Engine Trouble: Before The Metal Men Mini-Series Crashed And Burned (Patreon)

BACKGROUND: I often forget that I've saved more of my work-related e-mails over the years than I thought. I was doing an e-mail search for something and stumbled across e-mails dating back to AOL days, including some exchanges over the METAL MEN series I was writing for DC with my editor, Bob Schreck. I had forgotten that Dan DiDio didn't immediately cancel the series (for lateness, and, supposedly simply disliking the inherited project), that he had issues with my writing/dialog, and that we had some back and forth on the approach to the characters. I don't seem to be able to find replies (DiDio never wrote me back directly on anything), but you might find these e-mails interesting, where I argued my case, along with a few asides about this and that. Apparently a reference to Bill Jemas (who futzed with my script for THE THING: NIGHT FALLS ON YANCY STREET at Marvel) did make it to DiDio in some fashion, in a separate e-mail it's mentioned that he didn't appreciate the comparison. I don't remember what happened exactly, Bob wouldn't have thrown me under a Fisher-Price bus. Anyway, PRO TIP: it's not super bright to compare the boss to a trainwreck person if you're trying to get the boss to leave you the heck alone. Shut up, Evan of 2003! (Hell, shut up, Evan of 2021!).

Anyway, DiDio wanted the Metal Men's dialog to be "edgier". Ugggh. We'd already fought against redesigning some of the characters -- that may have been pre-DiDio (I'll see, maybe I have those e-mails, as well). Now I was arguing to preserve their doofus characterizations. The funny thing is, If I remember correctly, when DiDio -- who apparently regards the Metal Men as his favorite characters -- hired himself to write them for WEDNESDAY COMICS, he wrote them traditionally, which is what I was arguing for here. 

We won the argument but lost the war. The following month the series was canceled, and while the schedule was definitely a problem (I was very late on #3, and Mike Allred was not turning in pages for #2, and, by his own admission, #1's pencils were in need of more work), I was later told the real reason was that the series was "too goofy". The Metal Men. Do I still chafe a little over this project? Oh, yeah, I admit I do. I'm still mad at myself (I cop to the lack of professionalism -- this was the year I torpedoed the Tyrone's Inferno pilot at the Adult Swim by freezing up, I was in full emotional-breakdown mode, my second of three, if I'm correct). And I'm still mad at DiDio, in some ways more for how he handled things than the cancellation. This after he ghosted us while at Mainframe. 

Agggh. I've got to stop posting about The Metal Men. The series, at least. It's way over and done. Please, slap me if I post about this particular bit again after this. If you see me. If you can catch me.

(Fun Fact: One of the reasons we ended up writing the Metal Men for the DC Nation cartoon series years later was because of a producer asking us to send the DC series pitch in. They liked the pitch, and didn't like a certain someone. So something cool came from the whole mess. Also, something really extra-goofy.)

So. Here's what I wrote in regards to being asked to write the Metal Men "edgier", back in 2003. I'm not just posting these because of my beef with DiDio, or to show off the snark, but because they show my thought process in regards to the characters and the series, and my reasoning for wanting to hold my ground. And it kicks around a conversation fans and professionals have had for years -- besides crowding the shelves and keeping the copyrights valid, why continue giving mid-carders a dedicated series when they never sold decently in the first place? If you change them, there's generally pushback and indifference. If you keep them as they were, there's some fond nostalgia tweets and general indifference. Monthly comics has been such a weird bind for so long, they generally no longer have back-ups, showcases or anthologies, which is where a lot of these characters got their start. For sure, people are still fond of these characters, but like a beloved record store or club or restaurant that goes out of business, the love is not  backed with financial support. Fans want these characters around, but unless a big name is on board, they don't buy the comics they appear in. How many Metal Men series have their been in the past two decades? Did any of them click? Is that anyone's fault, really? I have no clue -- there's a reason I don't edit or publish superhero comics. Even keeping my biases out of the picture, it's a mug's game. You'll succeed with Batman Everything, and fail with almost everything else. 

Who's off-topic? I am, sort of.

Anyway, Bob and Allred agreed with me that the characters should remain as they were, with a few tweaks for the times. Mike and I goofed up the schedule, but I don't think we goofed up on the characters. We accepted a Metal Men gig and proposed one that was rooted in tradition. That's what was approved, but that was also under the old regime. I will always say that DiDio had the right to cancel the series. Any editor-in-chief has that right. That's the gig. And I guess we gave him enough rope. One weird thing, though, is that going by some of my comments, it reads like DiDio was on board when we pitched the series. That doesn't sound right. 

One added note: I belabor a lot of points in these e-mails, you can detect my anxiety coming to the fore beyond my frustration. I e-mailed twice in one day, and they weren't short letters. It was interesting to see how badly I was dealing with this. I'd not only not get myself into this position nowadays, but I'd also handle the fallout and whatnot in a much clearer, direct and calmer manner. I realize the irony of saying that when I typed twenty paragraphs for this intro. But I am glad I don't panic or wig out dealing with work anymore. I used to have outright panic attacks over this kind of stuff. Now I don't lose real sleep over wondering if I have a dead series on my hands. There's ways out and ways in, especially nowadays. Projects fall apart. Shit happens. You lose a lot of valuable time freaking out, it's never worth it. Especially not for comics you don't own. Your work, your ideas, your self-worth are important, but so is your time and mental health. Try not to fuck up, try not to freak out.

