Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott recently told a poster at the Comic Book Resources Spider-Man forum to go F-themselves. A poster by the name of lejayjay had a snarky comment about Slott saying
It is jus a paycheck for Slott anyway. He’s not a real fan.
Slott then replied with this comment.
As a guy who turned down a side job this year for a paycheck that would’ve been over a third of his yearly income– BECAUSE it would’ve meant cutting back on his not-so-lucrative comic book writing career– and get in the way of working on his Spider-Man dream job…
…and the guy who slept less than 12 hours over the course of 4 days this week working on a script while he was sick… a guy who finally had to be ORDERED off it by his editor to go see a doctor… and is still in a good deal of pain today…
…this is the first time I think I’ve ever said this to somebody over a comic book message board:
Go fuck yourself.
Seriously.
Go. Fuck. Yourself.
Now I post this not to bring up the Slott/ Crawlspace disagreement again, but it opens a good point of discussion.
Should the pro’s be held to a different standard when it comes to online behavior?
Should they bite their tongues?
Are they risking future sales to an already small audience, when they tell a potential or current customer to go f-themselves?
I’d like your thoughts in the comment section or on this thread on our message board. Remember no personal attacks, keep it civil. Refresh yourselves on the rules before you post.
CBR has since deleted the post however Google was able to take a cache of it before it was deleted. Here’s the link.
Do we know if that is Mr. slott or not?
now he’s doing “your mom” jokes and others are joining in.
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/12/08/now-hes-slotting-your-mom/
Wow..a lot of back and forth here. Holy rebuttals Batman!! All i can say is, it isn’t about who started what or what someone’s “opinion” is. Opinions are just that, all over the internet!….but all i know is…i would be fired for talking to customers, past customers, potential customers, whathaveyou, the way Slott did. If my friend at work said that, or someone i don’t like at work said that, to a customer, i would say it was wrong, whether i understood their customer sob story or not, as to WHY they said it. It’s all just rationalization. Doesn’t matter. Telling a customer or potential customer to “GO F YOURSELF” is flat out wrong, no matter who said or how i feel about them. My boss wouldn’t care if they were sick when they said, healthy, eating ice cream, or skipping with a snack of Fritos. All besides the point. My parents even raised me to respect others and be professional at work. Our agency pays CLOSE attention to our facebooks and everything. We represent our employer, period. It doesn’t matter if we are FT, PT, a sub, etc. I’ve liked Dan’s work for eons, most of it, yet, it is clear he stepped over a line, that was NOT professional. Calling a spade a spade is not hard. Nor should it reflect your opinion of their work or how they may “typically” be. I’ve seen lots of great employees make BIG mistakes, and some small time employees make bone-headed decisions also. The thing is, we are all accountable, for our CHOICES…because that is what they all are. I tell those i supervise that if they make a mistake, man-up to it at least, and be honorable about it. People make mistakes. It’s worse to make one, and then rationalize it and not man-up to it and take responsibility for it, imo. Nite all.
315 Hydroman and McFarlane art! And when did anyone say Stan took orders from fans? when was that ever a trope? I think Stan LISTENED to fans and did not get rude to those who didn’t like an issue. Also, I don’t see any where that George pretends to have a deep relationship with Mr. Wacker.
Look, it’s no secret that I dislike the current direction of the comics, but I’d NEVER make fun of someone directly, saying something like “oh, he’s not a REAL fan of Spider-Man” or “he doesn’t care about the book/the fans/whatever”. (Oops. Does trying to make a point by listing examples mean I’ve just said it? If so, sorry, whoever I offended!)
However, that said, I’d NEVER snap back and tell anyone to do anything to themselves or use strong language. Heck, in real life, I don’t even like cussing that much. When I do cuss, I always use a * in there somewhere (ex: “Oh, d*mn”) because I don’t feel right about cussing online. There are a lot of people who do it far better than I ever could anyway. 😉
I am a bit shocked by Dan Slott’s comment, though. I have read some of the back-and-forth comments, and while I think Dan Slott is a big Spidey fan and hope he does well with the book, I don’t know what to make of having someone at Marvel tell someone something like that, especially since comments like that usually get people banned. I have had my own disagreements with Mr. Slott, some of which are private, but I certainly would never cuss at the guy. I like Mr. Slott, even though I might not like what he says sometimes.
@ Mr. Wacker – I’m all for being at peace since it’s the holiday season, but then again, some of the writers/people at Marvel are just as bad at times in their responses as the upset fans. Do I like what’s going on in the Spider-Man comics right now? No. Do I agree with the current direction of the Spider-Man comics? No. Does that mean I’m going to make fun of the guys at Marvel and say they’re not fans? Heck no! It’s common knowledge I’m still disappointed the Spider-Marriage has been retconned, but that doesn’t mean I want the books to fail or have any ill feelings to Marvel for it. I think we all, myself included, need to watch what we say more, be more respectful and should speak to others like we’d like to be spoken to. I’m all for having a nice, polite, constructive talk with you about Spider-Man. PM me some time for fun and we’ll chat about Spidey.
