JL8 #5 - Creator Commentary
Added 2021-12-02 21:48:46 +0000 UTCJL8 #5 by Yale Stewart
Originally published on December 17th, 2011
First off, apologies for missing last week. I know it was Thanksgiving, but I could've prepped the post and had it queued up, but it completely slipped my mind.
Here we are at JL8 #5, which introduces us to J'onn. It feels like a pretty obvious choice--make the Martian member a Foreign Exchange Student--but it's one that I'm fairly proud of.
We're also introduced to Mr. Schwartz. For those unaware (and I imagine that's most people), Mr. Schwartz is Julius Schwartz, the longstanding Editor-in-Chief at DC Comics who largely guided the company through the Silver Age. He's the closest thing DC has to a Stan Lee-type, to make it a bit more easily understandable, though I don't think Schwartz had much of a hand if any in the actual creation of any characters or the like. Stan certainly took a little more credit than he probably deserved, but that's another discussion for another time.
Not only are we introduced to Mr. Schwartz, but we're introduced to the concept that in this world, many of the adults are creative forces behind the comics (like how Neil Gaiman runs the bookstore later in the story). It's not a super constant thing, but an idea I thought was somewhat fun. Unfortunately, when you base characters off real people, that can also invite their real actions into the mix, and I later learned that Schwartz was very much a man of his times--take that however you will--but in JL8 world, Mr. Schwartz is simply a kindly paternal figure who takes care of the kids.
I don't have much else to add this time, so I think I'll go ahead and leave it at that. Also, be sure to read the newest JL8 installment that was posted yesterday: #270 Chapter Two! I hope you like it!
Until next time, take care!
-Yale
