NRAMA: On the subject of regular artists, with Bagley finally leaving Ultimate Spider-Man, do you think in this day and ago, the concept of the regular penciler is even valid?
This is your chance to shift expectations Joe. Should fans even expect a creative team to remain consistent for more than six issues or so? Or is rotating artists the new status quo and the regular artist now the exception?
JQ: While I think its rarer and rarer to see these days, with respect to a book like Ultimate Spider-Man which has a tradition of stability, we were looking for someone who was going to be monthly, consistent, and someone who would stay with the title for a while as well as be a compliment to what Brian brings to the book.
But all that said, yes, the days of seeing artists stick with a book for two years, three years, is really something of the past. While there are always exceptions, it is no longer the rule.
And by the way, its also something that has changed within the every changing tastes of fandom as well. Very rarely, today, creator stability within a title is rarely rewarded in any real significant way. If you stay on a book for a considerable amount of time, usually you find that sales start to lag and fans start to loose interest in what youre doing and what they usually respond to is the new shiny penny that comes rolling into town.
Is it better or worse than the good ol days? I dont think its either, its just the way that we do business today and its what the general populace of fandom wants. |