MattBrady
06-23-2003, 09:35 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/sangiacomo/Epic2.jpg" width="200" height="304" border="0" hspace="2" align="right"><I>by Mike San Giacomo </I>
Before we begin this week's installment of <I>My Epic Journey</I>, I want to announce that the name of the book will no longer be <b>Nowhere Man</b> and will now be called <b>Phantom Jack</b>.
I'm not pleased with this development, neither is my editor, Stephanie Moore. Marvel's legal department mumbled something about a concern over Eric Stephenson's upcoming Image series <b>Nowhere Men</b>, which has nothing to do with newspapers, Iraq or invisible people.
I hope that all the folks who have been following <I>My Epic Journey</I> and all the other press about <b>Nowhere Man</b> will figure out that the comic is now called <b>Phantom Jack</b>.
I'm sure that Eric will put a big old disclaimer in his comic saying "If you're looking for Mike San Giacomo's adventures of an invisible reporter, which was to be called <b>Nowhere Man</b>, please look further down the rack for <b>Phantom Jack</b>."
In case he doesn't, please spread the word.
Now we return you to your regularly scheduled column already in progress.
<I>This is a weekly look at the process of writing a comic for Marvel's new Epic line, <b> Phantom Jack</b>, which was to be called <b>Nowhere Man</b> until THE MAN made me change the name.
My story and script about Jack Baxter, a newspaper reporter who can turn invisible was greenlighted by the powers that be at Marvel.
Last week, I reported that after several rewrites I was directed to start from scratch, putting the origin first.
And here we go... </I>
Monday morning I trudged into work with a stack of printouts, the result of an entire weekend's worth of work. My latest rewrite, the fourth or fifth, was a dramatic departure from the previous ones. It was <I>Smallville</I> to <I>Superman</I>, or more accurately, my Ultimate Jack Baxter.
I was not trying to rush the origin story through, I embraced it. The scripts turned out very nice, I thought. This was a storyline I had hoped to introduce further down the line, but now was fine.
The script opens with a 25-year-old Jack Baxter being roused from sleep by a phone call from Vinnie Cosumano, a photographer at the smalltown newspaper where both men work.
By the time Jack gets to the newspaper, he learns that most of the staff is at the scene of a huge chemical plant explosion that has caused half of he neighboring city of Norristown, Pa., to be evacuated.
The editor is angry but Jack has a plan.
He tells the editor that he grew up in that area and he knows a path to the site.
He and Vinnie go to the site and lots of cool stuff happens that I don't want to reveal because, God willing, you'll see it in full color one of these days.
That's the start of the script that I carried with me to my office with where I would fax them to Marvel Assistant Editor Stephanie Moore. I noticed my message light on my phone blinking, which in an of itself is not unusual, it's always blinking.
I tap in the code. It's Stephanie.
"Bill [Jemas] read your earlier scripts and he likes them," she said. "He likes the original version of the story the way it is. I hope you didn't do too much work putting the origin first."
I looked at the 40 odd sheets of paper, full scripts for issues 1 and 2 and plot summaries for the rest.
"Just the whole weekend," I said dryly.
Stephanie apologized. I think she meant it.
She said there were some notes from Jemas and Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada in an e-mail waiting for me. I should read it and Jemas, Stephanie and I would talk that afternoon.
What a difference a day (or two) makes.
After last week's suggestion that I take on a co-writer I felt pretty discouraged, but when I read the message from Jemas and Quesada I felt great.
It was a copy of an earlier script with notes and suggestions by Marvel's two top guys.
Jemas moved a scene from the middle of the book to the beginning, which kept things in chronological order.
He and Quesada had suggested a few minor changes, which were good ones. Their notes to each other on the text was full of complimentary things about the work, which modesty prevents me from retelling.
In the three-way discussion later on, Jemas said the book was ready to go after a few revisions. I had been concerned about the centering the work on the Iraq war, which by that time, March, was petering out.
Jemas quickly solved that problem.
"We set the book in February, just before the war," he said.
Right. Simple. That relieved me of trying to keep current with the news.
Jemas said he heard that I had written an extensive origin for Jack Baxter and had planned to slip it in around issue three.
"You know," he said. "I think the character is pretty solid as he is. At this point the reader does not need to know his whole history and origin. They know what he can do. Let's save that for the next story arc."
The what?
The next story arc?
I had assumed that Marvel only wanted four issues tops and that would be the end.
I asked if they would be interested in continuing the story for more issues after the first run.
Jemas said "Sure, as long as it's selling."
I felt better about everything.
The issues I wrote would not be wasted. They could become a second story arc and I would get the chance to unfold the story as slowly as I wished.
With suggestions from Jemas and Quesada in hand, I said I would rework the scripts again over the weekend and we can start talking artists.
Things are looking up, but don't get too excited. We were only halfway around the course.
NEXT: "But, but," Bill said....
<I>To be continued… but don't get used to this logo, though... </I>
<center><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/sangiacomo/noweherman-logo2.jpg" width="500" height="156" border="0" hspace="2"></center>
<I>Mike Sangiacomo, a freelance writer for Newsarama and other sources, was invited to share his experiences with pitching to Epic by Newsarama's editor, Matt Brady, in the interest of keeping readers well informed. Brady advises Newsarama readers that he is aware of the inherent conflict of interest presented by journalists working for a publisher they cover. Sangiacomo's regular column Journey Into Comics has and will continue to be found in the Opinion/Editorial section of Newsarama. Brady has not, nor does he plan to pitch to Epic himself. </I>
Before we begin this week's installment of <I>My Epic Journey</I>, I want to announce that the name of the book will no longer be <b>Nowhere Man</b> and will now be called <b>Phantom Jack</b>.
