Byrne on Ultimates issues lateness...

UltimateE said:
That's a facinating story.

Not only did he edit it, but when it was reverted because he effectively deleted most of the article, he and his cronies on his board caused such a fuss that the founder of Wikipedia stepped in and apparently locked the page. If you Google you can find comparisons of the "old" page and Byrne's version.

Byrne is one of the biggest pieces of **** I've ever heard of.
Click to expand...

More than Card?
 
Although he does seem rather self-righteous, Byrne really does make a good point. Somebody tell me the last time one of Hitch's issues came out at a perfect monthly pace. This reminds me of something Bendis once said: "It's harder for writers to break into the business, but easier to have multiple titles. That said, it's easier for artists to break in, but harder to have multiple titles." The point I'm making is that if Hitch can't meet his deadlines and if he will chronically be late, he needs to do something about it, be it cutting down on the number of projects he works on or just spending more time on his work.
 
DIrishB said:
More than Card?
Click to expand...
Oh, please, don't get him started -- I'm afraid he'll pop a blood vessel over that particular topic.... :(

Skotti-chan, I hope you're doing better and are soon back up to speed with new projects.
 
...I think Byrne is right...it's really unprofessional and if Hitch knows that he is doing it maybe he could make another deadline, like his own deadline so he can make something for the real deadline.

He is one of the greatest artists no doubt of this, but i don't think that this justify the lateness... sorry and don't be mad at me please :(

Skotti, i never talked to you, but i hope you get better...
 
Doc Comic said:
Although he does seem rather self-righteous, Byrne really does make a good point. Somebody tell me the last time one of Hitch's issues came out at a perfect monthly pace. This reminds me of something Bendis once said: "It's harder for writers to break into the business, but easier to have multiple titles. That said, it's easier for artists to break in, but harder to have multiple titles." The point I'm making is that if Hitch can't meet his deadlines and if he will chronically be late, he needs to do something about it, be it cutting down on the number of projects he works on or just spending more time on his work.
Click to expand...

Isn't he only working on Ultimates 2 currently? If not what else is he working on.

Seldes Katne said:
Oh, please, don't get him started -- I'm afraid he'll pop a blood vessel over that particular topic....
Click to expand...

You're right, I just like seeing his head swell with rage...in my mind.
 
I apologize for my rash comment earlier, I've been researching and seeing that Hitch is terrible at meeting deadlines, so my sympathy has waned. He's one of those guys that is readily late and readily offering excuses. Right now I'm coloring a webcomic for a couple friends, we're about 3 months ahead on the project, so barring some massive catastrophe, we're going to release on time, how friggen hard is that??
 
Oh, and with the revelation of Joe Mad doing Ultimates 3 doesn't really boost my hopes of it shipping on time.
 
Last edited:
As I said, the final piece is more important than the deadline to him. The trades will live on far longer than the comics and he will not be judged on his lateness then. He works until there is no more time and then some. Can't blame a guy for wanting to maintain a high standard of work.
 
skotti-chan said:
I apologize for my rash comment earlier, I've been researching and seeing that Hitch is terrible at meeting deadlines, so my sympathy has waned. He's one of those guys that is readily late and readily offering excuses. Right now I'm coloring a webcomic for a couple friends, we're about 3 months ahead on the project, so barring some massive catastrophe, we're going to release on time, how friggen hard is that??
Click to expand...

Thats whats I'm saying. He's just developed a history of being late, and you know what, ok, I can live with that. But why, as the editors who set these deadlines, don't they plan ahead for this instance of his constant lateness? Like I said, I blame the editors even more than Hitch.

skotti-chan said:
Oh, and with the revalation of Joe Mad doing Ultimates 3 doesn't really boost my hopes of it shipping on time.
Click to expand...

