1997 NEWS

November 1997

I've been running damage control on this thing for two days now. Enough's enough.

While there's a nugget of truth poking out here and there in the original post, 98% of this stuff is pure fabrication, guesswork, and rumor-mongering.

Never, never, never trust anybody who won't give out their sources.

Tom Brevoort

Newsarama Daily
by Michael Doran

Things got mighty interesting in Hell's Kitchen over the weekend.. Here's two different stories involving EVENT COMICS, and JOE KELLY, respectively, that just may have a common thread without fear..

"EVENT"FUL DAYS

Those guys at EVENT Comics, JOE QUESADA & JIMMY PALMIOTTI certainly are making news lately. Last week, Newsarama was first to report on possible negotiations between Event and MARVEL Comics involving their respective characters. And earlier this week, other news sources pitched in to add more fuel to the fire, reporting that the deal possibly being discussed was a HEROES REBORN-type scenario that could see Event "produce & package" titles featuring Marvel characters. The rumors have it these titles would REMAIN in mainstream Marvel continuity and be done in close association with Marvel editorial proper. And while DAREDEVIL has been named as one of the possible titles involved (with filmmaker KEVIN SMITH attached as writer), so far EVENT (or Marvel) has not officially endorsed these rumors. But that didn't stop Quesada and Palmiotti from making a curious announcement Friday afternoon. According to their press release, EVENT will temporarily SUSPEND operations for 6 months in order to re-organize its internal operations and EXPAND its current monthly publishing schedule. The temporary suspension will go into effect following the publication of ASH: CINDER AND SMOKE #6 (the miniseries' conclusion), and PAINKILLER JANE #5, both of which will ship late this month. And they are very excited about the news... "We couldn't be more thrilled about this opportunity to grow and expand," said Palmiotti. "When fans and retailers find out what we've got coming up in the next year, they'll be as excited as we are!" "When publishers have suspended operations in recent years, it was an indication that the company was in trouble or going under," said publisher and co-owner Laurie Bradach. "In our case, that couldn't be further from the truth. Event is fully solvent and, for a small publisher in today's market, very successful." "Believe me, Event is definitely resuming publication in 6 months...I personally guarantee it!" said Quesada. "We've got some incredibly exciting things coming up, and we'll be kicking off our new publishing schedule early next year with the new monthly ASH series, scripted by JAMES ROBINSON!" How this development effects, and/or what relation it has to the possible Marvel deal, remains to be seen.

AND THEN KELLY MAKES HIS NEWS

In a Saturday statement to fans and comics news outlets, writer JOE KELLY addressed rumors of the Event/Daredevil connection, and the made a surprising announcement of his own. "To start, I don't know if EVENT thing is true as far as whether or not KEVIN SMITH is really going to take over DD. There has been talk about QUESADA doing the repackaging thing and bringing him in, but nothing is official yet," wrote Kelly. "However, it is official that I'll be LEAVING DAREDEVIL after issue #375." Kelly continued, "There are a few reasons why I'm leaving the book, but at the top of it all...I'M OVERWORKED! Taking on X-MEN, fleshing out year 2 of DEADPOOL, and working on Hornhead was really starting to take its toll on me. I began to fall behind on my workload, and felt that my overall quality (on DD especially) was beginning to suffer. So I decided that instead of trying to bulldoze my way through to the end of a full year-run just for the sake of it being a year, I'd take a step back now before I did any damage to the three books I love. Better to do good work on 2 books than mediocre work on 3." "I love Daredevil, so this was not an easy decision for me to make. The run has been good fun so far, and I have plans for DD that still get me excited, but I had to move on. I've had a blast working on this character, and hope that someday I'll have the opportunity to run the rooftops with Matt again."

This currently leaves the title without a regular writer or penciler. When plans for the future of DAREDEVIL and /or EVENT are revealed (whatever they may be), Newsarama will try to bring them to you.

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Also, if you have doubts about Chris Columbus based on his directing past, he has just co-written a script called Daredevil, which yes it is that guy who knows no fear, that is even better than the FF script. This one includes Elektra, Kingpin, Bullseye, Foggy Nelson, and battling Jack Murdock! This one doesn't wink once at the screen, and carries a sai through the throat. Kiddies stay at home, as this one will shock your auditory senses in a digital THX auditorium. And you get that just from the script. Chris has been in John Hughes' shadow for way too long, and will break out onto the scene with amazing poignancy with these two projects, that if get filmed with these scripts will shock the nation with coolness seeping from every marvel-ous page. SPAWN will be a primer for these films, the gauntlet they will pick up. Nuff Said.