Marko Djurdjevic breaks up with Marvel - and JMS

[Jan]

Oh, my...there've been several reports about a panel that Marko Djurdjevic was on where he talked about quitting his exclusive contract with Marvel and made some comments about JMS. JMS posted a response on FB:

Several folks have emailed to ask what I thought of Marko Djurdjevic's reported breakdown or tirade (depending on who's doing the asking) in which he savaged Marvel and said in passing that I "write like toilet paper."

I was at first concerned by this because I was pretty sure toilet that while one can write ON toilet paper, toilet paper itself doesn't actually write because it can't hold a pen, dictate or use a keyboard. Then I thought, maybe I missed something. I could be wrong. So I contacted the TPADL (Toilet Paper Anti-Defamation League) to get their response, which follows.

"We at the TPADL are tired of these sorts of baseless and discriminatory comments. We cannot and do not write, it is an ignorant and foolish comment. We are often written upon, but that is not the same thing and we should not be held responsible for that content. We had this same problem with the collected works of Jacqueline Susan and Harold Robbins. We didn't do it, we were simply the messengers for their shit. What Mr. Djurdjevic clearly meant to say, and would've said if he were sober, is that Straczynski writes like shit, a sentiment that all sentient life forms would agree with."

I thanked them for this clarification and for me the matter ends there, except to wish Mr. Djurdjevic the best. I think it's about time somebody in the comics business gave Charlie Sheen a run for his money, and I have absolute faith that Mr. Djurdjevic is just the man to do it. I stand beside him in solidarity, with confidence and with a roll of toilet paper poised and ready for his next missive. Go get 'em, Marko!

At least one comment in one of the reports is from somebody at the panel who points out major inaccuracies in it (including that the report originally named somebody else with an equally hard name to spell) and who reports that Marko didn't say 'toilet paper' at all.

Jan

[Triple F]

As you mentioned on jmsÆs facebook thread, IÆve also been reading plenty of folks who were at the con saying what was reported isnÆt quite what happened û and itÆs more down to crap reporting than anything else. The comments on this article paint a very different picture, as does Hickman (and others) on twitter, apparently.

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/08/26/marko-djurdjevic-quits-marvel-comics/

[Jan]

In this case, I noticed that at least two reports I read were obviously copied from the one I linked to.

Often at cons I see the reporters for the various websites typing their articles as the panels are happening. Naturally, this leads to errors. The articles that end up being good are generally from reporters who record a panel and type it up afterward.

Overall, though, it sounded to me like Djurdjevic isn't tempramentally cut out to be an artist for a medium like comics where the artist needs to fulfill what the company or writer wants. In JMS' case, we know from Colleen Doran's posts here and on her blog that JMS communicates what he likes and doesn't like for the artist for changes.

Jan

[SmileOfTheShadow]

A blown out of proportion snide remark, yay media. Still amusing. I'm glad we got JMS's response out of it. That's gold.