Who’s Editing #14: No Man Escapes the Editors

Fire and Water Presents: Who's Editing Episode 14! It's the Martian Manhunter issue, and now that we're past the halfway point, our first returning guest. Who else but Diabolu Frank? You know what you're in for, but it's more involved than you think! Frank made a special DC catalog to go with the 'cast, advertising a line of comics that never was! Follow along HERE.

Listen to Episode 14 below or subscribe to Who's Editing? on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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Credits:
Theme: "Révolution" by Les Sherpas.

Bonus clip: John Ostrander speaking to Comic Book Syndicate in 2016.

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31 responses to “Who’s Editing #14: No Man Escapes the Editors

      1. Martian Manhunter & Frank because of The Idol Head Of Diabolu blog , but you are my favorite host with my top 3 favorite shows on the network.

  1. Maciste: “Written by Grass Green, art by Ernie Colon, covers by Richard Corben.” Wow, Grass Green! I’m a big fan of Grass Green’s underground comix work, but I would not have thought of him working on any of DC’s characters (or Marvel’s, for that matter)! But I can see it, considering Green’s sci-fi/fantasy hero Xal-Kor the Human Cat. Congratulations on such a deep cut!

    1. One of the conceits was that most of the talent used are no longer with us, either professionally or on the corporeal plane. Green was something of a placeholder until I found a more plausible option, and I did, but by then I’d followed the same logic as yours. Why not Green, and if not Machiste, then what? He was the most interesting choice, even if I did commit to the temp score.

  2. I hate to be negative, and I understand things are getting better. However, can’t we all remember years when it seemed like what y’all did — especially Frank with his catalog — was more work than DC was putting in?

    I have yet to listen and I’ve only glanced at the catalog. My reason is that it’s been a crazy few months, and I think I will literally have to rest up and be fully alert to get my optimal enjoyment out of this. But even before that, I wanted to recognize the accomplishment. Respect!

    1. Now that the obsessive, maniacal, ecstatic zeal to finish this has abated, it’s been a slow turn toward a listless, depressive inability to feel any real enjoyment or engagement. But on the plus side, I finally reorganized my bookshelves, and I need to get into the back room to make it habitable for houseguests. So I’m trying to optimize anhedonia. Maybe it’s beneficial that creative/editorial by and large maybe didn’t hop on that particular roller-coaster, when the ride that was the ’90s was rough enough on its own?

      Setting aside nostalgia, I still really enjoyed comic books in 1999, so revisiting that space was good for me. I was falling hard for Christopher Priest’s Black Panther, and I thought the Kirby pastiche on Casey & Ladronn’s Cable was nifty. Actually, Marvel Knights seemed to be moving the entire company into a more positive direction after the strip-mining of the previous half-decade-plus. Peter David’s Supergirl was hitting a stride that would last until #50. Wildstorm was still interesting, and I was pleased with the promise of JSA and Titans, even if the executions were ultimately wanting. Yeah, there were a bunch of non-starters, like the Eric Luke Wonder Woman and Ostrander/Mandrake Martian Manhunter, but JLA was holding up, and I liked where the industry was headed. Also, after seeming to shrink year after year, there was a relief that it felt like we’d found bottom and were rising again. It wasn’t until after the turn of the century that I started to question the long term viability and my place in the industry overall.

  3. I’m just hear to say I want SO BAD to buy Siskoid’s Marvel Family book AND Franks’s Power of Shazam book! DC, are you listening?

    Keep up the great work!

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  4. “Hero High”… I remember my dad showing me some old tapes of that show. He told me it started out as a pitch for an animated “Archie Superteens” show but Filmation couldn’t keep the Archie license so they created their own teenage heroes. But we could tell that Captain California was based on Pureheart (Archie), Glamour Gal resembled Superteen (Betty), Dirty Trixie had the same snark as Veronica, and Rex Ruthless was essentially Evilheart (Reggie).

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  5. I understand why DC doesn’t want to use the name Captain Marvel. But naming him Shazam is stupid. That’s the wizard’s name, and now he can’t even tell anyone who he is without losing powers. Why not call him Captain Thunder? DC called him that during Flashpoint, so clearly the name is available.