Oh no...thats not good news. :(

*cries uncontrollably*
 
I guess the lateness has never really bothered me. Imagine if Hitch was kicked off of Ultimates for his lateness and replaced. To me, any artist other than Hitch doing the Ultimates is a major step down. I think his art is worth the book being late. Many books have great writing, but mediocre art. I've always enjoyed the Ultimates because it gives you the full package. As far as I see it, the book may be consistently late, but you're still getting more for your dollar (or three dollars I guess) than you do out of a lot of comics.
 
moonmaster said:
I guess the lateness has never really bothered me. Imagine if Hitch was kicked off of Ultimates for his lateness and replaced. To me, any artist other than Hitch doing the Ultimates is a major step down. I think his art is worth the book being late. Many books have great writing, but mediocre art. I've always enjoyed the Ultimates because it gives you the full package. As far as I see it, the book may be consistently late, but you're still getting more for your dollar (or three dollars I guess) than you do out of a lot of comics.
Click to expand...
*Borrows MWF's clapping tape*


Awesome, mooney. That's really well said.
 
moonmaster said:
I guess the lateness has never really bothered me. Imagine if Hitch was kicked off of Ultimates for his lateness and replaced. To me, any artist other than Hitch doing the Ultimates is a major step down. I think his art is worth the book being late. Many books have great writing, but mediocre art. I've always enjoyed the Ultimates because it gives you the full package. As far as I see it, the book may be consistently late, but you're still getting more for your dollar (or three dollars I guess) than you do out of a lot of comics.
Click to expand...

Which is fine, but you all keep missing my point: knowing Hitch's speed in finishing issues, why not plan accordingly and wait until at least 6 or 7 issues of the 12 issue run are complete and in the can before starting to release them, knowing he'll probably need the next 6-10 months to finish the last half. Its piss poor planning, on both Hitch's part and the editors'. The point is, while his art is incredible and I like it quite a bit, does it really take two months to draw one issue? Or even three or four, as happened with the first volume?
 
Hitch is indeed late, but apparently, it's not always his fault.

Hitch got a reputation for being unreliable early on and worked his *** off on the Authority to curb that reputation. He did the same for JLA: Heaven's Ladder: DC wanted the special in the oversized format but wasn't willing to pay Hitch extra to do it on larger paper. He did it on larger paper because he wanted to take advantage of the format, exhausting him both artistically and financially. He did it though. And on time. His next gig was the JLA monthly at DC and DC set the schedule in such a way, that he was already five months late by the time he started drawing his first issue, and of course, without the lead time, Hitch was late and they needed fill-ins.

This also happened on the first volume of the Ultimates. He just wasn't given the lead time.

He was supposedly given the lead time on Ultimates 2 and he ****ed it apparently.

So this is all bad. Hitch should keep to his deadlines.

But, as we've seen - Hitch's art is extremely good. It takes time to actually produce it at the quality we've seen.

Most artists who churn out 12 issues a year are nowhere near Hitch's quality. Byrne's arguments would be far more convincing if he was on a par with Hitch - but he isn't at all. Frank Cho, Frank Quitely, Adam Hughes, Alex Ross - all these guys cannot produce the interiors to 12 issues a year on a monthly basis because the reason these guys are so good is because it takes time to produce their work. Only a few artists are capable of creating wonderful monthlies of this caliber without missing deadlines.

So, frankly, no more Hitch bashing, no more of this "it's the artist's fault" bollocks.

Y'know why?

Marvel knows Hitch can't do 12 issues a year. So does DC. All these guys are WELL-KNOWN for it.

Their reputations are "Slow, but will sell through the roof".

So why the hell don't Marvel and DC wait until the damn things are completely done before releasing a single issue?

I'm one of those guys who hate comics being delayed. I think it is a bane on the industry. It's ****ing ridiculous. Here you have an industry that one hand says, "Accept us a legitimate art form! Treat us as you would the novel or the film! Respect us!" and on the other hand goes, "Sorry, you're favourite series isn't out and won't be for three months, if then, and it will have a different illustrator on it." It's horrendously amateurish. The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

Sorry, it bears repeating at least once for each month it's been delayed.

These guys, guys like Hitch, shouldn't have a 'schedule'. If you want it done right, if you want it done well, give the guy the time and say, "Just finish Ultimates 2". Then when the guy is on #12, release #1 and release it monthly. It won't be delayed, you can actually put the specific dates for the first #11 issues because they're done.

