Editors

The editors can be just as influential to a comic book as the writers and artists who work under them. Mark Waid wrote about the duties that come with the job.

There have been editors that have been well known in the comic book community for both good and bad reasons such as Mort Weisinger, Julius Schwartz, Bob Harris, Karen Berger, etc.

I'll start the conversation by saying that I love editors who are able to keep a tight continuity between the comics they are overseeing, especially if they are under the same "family" of books like Superman or X-Men.

That depends on the artist you got. If it is a standard or even mediocre author, yes, some control may be justified. But if you suddenly got a Jack Kirby working for you, a writer or artist with the "Midas touch", then the best thing to do is to give him Protection from Editors and let their creativity go wild.

By the way, it's Bob Harras, not Harris.

Sorry.

Also, are you implying that books with strong continuity to each other are done by mediocre writers and artists?

edited 2nd Nov '17 4:00:57 PM by DS9guy

No. Continuity is a good thing, but not a priority for me. The creative work of a talented artist is something to be encouraged, and if I have to choose between continuity and creativity, I prefer the later. A clear case of this are the frequent Crisis Crossovers and their tie-ins. In many cases, a good ongoing story has to be simply halted on its tracks to make room for the tie-in episode, and then continued later.