 by
Billy Tucci
Last
week's column focused on the sleepy town of Bayport, (it's actually
a "Hamlet" whatever the hell that means), birthplace of iron-man
inker Mark McKenna (who's got over 6500 inked pages under his belt)
and home/workplace to yours truly.
Today, we're heading
off to the opposite end of the spectrum -- the Big Apple and the
new Marvel offices, where I'll be meeting with Heroes for Hire
editor, Mark Paniccia, Assistant Ed , Nate Cosby, and writer, Jimmy
Palmiotti. It's a beautiful day, 80 degrees and sunny, so by George,
I'm taking the motorcycle. I reset the bike's tripometer gauge to
check the distance, don a leather jacket, sunglasses, earplugs,
and helmet.
The Long Island Expressway
is the quickest way in but, unlike the parkways, the ride really
sucks. No trees or twisty turns to lean into and out of, just a
straight monotony of concrete and the constant facial beating from
the millions of sand grains blasting from what seems like an endless
stream of construction trucks.
One hour later the stainless
steel and concrete spire of the Empire State building majestically
rises from the once-glorious Manhattan skyline. As with every trip
I take into the city, I cannot take my eyes off the cavernous whole
of Downtown where the World Trade Center once stood and I wish they'd
just build those damn towers again they way they stood.
 I
lived in Manhattan for four years, and another six in Queens, so
navigating my way through the gauntlet of fumes and horns is a piece
of cake. I have to say that one of my favorite things is riding
through the city streets on a motorcycle. But throwing caution to
the wind is very tempting. I've been guilty of darting in and out
of traffic with abandon and even taking the occasional sidewalk,
but that stunt almost killed the legendary (and ancient) Carol Channing..but
that's a story probably best left for another time.
Regardless, I make it
to 417 5th Avenue in one piece and park. Damn it's hot and what
a relief to remove the jacket and helmet. I keep on the shades and
earplugs though as a 20 something wanker-bum is yelling to me while
peeing on the building. I wonder, "Does this guy look familiar?
Is he a disgruntled former Marvel employee, or just a very enthusiastic
DC fan?"
The tripometer reads
exactly 55.0 miles from my house to Marvel, but as you can
imagine, what a difference an hour makes. DC fans pissing on the
Marvel building, stressed out yuppies on their way to a meeting
with the Bobs (the obligatory Office Space reference) and
tons of women wearing short wispy skirts and high heels - boy oh
boy, do I love this city!
Okay where was I - yes.
I've got a meeting of my own, thank you very much. After checking
and rechecking to make sure I locked up the bike, I head up to the
11th floor reception area for my meeting. Before entering, though,
I look up for a moment, as the above sign reads, "No parking"
Feh!
Now what's weird is
that I'm nervous as that proverbial knot my stomach returns. I sure
don't know why, since I've been friends with many of these people
for more than a decade. But the receptionist has no idea who I am
and looks at me the same way the one did all those years ago when
I was trying break into the industry. Last week I wrote of William,
my three-year-old studio intruder, but unlike him, this Crusader
feels some reservations about being here.
The knot is somewhat
lifted by a cheerful hello from Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Joe Quesada,
followed the arrival by Mark and Nate's very cordial intern, Courtney
Antonioli. Courtney takes me downstairs one floor to the creative
brain center of the House of Ideas.
Marvel is a fanboy's
dream - and clean! Toys, posters, artwork and computers cast a colorful
cocoon around this quietly controlled chaos of editors, bull-penners
and executives busily darting to and fro, all the while finding
a moment for a smile and handshake to this Indy invader. The knot
is gone.
After taking a few unauthorized
detours to look at all this really cool stuff, the very patient
Courtney eventually brings me into Mark and Nate's office. I've
met Mark twice before and even though we talk and email often, it's
a first time I'm face to face with the affable Nate Cosby. Samurai-like,
the man shuffles from his notes, to computer screen, to the piles
of beautiful Daughters of the Dragon artwork and back. "Busy
huh?" I brilliantly inquire. We then glance over some of the colored
pages to HFH and, aside from a few minor changes, they sure
look great to me! I think this book is going to be big and the brass
seems to be pleased as well. Regardless, I'm not sure the total
amount of books that fall under Mark's editorial shield but it must
be at least 20 per month. On top of this workload, he too is the
father of a newborn baby. I better be good to him and Nate. They
work too damn hard for me not to.
