JIM McCANN
by David O'Leary
Welcome back to 5 Minutes With... Today on our sixteenth episode I am joined by Marvel Comics writer Jim McCann. After leaving his position in management to pursue writing full time both at Marvel and also creator owned material, we delve into a revealing look behind the veil as Jim guides us through his reasons for leaving Marvel management, his desire to return to stage writing and much more. So read on...
David O'Leary: Hi Jim, thanks for taking the time to speak with us here on CR.
Jim McCann: Thanks for having me!
DO'L: You have just recently left your job at Marvel Comics as Assistant Manager, Marketing Communications after six years to pursue your writing career full time. Was that a decision you came to lightly?
JMC: Not at all and yet it was the logical evolution. When I came to Marvel, I was already in the ABC Daytime Writer Development Program, but the amount of openings for contract writers in soaps are very limited. I had moved to New York from Nashville on the hope & dream of working for either ABC or Marvel. I landed at Marvel and the six years I spent there were the best 6 years of my life. As time went on, I started getting some writing gigs and then I moved off full-time and into consultant. By that time, Arune Singh had joined and he's done remarkable things in the position I once held, taking it even further and advanced beyond where I was. When HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD was green-lit as an ongoing, I knew it would be impossible to do both my job at Marvel and write the best book I could at the same time. So, something had to give. But I'm still a part of the Marvel family, just not in the offices on a daily basis.
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"I absolutely would love to return to the stage in some fashion"
- On his desire to return to stage writing after a 15 year plus absence
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DO'L: I know that you've won awards for your writing going back as far as when you were still in school. How bad was that itch to get to writing full time and get away from marketing?
JMC: It is an itch that has never gone away. I've written my own stories from the time I was in 4th grade, when we would have reading recitals and everyone else read the same Shel Silverstein poems, I read my own stuff. Not that it was anywhere close to the genius of the late great Mr. Silverstein! The folks at Marvel knew I always wanted to land on a writer's path, so the fact that they helped me get to that place in my personal journey is a huge testament to how incredible the people there are.
DO'L: You were of course on the front lines over the last few years of some of the biggest comic stories that became mainstream news. That must have been a bit of a crazy experience around the time of Cap's death and the Obama appearance in Amazing.
JMC: Every day was an adventure working in marketing. Not just the big events but seeing what the mainstream or fandom would suddenly pick up on. Also, every book that launched was like seeing a new comic-baby born and I got to play a role in helping usher those in to the rest of the fans.
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"It was the logical evolution"
- On his decision to leave his management position to take up writing full time.
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DO'L: The Return of The Dapper Men is a creator owned project you have coming up with Janet Lee. Can you tell us the genesis of the story and also in regards to the unusual process of the art being mounted on wood.
JMC: It came about when I was visiting Nashville for Christmas about 2.5 years ago. Janet and I have been friends for about 15 years now and she had been growing as a well-known and respected gallery artist in the South. I was at her house, looking over some of the pieces she had done for various shows and even Christmas ornaments. Three pieces from different showings stuck in my mind and when I came back to New York I sent her an email with what was to become the opening narration of RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN. Her art style is something she has developed on her own. She worked in oils, but has a child who, when he was younger, would get into the art before it could dry. So, she developed "kid-proof" art- collaged, mounted, glued and varnished on wood. It's really a beautiful and unique style and I am really excited to see how people react!
DO'L: C.B. Cebulski broke the news to us at Dublin Comic Con in 2008 in Ireland in his Pint O'Joe Panel about your involvement in New Avengers: The Reunion. Your love of the characters Hawkeye and Mockingbird is well documented and now a year and a half down the road, you have gotten an ongoing book out of the response to the mini series. That must have been a confidence booster to you to have that and also exciting to go forward with an ongoing with characters you like?
JMC: The fact that HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD exists is a testament to the fans as much as it is (if not more so) to the work on THE REUNION. Fans really responded well to it, which was wonderful because I love these characters so much and am thrilled to see that others feel the same. Having David Lopez as my partner on this book certainly is a huge bonus as well. That man can draw anything I throw at him and make it beautiful, dynamic, and better than what is in the script!
DO'L: Another favourite character of yours is of course Dazzler. With a one shot coming up soon, are there any other favourites of yours that you would like to have a crack at?
JMC: I'd love to do more with Dazzler, of course. I started in the 80s, so a lot of my favourites come from that time. The X-Men & Avengers are full of characters I love so to write either team books in any fashion would be awesome. I also really love Cloak & Dagger, Power Pack, Alpha Flight, and GI Joe.
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"What makes me angry is ignorance"
- On ignorance usually passed off as arrogance.
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DO'L: You have written for the stage, winning an award for it in 1994 with Marie's Question. Would you like to return to the theatre someday, considering that it's said that stage writing is some of the hardest writing someone can do?
JMC: Wow, you did your homework! Living in New York and now being a full-time writer, I absolutely would love to return to the stage in some fashion. I've been away for so long (I sound like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard) that it's rather daunting at the moment, but so was the notion of writing a Marvel comic, so... I love the medium- theatre is probably my favorite form of entertainment, and I know how tough it is to write it well, but I can see myself dipping my toe back in those waters in the next year or so.
DO'L: You have a reputation for being the nicest guy in comics, but what gets Jim Mc Cann angry?
JMC: Ha! Well, I love comics so much that my enthusiasm for the craft and the people working in it as well as the fans has created the Nicest Guy in Comics rep. What makes me angry is ignorance of any type, usually passed off as arrogance, authoritarian, disdain, or hatred. This goes for all aspects of life, including comics. When fans or press attack the people working on comics, I get very angry because they don't know these people and they stop regarding them as human beings who work their asses off and pour their hearts and energy into creating what they hope will be a product that will entertain. To see people call my friends and fellow creators' terrible things about them personally...I wish people could remember that these are human beings they are talking about, not names on a credits page.
Oh, and I HATE the word "Meh." If you don't feel one way or the other about something, don't take the energy to say "Meh". Just don't say anything at all! Or, if something didn't engage you and you feel that way, take the time to express what you were hoping for or where it fell short for you instead of being lazy and saying that ridiculous word. (Wshew. That rant got me riled up. Now I'm just "A Nice Guy in Comics" I guess.)
Jim McCann
DO'L: You are a former member of the ABC Daytime Writer Development Program from an early stage in your career. Do you still regard any lessons learned from writing for serialized soaps as relevant to writing serialized stories for comics?
JMC: The lessons learned there are completely transferable to writing comics or any long-form serialized story: break new ground and move characters forward while respecting their pasts and what others have done before. Do that and the fans will appreciate what you are doing and you are able to develop your own voice and make a difference in these characters all at the same time.
DO'L: With a pretty full plate right now, have you anything else lined up?
JMC: I DO have some things lined up that will be announced soon. And I have a few things that are in the very early, formative states. I've only been a full-time freelancer for 3 weeks, so give me some time and I'll have a lot more to share!
DO'L: Jim, I've taken up enough of your time, thanks for the time in speaking with us.
JMC: Thank you guys for being so great and for your support!
Many thanks for Jim taking the time to speak with us, we very much appreciate it. Please join me next time for when my guest will be industry legend Bob Layton.
Interviewer Bio
Name: David O' Leary
Email: idwfan@yahoo.co.uk
Bio: David has been with CR since June 2008 and started out as a reviewer and has expanded to do a couple of columns for the site also; starting with 28 Words Later with artist Declan Shalvey and later 5 Minutes With... where he talks with the industries best and brightest from Kubert to Moore.
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