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Farewell to Molly
2008-05-16 17:21:10

Once again, our content-server ate the last chunk of yesterday’s post, making a cogent point about how X-Men used to be considered a lower-tier title in the 60s and a bit of a failure, but the right combination of elements was found that turned it into the vanguard of the industry for years thereafter.

But that’s not what we’re talking about today.

Today is Molly Lazer’s last day as a member of our team and our office, a real loss to our operation. Molly’s gone from assistant editor to associate editor during her tenure here, and has shouldered the lion’s share of the burden of dealing with all the millions of details involved in getting these books to the printer and onto the stands every month. Hers will be large shoes to fill.

A lot of people wonder what it is that Assistant or Associate Editors do. I once made the analogy that, in the body of the office, the editor is the head, the assistant is the hands, and the intern is the feet, but that’s simplifying the job a bit too much. On an average day, the assistant editor is the one who’s in constant contact with the talent, cadging work out of them on the schedule we need it on, either through cheerleading or guilt-ladling. The assistant is also the person most likely to interface with the production team in the Bullpen, to keep track and generate the overall schedules, to traffic and proofread the lettering and the coloring (many letterers and colorists may go weeks without hearing directly from the editor, at least by phone) and to read and respond to each script as it comes in. An Associate Editor does all of that on top of managing two or three projects that are entirely their own, functioning on those projects as the editor.

An assistant editor’s pay is pretty crummy, the hours tend to be long, and the perks are few. But you learn an awful lot in a very short amount of time—you have to, it’s a survival skill. And those who can step up to the job find themselves on track to grow into larger positions of responsibility. But it’s not a job for everyone. At least at Marvel, if you’re not prepared to go above and beyond on a regular basis and to shoulder a workload that’s just this side of unreasonable, don’t even bother sending in the resume, you’re not going to last. But for those who can, the job is like a Masters program in making comic books. And for the right person, you can make a difference in the quality of the books.

Molly Lazer made a difference, and the titles she worked on are going to be weaker for her absence.

More later.

Tom B

I've generally enjoyed Molly's books. I don't know if I looked at her as a sign of quality in the way I once looked at, say, Gruenwald-edited comics, but I could have seen her growing into that. Good luck to her.

I'm sort of sad that I'm probably at a point in my life where I can't even think about applying for the job.

Posted by motteditor on 2008-05-16 17:44:18

Although being threatened with a crowbar doesn't necessarily seem like the best way to ensure long-term stints.

Posted by motteditor on 2008-05-16 17:45:35

Best wishes to Molly on all her future endeavors.

Posted by friskydingo on 2008-05-16 17:46:12

Molly published my first fan letter in Thunderbolts and even took up my quotation competition suggestion, as such i instantly took a liking to her. I wish her the best of luck in whatever she does next, and whatever she does after that and so on.

Posted by Omega Flyer on 2008-05-16 18:40:57

I hope the best for Molly as well.

Take care.

Posted by Aziroth on 2008-05-16 19:59:58

where's she going?

Awww. I liked Molly's books. Where is going? Another company or leavingf the industry entirely?

Posted by bomaya on 2008-05-17 05:51:56

FBI probably.

Posted by notapotatoe on 2008-05-17 09:53:26

It was very good to work with Molly, always gentle, kind and professional.

I wish her all the happiness in her new road.

Posted by mikedeodato on 2008-05-17 11:11:32

Wow, you guys must have a lot of work. I guess it makes sense since it's stuff that gets out monthly (and even WEEKLY nowadays). Since we only do our stuff in book format there don't seem to be any assistant ediotrs--only editors and the two editors in chief. I deal directly with my editors week in/week out. The lettering deadlines are weekly. Usually it's two chapters (60 pages) per week, but if once we get closer to the Japanese release schedule of a series, it slows down to one chapter per week. Sometimes I do two books simultaneously, so it's like erasing Japanese text, lettering, and touching up artwork for 120 pages each week. Comics are tough. People from other parts of the publishing industry don't seem to understand it and think that working on comics or manga is not the equivalent of having experience working on publishing novels or printing magazines when in fact the workload and technical troubleshooting is more intense.

Posted by underscore on 2008-05-17 11:13:19

Alas, poor Molly. I've quite liked many of the titles she was on, and she seemed very charismatic in those Thunderbolts character breakdowns she did for Newsarama. Hope she has a blast at wherever her new career is...

Posted by The Gecko on 2008-05-17 12:04:06

Thank you Molly for everything you did for Marvel and for us readers. Especially during the last Editor Simulation.

The best of luck for your future endeavours.

Posted by Michael Heide on 2008-05-17 20:18:38

Its a shame, for experience, i know its hard to say good bye to someone you apreciated in the work place.
Best of luck Molly.

Posted by NaviVL on 2008-05-23 12:25:00

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About this blog:
Ramblings and musings from the mind of Tom Brevoort. "It won’t be clean. It won’t be fun. It mostly won’t be coherent."

About the author:
Tom Brevoort is Executive Editor for Marvel Comics, and oversees such titles as New Avengers, Civil War, and Fantastic Four.


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