Anonymous
asked:
Hi Tom! I was wondering, as an editor, do you have the last word in what characters to put in a title, or what to do with them? I mean, if a writer wants a certain character to shine in a story, or be paired up with someone else, but that's a character that yourself don't like, do you have the last word in this to say no, or is the writer totally free to do something that you, personally, don't agree with?

As the editor, I have the last word, provided that somebody above me in the chain-of-command doesn’t disagree.

But that said, every creator always has the last word as well–they can tell the story and work with you, or they can walk. That’s an extreme position, to be sure, but that’s always the ultimate choice that any creator has.

And we’re not in the habit of changing around stories willy-nilly. The creators create the stories, that’s what they’re there for. If I had a problem with a certain character being included, for whatever reason, that would regularly be articulated well before the story got to a point where it was being written and drawn.

It’s never us-vs-them, it’s everybody working together and pulling in teh same general direction to make the books the best they can be.