another conversation with Ron Marz

Ever get that bit of advice or just a little nudge to help your brain? I got it right before I had the best shower I've taken all year. Yeah so it's only almost a month into the year...it was awesome.

So, as some of you know, I write for a comic news site called Newsarama. Now of course working there you get to talk to creators and artists and etc. Some are awesome, some are good...some are...reclusive. Since I've been working there (almost a year now), I've made several rapports with people who I've admired since I could buy my own comics. One of them in particular is Ron Marz.

I'm reviewing one of his projects, Dragon Prince and as our convos usually do, they trail off and he ends up being the Obi-Wan to my Luke.

ME: So I'm caught up and working on the review right now. That Hunter must have been tough to have survived with a whole fucking building crashing on him. Is this the end to these characters or do you plan on bringing them back whenever? Also, in your Top Cow exclusive contract, this was one of the creator-owned projects you were guaranteed...is there another one?

RON: We have plenty more stories to tell, but it's a matter of whether there's an audience. Or at least whether there's an audience in this market climate. So, we'll see. I'm hoping to do a new short story for the TPB collection which will likely be printed at the size of the Bone color volumes.

There are more creator-owned projects in the pipeline, but again, we're planning to take a step back and see what the market is like before we nail down release dates. At the moment, ANY kind of new material on the market is just tanking, no matter which publisher.

ME: That's not very encouraging news for a guy who wants to take a chance and put balls to the wall and try to get published, but I have to know: at the end of the day, is it worth it? Like I've said you're one of the guys who do what I want to do with my life. I try and do reviews on lesser-known books just to get their name out. It just seems like the right thing to do.

RON: It's a bad market right now, and publishers are starting to feel it. The news of layoffs at Top Cow, and DC and Mad today, are just more evidence of it. So I think publishers will circle the wagons and try to ride out the downturn. Less experimentation, less "new," just more of the same comfort food that sells to the every Wednesday crowd. It's happened before in comics, it will happen again.

That said ... is what I do worth it? Absolutely. I make a very good living doing something I'd do for free. However, you have to be realistic about the odds faced by everyone who wants to do this. It's a bit like being a pro baseball or football player. Everyone wants to do that job, but just a small percentage actually get to do it. That doesn't mean it's not worth trying ... far from it ... but these days it's a long, hard hill to climb, with a lot of people trying to do the same. You have to outlast them and be better than them.

Go in with your eyes open, but be determined.

(I had a bit of a cry after I read that. I guess from being sick and all the thoughts in my head now...it's just something I needed to hear.)

Ron Marz, a tad bit of a convo

*note: The subject of an email I sent awhile back was wondering if he had a copy of Big Top Halloween by the Afghan Whigs, then it sort of snowballed from there.



Me: I have an extra copy. If you don't have it, I'd easily give it to you.


Ron Marz:
Hey, Lan, This must've slipped into my inbox without me noticing. Sorry it took so long. If you still have a copy of Big Top Halloween, I'd take you up on the offer. That's the only one I don't have.

Hope all is well with you.

Thanks,

Ron


Me:
Ron,
Not a problem, I'll make sure to put it in my bag for New York and give it to you when I see you there. Loved the new Witchblade ish, btw.

Things are well, just nervous about NYCC. I've never been to a colossal con like that.

Lan


Ron Marz:
Most excellent. Thanks.

And thanks for the comment about the new WB. I enjoyed your Batman review the other week. Sometimes the emperor has no clothes, so it's good to see somebody willing to say that, rather than just excuse poor storytelling because of reputation.

No need to be nervous about NYC con. It's big and hectic and all that, but it's still a comic con. In the long run, they're all the same, just in a different building. Leave yourself extra time to get where you're going, and make sure you've got money with ya. NYC ain't cheap. And I don't know if you've been to NYC before, but the Javits Center is all the way on the west side, so it's not very near the restaurants or hotels. Depending on where you're staying, it'll be a good, cold walk -- moreso if you're carrying stuff -- or a short cab ride. And bring a warm jacket and hat. NYC, especially near the water, is colder than a witch's tit in February.


Thanks,

Ron

Me:
Haha. Will do. I figured a day in February in New York isn't exactly like a spring day in Texas. Or even Atlanta for that matter. I put a lot of winter wear on my Christmas list. I'm just hoping I have enough time for everything. Artists alley is starting to look hella impressive.

Be sure to tell me your booth number when you know. I seriously have to meet you.

Also, thanks for the comment about Batman #681. Yeah...I was disappointed. To say the least. Morrison is one of those hit or miss guys. When he's good, he is a grandslam (Animal Man, JLA) though when he's shit, damn, does it smell bad. His run on X-Men made me drop it years ago and I can't touch an issue of All Star Superman. I get a lot of smack about insulting that book, but A) it's too wordy for my taste and B) everybody looks like they're made of pudding. Poorly-made pudding.

At 'Rama we can talk about little things like that, though I've been edited once or twice talking shit about Didio. I'm not saying Quesada is better, and while I loved Marvels: Eye of the Camera, I have to wonder if he had any assist with it since Sheldon now has lung cancer. Though it just maybe a coincidence and I MAY be too much of a conspiracy theorist.

I have 2 questions for you, if you don't mind answering.

1. What's in your pull box?
2. Is Kyle Rayner named after anybody?


Ron Marz:
I'll be at the Top Cow booth. If I hear the number, I'll let you know.

"Kyle" came from Kyle Reese in "The Terminator," and because I thought it sounded cool. I picked "Rayner" out of a list of Irish sir names.

And I don't have a pull box. I only get into the local store infrequently, so most of what I read, I read in trades. I get the DC bundle every month, which has all the DC/Vertigo/Wildstorm output, but I truthfully read very little of it. At the moment, I read Jonah Hex, Action, Northlanders, both All-Star books when the come out, and assorted odds and ends. In trades, I read Captain America, Daredevil, Thor, all the Hellboy/BPRD stuff, Walking Dead, Invincible, Perhapanauts. I don't follow characters, just good stories, which I find are in short supply in monthly superhero books.