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Sarurday, October 22, 2005
Byrne
on his and Simone's Action Departure
By
Rik Offenberger
There have been a lot of rumors and speculation about what happened with
Gail Simone and John Byrne's run on Action Comics (#835, cover at
right, will be the team's final issue). To end all the rumors and
speculation we spoke with the creator himself.
Newsarama: I guess the first question is "What happened?"
John Byrne: Nothing "happened". Apparently, it is DC editorial
policy to rotate the entire creative staff of the Superman titles at
arbitrary points. This includes the writer, the penciler, the inker, the
editor.
NRAMA: How do they tell you this kind of news?
JB: Not up front, unfortunately. I was not aware of this policy
when I accepted the Action assignment. It was not until Gail
mentioned it that I learned we were only on for a short run.
NRAMA: As part of Infinite Crisis there is a shift in all
the editorial offices [Newsarama Note: The Superman titles will move
from Eddie Berganza’s office to Matt Idelson’s office]. Is it
unusual for the new editor to remove the current creative team?
JB: Depends on the editor. But, as noted, this was not the
editor's decision. This is established policy set in place by the
Higher-Ups. I was simply unaware of it.
NRAMA: With Eddie Berganza leaving the Superman office and Matt
Idelson taking over; did Eddie Berganza offer you another assignment
with one of the titles he is taking over?
JB: No.
NRAMA: You have said that "Gail and I were hired (tho I was not
told this when I agreed to do the book, or I would have declined) to
"fill the gap" between one team and the next." Do you think that Eddie
Berganza knew it was temporary when he offered you the job?
JB: It was actually Dan Didio who offered me the job. Presumably
he knew, so I assume that not telling me was just an oversight.
NRAMA: How do things go from "We want you to re-launch the entire
Superman line" to "We only want you to do some fill in work on
Superman"?
JB: You are talking about a span of 20+ years, so that's hardly
an accurate description of "how things go".
NRAMA: Do you think there is a bias against experienced veterans
in the comic industry?
JB: Not as such. If such a bias exists, it resides with the fans,
not the industry.
NRAMA: Has this experience caused you to re-evaluate your working
relationship with DC?
JB: Not at all. This was an unfortunate miscommunication. I wish
I had known the assignment was short term, as I would most likely have
declined it. But I didn't, so I didn't. No story. Nothing to see here.
Move along. . .
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