It's a valid point - if Hitch is doing a monthly series, he should keep to a monthly schedule.

He can't. We tolerate it because he's damn good. He's damn good because it takes more than a month for him to do 24 pages of illustration.

We know this. Don't the editors?

If he can't keep a monthly schedule, wait till he's done then release it.

And if you're gonna wait till he's done, why release it monthly? Why not bi-weekly? Why not weekly? Why not release it one single format trade, straight away, and hype it to hell and back?

What's frustrating is there is no need for these delays to be happening in the first place.
 
Bass said:
Hitch is indeed late, but apparently, it's not always his fault.

Hitch got a reputation for being unreliable early on and worked his *** off on the Authority to curb that reputation. He did the same for JLA: Heaven's Ladder: DC wanted the special in the oversized format but wasn't willing to pay Hitch extra to do it on larger paper. He did it on larger paper because he wanted to take advantage of the format, exhausting him both artistically and financially. He did it though. And on time. His next gig was the JLA monthly at DC and DC set the schedule in such a way, that he was already five months late by the time he started drawing his first issue, and of course, without the lead time, Hitch was late and they needed fill-ins.

This also happened on the first volume of the Ultimates. He just wasn't given the lead time.

He was supposedly given the lead time on Ultimates 2 and he ****ed it apparently.

So this is all bad. Hitch should keep to his deadlines.

But, as we've seen - Hitch's art is extremely good. It takes time to actually produce it at the quality we've seen.

Most artists who churn out 12 issues a year are nowhere near Hitch's quality. Byrne's arguments would be far more convincing if he was on a par with Hitch - but he isn't at all. Frank Cho, Frank Quitely, Adam Hughes, Alex Ross - all these guys cannot produce the interiors to 12 issues a year on a monthly basis because the reason these guys are so good is because it takes time to produce their work. Only a few artists are capable of creating wonderful monthlies of this caliber without missing deadlines.

So, frankly, no more Hitch bashing, no more of this "it's the artist's fault" bollocks.

Y'know why?

Marvel knows Hitch can't do 12 issues a year. So does DC. All these guys are WELL-KNOWN for it.

Their reputations are "Slow, but will sell through the roof".

So why the hell don't Marvel and DC wait until the damn things are completely done before releasing a single issue?

I'm one of those guys who hate comics being delayed. I think it is a bane on the industry. It's ****ing ridiculous. Here you have an industry that one hand says, "Accept us a legitimate art form! Treat us as you would the novel or the film! Respect us!" and on the other hand goes, "Sorry, you're favourite series isn't out and won't be for three months, if then, and it will have a different illustrator on it." It's horrendously amateurish. The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

The Ultimate Galactus trilogy in particular is a ****ing shambles.

Sorry, it bears repeating at least once for each month it's been delayed.

These guys, guys like Hitch, shouldn't have a 'schedule'. If you want it done right, if you want it done well, give the guy the time and say, "Just finish Ultimates 2". Then when the guy is on #12, release #1 and release it monthly. It won't be delayed, you can actually put the specific dates for the first #11 issues because they're done.

It's a valid point - if Hitch is doing a monthly series, he should keep to a monthly schedule.

He can't. We tolerate it because he's damn good. He's damn good because it takes more than a month for him to do 24 pages of illustration.

We know this. Don't the editors?

If he can't keep a monthly schedule, wait till he's done then release it.

And if you're gonna wait till he's done, why release it monthly? Why not bi-weekly? Why not weekly? Why not release it one single format trade, straight away, and hype it to hell and back?

What's frustrating is there is no need for these delays to be happening in the first place.
Click to expand...


You have been noticing me blaming the editor's mostly for setting up the apparently impossible schedule to keep, haven't you? I blame about 75% on the editors, as they set up the schedule and so one, 25% on Hitch. I know if Hitch had it his way he'd probably almost finish the series before letting it be released, but its not up to Hitch. Its up to the ****tards called editors at Marvel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top