Crimson Dynamo launch delayed

Marvel Comics' Epic imprint has gotten off to a shaky start on the shipping schedule front with the line's launch title, Trouble, having debuted a week late. Now, according to Diamond Comic Distributors, the imprint's second series, Crimson Dynamo, has been pushed back a month from late July to late August. Marc Patten from Destination Entertainment, who are packaging the series for Epic, has informed X-Fan that the reason for the delay is not lateness on the part of either series writer John Jackson Miller or series artist Steve Ellis. It is, in fact, due to a small blessing being bestowed unto Ellis' family.

You don't have kids, do you?

I've worked at home, too. Being in the next room doesn't matter if you have to get work done while you're there. It can actually be harder to work, too.

Also, while I am not a father (yet; I hope to become one after finding a girlfriend who later becomes my wife), I have spoken to many who are. I don't think your solution works.

1) If he's with his wife and kid while they're awake, and works when they're asleep, when does he sleep?

2) His child is a newborn. From what I hear, that means working while the kid's asleep may give him 20 hour work days, but it's much, much more likely to give him 4 hour workdays broken into 15 minutes segments.

Actually this whole conversation seems to be based around this... so let me pass on what came about in the Newsarama.com story/thread regarding this:

1) The book was on an accelerated schedule to begin with, as evidenced by this being the first non-pro book to be this far into production even though many many sent in ideas around the same time. Marvel has reconsidered this rush in light of changes in the artist's life.

2) The artist's former roomate spoke up saying that the man is extremely prolific no matter what the conditions and thinks that a) The situation is more about wanting to spend the majority of time with his wife/child rather than HAVING to. or b) The team decided, even if the artist assured them it wasn't a problem, to tell Marvel editorial there might be a delay.

3) The first two issues are actually entirely completed, and when the team told Marvel that art for the next two issues MAY (possibly) be delayed (something that can happen to just about any porject with a long-term deadline, especially given VERY much a prior warning) the Marvel editorial staff decided that they would push back the book's launch instead.

This, to me, is simply not that big a deal as it very possibly would not be a problem at all.

Prime middle management material.

No wonder American business is in such a crapper.....

Prime middle management material. No wonder American business is in such a crapper.....

No, Roger. It's in the crapper because people DON'T meet deadlines (or stick to budgets fot that matter).

Say you're producing a new stage production. You contract with an artist for needed custom scenery flats based on the art of Edward Gorey. You pay half the fee up front, the other half due upon delivery. Two days before the play opens, you get a call from the artist. His wife's just had a kid. He won't be able to finish the flats on time. You won't mind waiting a couple of weeks for the flats, will you? What does your non-'middle management material' sense tell you to do?

Compared to whom?

And would you take that as an excuse from your mechanic if he said that the car repair he told you would be ready by Tuesday is going to be ready 30 days later because he just had a baby and is taking some time off for that?

What about the inkerer, the letterer, the people who do the actual printing of the comic? Is he taking money out of their pockets by his lack of speed or do they get paid regardless of when they get to do their jobs?

I would like to begin by pointing out that the reply you are replying to answers some of this... please tell me you read it?

I ask because the actual situation involved here is more like this:

You contract with an artist for needed custom scenery flats based on the art of Edward Gorey, with the production being put on for several months. Each month you will need a different set of custom flats.

Now, you know that you are not giving the artist as much time as you normally would for such a project, but he assures you that it should work out just fine. Your production manager, who knows the artist, says that it shouldn't be a problem.

So, a week or two before the first production the manager calls and tells you that while the scenery flats for the first two months are all done the artist's wife just had a baby and this may slow him down (considering he was already on an extremely tight schedule) for the two months after that. In fact, it could be that the artist thinks it'll still be on time but the manager isn't sure.

Now, this is for the productions taking place two months from now, and none of them may be late at all. What do you do?

Well, what Marvel did was delaye the first issue because they wanted to make sure and back off on the creative team somewhat.

And, note, that this was using your example... mine would be much closer to a reporter who began working on a long-term story that's supposed to be done in a few months, but has some things pop up in his life and so asks the editor well before-hand if they think it'll be a problem. Note that he doesn't tell the editor 'I can't do it' because he doesn't know that this is the case.

Does the editor tell him, 'Step it up and meet the deadline anyway!' or 'Well hurry up and try to meet it' ? No, he says 'Alright, we'll run it the next month's edition, it isn't like it's a time-sensitive peice anyway.'