Wednesday What If…? Delay Edition

Delays are a bad thing right? Anytime you have to wait for something it is completely irritating and bothersome. If you order a pizza and it takes 2 hours to get it, that would not make you happy. If you have to wait in line for more than a few minutes at the grocery store most of you will blow your top.

But isn’t there a time when delays are a good thing? The old Heinz Ketchup commercials used to say “Good things come to those who wait.” There are many scenarios where a delay is beneficial. If you were on Death Row, I can think that most of you would welcome a delay. A 2-hour delay makes most kids super excited that they can sleep in a little while longer. An extension of time to finish a paper or meet a deadline is always a welcome gift.

Good? Bad? Ugly? No, I’m not talking about your mom. We, for this edition of Wednesday What If, need to discuss the one time when a delay is simply unacceptable.

This week’s Wednesday What If question – what if comic book release dates were never delayed?

I hate delays, and the comic book release schedule is a promise to the fans that the creators, the writers, and artists, care about them and want to provide a quality product in a predetermined timeline. When a book is delayed, regardless of the reason, there is a small part of every fan that loses some hope. Then we consider the reason and decide whether we still will accept the product on the new schedule and forgive the creators this one lapse.

This brings me to the part of the article where I talk about Kevin Smith. He is not my favorite guy. I am sure he is a fine human being and there are a couple of his movies that I really like (Mallrats and Clerks, but the others are just showing that he sold out). But, his early time in comic books was very disappointing. Many of you will jump to his defense and say that his work on Green Arrow was really some of the best comic booking you have ever seen. So, I am just going to rip off the bandage and expose the gaping wound of broken dreams that he truly created.

October, 2002. Spider-man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do. Highly anticipated? I would say so. Great art from Terry and Rachel Dodson, two of my favorites. A solid story from Kevin Smith that I could not wait to pick up. The first issue was fabulous. I was really into Spider-man and this story was promising. My hopes were high.

November, 2002. Daredevil/Bullsye: The Target. I was a big Daredevil fan, and with the film coming out the next year this was a must read for me. Bullseye has always been an awesome Daredevil villain and this story was well put together and left me wanting more. Again, high hopes that this book was going to be something to remember.

November came and went and no Spider-man/Black Cat #2. December… no Daredevil/Bullseye. Then news came out that Kevin Smith was so busy he had to postpone the books until a future date so he could finish a movie, but he would be completing the comics. Anyone remember what happened next? Three years later, a very different version of the Spider-man/Black Cat story was released in the rest of the series. A completely different look and feel to the series that just left me scratching my head. What was the guy doing?

And Daredevil/Bullseye? As the raven spake, “Nevermore”. So, Kevin Smith may be a nice guy and all, but for this he should be smacked. I am sure he is sorry, but then he probably made a buttload of money that helped him to feel better about it. The sad part is that it is a promise made to fans that was broken. I might feel better if he were to comment on my article and apologize to all of us for overextending himself and taking advantage of the one true thing that gives any comic book or creator any value, the commitment of the fan.

The challenge is out there, but who am I? Just another butthurt fanboy whining about some stupid comic book that is better left forgotten in some box. Probably. What do I know, I just buy comics and collect them and write about them. Comment and let me know what you think. I appreciate it. Thanks for reading.