Jimmy shows up a few
minutes later and we pull Mark and Nate out for lunch. The elevator
stops on the 9th floor and there we see the offices for (get this…)
Atari! - How cool is this? I guess I live under a rock because I
didn't even know they were still in business!
Anyway, we
all end up at some chic' yuppie and fashionista-filled establishment
posing as a diner. Eventually seated by some chap who looks like
the prissy maitre de' from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, (that's
a lie, it's a chick and she's pretty hot) I apologize to Mark for
being slow with the pages, but promise the book will be done in
a few weeks. Jimmy asks me which issue I'm talking about and leaves
me momentarily flabbergasted. Everyone then laughs, for we all know
he's been dong this crap to me since 1994. The boys give me a quick
tutorial on how a major publisher produces books. With Crusade,
I'd be doing cartwheels if I finished penciling a book two months
before it's supposed to ship, but with a fine oiled machine like
Marvel, it's par for the course. So the knot returns briefly, but
subsides when it's decided that Jimmy will handle the breakdowns
for issue two so I can jump right on it upon finishing number one.
Since I haven't read
the script to Heroes For Hire #3 yet, I asked about the outcome
and, after a quick rundown, am really, really psyched as
to just how important HFH is to Civil War. We also
discuss future HFH issues (I'm contracted for 5 so far) while
I keep on pushing more and more for Tarantula and Black Cat. This
of course has nothing to do with the fact that I want to draw them,
but that I'm sure readers want more of these ebony-clad lasses.
Long after the food
is gone, we continue our meeting and the more I hear, the more excited
I am to be a part of the HFH team. When all is said and done,
Jimmy and Mark head out for a cup of coffee and Nate escorts me
back for more hellos and some photos. I interrupt Marvel Publisher,
Dan Buckley, in the middle of major meeting with staffer, Jeff Furletti,
and managing editor, David Bogart, but they still find time to talk
up HFH and inquire about my wife's health.
I eventually seek out
the posh office of Ultimates editor, Ralph Macchio. Like the man's
appearance, his office is impeccable. We're both surprised that
it's been almost 10 years since the Daredevil/Shi crossover
and laugh at what a great time it was to produce it. We plan lunch
in the near future, as it would be nice to work together again.
I then pop on over to
Joe Q busily working away on his computer. For such an important
industry position, Joe's office is very lo-key, and tranquil. Posters
and original artwork adorn the walls, while statues and family photos
line his tidy desk. The thing that struck me most, however, is that
he's got an art table in there. Imagine that, the editor-in-chief
of comics' number one publisher is still, at heart, an artist -
and a damn good one at that! No wonder they're doing so well over
there.
It's getting late and
I must be heading back out to the island and my pages. We all exchange
goodbyes, but something on Mark's desk catches my eye. It is a letter.
A letter that (to me at least) truly sums up the reason (like or
hate the industry at any given time) we all love comic books in
general.
The letter is addressed
not to Mark Paniccia or Ralph Macchio or even Stan Lee; it's address
to "Spiderman." Written by seven-year-old Blake Newton of Louisville,
KY it says more than any professional commentary or analysis ever
could. A heartfelt hello from someone that still believes in heroes
and inadvertently inspires others to do so as well. I know it has
inspired me and would I love to meet his parents one day just to
say thanks.
I take the parkway home
and instead of stinging sand and pebbles, feel the cool ocean breeze
upon my face. Cruising along the south shore of Long Island, I keep
thinking about my trip to Marvel, this wonderful opportunity, and
Blake Newton's . . . and that the $65.00 parking ticket was worth
it the trip. At least till my wife Deborah finds out!
Back to the drawing
board and Tally Ho! Billy
See you next week!
About Billy Tucci
and Crusade Fine Arts, Ltd.
Billy Tucci is the award-winning creator, writer and publisher
of the graphic series Shi. Lion Eyes Entertainment has recently
optioned Shi for a major motion picture with actress Zhang Ziyi
is attached to star. An award winning filmmaker in his own right,
he's currently writing the screenplay with Kevin Bernhardt. June
2006 will see the debut of a new Shi Convention sketchbook and the
576 page "Definitive Shi" while Billy makes his penciling debut
for Marvel with August's "Heroes For Hire" (written by Justin Gray
and Jimmy Palmiotti). He's also the creator and writer of Narwain
Publishing's "Zombie-sama!" and invites you all to join his message
forum on www.williamtucci.com
Catch up on the latest Hellion for Hires:
Hellion
For Hire 1
Hellion
For Hire 2
|
Spider-Man Action Figures
