Sometimes your boss is wrong. Yup, as amazing as it sounds, Dan DiDio, architect of today's DC Universe, the man who gets up in front of a million fans at conventions across the globe, my boss, was wrong.
Here's the back story: I had asked artist extraordinaire Adam Hughes to do the illustration for a new poster, one that would showcase DC's rather formidable female heroes. Although Adam is a super talent and can draw pretty much anything, he's known as the King of Curves, the Sultan of Sex, the Guru of Gals. Simply put, he draws the best darn women in comics history. The poster was to show DC's top ten Superheroines dressed not in their familiar spandex costumes, but rather in white evening gowns. "The REAL Power of the DC Universe." Good, classy concept for a poster, huh?
I e-mail Adam the list of gals Dan wants on the poster and he immediately calls me on the phone. The list spotlights our top female characters, especially those that have new books coming out soon or are featured in major upcoming DC storylines. Adam brings up an odd omission to the list: "Um, you forgot Catwoman." No, I say, Dan hadn't actually forgotten Selina; he just felt since her monthly series was ending in a few months, maybe we should give her a rest and let her sit this one out. Adam and I agreed that the seminal DC badgirl just HAD TO be included in the shot otherwise something, or someone, would so obviously be missing. I beg and plead and try to bribe Dan, but no, he doesn't feel the public wants to see her for a while.
Adam, who has drawn the last few years' worth of Catwoman covers, and who has cultivated a great affection for the character, mumbles and grumbles and tells me how silly and just plain wrong-minded we are. He says he'll draw the poster image, but he's doing so under protest.
Over the course of the next month, I try to get Dan to bend on his "no Catwoman" decision, but to no avail. He stands firm.
When Adam sends in the finished illustration, all ten gals have been lovingly rendered, making the poster image an absolute wonder to behold. But there in the corner stands an eleventh character, dressed in black, the defiant Selina Kyle. Adam included a note with the artwork saying that he just couldn't help himself, so he added Catwoman off to the side, just in case we changed our minds at the last minute. If not, she could be easily Photoshopped out of the image. At that exact moment, Dan walks into my office, looks at the artwork and says, "Wow, Adam did a great job. I'm glad he included Catwoman, because I was having second thoughts about her not being in the group."
It's never wise to strangle your boss, but it's OK to think about it from time to time.
