No one "makes" the talent take on an assignment. Comics are a ghetto, not a gulag!

Some comic book artists are just slow. It's not fair to ask them to be faster (or bag on them for not being faster), and it's not fair for them to take on work that they can't deliver within the deadlines, but until this problem is seriously addressed by publishers, there will be no resolution.

Maybe they should not be "comic book" artists, then.  Maybe those who run a company that produces monthly comics should hire people who produce monthly work.

Maybe the big wigs at the top of the corporate ladder should look down and ask what the hell is going on down there.

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What you're saying illustrates my point perfectly.

Questions need to be asked:

Who is our target audience?

Why are we still publishing monthly comics if we're going to collect them in trade?

How much profits do the monthlies generate compared to the trades?

"The 2008 X-MEN - MILK IT!! trade paperback will be shipping in March 2021…"

Karl, I think diversification is the key.  There is a market place for certain projects outside the monthly schedule, but with so many options, I think a few books like Superman, Batman, and the Amazing Spider-Man should come out like clock work and should probably feature self-contained stories.  Longer arcs and writing for the trade should occur in other titles, the titles that were created to carry such stories.

I sure hope you're not suggesting the companies switch to Trades instead of Monthlies. Ye gods! These unprofessional assholes can't produce 22 pages on time. How would they fare with 100 or more??

Chief, I agree.  This is such a bad idea, but this is where M***** seems to be heading.  Before long, the monthly "chapter" will be released digitally and the only thing printed will be trades... available at a Border's near you, Sadboys, because comics aren't for kids anymore.

This is how literacy dies, with thunderous applause.

Bastards...

And then we'll all sit back and watch the revenues plunge, as potential new readers look at a $15 price tag and decide that's way too much to spend to find out if they like something. Especially if it will likely be 3 years before the next one comes out.

A great alternate title for this thread could be. Why some artist can not conduct themselves with some sense of professionalism. After all isn't what that all boils down to ? No other excuse for habitual lateness can be excepted. Death in the family, weddings etc they are certainly not the normal everyday events in a single person's life. No it's these "growing roses" who refuse to take responsiblity for their actions. If you cannot meet your obligations because you were up all night playing the PS3, Well the answer is don't stay up all night. Or at the least be responsible enough to say hey this is beyond my means at this time. When i had begun having to make a living off my art i learned that important lesson. Be accountable for myself or else the next pay check might not come in. For awhile not things in my life have made it too difficult for me to maintain the concentration i needed to meet obligations. So out of respect for those who were depended upon me doing my job. I finished what i had bee obligated to do and informed them that i couldn't at the present time in any good faith take on more work. Not until a time when i could be responsible to them.

Now is that a crime? Wouldn't it be better for the comic industry if these growing roses did act responsible and say sorry i can't do this orat the least say hey can i do something that isn't monthly This is what i'm capable of doing in a responsible manner.

During my own short career as it has been thus far. I've handled deadlines by setting  early dates for myself to ensure the work was done with enough time to fix errors or for last minute changes. 

a comparaison:

When the pencil were released by the editor of the book at the occasion of an interview, he used it as a teaser and said something like "The exiles are up for stormy weather". 9 readers out of 10, including me interpreted this as the woman on the page being Ororo coming out of the shadows. Of course the editor was playing with the fact that a large part of fandom consider that Storm is one of Claremont's "pet characters". But the fact that it is possible to believe that the woman on the page is Ororo says a lot about how much this page relies on color. 

And then we'll all sit back and watch the revenues plunge, as potential new readers look at a $15 price tag and decide that's way too much to spend to find out if they like something. Especially if it will likely be 3 years before the next one comes out.

I agree, JB.

I do not understand why the big two do not have both an exemplary new comic department and an outstanding reprint department.  You may think they do, but they don't.  Quality new comics should be produced for the monthly comic book market (instaed of letting it die) and the good stuff, the really good stuff, should be collected in trade.

Many of you know that I am switching to tardes exclusively, because the big two have basically told me to switch.  They write for the trade, they ship for the trade, and they collect nearly everything.  How the hell do you put yourself out of business?  How the hell does warners not see that this is not a good thing?

I love the Justice League.  Why not produce new monthly Justice League comics and new Juctice League trades that collect the best of the earlier series?  Give me two things to buy, not two versions of the same thing.  Why should I buy the new JLA series when I already know they are collecting it, especially when they are not even concerned with the monthly schedule of the comic?  Stupid.

Look at the FF.  New movie coming out, right?  There should be new comics and new trades, and they shouldn't be the same thing.