Visiting Marvel

Ann Marie had a chance to visit New York City at the end of 2006, and while there we set up a time to visit the Marvel Comics offices in Manhattan.  This fulfilled a long-held dream of mine, to see where the magic happens.  We met with my editor, John Barber, and he took us around, showing us the toy office (which as you’d imagine was packed with toys of every variety), the various editors offices, and finally his office where those working on the Ultimate line put together every week one amazing comic after another.  I met several in his office including long-time Marvel editor Ralph Macchio, and I got to see some original art, including some from Mark Bagley to Ultimate Spider-Man #103 and the just released Dark Tower comic illustrated by Jae Lee with incredible colors by Richard Isanove.

The main thing I hoped to achieve was to pitch new story possibilities for Marvel.  Here’s what I do know – I’ve only sold a small, 10-page story to them.  In other words, I have no name recognition.  So my goal was to pitch an assortment of possible miniseries, not going crazy asking to take over Amazing Spider-Man.  What I offered (again, all miniseries): Sabra (the Israeli superhero), Agent of SHIELD/Agent of Hydra, Fury (a Nick Fury mini), Iron Man (a series titled “Broken Armor”), and Ultimate Nick Fury (focusing on his past and a present where he discovers the Infinity Formula). 

Right now I have my Devolution artists, Jake Bilbao and Ignacio Calero, both incredible artists, penciling a few pages, Jake on the Sabra mini and Ignacio on Agent of SHIELD/Agent of Hydra.  I’m hoping this lends some artistic meat to the muscle of the idea, to show John at Marvel what I’m going for with these ideas.  It helps flesh out my stories for him to see and allows my artists to have their work seen.  More later on each miniseries, how I presented them, and what they’re about. 

The greatest moment in our visit to Marvel Comics was when John introduced me to an inker that’s doing some work for them.  After John introduced the inker, he then introduced me by saying, “This is Matt Yocum, a writer.”

It’s the first time someone’s introduced me as “writer.”  I had a smile on my face the rest of the day after that.

Devolution promo

Devolution now has a promo that can be seen at www.ComicCritique.com.  The owner and managing editor of ComicCritique.com, Louis Vitela, has given it some prime real estate on the site, the upper right hand corner.  Clicking on the Devolution link takes you to an image showing the title and a great character sketch by Jake Bilbao.  If you click on that, you dive further into the promo and see a great blurb on the story with another incredible image drawn by Jake Bilbao with an awesome gray scale inking effect done by Ignacio Calero.

 The entire team on this project offers quite the international effort.  Jake lives in the Philippines, Ignacio resides in Uruguay, the letterer, Brant Fowler, lives in the US, and you have me penning the story from Israel. 

 Jake and Ignacio truly blow me away.  They are both busy penciling away on some Marvel concepts I hope to present to the Marvel editor I worked with, John Barber.  They are turning in some truly fantastic pencils, and I hope Devolution gives them the exposure they both deserve.  I want them to get noticed, but I’m also sad to think that I could lose them on Devolution. 

But that’s what Devolution is about: getting our talents out there, growing ourselves artistically, and telling a great story as well as we are able.  I think it will end up doing just that.  Time will tell. 

 Matt