"IT'S A HARD KNOCK LIFE FOR US" EPISODE 2: THE ARTIST STRIKES BACK

I've written entirely too much about Static Shock lately and the mounting shit storm that's swirling in the wake of its imminent cancellation. My last blog post proved to be somewhat stirring and controversial. It was inspired by the frustrated ruminations of would be Static Shock writer...John Rozum. In his pretty level-headed descriptions of why THE NEW DC 52 Static Shock failed he blamed editorial interference and the sudden christening of Scott Mcdaniel as his co-writer...not just the artist. You can read his post here http://johnrozum.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-i-quit-static-shock.html. Scott Mcdaniel, the artist who seems to be the center of the debate here, posted this response to Rozum a couple of weeks ago and I felt like I should post it and write about it in the spirit of being fair http://scottmcdaniel.net/. The big questions to ask here after reading both sides are...whether or not Mcdaniel was asked to help with plotting doesn't really make a difference to me. These kinds of things happen in corporate America every day. As an everyday American in the workforce...I see people everyday who have been assigned jobs that they didn't necessarily earn or deserve. That's just the way it goes. I don't like it but it's one of the universal rules that you never understand but must learn to live with. From reading both sides of this story, it appears to me that Rozum had a process to his "art"...in this case a "writing style or formula". Rozum seemed to be establishing a fresh, new paradigm for the Static Comic Book which would appeal to newcomers to DC's NEW 52...but also excite long time Static Shock fans. I am saddened that they didn't allow this process to blossom. I do realize though that books have to be sold and there's only a limited amount of time a publisher can provide to creators before they begin contemplating the bottom line. Selling books. With that being said, it appears to me that the editorial staff panicked and pulled Mcdaniel into the mix because they thought if all else fails...we'll cram the book chock full of action and see what happens. I will admit that while I prefer Rozum's ideas for the series...I was not a big fan of the Pale Man. That idea seems very derivative of the Joker and the name leaves a lot to be desired in a mainstream comic book about a black superhero. I read over the list of "improvements" that Scott Mcdaniel suggested to give this series the necessary wings it needed and was not convinced that his ideas were superior to Rozum's. What I would have told both of these gentlemen at some point is to reference other books that have or are doing successfully what you are trying to do...Spider Man is the obvious comparison here...but look at NOVA back in the late seventies when he was Rich Ryder...or more recently INVINCIBLE. Now to me...the problem is too many chefs in the kitchen and no unified vision. First and foremost...Static Shock should have been a fun, lighthearted but adventurous thrill ride that builds momentum every issue until it's built an audience and that audience trusts it's creators to deliver the goods. Comic book readers nowadays have ADD...if you don't hit them fast and hard with a confident, sexy product...they sense the weakness. And they will drop that title with authority. End of story. My assessment of the whole STATIC SHOCK deal is that the folks involved did not have a clue as to what they wanted to do with the book. No one trusted the players chosen to perform their jobs. A lot of the proposed storylines and such seemed like second guesses and the artwork while competent in areas just wasn't top notch. How in the world do you expect a book to sell when it's got so much going against it? Until STATIC SHOCK is pulled out of the closet again...I guess I will just keep imagining in my own mind the truly dope as hell comic it could be if writers and artists would just stay in their lanes and create good comics. Stay in your lane, folks. B Williams...out.