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Things I Didn’t Know About Comics When I Started Working Here
2007-11-02 17:11:07
If there’s one thing Comics for All is about, it’s that you shouldn’t have to be an expert on comics in order to enjoy comics.
Yet I work in probably the only place in the world where you might be considered unqualified if you don’t know the difference between the Thing and Iron Man (a legendary blunder that a long-gone, former employee committed). Luckily, Marvel hired me during a time when they were intentionally opening the doors to people who weren’t “comic people” by Marvel standards.
I already considered myself a comic person, but Marvel’s standards were different. I cared about the medium and had worked at another comic company. I could talk with intelligence about the work of Chris Ware, Tony Millionaire, Lynda Barry or Adrian Tomine. But I could not list Sue Storm’s powers, or the Wasp’s gender. I’m not sure I would have even been able to identify the racial backgrounds of Black Panther or Black Goliath (hey, who am I to jump to conclusions?).
As a result, I lived in constant fear of a) getting fired or b) disappointing Tom Brevoort. (Tom was then my boss, and is a living comics encyclopedia).
But today, bolstered by the confidence of years of gainful employment, and in the spirit of not being ashamed of one’s lack of expertise, I would like to reveal some of the gaps in my knowledge when I started working for Marvel.
I didn’t know the Wasp was a lady.
Someone mentioned the Wasp to me and I replied by referring to her as “he.” It’s, like, four years later and I’m still embarrassed because Tom Brevoort was right next door and I think he might have overheard me.
I didn’t know Sue Storm couldn’t fly.
In its earliest stages, I worked on the book that became MARVEL KNIGHTS 4. It became the laughingstock of the office when it was discovered that an issue had an incident where Sue Storm goes flying after a bad guy. It was easily fixed—we just changed it so that she ran through the air by creating a stair-like procession of invisible force-fields. But the damage had been done.
I didn’t know what a fill-in issue was.
Tom asked me to reach out to someone about becoming the fill-in artist for THE FANTASTIC FOUR. Rather than just compose an e-mail to the guy saying “do you want to be the fill-in artist for FANTASTIC FOUR?”, I decided to swallow my pride and get more details on what that actually meant. I asked Tom, who graciously explained in detail without making me feel mentally deficient in any way.
(For the record, it’s like being an understudy for the regular artist of an ongoing monthly book, drawing a few issues at a time so that the regular artist can pace him or herself and stay on schedule.)
I DID know Batman and the Flash weren’t Marvel characters, but mentioning them still ended in humiliation.
1) I had just started assisting Tom on THE AVENGERS, and there was one page of art where I would have sworn by all that was holy that Batman appeared in one panel. I knew it couldn’t be him, but I asked Tom about it anyway. I tried to sound incredulous enough that Tom would know I didn’t ACTUALLY think it was Batman. “Is this BATMAN?” I asked. “No!” Tom replied in disgust; “That isn’t BATMAN.” I slunk away, hoping I still had a job. (Incidentally, it was actually Yellowjacket in close-up.)
2) A co-worker in Brevoort’s office, now-writer Marc Sumerak, referred to something being done very fast. “Like the Flash,” I said. “Good example, wrong company,” Marc said. In my defense, I never said the Flash was one of our characters. I just acknowledged that he was fast. Is that so wrong?
In retrospect, I think it was silly of me to be so embarrassed about all these things, and with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight I wish I had asked more questions, sooner.
I think the same principle applies whether you’re a professional or a reader. Certainly, it might take nerves of steel to walk into your local Android’s Dungeon and announce to Comic Book Guy that you need guidance. But if more people do it, who knows, it might be another step toward making the comic community a more inclusive one.
Yeah. At Marvel, QUICKSILVER is your fast guy. (Or at least, he was - it's Speed or Blur now.)
Posted by Fetsur on 2007-11-02 17:56:28
Don't feel bad Nicole. I made the exact same mistake about Sue Storm. As my friends burst out laughing, I tried to cover up my blunder by saying, "Well you know technically, TECHNICALLY, she can fly. If she wanted to, she could". It didn't exactly ease my embarrassment.
Posted by Carzy on 2007-11-03 14:36:18
@&@$*#
Posted by kmarchant1974 on 2007-11-03 22:05:56
The eternal benefit of having 4 volumes of the Marvel Encyclopedia. A truely wonderful reference source for all those times that you think, "Who's that pumpkin headed guy the punisher just killer?"
Posted by dugdale24 on 2007-11-04 05:50:45
LOL
The marvel universe is so vast...since I was 8 I watched series like the Hulk, X-Men, Silver Surfer and watched movies. It was confusing that not everything went according to the comics but after some time I got the hang of it.
Posted by Cosmic Genesis on 2008-01-03 05:08:38
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About this blog:
A guide to Marvel’s comic offerings for librarians, parents and teachers.
 | About the author:
Nicole Boose is an Associate Editor at Marvel Comics, working on various titles including the Marvel Illustrated classics. She oversees the comics in Marvel’s custom publishing program.
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