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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The first issue hadn't even shipped yet. Not having seen even one page of THE CREW, the vultures were already circling overhead. "I am all ghettoed out," one poster wrote on my weblog. "I'm tired of the grim, dark streets of Bad Town and all of that," or words to that effect. News of Black Panther's cancellation and the development of a new book, THE CREW, just kind of hit him the wrong way. These days, in these tough times, comics are an increasingly hard sell. We're not writing to two and a half million largely silent eight year-olds, but to a highly vocal and highly volatile group of somewhere around fifty thousand. Now, we can stay up all night pointing fingers and figuring out who's to blame for that, but the fact is here we are, constantly trying to reinvent ourselves for essentially the same audience when a more informed marketing strategy might be to refresh the audience itself. So, these days, we launch most everything with our backs against the wall. In marketing, I was taught to never advertise something by saying what it isn't. But out-running perception, especially in this business, is more or less the order of the day. And entertaining a loyal but frustrated and shrinking fan base who wants exactly this but not that way and not by him is, increasingly, a shot in the dark. So I find myself having to say, more that what THE CREW is, what THE CREW is not. THE CREW is not The Black Avengers. The Crew is not A Ghetto Book. THE CREW is not even remotely about race. Race is never even mentioned in THE CREW. It is a complete non-issue.
Yes, in a way, THE CREW is a warm and fuzzy family book about four guys who have all, to one extent or another, lost their family. Drawn together initially out of self interest, the four CREW-mates soon discover their commonality of loss. They are all, in one way or another, orphans. Cut off from parents and siblings and birthdays and Thanksgiving turkey. These are four men intensely dedicated to their rerspective professional goals, but who each has a hole in the center where family and love belong. It takes some time, but eventually this Crew becomes a band of brothers. THE CREW is about that evolution. Nobody at Marvel asked me to write a "ghetto" book. Or a "black" book. Nonetheless, this is the weight THE CREW struggles with as we launch this summer, the painful whiplash of negative spin from a vocal minority eager to not like anything Marvel has to offer. That the first phase of development of THE CREW had Quicksilver (Pietro) as our Crew leader and the telekinetic (and Caucasian) Justice as a team player will make little difference to people shopping for a reason to not like us. The idea behind THE CREW was not to push an agenda but to write a good buddy book. To channel some of the best aspects of Quantum & Woody and Power Man & Iron Fist along with a little more edge. A little more brain and a little more machismo. To which I responded, ladies and gentlemen— Three Kings.
Three Kings, as I hope you know, was a Gulf War film about some very un-heroic soldiers who nevertheless made the choice to set aside their own self-interest to save Iraqi refugees who were marked for death. In the course of pursuing their own selfish agenda (stealing millions in Kuwaiti gold bullion— no, not the little cubes you use to make soup), George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube come across a group of people who save the kings from an Iraqi attack. Now these people, many of them escaped Iraqi political dissidents, will certainly die if the kings don't help them get across the border into Iran. The issue of race is not a major player in Three Kings (other than the fall-down funny and brilliant interrogation scene where the Iraqi soldier demands to know why America makes Michael Jackson hate himself so much he tries to become white). The issue of race is given about that much weight in THE CREW.
Editor Tom Brevoort, spoil sport that he is, questioned how old Alex would be in Marvel Time: how much Marvel Time had passed since Power Pack. I, literally, jumped up and down, shouting, I don't care! I don't care! He's the guy! He's the one! But, in the end, reason prevailed and both Alex Power and Pietro Maximoff were booted from THE CREW. Which makes the "ghettoed out" crack all the more annoying.
We wrung our hands a lonnnng time over putting Rhodey in the team. Rhodey's strongest pluses— a popular character with a long history in the Marvel Universe— are also his greatest minuses. Just explaining all of that back story and all of the many changes WAR MACHINE has been through gave us all pause. And, I thought, the minute we add more black guys than white guys, we get labeled as a "black" book, and we end up launching from a negative, having to make the case for what we are not. In the end we decided Rhodey was too strong and too logical a choice to exclude simply because he's black. He works brilliantly for this premise, becoming a kind of Professor X to the younger Crew. But, I also thought, well, here we go with the race crap. The ethnicity of the characters would become the main focus of discussion, something that would not have happened had we had Pietro and Alex.
In fact, the major star power of THE CREW would have to reside in a character that didn't even exist yet: a spin-off character from the hit series Truth: Red, White & Black. Marvel EIC Joe Quesada and Truth editor Axel Alonso had early conversations with me about Truth before settling Robert Morales and Kyle Baker in as the Truth creative team. Having been peripherally involved at the start, I was flattered to be thought of for this continuation of the landmark series, although I was certainly nervous about disturbing another writer's work. Both Morales and Alonso put me at ease and we worked together to logic a non-destructive way to continue their work in the world of today.
