Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Here. Scroll down for his discussion of his time writing the Legion. Particularly interesting is the discussion of how his wife got involved in the writing, and just how involved she was.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I miss Roger Stern. Though his Legionnaires run was pretty forgettable, he has an outstanding body of work behind him. Personally, I think he's probably Spidey's best writer outside of Stan Lee himself.
I wish he was more specific in the interview on why exactly he'd been fired from Avengers (and basically Marvel itself).
It's too bad that some ofthe best 80s writers like him, Byrne, Simonson and a host of others have pretty much gone by the wayside in favor of "fresh" faces. Oh well....
Good interview, though.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I agree with you guys about Stern and the Legion. I remember hating the post zero hour Legion...got excited when Stern came on...and i ended up hating it even more.
But I'm a huge fan of his Marvel work. HUGE. And funny enough I just read Triumph & Torment yesterday. It was great.
From: Tampa | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
LardLad, I believe Stern didn't talk about being fired from Avengers cause it basically was the only blemish on his late friend's Mark Grunewald's career.
After Roger left the Avengers sucked until Bob Harras. That was like 3 to 4 years. (and I'm not even a big fan of Harras' Avengers for that matter)
I think Mark (as editor) wanted to dismantle the Avengers and put them back together. Stern was doing an amazing job with Captain Marvel(Photon/Monica Rambeau) and the Black Knight in Avengers. I think Mark wanted to get rid of them and replace them with other members. Stern didn't.
Huge mistake by Mark and Marvel. Thank god for the Busiek run.
From: Tampa | Registered: Mar 2004
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I always find it so sad to look back at that writing team's tenure because I loved the post-boot Legion so much and have made no secret of the fact that I think the PMS team were the people who killed it (at least until DnA came along and revived it for awhile before killing it all over again.)
But I've gotta completely disagree 100% with the esteemed posters before me who criticised Roger Stern for wanting to limit the number of members the team had during this period. If only he'd been successful maybe his tenure would've been worth something.
There were already around 20 or so characters in the Legion receiving heavy face-time at this time (including Shvaugn Erin, Lori Morning and Inferno) when suddenly in the space of about a year we got 8 new members - Magno, Umbra, Sensor, Ferro, Monstress, Kid Quantum II, Karate Kid and Thunder - most of whom never recieved more than a moment of screentime or characterisation (until DnA came along). And most of the Legionnaires we already had got sidelined. And let's not even get into all the pre-boot Legion members who suddenly got rebooted and then forgotten after one panel or scene - Chemical King, Catspaw, Timber Wolf, Kono, Dragonmage, the SUBS, etc.
This creative team were in such a madcap hurry to introduce characters that they just threw them in there with absolutely no clue about what they were going to do with them. So the whole comic just became a mess.
We all know the main draw of the Legion is its big cast of characters, but who wants a comic that has so many characters that none of them get used to their full potential? We as fans need to temper our desires to see our faves come back, with the needs of the story. The PMS era is a grim reminder of that.
My opinon of Roger Stern just raised a few notches after reading that comment.
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
A good writer would take up the challenge of multiple characters and make you care about (and of course want to know more about) each one of them.
Any lazy writer can focus on one character or group of characters and make some kind of a story.
There are plenty of books out there for lazy writers. The Legion should require a great writer who can juggle a huge cast and leave you satisfied but wanting more.
Accept nothing less!
From: San Diego, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
It's not clear whether Stern is objecting to the principle of a large cast (in which case he clearly wasn't a good fit for the series) or if he's objecting to the way in which characters were introduced without giving other characters the chance to be developed (in which case he was probably right).
Anyway, a little less panel time for Lori Morning probably would've helped...
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Blacula: And let's not even get into all the pre-boot Legion members who suddenly got rebooted and then forgotten after one panel or scene - Chemical King, Catspaw, Timber Wolf, Kono, Dragonmage, the SUBS, etc.
Catspaw (who was just an offhanded name/pic on McCauley's monitor) and the Subs (of whom only Brek and Lydda were even shown out of sillouette), I grant you without question. Condo too to a lesser extent. But Dragonmage got about four issues partially or wholly devoted to him, Kono two or three half-issues, and Timber Wolf didn't turn up until DnA's Legion Worlds #6.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
posted
I was never a huge Stern fan. I kinda placed him in the same category as Wolfman or Conway - decent with their own creations and a handful of others, but otherwise, keep em away.
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
I agree we need a large cast ofcourse. Levitz did it quite nicely. Geoff Johns does it nicely with the JSA.
Maybe Stern meant a smaller cast per story which I think the post zero hour Legion did need. Levitz ofcourse was a master at rotating focus on certain characters, etc.
From: Tampa | Registered: Mar 2004
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