His creative legacy was an unambiguously and overwhelmingly positive one, doesn't make up for basically everything I've ever heard about him as a person.
His creative legacy was an unambiguously and overwhelmingly positive one, doesn't make up for basically everything I've ever heard about him as a person.
Buh-bye
I had no idea about the issues with Schwartz & Toth! I remember Superman annual 9 that featured art by Toth. It was an older story printed for the first time I believe.
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Yeah, as much of a horrible person Weisinger is reported to be, Schwartz has his fair share of baggage as well given all the rumors swirling about his behavior towards women. Although, in Alex Toth's case, I can't say Schwartz comes off too badly as Toth had a reputation for being a pretty difficult guy to work with, too.
He did that one story for Schwartz in 1983 and part of another story (Jack Kirby did the other part) for DC COMICS PRESENTS 84 in 1985, after having not done any work for Julie since 1951. So maybe things had thawed between them or else there were special circumstances behind the scenes that would explain it.
By the way, "Villain, Villain, Who's Got the Villain?" was written by Elliot S! Maggin who had also quit working for Julie--but not for as long. Their dispute was in 1976--there's one GA/BC story in GREEN LANTERN 100 in 1978, but maybe this was an inventory story--and then he came back to working for Schwartz in 1982. Maybe, as things wound down for Julie and Superman with a Crisis looming, creators were induced to return because they wouldn't get the chance again.
In those final years, ACTION COMICS became much more like the old Weisinger edited comics from the 1950s, with often three stories per issue. And various guest writers and artists had a chance to work on the Man of Tomorrow.
*Note: I thought I posted the above earlier today but I guess I forgot to submit.
I know it doesn't excuse Julie's behaviour but his wife Jean--who had been his secretary before they married in 1952 and was a beautiful redhead in her younger days, serving as Joe Kubert's model for Shayera Thal--died from emphysema in 1986. And from what I understand, it was a long period of suffering before the end came. Not long after that, Jean's daughter from a previous marriage and Julie's stepdaughter, Jeanne, also died from the same disease.
From the stuff that leaks out about the workplace behind the scenes in comics these days, it doesn't seem like anything has changed.
It's often tricky to judge people from previous decades because what was accepted behavior has changed so radically for the better. That said, it's pretty clear that both Weisenger and Schwartz were pretty complicated guys with plenty of virtues and giant flaws