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To Be Continued #14
Look, I know I promised you Part IV of my "McDuffie Genius Grant" series but I had a very tough week. If you must know, to make a little extra cash, I've been moonlighting as an Extreme Wrestler. The doctor says that, while the bones are healing nicely, I should try to avoid any extra stress until some of my skin grows back. Obviously this means I can't write about the state of the industry. Maybe next week. Christopher Priest is going to hate this column but that's part of his charm. You probably know him as the fan-favorite writer/creator of Quantum and Woody. Or perhaps you know him from his current work on Black Panther and Deadpool. If you're an ultra-trendy insider (as you must be, since you're reading me), you might even know Priest's Secret True Identity as long-time Marvel and DC writer/editor Jim Owsley. Here's a bunch of stuff I know about him: He's a good editor and a terrific writer. He edited Spider-Man, King Conan, The Ray and some of DC's Impact titles. He wrote Power Man and Iron Fist, Green Lantern and about 50 other things. He brings a unique perspective to comics. This is a guy who had a big Malcolm X poster in his DC Comics offices long before Brother Malcolm was mass-merchandized into respectability. He's also the guy who wrote a scene where Steel ate watermelon. What can I say, Priest contains multitudes. He's tells me he always wanted to write The Flash (and he would rock it but trust me, he should be writing Batman. He was born for the job). He can drive a bus (and will, if provoked). He writes and plays music. He's an ordained minister. His voice is so deep, he has to suck helium in order to do a passable imitation of James Earl Jones. And did I mention that he's an important and criminally overlooked part of comic book history? Yeah, that's right Sancho. We got ourselves a genuine windmill to tilt at. When I was kid, despite the popularity of oversized Afros, my Mom made me get my hair cut every other week. While awaiting my turn in the barber's chair, if they didn't have any Golden Legacy Negro history comics, I always read the one periodical every black barber was sure to have: Jet Magazine. Jet was (and still is, I suppose) a digest-sized, black version of People Magazine. In addition to the usual cover stories about Sidney Portier trying his hand at blaxploitation films or Lew Alcindor changing his name to Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Jet always had plenty of space dedicated to "Black Firsts." I'd read about the first black Mayor of a major city, or the first black to sing at the Met &emdash;you get the idea. Near as I can figure, in the 1980's Jim Owsley quietly became the First Black to make full editor at Marvel Comics (the second one hasn't come along, quite yet). He was also the first black to be a full editor at DC Comics (DC's had two and to be fair, they've got a couple on deck). Come to think of it, Owsley was the first black full editor in mainstream comics, period. My second historical claim for the Artist Formerly Known as "Owz" is tougher to confirm. Still, I've talked to a lot of guys who have been around for a while and I think I'm right (e-mail me if you know any different and I'll correct the claim): Owsley was the first black writer with a regular mainstream assignment. 20 years later, after a half-dozen or so of us have come and gone, he's the only one left. So all of you guys out there writing histories of the medium: How about an entry for Mr. Priest? It's long overdue. The first time I noticed Jim Owsley's work was while reading his very enjoyable Falcon mini-series, back when I was a freshman in college. This doesn't seem possible, considering that we're about the same age. On top of everything else, Priest was a prodigy. Many years later, I would work with him on the creator-owned project that came to be known as Milestone. Originally, Owsley (he was still Owsley at the time. A few months later, when he told me he had changed his name to Christopher Priest, I told him that was fine, I had changed my name to Isaac Asimov. Hey, I thought he was kidding) was supposed to be the Editor-In-Chief of the proposed line. When he bowed out for personal reasons, I was drafted. But his contributions to the creative direction of Milestone are many. He was integral to the backstory of our universe's origin myth, supplementing my notion of a "Stonewall-like civil uprising" (by drawing on the urban legends about chemicals added to Tahitian Treat soda to sterilize poor blacks). He titled the book Blood Syndicate (I was calling it "Bang Babies") and replaced all the code names I came up with for those characters with good ones. In Icon, he forced me to give Rocket powers, even though I was sure the book would be better if she didn't. I was wrong, he was right. Mark that down in your calendars, folks, you may never hear me say that again. Most importantly, Priest gave me a copy of his self-written editorial handbook. With his unique combination of intelligence, wit and self-aware prickishness, he described the job better than anyone else ever has. Over the years, I've referred to it often. I still think he should publish it. One last Priest story before I go. On the day I began my stint at Marvel as an Assistant Editor, I was being introduced to another staffer (who shall remain nameless, as the story doesn't reflect well on him &emdash;and I like him now). As he shook my hand, he joked, "I hope we don't got ourselves another Owsley, here!" Everybody laughed. I laughed too. I took the remark as a good-natured, "I hope we didn't just hire another office screw-up." At the time, I didn't know Owsley or his work, nor was I aware that he was black. I didn't realize the joke was, "Oh, no! Another black guy!" Well, now I do know Christopher Priest. I also know that this industry would benefit greatly if we could find a lot more just like him. But that's just a fantasy, he's one of a kind. As always, this is To Be Continued…
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