I also agree, internet-arguments never lead anywhere productive. There are also far too many arguments already, on ANY message board.
That’s all for now on my part. I hope that everyone here, whether you’re fans of the current Spidey books or not, has a good day/night.
As a wise man once said (and still does), “‘Nuff said!”
Now. come on, let’s not fight amongst ourselves!
Find some common ground, like….oh….what a
wonderful and erudite poster I am.
All right – who threw that?!?
Alright, fine. If nobody here wants a peanut, I’ll just eat them all myself.
300+ RESPONSES?!?!?! YOU PEOPLE ARE INSANE!!!!
And in response to #289
“I have more respect for our readers than some of you seem to. ”
You sure fooled the hell out of me, buddy.
@306, 307 & MANY other posts………..
You seem to be quite the attention whore yourself this thread, trying to give Steve Wacker a run? Remember, open hand, not closed fist. Now try talking to it, kthnx.
Flying Tiger, you have a crappy attitude. The stuff you’re saying to Wacker isn’t even constructive criticism, it’s little insulting jibes that serve absolutely no purpose. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Go outside and fly a kite or something. A little joy in your life would probably do you good. :-/
Adding to #303, I’m also curious how listening to the overall feedback form the customers is EVER a bad idea (unless I am interpreting the words incorrectly). The only conclusion I have made that could theoretically be argued is the numbers, and I’m sure we both agree that the numbers are not as high as anyone would like.
And if there are “many more” ways of selling comics, how come the numbers across the board for both companies are still not that great when compared to the last decade? ( the 2000s, where the technology has been relatively the same, so the amount of non-comic competition has roughly stayed constant)
306 also boasts “now on sale twice a month”… just like old times, eh Wacker?
Hey Andrew, we don’t need you to be mommy kthnx
Also Wacker and Slott did the baiting over at CBR. This is the inevitable result of their own actions. Or in the sense most Westerners would use it, it’s KARMA.
Humbug in Amazing Spider-Man 306… Ah Humbug. How appropriate.
Also 306 was the Action #1 cover homage.
Also… bring back Ben Reilly. Please.
Mr Wacker, I like you. You’re a good guy. But stop taking the bait, man. It’s a logic trap and internet-arguments never lead anywhere productive.
re 298
agree with you that the world has changed (in fact, I recently made a thread on the message board discussing it), and I have at least, a fair knowledge of the basic problems the industry as a whole faces. Now individual details of numbers aside, the issue (pun intended)that strikes me with the situation is this:
Yes something did a different number 20-30 years ago, so the numbers might not be the same. But it seems there is a very large potential audience out there for the medium. To paraphrase a poster on the message board: “The movies make hundreds of millions of dollars, Mr. Quesada has been promoting the comics on popular shows like the Colbert Report,, the characters seem bigger than ever in pop culture… yet NO comic can hit over 100k?”
Yes, some of that audience may just be the avarage joe, but I have trouble believing that out of the millions of people seeing the movies and tv shows, less than 100k would pick up a comic. There is definitely a much larger audience out there that needs to be listened to
And so is Charge. Yeah…
Venom is here!
“Sorry about futzing up George’s name, but I don’t think our relationship is as deep as he pretends it is around here.”
Great, more baseless accusations. Waiting for more of that victim act you have when you can’t answer a simple question.
“I have more respect for our readers than some of you seem to.”
Coming from a person who has disrespects Kevin, who was being nice and respectful to you.
“I spend a lot of time talking and listening to them, but that doesn’t mean I take my orders from them.”
I don’t think anybody here gave you orders to do anything but ask you a simple question. Something you don’t have the decency to answer judging by the way you insult and attack people who give their opinion on what Dan did.
The person who comes across badly here is you.
Really Steve? I thought you had to revert to gimmicks like re-numbering, variants, polybags, and point one issues.
Venomaniac…with all due respect your conclusions are flat out wrong and based on you looking for support for things you already believe.
The world has changed from almost any perspective you look at it. Just becasue something did a different number 20-30 years ago doesn’t mean that will always be the number. The average reader has many more demands on your time and money…and that’s not because you’re mad at Dan Slott or Joe Quesada. And we have many more ways of selling comics that many here are anxious to ignore and discount (not to mention you have no idea what our overhead or budget is).
I do hate DC being so close though, even in an odd month. We’ll have to do something about that.
SW
Hey, we’re passed the “live in together in a committed relationship” story! Michelinie/McFarlane run next!
295 – Mad Dog anyone?