And try to send short e-mails that get to the point!  Maybe learn to blog better, too. I know you folks like the rambling, but sometimes...well, it gets goofy. Hopefully this mess is interesting.

9/17/2003

Bleagh. I'm calm. But my gut, first feeling is, this is a project where you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. Make it edgier, piss off MM fans. Don't, risk losing new readers. Argue that the new readers aren't going to buy this anyway unless Gaiman and Jim Lee do it, you look like a whiner. It's the Metal Men. It's gonna sell what it sells, to be blunt, with whatever fans Mike and I and DC can muster up besides the fans who are looking for this. Edgy isn't how I see the characters, it's how I saw the plot and mechanics and sense of humor, and my pitch spelled out my approach and was approved. Didio might have a good memory, but actually, I avoided a LOT of Kanigher-s corn, I just wanted the characters to feel out of place (as stated in the pitch) and outmoded. Heck, this isn't going to be a blockbuster either way you slice it, I'd just argue we sell it on it's merits of story and humor and art, not in trying to sell it to -- actually, I dunno who. Anime fans? Gundam fans?  Does Superman says edgy things? I don't know what to say. Hopefully people will decide on letting things ride. The "edge" is that we're making a good, solid comic. The plot is the edge. That's why we have the crazy villains, to offset the goody heroes. Thems' my two cents.

9/17/2003

Thanks for backing me up. Unfortunately, this really does smack of Jemas, not in tone, mind you, but in effect. I mean, nobody discussed the dreaded Hollywood bs "edgy" word, I thought we already hashed out the approach and I doubt most folks write clearer, more anal-compulsive pitches than I do. My approach was laid out from the get-go. I already discussed my feelings about updating the MM themselves, it's a bad fit to make them "edgy", imho. I mean, what are they supposed to do, say "bling bling" or "oh, snap", or something? They're old clunkbots. It's part of the plot and the characters. And I'm sorry, but Kanigher wrote them as complete cyphers who spoke like 40's characters, forget 60's. I cut out the hoary old MM's catchphrases all save one instance, threw in some modern pop culture refs, and some modern internet and computer phrases to punch up their robot speak. I can go further with that, but I still maintain that the villains, the situations, details, jokes and other supporting cast members can make up for whatever "edge" the MM themselves may lack. I'll be perfectly honest, I have no idea how to rework these characters as edgy without looking like a middle-aged idiot network executive, what edgier dialogue Dan has in mind escapes me. What's the dilly, yo? I think if I was writing Batman or the Teen Titans with this dialogue he's have a real solid argument, but gads, this is the Metal Men. I wouldn't make Astroboy talk hip, and I think kids respond poorly when it looks like they're being condescended to by adding the verbal equivalent of skateboards, mohawks, of the moment hip-hop talk. And coy, "we're cursing but not cursing" stuff would just seem another obvious ploy. The MM aren't edgy, but I think the script has edgy stuff in it. I won't flap my keyboard gums on this any further, just need to vent because this is exactly how things went down on my Marvel work, an approved approach, then a big question mark, then a year of hell. I hope to avoid the hell part, and if Dan really just doesn't like what I'm doing, that's his call and I understand that. I just don't know what to do otherwise, this is how I see the project and I thought DC was fine with that. Hopefully this'll shake out okay, as I'm looking fwd to moving ahead. Let me know which way the wind blows, in the meantime I'll keep working on #2 and hope for the best. Sheesh.

9/22/2003

Hey-- any word from the suits?  I'm trying to hold steady but to be honest, I'm losing a little sleep as I can't for the life of me figure out what my approach would be if Dan wants the dialogue reworked and re-envisioned. The more I think about it the more I don't see what he expected from me and the approved pitch. From what I hear, Jeff Smith isn't writing edgy dialogue for the Marvel family and Kyle Baker says in interviews he isn't changing Plastic Man because the fans wouldn't like it, so I really have to wonder why anyone wants the Metal Men talking "edgy", whatever that even means. My approach was to play the MM's characters off wonkier events and characters so we don't have a nostalgia book, just a new book featuring established characters. I'm really itching to move forward with a clear head, Allred apparently loves the script and for once I even like what I did and I'd really like to continue. I've spent the weekend trying to figure out how to make the MM speak "edgy" and I'm coming up a blank. Anyway, I just hope saner heads prevail and that Dan trusts me to do what I was hired to do, which is what I outlined in the approved pitch and which, in my mind, is what suits the characters.

Otherwise, hope all's well -- l appreciate the support shown in previous e-mails and hope it wins the day. Lemme know asap if I get a green light, a yellow, or a candy apple Jemas red.

Image above: layout page I did for page 1 of the first Metal men issue.