In fact, this is the first time in over a decade that a new Ed Brubaker / Sean Phillips comic book came out and I wasn't looking forward to reading it. And don't plan on buying it. Or any other Brubaker scripted book henceforth.
True, I wasn't 100% happy with this story. I found the deal with a demon idea to be tiresome and silly, and as much as I love Sean Phillips--whom I've followed since the very beginning of his career--I found his work on Kill or Be Killed uneven. There were some panels that were just amazingly beautiful. And there were some panels that were downright inept. I was particularly put off by the number of human figures drawn with over-sized heads.
But that's not why I stopped buying and reading it.
In issue 6's back pages, there was an article by Kim Morgan entitled "A Case Study of Two Savages: The Naked City." And it was pretty interesting, as is usually the case with these articles in the back of Brubaker comic books, but it was just rife with grammatical errors.
It bothered me, and I thought that it would bother Ed Brubaker as well, who I assumed had not had anything to do with the editing of the piece and might not be aware of what a hot mess it was. I mean, after all, what professional writer would want his work marred in this way? So I wrote to him:
Hi, Ed Brubaker. Long time fan--since Lowlife #1, actually . . . and a Sean Phillips fan since Kid Eternity. And I have been following your work together since Sleeper, and have enjoyed all of it. So thanks for that.
I've also enjoyed the text pieces in the backs of your books. "A Case Study of Two Savages" is no exception to that, but I was put off by the many grammatical / proofreading errors in this two page piece.
Here are the most egregious errors I found:
(1) “This is an episode of a television show that those familiar surely know what I’m talking about . . . . “
Hard to unravel, but maybe “This is an episode of a television show; those familiar with it surely know what I’m talking about.”
(2) “ . . . likely lodged in many lucky kids’ minds if they switched on their parent’s GE console in 1962.”
“ . . . if they switched on their parents’ GE consoles . . . . “
(3) “Today, whenever we encounter the violence and the savagery to which belong to those times . . . . “
Since this was a quote from a movie, it’s possible that the character spoke ungrammatically . . . but I doubt that he made all of these errors.
“ . . . the violence and savagery which belonged to those times . . . . “
(4) “Frankfurt, Kentucky” should be “Frankfort, Kentucky.”
(5) “While the show’s lead, Det. Adam Flint (Paul Burke) has run into a drugstore while his partner . . . . “
“The show’s lead, Det. Adam Flint (Paul Burke) has run into a drugstore while his partner, Set. Frank Acaro (Harry Believer) waits in the car; Acaro notices . . . . “
(6) And here’s a downright puzzler: “Man, they should have made a movie together. They did, The Cincinnati Kid, but that wasn’t together.” Does she mean that they were both in the movie but had no scenes together? If so, that’s not what she said.
I'm not trying to be an asshole here, but when I encounter those kinds of errors--and so many errors in a short piece--it really throws me out of the work. I suspect I'm not alone in this. So the reason I am writing isn't to chastise or bitch, but to offer free assistance. I would be happy to proofread your text pieces for Kill or Be Killed gratis. Because I care about your work, no other reason.
If you're interested, give me a holler.
Other than that . . . thanks for all of the great comic books over the past twenty-five years.
Thomas Kalb
Louisville, Kentucky
A mere 4 1/2 hours later I got this response:
While I can agree that there are a couple of awkward phrasings, you can't really compare a conversational style of writing with what you're talking about.
You're rewriting the rhythm of the sentences, for the sake of "proper grammar" which is not really okay. I probably could have asked her to rephrase a few of these, but none of them bother me really, except the Frankfort one, which I think the proofreader changed to Frankfurt and I didn't catch.
So . . . no "Thanks for the offer of help, but . . . . " No "Thanks for supporting my work for the past twenty-five years." Just a denial that there was any grammatical problem and a "You're wrong."
Well. I'm not wrong. They were grammatical errors. And I think Ed Brubaker is an asshole. So I'm not going to throw anymore of my money his way.
Speaking of which . . . anybody want to buy some old Lowlife, Gotham Central, Daredevil, Criminal, Fatale, or Fade Out comic books? I've also got the Deluxe Editions of both Criminal books. And Scene of the Crime. Everything's going to go.
They're all great books. I've just lost my appetite for them.
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