The Daily Rios Digest for August 28th, 2022: Superman in Wednesday Comics. Top 5 Musical Dance Performances. The Green Turtle feature in Blazing Comics. And more! (1:04:52)
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Meanwhile… Monday part 7: August’83
(14:08) Top 5 Tuesday: Musical Dance Performances
(31:48) Wednesday Comics: Superman
(46:53) A Thought for Thursday: “A negative times a negative equals a positive…”
(48:00) Follow-Up Friday: Blazing Comics featuring the Green Turtle
peter@thedailyrios.com
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Peter,
Another great episode. But your comment regarding the Superman story in Wednesday Comics — that you can’t love every strip — really spoke to me. This is one of the things that I love about anthologies, that you don’t need to love everything. Though it could also be said that the variety found in anthologies is what can be enticing, if one wanted to put a more positive spin on it. I wish I’d considered the positive spin aspect at Wizard World Chicago in the early 2000s.
I was trying to find a way into comics, as a writer. I can’t remember if this was 2001 or 2005 (when my friend and I actually had a copy of our anthology to share and sell), but it was one of those shows and Joe Pruett, of Negative Burn fame, was going to be tabling at the show. I loved Negative Burn, exactly for the variety that was on offer, and it didn’t hurt that Pruett was publishing many creators who would soon become big names — like Bendis, Scott Morse, James Owen, Paul Pope, James Robinson, along with the songs of Alan Moore, illustrated by a variety of artists. I knew I wanted to meet Pruett, talk to him about Negative Burn, and offer him some of my writing pitches that I’d prepared for the show. When I finally got up the nerve to go to his table and speak with Pruett, I started right in talking about Negative Burn. I wanted to applaud him for the variety and talent he managed to publish in that anthology, and what came out was something like: “With Negative Burn, I don’t like everything in every issue, but that’s okay.”
As I heard the words coming out of my mouth, I knew it wasn’t how I wanted to put it, and I could see Pruett become less enthusiastic with our interaction. I’m certain he understood this aspect of anthologies quite well, but if you’re approaching an editor and publisher with the idea of trying to get work in his book, I don’t know if you want to lead with a negative. Needless to say, I did not hear back from Pruett after the show, which I also understand was mainly due to my inexperience as far as writing, but I doubt my poor communication skills helped any.
Thanks, as always, for the show. Hoping you find fulfilling work sooner than later.
-chris