Writers abandoning Jemas Comics Group in droves

Notice how many writers seem to be rejecting Nu-Marvel and its hands-on policy?

Loeb Waid Johns Rucka Morrison

Could it be that they think taking editorial advice on storytelling from a baseball card executive isn't worth working for more money and higher-profile characters?

JMS has a 'leave-me-alone-to-write' clause or he probably would have bailed ages ago.

An deadline-missing artist is EIC (a writer's job!) and a bubblegum card guy is the storytelling guru, that should tell you something right there about what's wrong with Marvel.

Sigh.. I shouldn't do this, but what they hell.

They are NOT rejecting it, they are going to work elsewhere, most of them will probably be back at some point. Morrison always said that he had a limited run on X-Men in mind, as he has on everything he's ever worked with, and has batted backwards and forwards between publishers numerous times.

Waid has a history of PO'ing his employers and leaving anyway, usually burning some bridges behind him in one way or the other. The fact that they wanted to change the direction of the title is possibly giving him an out, and reaction to his run has been very, very mixed.

None of them has said 'I'm never working for Marvel again', they've said 'I'm not writing for Marvel, at the moment'

What's he really written than the odd mini? He's considered a much more a DC writer IMO.

He didn't reject it he was let go.

Ditto to Loeb. He's more a DC writer.

This one was interesting but again it's not like he was Marvel only or mainly Marvel.

See Loeb.

Now if it was Bendis or Millar you might have something.

Rucka, the guy who is currently writing a Marvel book?

He's becoming the new John Byrne.

How can he get away with that?

unto us thusly:

Yes, also the guy who just announced he's signed a three year exclusive deal with DC.

Rucka's always been predominantly a DC guy though. Sad to see him go on Wolverine, since it's the first time I've liked the title since...well ever actually.

Of the names above, only one (Waid) has definitely left (well, been fired) because of editorial differences. The other guys may have just had buckets of money thrown their way.

Awhile back Jemas DID challenge DC to use the vast financial resources of their parent company, Time Warner. Maybe they're doing just that.

Here I was going on in some other thread about how many Marvels I was buying lately... looks like that # will be drastically reduced soon.

This may be indicative of a painful ignorance on my part, but what exactly is the advantage of an 'exclusive' contract with a comic book company? I can understand it probably carries guarantees for a writer or artist of a steady paycheck, but is it simply for the bragging rights of the company?

Or, perhaps more terrifying, have Marvel and DC begun actually 'collecting' the various comic creators as one might comics themselves? Is there a six-foot mylar bag waiting at DC for Greg Rucka? Will we see JMS dipped in holofoil and marketed to retailers as a limited edition?

It guarantees you a certain amount of work from the creator, a firmer association with the company in the mind of the creator's fans, and a fairly strong guarantee they won't walk off of Hot Book X. When Morrison was exclusive with DC before, it kept him from jumping off of JLA and going to Marvel before finishing his arc. Not that he would have, but it removed the risk of it for DC.

Dave Doty

Morrison's leaving is almost certainly due to Marvel's lack of a creator owned line and unwillingness to do non superhero stuff.

Even New Marvel poster boy Mark Miller (who couldn't stop kissing new Marvel's ass in his internet column) is doing creator owned stuff for other companies.

Doesn't Rucka write Wolverine?