Back in February of this year (which seems like a pop-culture lifetime ago, though that may be the SDCC hangover talking) we got the penultimate issue of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s ‘Hawkeye,’ a series which took the avenging archer and put him in 70s-style detective hijinks ala ‘The Rockford Files.’ The series has been a great ride, and finally today, we get the final chapter of that story…
…after the first three issues of the follow-up series have already made their way to the stands. The reasons for the delay on this issue are unclear, but this volume of Hawkeye has been full of hiccups large and small… Granted, comic book schedules slip all the time (the last issue of Astro City came out a week later than scheduled), but when the massive resources of Marvel Comics (A Disney Corporation™) slip, it somehow feels more noticeable, which leads to today’s impatient query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) still remembers the nearly seven-year gap between issues of Ms. Mystic when I was young, asking: When it comes to production delay, should we hold Big Corporate creators to different standards than we do smaller/independent creators?
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I have odd feelings about deadlines. On one hand, holding yourself to one (whether you’re a corporate entity or an independent creator) shows a level of professionalism that reflects well on all involved; on the other hand, sometimes creative work gets delayed for various reasons other than “I got a new game to play” and telling a creator that a deadline is more important than, say, a medical emergency or the birth of a new baby is pretty awful. So while I prefer that creators stick to a deadline, I don’t think people should get mad if they have actual reasons for missing it. I just wish publishers/creators would explain more why delays happen; I’m more than willing to wait till October for Uncanny X-Men #600 to finally wrap up the other titles’ stories if I knew why it was delayed other than “it just is”.
I think we should. When it comes to big corporations, I expect certain level of professionalism in every aspect, or at least communication if delays or problems happen. With independent creators Im much more willing to understand little problems happening sometimes because lack of resources. But if multi-billion corporation cant even come up with an email or twitter update when problems happen, its inexcusable.
You just reminded me, that the resolution to that series had not happened, yet.
I just hope my LCS remembered to pull it for me.
That tells me one thing: If you miss your deadlines and people don’t pick your book up, because they forgot it exists, it’s your fault.
The big players can afford to lose a reader or two; independents would hurt more.
As in live, generally, if you “promise” something and don’t deliver, people get sad.
Although, if the reason is a good one, the previous commenters are right, tell us and we’ll (most likely) understand.
It was these types of delays that helped me break the monthly installment habit for good. As readers of that format we were expected to show up every month and encouraged to, in fact, show up 3 months early in terms of solicitations. If the companies and creators can’t be bothered to fulfill their end of the bargain, why should I support them. Marvel DC and Image(Wildstorm) were really the ones that irritated me with late stuff. When its a one man band doing everything him/herself I’m pretty forgiving, such as Jeff Smith’s extended hiatus on Bone due to eye problems. I prefer to wait for the trade knowing I’ll get some semblance of a complete experience.
I agree with Bruce. I hold the mainstream comics to a higher standard than indies or small publishers. They have the resources to produce their titles on time and on a regular schedule, though to be honest, the indies usually produce a better product probably because they DO often take longer to get an issue out. It does seem rather odd that Marvel would have printed three issues of a sequel comic before putting out the last issue of the first series. On the other had, I’ve had to endure some awfully long delays with indie comics. When I was collecting Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, there was one break in publishing nearly six months long and another that was over eighteen months long – of course, those were because the author stopped worked to produce an animated movie or two, but still, the delays were almost unbearable. And here, twenty some odd years later, I am STILL waiting for the conclusion to STARSTRUCK…
I don’t think we should hold them to higher standards – I think we should just have stricter standards. If money is on the line, and you have a deadline to meet, it needs to be met no matter how big you are.