Apparently the message didn’t send 🙁
Re 289
Re 289:
The thing is though, the majority, if not at least half of the fans (or customers, whichever you would prefer) seem to be disagreeing with your protrayal and direction of the character. And sales appear to be lowering even more. From a business perspective, it seems listening to the consumers and seeing what the main problems are would be the best solution. Certain things are individual, but many ideas are universal. Kraven’s Last Hunt and the Master Planner story, for example are universally acknowlegded as great, while the F.A.C.A.D.E. story and One More Day are universally acknowledged as bad. If the same ideas come up among a very large group of people, perhaps they are bitting on a core problem that needs to be examined. Taking orders from the fans IS a bad idea, but looking at common pros and cons of your product from your customers and figuring out how you can improve… a very good thing indeed 🙂
Re 289:
The thing is though, the majority, if not at least half of the fans (or customers, whichever you would prefer) seem to be disagreeing with your protrayal and direction of the character. And sales appear to be lowering even more. From a busienss perspective, if I were in your case I would try to listen to the consumers and see what the main problems are. Certain things are individual, but many ideas are universal. Kraven’s Last Hunt and the Master Planner story, for example are universally acknowlegded as great, while the F.A.C.A.D.E. story and One More Day are universally acknowledged as bad. If the same ideas come up among a very large group of people, perhaps they are bitting on a core problem that needs to be examined. Taking order from the fans IS a bad idea, but looking at common pros and cons of your product from your customers and figuring out how you can improve… a very good thing indeed 🙂
Oh, I’m such an idiot. Learn how to count, Two-Bit guy.
I claim Venom’s first appearance! Yes!
Gee, I hope I’m #270!! If I remember right, that’s where Spider-Man fights Firelord.
289…
SUCH a bad story…
Flying Tiger, it’s Christmas. Be at peace, my friend. Be an open hand, not a closed fist.
Sorry about futzing up George’s name, but I don’t think our relationship is as deep as he pretends it is around here.
And to the guy who asked:
I consider the people who buy our books readers and fans (and certainly high-class comic connoisseurs) , not “clients”. In this relationship, I’m the “client” that writers sell stories to.
I have more respect for our readers than some of you seem to. I spend a lot of time talking and listening to them, but that doesn’t mean I take my orders from them. Neither did Stan…in case anyone wants to throw out that old trope again.
SW
#288 – Hopefully this gang war will finally come to an end. ; )
If I’m playing the game right, this is “Gang War. Part 4” with Daredevil, Hobby, and the Kingpin.
And if I can be reprimanded for something that didn’t even have any strong language or malicious intent, I fear for you now, Flying Tiger.
Wacker: Attention Whore.
Also it isn’t possible to assert yourself when your boy is the one further in the wrong than the other poster.
Finally, and for the last time, it was Slott who opened the door on the momma’s boy stuff about his illness. He made it one of his several alibis.
He and you are both non-hackers. You do better at Creepy Bullying Robots than out here in the deeps.
Is Marvel a company or a frat-house?
Dammit Spideysteuk posted before me and made mine make no sense…
282 I came to play with X-Factor.
Hey SW, just wondering, why are bashing peoples names? secondly customers and clients are the same thing, you’re an editor and coming onto a site and arguing with people about albiet one of your staff tellling you;re customers to F Off who was baited i agree but shouldnt you be the bigger man and walk away.
I’ve been Amazing and own nearly 400+ Issues and i have the complete Brand New Day collection and you and dan by doing this are showing clearly what you think of customers and what you’re EIC has said and what you as an editor put in in the first issue of Brand New Day which is :
SHUT THE F~@* UP AND GIVE ME YOUR MONEY
Congrats by the way, you’ve made my decision to drop Amazing A WHOLE LOT EASIER!
A client relationship generally refers to someone who purchases long term services, advice or guidance in a professional or legal manner. An individual who purchases comic books is a customer, there is not necassarily a long term relationship (though in this case there probably is), there is no legal or professional interaction, and there is no advice or guidance provided.
@Mr. Wacker
Wait… fans are not clients?
Then what ARE they?
AmFan15 – He’s plenty familiar with my name.
(Just going back to this for a bit) @ 247 Stephen Wacker: I can kinda see what you’re getting at with “Fans are not clients” but it’s not entirely accurate.
You can be a fan of something but not a “client” of it, like I’m a Superman fan but I don’t buy the comics or merchandise, but people buying the comics are fans. It’s more a case of ‘Not all fans are clients, but all clients are fans’. (if that makes any sense)
Cry of the Wendigo (no, not THAT Wendigo) Charles Vess!
Hobgoblin Unmasked at last!!! Oh no wait its just Flash Thompson.
P.S.: You want I should bop you with this here lollipop?
“Poopnecker”?!?!
Why…why…I’m insulated. Or something.
At least it wasn’t “Poornecker”.
Can’t imagine too many original spins on
“Wacker”, after all, you’ve had the name
a long time. Maybe even your whole life?
As for variations of my real name, I’ve heard
most of ’em – even contributed a few myself!
Damnit I can’t remember what issue 273 is, why couldn’t it be the Mephisto Beyonder issue, why?!!!!!!
Alright, people, let’s not start making fun of his name…we can’t be torn down to his level.
Let’s continue to hold ourselves up to a higher standard.
When you begin throwing insults, it only makes you look worse…Right, Mr. Wacker?
Sorry for the mistyping of the name. (However, I didn’t know “Berryton” was an insult of some kind.)
Feel free to make fun if my name if you wish. I’ve lived with it for a couple decades now and have heard them all from folks like yourself.
“Poopnecker”!!
SW
@268/269 – Oooh!! Oooh! I wanna make fun of his name!! :-p