I'm not pleased with this development, neither is my editor, Stephanie Moore. Marvel's legal department mumbled something about a concern over Eric Stephenson's upcoming Image series <b>Nowhere Men</b>, which has nothing to do with newspapers, Iraq or invisible people.
I hope that all the folks who have been following <I>My Epic Journey</I> and all the other press about <b>Nowhere Man</b> will figure out that the comic is now called <b>Phantom Jack</b>.
I'm sure that Eric will put a big old disclaimer in his comic saying "If you're looking for Mike San Giacomo's adventures of an invisible reporter, which was to be called <b>Nowhere Man</b>, please look further down the rack for <b>Phantom Jack</b>."
In case he doesn't, please spread the word.
Now we return you to your regularly scheduled column already in progress.
<I>This is a weekly look at the process of writing a comic for Marvel's new Epic line, <b> Phantom Jack</b>, which was to be called <b>Nowhere Man</b> until THE MAN made me change the name.
My story and script about Jack Baxter, a newspaper reporter who can turn invisible was greenlighted by the powers that be at Marvel.
Last week, I reported that after several rewrites I was directed to start from scratch, putting the origin first.
And here we go... </I>
Monday morning I trudged into work with a stack of printouts, the result of an entire weekend's worth of work. My latest rewrite, the fourth or fifth, was a dramatic departure from the previous ones. It was <I>Smallville</I> to <I>Superman</I>, or more accurately, my Ultimate Jack Baxter.
I was not trying to rush the origin story through, I embraced it. The scripts turned out very nice, I thought. This was a storyline I had hoped to introduce further down the line, but now was fine.
The script opens with a 25-year-old Jack Baxter being roused from sleep by a phone call from Vinnie Cosumano, a photographer at the smalltown newspaper where both men work.
By the time Jack gets to the newspaper, he learns that most of the staff is at the scene of a huge chemical plant explosion that has caused half of he neighboring city of Norristown, Pa., to be evacuated.
The editor is angry but Jack has a plan.
He tells the editor that he grew up in that area and he knows a path to the site.
He and Vinnie go to the site and lots of cool stuff happens that I don't want to reveal because, God willing, you'll see it in full color one of these days.
That's the start of the script that I carried with me to my office with where I would fax them to Marvel Assistant Editor Stephanie Moore. I noticed my message light on my phone blinking, which in an of itself is not unusual, it's always blinking.
I tap in the code. It's Stephanie.
"Bill [Jemas] read your earlier scripts and he likes them," she said. "He likes the original version of the story the way it is. I hope you didn't do too much work putting the origin first."
I looked at the 40 odd sheets of paper, full scripts for issues 1 and 2 and plot summaries for the rest.
"Just the whole weekend," I said dryly.
Stephanie apologized. I think she meant it.
She said there were some notes from Jemas and Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada in an e-mail waiting for me. I should read it and Jemas, Stephanie and I would talk that afternoon.
What a difference a day (or two) makes.
After last week's suggestion that I take on a co-writer I felt pretty discouraged, but when I read the message from Jemas and Quesada I felt great.
It was a copy of an earlier script with notes and suggestions by Marvel's two top guys.
Jemas moved a scene from the middle of the book to the beginning, which kept things in chronological order.
He and Quesada had suggested a few minor changes, which were good ones. Their notes to each other on the text was full of complimentary things about the work, which modesty prevents me from retelling.
In the three-way discussion later on, Jemas said the book was ready to go after a few revisions. I had been concerned about the centering the work on the Iraq war, which by that time, March, was petering out.
Jemas quickly solved that problem.
"We set the book in February, just before the war," he said.
Right. Simple. That relieved me of trying to keep current with the news.
Jemas said he heard that I had written an extensive origin for Jack Baxter and had planned to slip it in around issue three.
"You know," he said. "I think the character is pretty solid as he is. At this point the reader does not need to know his whole history and origin. They know what he can do. Let's save that for the next story arc."
The what?
The next story arc?
I had assumed that Marvel only wanted four issues tops and that would be the end.
I asked if they would be interested in continuing the story for more issues after the first run.
Jemas said "Sure, as long as it's selling."
I felt better about everything.
The issues I wrote would not be wasted. They could become a second story arc and I would get the chance to unfold the story as slowly as I wished.
With suggestions from Jemas and Quesada in hand, I said I would rework the scripts again over the weekend and we can start talking artists.
Things are looking up, but don't get too excited. We were only halfway around the course.
NEXT: "But, but," Bill said....
<I>To be continued… but don't get used to this logo, though... </I>
<center><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/sangiacomo/noweherman-logo2.jpg" width="500" height="156" border="0" hspace="2"></center>
<I>Mike Sangiacomo, a freelance writer for Newsarama and other sources, was invited to share his experiences with pitching to Epic by Newsarama's editor, Matt Brady, in the interest of keeping readers well informed. Brady advises Newsarama readers that he is aware of the inherent conflict of interest presented by journalists working for a publisher they cover. Sangiacomo's regular column Journey Into Comics has and will continue to be found in the Opinion/Editorial section of Newsarama. Brady has not, nor does he plan to pitch to Epic himself. </I>