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  6. So late to the game but life has hit me hard in December. I totally loved the episode. Frank has outdone himself with the insane vision for his universe. And as someone who did a deep dive into Mark Shaw and Leviathan recently, I loved all the Manhunter discussion and history! Great stuff! N’Lasa!!! (Clearly an anagram for Lewis’s Aslan.)

    As for my one comic pitch?

    Madame .44
    Written by Ram V
    Art/Covers by Otto Schmidt
    Variants by Cliff Chiang

    Exoristos, the exiled Amazon from Paradise Island, first began her quest for justice and redemption in the middle ages when she joined The Demon Knights. However, over the course of centuries, her living in the man’s world made her powers decay. She is still extremely long lived but she is aging and has no super-abilities other than the immense knowledge of battle she has accrued.

    To help her in her goals, Exoristos begins mentoring a single agent who can do the deeds she can no longer do. But these mortals tend to die or become to decrepit themselves. She has had 43 agents already.

    Enter Jeanne Walker in the Wild West, the 44th agent … Madame .44. Trained to peak human perfection, with an uncanny marksmanship and 2 blazing .44 caliber guns, Jeanne sets out to right the wrongs in the West. But as she learns more and more about the 43 who came before her, she wonders if Exoristos is telling her the whole truth.

    (Think about it like Brubaker’s Iron Fist with an evolving and slowly revealed history of this chain of heroes. You could even have the series end and start Lady .45 or some such title.)

    Thanks again for doing this title. If you ever need another repeat offender, just ask!

  7. I dunno, I think Frank skimped on the details this episode (ducks).

    Frank really does make the rest of us look like slackers!

    Great work lads, I’ve only just listened as December was a tad busy, but there were some fun pitches here. I’d love to see the editorial catalogue Frank came up with – I used to get those in my old job – but I clicked on links only to get little headers and empty boxes… I thought I’d find the project in its entirety. Am I doing something wrong? A few Gallery samples would be appreciated.

    Anyway, I’d definitely buy lots of stuff from both of you, but if I could have only one it’d be Siskoid’s Mark Moonrider book

    As regards Frank’s Mary Marvel idea, she’s always had her own patrons: Selene (grace), Hippolyte (strength), Ariadne (skill), Zephyrus (swiftness), Aurora (beauty) and Minerva (wisdom).

          1. Yes, a parody of odd transatlantic differences followed closely by a nerdy Transformers pun. Combination punches can be cool, but only if they land. 🙁

            Of course, you know I’ll keep trying. For me, humor is about volume of fire.

  8. I think Frank is that writer that Dream cursed in the early issues of Sandman. The fellow who has more story ideas than anyone could write. Thanks for sharing your amazing madness, Frank, not only in this episode, but in all those comments for the previous ones!

    1. Here you go, Mart: Autobots and Decepticons are alien robots that can transform into vehicles. Autobots good. Deceptions bad. They fight their war on Earth, the same way France and Germany always fight their wars in Belgium. Autobots care about and make friends with us, the Belgians. Bumblebee is an audience-pleasing favorite among the Autobots.

      Conveniently for my joke, “transformers” also step down or step up voltage. Small ones can be useful for international travel, and the lack of one once torched a portable stereo I traveled with back in ’92.

      It’s true what they say. If a joke wasn’t dead already, explaining it is the finishing stroke.

      1. So I shouldn’t mention having seen only two Star Wars films, no Blade Runners, no CE3K, no Tremors, only three episodes of the original Star Trek…

        I do like Aliens.

          1. The first/fourth one when it came out, and the second/fifth one when it was rereleased years later, and again, when I thought I was going to see the third/sixth one. Who can keep those titles straight?

            Thinking on, I saw a couple of the newer ones, with Luke Skywalker looking all manky on some British rock. They’re good fun.

            So, am I on for Star Wars Minute?

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          2. Martin, you need to see at least one more. I have 13 reasons why Return of the Jedi (third/sixth — I like your system) is actually the best Star Wars movie. Dan Greenfield, call me!

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