Will Eisner - Michael Schumacher [120]
Taking the job with Kitchen Sink, he wrote in his history of the company, was “equal parts rewarding, frustrating, exciting, and boring.” His editing of Eisner and others, he continued, was the source of his greatest satisfaction.
It gave me the opportunity to do some real editing; that is, trying to facilitate their work. Acting as a sounding board, working out problems, debating story points—that was all stimulating. Comics still offers that type of atmosphere to editors. In the book publishing world, it’s all marketing; in comics, editors can still actually work with creators. And, if these editors aren’t too stupid or egotistical, they can perhaps make that work better.
Kitchen and Schreiner treated Eisner’s work very cautiously in the beginning. Eisner’s credentials had been established before either of them was born. They felt fortunate just to be working with him, and they were reluctant to be too forceful in stating their opinions about his new work. Eisner, however, felt differently. He wanted direction, not patronizing from fanboys or sycophants.
“When I was reprinting The Spirit, I remained very respectful,” Kitchen noted of his early working relationship with Eisner. “There was nothing to say about the stuff from that long ago, other than ‘Wow! This is really great!’ But right after A Contract with God, when I started publishing his graphic novels, he requested feedback. Will had a conversation with me on the phone one day. He said, ‘I expect honest editorial feedback. You’re not a good publisher if you aren’t completely honest with me. Look at the work objectively. Tell me if you think I’m wrong. I demand objective feedback.’ I remember turning to Dave after that conversation and saying, ‘Will doesn’t want us to pull our punches,’ and Dave said, ‘Good.’ It went better than ever at that point, because it was like the gloves were off. Dave was very good at what he did, and Will recognized that early on. Dave was an editor’s editor. It wasn’t about his own ego; it was about making the work better.”
“He often referred to the publishing operation as being no more than a conduit between the creator and the reader, and the work published during his tenure reflects that,” said graphic novelist Jim Vance (Kings in Disguise), who succeeded Schreiner as editor in chief at Kitchen Sink Press after the company moved to Massachusetts and Schreiner decided to stay in Wisconsin. “Dave was soft-spoken and had a wit so dry you could cut yourself on it. He was utterly blunt when it came to discussing your work. If he thought you were painting yourself into a corner, he’d let you know in no uncertain terms, but there was never the sense that you were being bullied or insulted. On the job, he was a no-nonsense guy who had to deal with his share of flakes and prima donnas, and he was apparently unflappable no matter what was presented to him.”
Not that Eisner went along with all—or even a majority—of Schreiner’s or Kitchen’s suggestions. According to Kitchen, Eisner would listen to his (or more often Schreiner’s) suggestions, consider them, and make a decision. Much of this work was done through the mail, with Schreiner handling the bulk of the correspondence from the Kitchen Sink end. The exchanges were almost always cordial, but they could get a little chippy if Eisner felt that Kitchen or Schreiner didn’t understand his position. Kitchen recalled one particular series of exchanges that occurred when he and Schreiner were pushing Eisner to expand an autobiographical vignette that eventually became The Dreamer, Eisner’s third graphic novel. Eisner was satisfied with it at story length, similar to the pieces he’d published in The Spirit Magazine and, later, Will Eisner’s Quarterly, but Kitchen and Schreiner, captivated by Eisner’s anecdotes from his earliest experiences in comics and believing that readers would respond in a similar way, asked for more. Eisner wasn’t eager to comply. “He did it with great resistance,” Kitchen allowed. “We got that one expanded from