While (with some exceptions) it’s a person’s right to quit/resign from a job on the spot , it’s considered professional behavior to give 2 weeks notice, and both of us wondered what had happened at the DC offices to make Wacker so angry he suddenly quit, and doubtless burned bridges behind him. (We even went so far as to wonder if Marvel was attempting to torpedo 52 because they’ve screwed up Civil War’s shipping so badly, but nah, comics industry intrigue is rarely that diabolical or interesting.)

It wasn’t until, several pages in, when Ralph read Mark Waid’s comment that we realized that no, this was no more exciting than when other editors have changed companies, and, well, the introductory paragraphs of the article made it seem like something else entirely.

the next person…the very next person…who dares even hint that they are complaining about the complainers who complain about the complainers is going to be eating through a straw for the rest of his goddamned life.

>bottom line: complaining is AWESOME.

Yes, it is! Who should I complain to about the people complaining about the complainers?

what is wrong with steeve wacker. 52 is my faverite book. evry on e who posted above me is an idiot. *smiley face* *rolling eyes face* *angry face* *additional smiley face*

Man, some fandom is twisted…

bottom line: complaining is AWESOME.

Books out on time?

Most of them on Newsarama definitely over-reacted but what’s the first thing they thought:

Great, now one of the weeks isn’t going to ship on time.

What does it say bout professionalism in general in this industry when no one expects anything to ship on time anymore?

I think the late books situation is the underlying complaint among most everything right now and all anyone really seems to want to do is sweep it under the rug.

But in the end, it causes other complaints like the ones that happened against Mr. Wacker that went over the line.

I should have prefaced that with the fact that I don’t believe he said that. As a matter of fact, as quickly as the article got pulled off the Wizardsite, I’m not so sure that quote actually came form him at all.

More importantly, folks should realize that when you start on staff at a publisher, it’s pretty unusual to keep working your way up, and up, and up. You usually hit a glass ceiling somewhere along the way. To some extent, your employer will always see you as that little Assistant Editor they hired five years ago.

So, unless you want to spend the next five or ten years stuck at your current salary, sometimes the only way to improve your situation is to jump ship and go across town, where they’ll bring you in at a higher starting level and look to move you up from there.

Ironically, by the time you hit the glass ceiling at your new publisher, your old publisher will see you with fresh eyes and probably hire you back at an even higher level than they ever would’ve promoted you to in the first place.

And so it goes…

Yes, I’m sure 52 will be an especially difficult book to hand over, just by the nature of the beast. But that’s not the point. DC could always have asked Wacker to commit to the whole project in advance if they were that concerned about it.

You were justified in your reaction. Granted, it may have been a little kneejerk in retrospect, but when I read it I got the point you were getting across. You, Grant, Greg and Geoff worked so closely with Stephen for so long on the IC and 52 and OYL stuff that it stands to make sense you’d be able to best give an impression of the man’s professionalism.

I think what really bugged me most about that thread is there were very few people who understand just what it takes to edit a monthly book, let alone something like 52, which is a HUGE undertaking for anyone, and Stephen proved he had what it took to make sure it came off without a hitch. If nothing else, the industry should remember DC took a huge risk handing him that project and bringing you guys on board, and everyone delivered what’s arguably the biggest comic of the last 10 years.

Not all of us are as lucky as you to be professional writers. The only way we can entertain ourselves when we’re bored in the bowels of corporate America is to post on assanine message boards.
But I do still love your books. And as shocked as I was in reading your post, I did gain a great deal more respect for you in defedning a friend who (speculating) can’t defend himself right now.

Also, I noticed your misuse of the word. I thought you were being funny.
Much like “tenuring” one’s resignation.

NOT that any of that happened to Stephen Wacker. I don’t know the guy, don’t know dick about shit.

But anyone–ANYONE–who has EVER been employed–who has received money for performing a task or service–HAS to understand the boundaries of “professional” behavior and that this incident falls WELL within them.

Which of course suggests simply that the responders saying the behavior was “unprofessional” probably aren’t widgets at work computers at all–they’re the classic unwashed, unemployed masses in their parents’ basements. Otherwise, it’s a guarantee they’d have been in a situation where they’d moved on from one job to the next for any of a million reasons, and left plenty of unfinished business for the next guy.

I, however, am DEFINITELY a corporate widget, happily using corporate time and internet access to post about comic books. God bless America.

Still, I probably shouldn’t have lost my temper just because a bunch of widgets posting from their work computers during office hours accused Steve of acting “unprofessionally.”

And Mark’s right on the money about questioning Stephen Wacker’s professionalism though. Not only does it make DC look bad, but it makes the guys working for the editor look bad. Personally, from every interview I’ve read the man seems like one hell of a talented editor, and he had a staff both above and below him that worked their asses off to pull this book off. If what I’m hearing about them just having wrapped the last script for 52 are true, then he probably wanted to wait until he saw his last script come in before he resigned to go work for Marvel. Personally, I think editors work their butts off to put these books out, and don’t nearly get as much of the credit as they’re due. About time companies started recognizing that the editor is just as important to the book as a writer or a penciller because they drive the focus of the entire series or project to make sure it’s completed and put out on schedule.

(Me not likey Marvel so much anymore, except for the Handbooks, She-Hulk, Annihilation and Andy Schmidt.)

Paranoia, rumor milling, hate-mongering….I leave that for politics and possibly work! :p

Well, obviously….

Yes! That is why you come to the Beat!

We go for the drama! Just like TNT.

I do think that Mark was putting his heart upon his sleeve there a little bit in regard to what he said…but hey, you can’t be cool and collected all the time, right?

Fanboys will be fanboys will be fanboys. Waid and co., know that and I’m sure that today, if he is thinking about what he said at all…he probably thinks it was a little overdone.