While we’re linking to interviews today, it’s worth pointing out that Heidi MacDonald got in touch with Marv Wolfman, who noted that his new graphic novel about the history of Israel, Homeland, won the National Jewish Book Award. He also shared a “crazy editor story:”
Instead, the visual was removed and I was screamed at by the editor and told that shooting a bird with one’s finger was too violent. I thought the editor was joking so I replied, “But his finger isn’t loaded.” The editor was not joking. I kept saying the character didn’t have a gun. He was pretending to shoot. With his finger. And he didn’t have super-powers. He was an ordinary person. His finger couldn’t do any damage unless the bird flew so low he could use it to poke out its eye. I tried to explain I was setting up a fight scene inside, visually and emotionally. I was doing ^&$%# foreshadowing! But no. It was removed. Although of course the 10 or so page fight scene inside the story had no problems. Pretend finger shooting a bird is violent. Punching your enemy black and blue and trying to kill him is not. The editor had been taught a lesson but obviously had not learned it. That was only one of many run-ins with this editor who was always certain but seldom right. By the way, this is also the ONLY editor in my 40 years I actually quit a book because of. Everyone else, whether I agreed with them or not, could always be talked to.
