Scott McDaniel Tells His Side Of The Static Shock Story

[Rick Worley]

The fact that McDaniel thinks pulling a screenwriting book off the shelf and quoting from it makes him an authority on writing speaks a lot to the opinion that he should probably shut the hell up about writing.

[khuxford]

I'm alarmed that it seems this issue is so polarized. I happen to side more with Rozum's position, but I'm not suggesting that the artist or editor are idiots or children. They're just human and I believe they made more of the mistakes in this particular instance than Rozum did. But I see others hurling insults at all three involved here. I think the editor is most to blame here, but I'm not going to call the guy names or suggest he can't possibly do his job well (even if I wouldn't want to work with him until I had reliable info that he demonstrated he could).

I'd like to ask that folks try to avoid insulting the side (posters, creators, whatever) that you don't happen to agree with and just express your support for your side in a more civil manner (he says, not entirely sure he hasn't crossed the line at all so far).

[ahlhelm]

Stephen King often writes without knowing the ending, and he seems to do alright sales-wise. Different writers write different ways, and Scott McDaniel was acting like a child. If I was John Rozum trying to write in those circumstances, I'd be amazed if I handled it as maturely as he did.

Ugh. Thank you for this. Half the time I go in to a project with a certain ending I don't get to it ... at least not 100% the same ending. Characters dictate where they're going. If Rozum wrote 3 issues together it could be very easy for him to move the character forward and set him up with some place interesting ahead after issue 6.

Not to mention it tends to keep things more interesting.

[jackolantern]

About the best thing that I can say about McDaniel here is that he seems sincere in his belief that he could put out a decent comic while still keeping sales up, and that going EDGY and EXTREME was a good idea, and that he was sincerely puzzled and disappointed that Rozum didn't get with the program, such as it was.

That having been said, yeah, nthing what everyone else has said about this not really contradicting Rozum's account at all. Plus, it's now painfully evident why so many of the New 52 books have tanked while others have been so fanservicey, particularly Catwoman, Voodoo and the one with Starfire. I've actually read a review of Voodoo #5 (I think) in which the writer said that, having gotten past the strip club parts, there was a not-bad science fiction spy-thriller type story in there. Which may be true, but is beside the point; if I want to see a strip club, I'll go to an actual strip club--please give me a story that doesn't make me embarrassed to pick up the book at my LCS and thumb through it. McDaniel is a good artist and probably has a long and successful career ahead of him, and he should give some thought to his long game and ask himself if he really wants to have a book on his record that someone will look at ten or twenty years from now (if not now), put it down, turn to him and ask incredulously, "Dude, really?

[ahlhelm]

I'm alarmed that it seems this issue is so polarized. I happen to side more with Rozum's position, but I'm not suggesting that the artist or editor are idiots or children. They're just human and I believe they made more of the mistakes in this particular instance than Rozum did. But I see others hurling insults at all three involved here. I think the editor is most to blame here, but I'm not going to call the guy names or suggest he can't possibly do his job well (even if I wouldn't want to work with him until I had reliable info that he demonstrated he could).

I'd like to ask that folks try to avoid insulting the side (posters, creators, whatever) that you don't happen to agree with and just express your support for your side in a more civil manner (he says, not entirely sure he hasn't crossed the line at all so far).

I don't see this as McDaniel's fault really. He got angry and I think that caused Rozum to quit, but clearly it should have been Harvey Richards' job to fix the problem faster. The fact that they seemed to hire Rozum and immediately jettison any story proposal he had seems insane to me.

[khuxford]

I don't see this as McDaniel's fault really. He got angry and I think that caused Rozum to quit, but clearly it should have been Harvey Richards' job to fix the problem faster. The fact that they seemed to hire Rozum and immediately jettison any story proposal he had seems insane to me.

Well, yeah...I blame the editor, too. But we seem to be in the minority: most are treating this as McDaniels vs Rozum, which in and of itself seems to point to the editor.

[Knut Robert Knutsen]

Well, yes, any such mess ultimately comes down to the editor, doesn't it? Part of any editors job is to "handle" talent, making sure they feel appreciated and listened to even if they're being overruled, being able to coax good writing out of a writer who has to drop his own ideas in favor of some editorial mandate, getting an artist to draw stuff he doesn't care much for because that's what the story needs to be etc. And most of all, the willingness to say "This isn't working. Somebody needs to step away from this project."

I've personally had problems with editors who didn't know what they wanted, asked me as the writer to find ways to fix screw-ups by the artist (even problems with the art, as it happens) rather than ask the artist to fix it and so forth. There's nothing worse than not being able to depend on your editor keeping a book or strip on track. I presume that it's no easier for artists.

[Ian Coke]

Wow - talk about hyperbole.

Jim Shooter was writing LoSH successfully at 14. While having some training in the arts can assist in creating something, ultimately creativity is king. In your example, Shooter should never have even gotten in the door or shouldn't have been allowed to write any books.

There is a big difference between an art and a science. As much as everyone likes what you build, an unsturdy bridge is an unsturdy bridge. But a British housewife can create a set of fictional novels that grows into a financial empire.

I don't know if Jim Shooter would take kindly to being compared to a British housewife! Even as a fourteen year old, he must have felt, pool boy as he might have seemed, like he could have overpowered all of them.

[Joe Kalicki]

Rozum has written good books, McDaniel has drawn good books, Richards has edited good books, DC is putting out good books. This was like a one time screw up for everyone, I really don't get what people are so up in arms about.

[Joe Kalicki]

I also don't quite understand how some of you expect Static Shock to be a big hit because he had a cartoon years ago. Do you also believe Jackie Chan Adventures has a substantial comic book market these days?