Adventures in New York!

My last day with Lacey was a big one. After making into New York and getting on the wrong subway line (lousy express trains) we went back to the natural history museum. There was a lot we didn't get to see on Friday. When we got off the subway, it was raining so hard, that water was pouring down the steps out! We made a mad dash to the museum, and only got a little soaked. Once again, the museum was great fun, and we got to see a cool IMax show called Sea Monsters about prehistoric sea creatures. It was pretty sweet. We followed that up with a trip to the Statue of Liberty, with a truncated NY Bakery Tour afterward. It was a great day, and the short rain was no real hindrance. We finished off the night with "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 3D which, actually, was pretty fun. I mean, we weren't expecting anything magical, but we got a fun action movie with stuff flying at our faces. Also, I've decided that Bruce Campbell and Brendan Fraser should do a buddy picture where they fight monsters. It would be amazing.
Well, I figure I ought to give you an update on work, since it's been a little while since I've done so. As I've stated before, the proofs seem to come in waves. Some days I don't have many, some days I have almost nothing but. I find it interesting that I tend to only see proofs of a book at one stage. Rarely do I make a dummy book and then check over the proof afterwards. Usually it's just one or the other. The last few days I was lucky enough to see a book twice in the proofing process. I actually got to help put the dummy book together, then go through pagination and the initial check. Yesterday, I was able to proof it! This means that in the intervening period, the dummy book (or at least a copy of it) was sent to the printers, and they sent back the proof. Little had changed, but after over 500 pages of a proof, it can be hard to see differences some times!
Yesterday was a mostly proof day, which I prefer really. It gives me the chance to see a lot of different material and compare and contrast. I did proofs for a Marvel Essential book containing comics from the 60's, and two contemporary pieces, an adaptation of the Lords of Avalon series done in a manga style, and several of the Marvel Adventures books, which are marvel characters geared towards a younger audience. I was interested to see that the older comics have a lot of similarites with the Marvel Adventures books. They feature heavier narration, very action based stories that don't much more than an issue to complete, and more straightforward characterization. Now, I don't mean to say that the older comics didn't have their complexities and nuances, because they did, and Stan Lee does a great job of adding depth to somewhat two-dimensional characters, but I find it interesting that to make a comic for younger kids, they end up like the comics of old. It shows to me how comics have evolved out of the constriction of the Comics Code Authority, and the medium (and the superhero genre) have evolved as well.
There is a surprising amount of research that goes into the making of trade paperbacks, particularly for the older comics that are being collected. For just about every book, there are spreadsheets put together with research notes on issues, characters, etc. They aren't comprehensive, but they point out anything significant and/or that would be important for construction of the book.
I really enjoy meeting people at the office when I have to "run" covers. Basically I have to get a lot of signatures, and some of the editors and other staff are pretty cool about saying hi and getting to know you. It can be intimidating some times, and not everyone has time to talk, but meeting people is an important thing in this business. Speaking of that, tomorrow is the Joe Quesada lunch for the interns. Joe Q is the Editor-In-Chief at Marvel, and we get pizza and get to ask him questions for two hours! I'm still trying to think of the exact things I would ask him. I know I'd like to ask him something about writing, maybe "What are the most common mistakes new writers make?" or "What do you look for when you look at a submitted script?" But I also really want to ask if Stephen Colbert will be elected president in the Marvel universe. So tempting!