I briefly wanted to call this book The Black Avengers. It's a terrible idea, but, the truth is, with this cast, race will speak the loudest. Having not said a whole lot about what this book is, the feedback I've gotten thus far has only confirmed that fear. Fans don't know what THE CREW is, but they know it's, "A black book set in the ghetto." So, I figured, why not. Race is all some fans will see anyway, let's just get to it. The book has a kind of Avengers vibe, anyway, with two archetypical AV characters in our black Iron Man (WAR MACHINE) and Black Captain America (JUSTICE). Moreover, Black Avengers really just nails What This Is in a way "The Crew" really can't. "The Crew" may summon, for some fans, unpleasant images of an urban hip-hop culture. I'd guess most comics fans are not universally fans of 50 Cent and Eminem and Nas. Most people have very specific cultural boundaries they respond to, and the hip-hop subtext of a name like "The Crew" may be off-putting. Hip-Hop, to those of us (myself included) who are neither, well, hip nor hop, can feel like either an accusation of un-coolness or as confirmation of our own insecurity about our place in popular culture. Being a fan of Rhino Records reissues more so than of what is new on the charts, I can certainly relate to that generational separation from the cutting edge of pop culture. To people who do not hop, Hip-Hop and its nascent cultural implications (urban clothes, the predatory street look and booming, thunderous music) can be received as a kind of attack. As violence. Having not read even a single page of THE CREW, many fans were predisposed to not like it simply based on (1) the race of the characters (and, perhaps, the author) and (2) the cultural subtext of the book's title. Black Avengers would have mitigated both concerns, but would have made Marvel into a kind of minstrel show. In 1972, Marvel could have gotten away with Black Avengers. In 2003, it would be seen as a kind of unfortunate in-joke.
So, THE CREW it is. And, this is a fabulous book. Joe Bennett is a fabulous artist, and he is totally jazzed and totally invested in this book and its characters. Hailing from somewhere in Brazil (lucky dog), Bennett nonetheless has an uncanny knack for urban New York City. He has created a claustrophobic environment, a Bennett universe so completely personal and, well, un-generic, that the book fairly breathes in a dynamic and organic way. Bennett's vision of WHITE TIGER is a whimsical combination of Batman and Spider-Man: a guy who looks like a melding of Batman and Dagger but who moves like Spider-Man (ironic as the webslinger himself played the role of Kasper's omen, back in Black Panther #52). I have been privileged to work with a few master craftsmen in my time, people who truly loved what they were doing and invested themselves in the work. MD Bright and the brilliant Sal Velluto are just two who come to mind, men I have done my very best work with, but whose art has not, for reasons I can't understand, found widespread mainstream acceptance. I am terribly excited about Joe Bennett. His enthusiasm is contagious. The guy just gets what we are doing, here. He gets New York City. He knows what gang members and society gals look like. He can draw the heck out of a Bentley and knows the difference between a Bentley and a '96 Lexus GS 400 (Kasper's car). He draws Kasper's two-toned SigArms .40 caliber pistols two-toned. This guy is simply wonderful and is way, way ahead of me. Whatever becomes of me or THE CREW, I really hope the audience discovers this wonderful talent at the height of his powers. This is, simply, fabulous stuff. Also on board is the wonderful Danny Miki, a guy Dwayne Turner first told me about years ago while we scarfed up about $200 of free grub at a fancy Denver restaurant. Turner, fan favorite Spawn artist, used to be The Skinny Kid At Marvel, a gopher of sorts for the sales department. A kid who would occasionally hang out in my office while Ron Wilson, Denys Cowan, Doc Bright and I lorded it over him as important black men in comics. Man, them was the days. Now this kid is, I guess, in his 30's and can, literally, buy and sell me any day of the week and twice on Sunday. As brilliant an artist as Dwayne is, he couldn't stop raving about this new guy, this Danny Miki. Miki was the only guy Dwayne wanted touching his Curse of Spawn, and he predicted Miki would become a dominant force in the industry. And, so he has. Miki's studio is now one of the most respected art teams in the business, and Miki himself is one of the most sought-after talents. I was completely thrilled when Tom told me we had him on board. Which, of course, brings me to Tom himself. Tom Brevoort is simply the best editor working in comics today. It really is just that simple. No one understands the characters, the fans and the talent the way Tom does. I spent half a day researching Alexander Power only to then have Tom rattle, off the top of his head, more about Gee than anyone this side of Louise Simonson could possibly know. Tom's extraordinary story sense, combined with his unrivaled (take that, Busiek) historical knowledge, makes him a true rarity in this business: a pro. A real pro, more so than simply or mainly a fan (though he is certainly that as well). David Letterman's strength as a late-night host is his sense of history. Letterman is a fan of broadcasting, and he has a very rich sense of it. Tom brings the wealth and gravity of a deep respect for comics as an art form and joins with that his great sense of humor and instinct for innovation (as well as an uncanny ability to see what I may have struggled with for days or weeks; plot solutions right in front of my nose). Marvel should pitch a new CBS Monday night sitcom, Everybody Wants To Work With Tom. And, yes, everybody does. I think he should, frankly, clone himself so he can edit more books. I am hugely flattered and grateful to have captured his attention. This Crew could not possibly be in better hands. And, so, once more unto the breach as we tempt fate yet again by launching our high hopes and great expectations into the great unknown, all the while hoping we find an audience who can see beyond the superfluous and obvious, and find the thematic heart of this book. It is a buddy book. It is a book about buddies. A band of brothers who discover a higher cause and higher meaning for their own lives as they also discover each other. Welcome to The Mog.
Christopher J. Priest Priest's adventures in the comics trade continue in:
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Tom and assistant editors Marc Sumerak and Andy Schmidt struggled with what to call this new
character and what gender the new character would be before I
ultimately chose to make him a him (for reasons that
would require a whole 'nuther essay). On the phone with Tom, we
struggled with a name. I said something like, "well, the classic
line is Truth, Justice, and the American Way (from the 1950's
Superman TV show). Too bad we can't call him 'Justice.'" Tom
said, "Why not?" and I reminded him he's already got a character
named Justice. Tom said so what, they can slug it out in an
alley. Winner gets the name. Our spin-off character would have
absolutely no way of knowing there's already a guy using that
name. More than that, our guy wouldn't care. He's Denzel
Washington in Malcolm X (much like Kasper is Denzel
Washington in Training Day). These guys don't read
comics. And they don't give one whit about what Justice, the
Avenger, thinks of them.
