Why aren’t praised creators of the 80s and 90s on big books for the big two?

[Carabas]

It means your political leanings can sometimes negatively impact your ability to get work within certain companies.

Concrete examples of comic book legends who can't get Big Two work because of party partisan politics?

[ed2962]

Concrete examples of comic book legends who can't get Big Two work because of party partisan politics?

I'm not sure how much we can name names but even before this "SJW Marvel" stuff started, a semi-popular conservative writer claimed he been blackballed at Marvel by a powerful editor. The rumor was that he felt it was over politics, the counter rumor was that he'd said something "bigoted" and it got back to that editor.

But yeah, there's a belief out there that Marvel has been taken over by far left-wingers and if you want to there you have to keep your conservative values quiet. Never mind that the CEO of the company is a big Trump supporter...

[Carabas]

I'm not sure how much we can name names but even before this "SJW Marvel" stuff started, a semi-popular conservative writer claimed he been blackballed at Marvel by a powerful editor. The rumor was that he felt it was over politics, the counter rumor was that he'd said something "bigoted" and it got back to that editor.

But yeah, there's a belief out there that Marvel has been taken over by far left-wingers and if you want to there you have to keep your conservative values quiet. Never mind that the CEO of the company is a big Trump supporter...

The only one that comes to mind is Chuck Dixon, and he seems to have put some effort in burning his bridges at Marvel and DC in 100% non-political ways.

[dancj]

Discounting the ones who leave by choice or due to health issues or other outside factors, there will still be some old pros who can't get work any more.

I know some will take offence, but I think the short answer is that in some cases, they aren't good enough any more. Comics as a craft has evolved since the 80s and some of the clunky dialogue and stiff art which was accepted back then won't cut it any more.

Some creators (Grant Morrison, Walter Simonson, Joe Kubert), manage to keep up - or started off so ahead of the pack that they didn't need to - and still get work into their old age. Others (Chris Claremont, Marv Wolfman, Roger Stern) haven't aged so well.

[Kai "the spy"]

The only one that comes to mind is Chuck Dixon, and he seems to have put some effort in burning his bridges at Marvel and DC in 100% non-political ways.

Dixon just did the 12-issue Bane series with Graham Nolan, though.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Discounting the ones who leave by choice or due to health issues or other outside factors, there will still be some old pros who can't get work any more.

I know some will take offence, but I think the short answer is that in some cases, they aren't good enough any more. Comics as a craft has evolved since the 80s and some of the clunky dialogue and stiff art which was accepted back then won't cut it any more.

Some creators (Grant Morrison, Walter Simonson, Joe Kubert), manage to keep up - or started off so ahead of the pack that they didn't need to - and still get work into their old age. Others (Chris Claremont, Marv Wolfman, Roger Stern) haven't aged so well.

Perhaps some of those old school scribes no longer have anything to write about. My god, I was fresh out of high school (I'm 59 today) when Claremont started his legendary run on X-Men while Wolfman was revamping the horror comic genre with Tomb of Dracula. Maybe they're just chilling out in retirement with no need or desire to return to the business.

[ed2962]

The only one that comes to mind is Chuck Dixon, and he seems to have put some effort in burning his bridges at Marvel and DC in 100% non-political ways.

Dixon was who I was thinking of, but the last time I tried to look into it, I mostly just found a lot of "he said she said" stuff. So it's probably best to take it with a grain of salt.

[Trey Strain]

I don't know of any writer, from Shakespeare on down, who has written at peak form for more than 12 years. That doesn't mean that older writers can't write an occasional good story. Of course they can. But writers reach a point where they can't grind them out any longer, and they start to repeat themselves. Nobody is a bottomless pit of good stories.

[KurtW95]

I guarantee that even if one of the mentioned creators has had their ability reduced, their work today would still be mountains better than 99% of the stuff we’re getting now. The backup story for the wedding special is better than any other X-Men story for years.

[DrNewGod]

I don't think the big 2 is interested in big sales these days. Consistent creative teams were key to their success but they just don't do that anymore. It's like the Storm book. Every other issue a different artist stuff like that negatively effects sales.

This strikes me as an important point. Some of those creators may not like feeling like they're being wagged by the tail that out grew the dog.

[Darkseid Is]

I'm gonna guess that like a band or actor or director, they have their period when they're doing great stuff. Then that disappears. Robert De Niro is one of the worst actors out there today but in the 70s and 80s he was probably the greatest actor of all time. Maybe they just don't have it anymore. Of course there are still greats that are still... great. Like Martin Scorsese or someone like that but most talent goes away at some point. I could be wrong, could be something else entirely.

[PaulBullion]

What do you mean by that?

Read X-Men: Gold.

[KurtW95]

Read X-Men: Gold.

What does that have to do with anything?

[Brian Cronin]

Why wasn't Arnold Drake working in the 1990s? Or Bob Kanigher? Or Bob Haney? Or Steve Ditko? Or Alex Toth? Or Curt Swan? Or Dick Ayers? Or Sheldon Moldoff?

Older creators are often replaced by newer creators. 'Tis the circle of life.

That's why it's particularly odd to be like, "Why is Marv Wolfman only writing two series in his 50th year as a comic book writer?" We should be thrilled that he is getting that much work.

[ed2962]

What does that have to do with anything?

I'm sure Paul is half joking but the artist for that title was fired for sneaking in anti-jewish and anti-christian messages into the comic.