[Groop] Jim Shooter - EPIC Interference

[Steve Hubbell]

The Comics Journal #128 (April 1989) 
Sergio Aragones Interview by Kim Thompson (page 78)

 
ARAGONES: And every time I talked to that tall fellow at Marvel, he also say it was impossible. And I didn't have any contacts at Marvel, so there was no way they were going to do it. They later changed their mind, but at that time, there was no way. I never talked to anybody about Groo, because I didn't want anyone stealing the idea; so I was selling "a comic book" which I had in mind. And they were't able to even talk on a theroretical basis - nothing! They wanted nothing to do wih it.


 
 
I think I will continue to believe the version of events as recorded by Sergio, at the time the events were transpiring,rather than a self-serving ego-feeding blog post written almost thirty years later. 
 
 
Jim Shooter (self-described as "Writer. Creator. Large mammal.")  
Newest project: How to rewriting history in your own head.....

http://www.jimshooter.com/2011/07/epic-interfereence.html
 
 
A Little Back Story

Sergio Aragonés came to visit me one day to pitch an idea for a humorous comic book starring a funny, cheese-dip-loving barbarian character.  Just one thing—he said he knew that Marvel had to “own everything,” but he wanted to retain some small interest in the character.  He knew Marvel had to own and control it, but he would like—he held his thumb and forefinger an inch apart—a  little piece.

I told Sergio we could do better than that.  No reason he couldn’t own it lock, stock and cheese dip.  Marvel would be perfectly willing to publish his comic book series under a normal, real world publishing agreement, that is, specified rights, all negotiable, for a specified term.

He didn’t believe me.  I introduced him to Publisher Mike Hobson.  Mike assured him that I was empowered to make such a deal.  We were willing to draw up a deal memo on the spot that Sergio could take to his legal advisors.  Sergio said he had no time right then because he had an appointment somewhere else, after which he was going back to the Coast, but he’d be back in New York in two weeks.

A couple of weeks later, however, Pacific Comics announced that it was publishing a new comics series by Sergio Aragonés called Groo.

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No Interference, But Righteous Wrath 

Sometime before the Elektra drama, Sergio parted company with Pacific Comics, I believe because they were in the midst of the financial turmoil that led to the company’s collapse.  Sergio turned up on EPIC Comics doorstep, and was welcomed in.  We began publishing Groo the Wanderer.

(NOTE:  I never checked EPIC publications before they went to the separators.  Never felt I had to, with Archie at the helm.  The first time I read most EPIC books was when the printed copies came in.)

As I recall, the first page of the first EPIC Comics issue of Groo featured a cartoon of Sergio at his drawing board, speaking directly to the readers.  I don’t have a copy, so I’m doing this from memory, but Sergio was explaining that he had taken Groo elsewhere at first because Marvel wouldn’t let him keep the rights to his creation, but now that Marvel had finally seen the light, he was happy to work with EPIC.

WHAT?

I was furious.  It was probably the only time I ever spoke harsh words to Archie.  How could he allow that?  It was NOT TRUE, and in our OWN PUBLICATION we were giving credence to a LIE.

After I calmed down, I realized that Archie probably didn’t know about my meeting with Sergio years earlier.  Not his fault.  Sorry Archie.   

Sometime later, I ran into Sergio at a convention in Victoria, British Columbia. 

Sergio and I had always been friendly.  We, and other folks, occasionally got together for food or a beverage or three at cons or after work.  He regaled us with his stories.  He listened to ours.  We got along.  He even came to play volleyball with us in Central Park after work a few times when he was in town.  Sergio and I always had a great deal of mutual respect.  Still do.

But I was very unhappy about the Groo intro page and told him so.  He wouldn’t give me straight answers.  He waffled around about it.

That told me it was probably the doing of his co-writer/assistant/whatever, Mark Evanier, either out of ignorance or spite.

Anyway….

Other than that, everything EPIC was pretty groovy.

 
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