Post by shaxper on Mar 12, 2017 15:07:58 GMT -5
One of the consequences of comic book creators finally being allowed to earn royalties in the '80s and beyond was a string of characters being thrown at the reader in an effort by their creators to get a fat royalty check on the off-chance the character caught on. As a result, it often seemed like new costumed heroes and villains were debuting every week and (worse yet), on the rare occasion that one of these characters was actually worthwhile, there was little chance you'd ever see them again once their creator was off the book because DC and Marvel didn't want to pay any more royalties than they had to.
So two part question: what were some of the worst of these Royalty Check Characters, and also which were the good ones that probably would have gotten more use if they didn't have royalty rights attached to them?
Off the top of my own head, I'd say one of the worst I recall was Bruce Jones' Cheyenne Freemont from Nightwing (circa 2005):
Essentially a woman who, while Dick Grayson is dating her, conveniently develops superpowers and immediately gets in a Nightwing costume to fight alongside him. The whole thing felt insultingly forced, Freemont offering no characterization that in any way made her feel like a carefully considered concept.
And one of my all-time favorites who just doesn't get enough use is Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle's Cornelius Stirk from Detective Comics (circa 1988):
At a time in which readers were craving more street-level Batman stories, Grant and Breyfogle (and maybe John Wagner?) gave us a street-level arch villain who was deranged, spooky, and had the most memorable, authentic-feeling speaking style. He was an amazing creation that I wish I could see used more often.
How about you?
So two part question: what were some of the worst of these Royalty Check Characters, and also which were the good ones that probably would have gotten more use if they didn't have royalty rights attached to them?
Off the top of my own head, I'd say one of the worst I recall was Bruce Jones' Cheyenne Freemont from Nightwing (circa 2005):
Essentially a woman who, while Dick Grayson is dating her, conveniently develops superpowers and immediately gets in a Nightwing costume to fight alongside him. The whole thing felt insultingly forced, Freemont offering no characterization that in any way made her feel like a carefully considered concept.
And one of my all-time favorites who just doesn't get enough use is Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle's Cornelius Stirk from Detective Comics (circa 1988):
At a time in which readers were craving more street-level Batman stories, Grant and Breyfogle (and maybe John Wagner?) gave us a street-level arch villain who was deranged, spooky, and had the most memorable, authentic-feeling speaking style. He was an amazing creation that I wish I could see used more often.
How about you?