Tom Brevoort remembers Brian K. Vaughan’s The Hood:
[T]he book didn’t sell all that well, but the folks up here around the office all really adored it. So Brian came in for a meeting with us to see if we could figure out a strategy in which doing a follow-up would be commercially viable. Marvel President Bill Jemas suggested that all Brian needed to do was to not make the follow-up a MAX book, and that would take care of a lot of the problem (since many retailers stocked lightly on MAX titles because of concerns about the content and their local obscenity laws.) Bill was his typical strong-willed self in this assertion–but Brian refused to go for it. He felt that trying to do the kinds of stories he’d envisioned for THE HOOD in a non-MAX series would have neutered the concept. Now, realize, Brian didn’t have all that much going on for himself in the business at that moment, and this was the President of Marvel speaking to him. But he stood his ground for creative reasons–not belligerently, or disrespectfully, but in the position that such a decision would not allow him to do his best work. That showed a great deal of personal integrity.
Also mentioned in passing: A Punisher Vs. The Hood series that never happened…
March 5th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
You have to respect and admire a man who would stand behind his principles like that. To choose to be successful on your own terms or not at all is a pretty gutsy move. I’m glad it worked out for him.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Another reason to love BKV. I mean, we didn’t need any more but man, is that guy great or what?
March 6th, 2008 at 6:10 am
And yet, the Hood has been in the non-MAX Avengers titles, which shows how much good BKV’s principles resistance did.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Well it’s a different age and time. I mean look at some of the stuff they’re getting away in non MAX books. Tigra getting beat down, every issue of the new X-Force. Also, since then, the MAX line has been reformatted, and it isn’t the same line it was when Jemas was running the show.