual issues, then more issues will follow to be gathered together in graphic novels.

Q: So, it's going to be graphic novel hardcover first, then single issues recollected, then single issues again?

A: Correct. As I understand it.

Q: That's extremely confusing.

A: You and me both.

If I had his e-mail address, I might contact him to ask that he listen to the recording of what he said before responding indignantly about being misquoted and not approached to get it right (whereas his version of "right" would obviously be wrong).

Earth One OGNs Update

So, DC's official response (given to Heidi & JK Parkin) to the questions about whether they've given up on Earth One as OGNs is:

"Our plans regarding the EARTH ONE line of original graphic novels have not changed - they will serve as new, unique and compelling reinterpretations of our key characters in original graphic novel form, by some of the biggest names and brightest stars in the industry."

-- Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, DC Comics Co-Publishers

Then JMS contacts Robot Six to clarify:

This was the actual exchange, as I remember it.

Someone asked me on the panel if Superman Earth One was only coming out as a hardcover or as issues at the same time or afterward. I said, as near as I can remember it, "This is coming out first in hardcover, unlike B&B, which is single issues collected into a hardcover" (which I slipped in to promote the book, which is coming out I think this week or next week). So it went in both directions, which prompted the fan to note, "I'm confused," and I joked back, "So am I."

That was the entirety of the exchange. Basically, the two different subjects got conflated in the hurry to transcribe what was being said, so they got lumped into one sentence.

OK. So we've at least confirmed that the first volume will experience "retro serialization" (credit to Johanna). Beyond that, we haven't really gotten a whole heckuva lot out of anyone about this.

Some questions that still need answering:

1. How are they dealing with making an OGN (which should be a seamless story from cover to cover) work with retro serialization? Which format will experience some sacrifice: the OGN by needing artificial breaks for eventual single issues or the single issues for having no natural breaks to end on?
2. What exactly is/was the intended production schedule for this? Because, if you're publishing HC and then serializing afterward (and then possibly doing softcover), there'd seem to be the potential for built-in delays between new volumes. It doesn't seem likely that the second volume of the OGN will hit shelves before the last issue of the serialization does (or even softcover trade).
3. Was "retro serialization" honestly part of the original plan? Because answers from the talent in their AICN interview certainly didn't seem to reflect that. They were asked whether they thought OGNs might be signaling the end of monthlies and never once brought up serialization plans, which would have been a strong, direct, silencing answer. 

I'm sure there are more questions (like how DC felt their official non-answer was worth giving), but those three are a good start.

DC'S Earth One Books No Longer OGNs?

Man, I can't believe I missed this and had to have it pointed out by a friend.

From CBR:

The last question went to Straczynski. The fan asked whether the writer plans on continuing the "Earth One" stories. The writer revealed that the hardcover release will be followed up with by single issues, which will later be collected.

Apparently, after the first Earth One Superman OGN, following volumes will be serialized in comic book form and then collected. So...the OGN/bookstore thing goes flying away before it even gets started.

Were pre-orders that low? Are the folks at DC that lacking in testicular fortitude that they can't wait to see how it performs for a bit before announcing a switch to serialized-into-collected traditional publishing?

How hard is it to at least wait until you're coming close to the time where you have to solicit the work from the second volume before you reveal to the world that you have no faith in this OGN idea?

There's phrasing at Newsarama that makes it sound possible that they're talking about publishing the OGN, publishing as single issues and then collecting it again (maybe with added material or something?), but that sounds about as unlikely as it sounds stupid.

Last question concerns the format of Earth One, which JMS reports will come out as a hardcover, then individual issues, then be collected again. Fan: "That's extremely confusing." "To both of us," JMS said with a chuckle.

I don't know. I was impressed that they were going to try this OGN thing for awhile, with their most marketable characters in an interesting project. But if they're ready to bail out on it before it has even hit shelves, that says more negative about DC as a publisher than the initial plan said positively about them.