Friday, February 01, 2008

I Hate It When Editors Step On My Jokes

My most recent "Manga Friday" post is now up at ComicMix, and I should say up front that they have always had a very, very light hand on the editing.

(Perhaps that's why I see each edit as if it were a flashing red light right in front of my eyes -- or maybe I'm just impossible to please. Either could be true.)

I've been using the style Manga Fridays: Insert Joke Here for some time, but, last week, they changed that to make the subtitle "Manga Friday #13" and the jokey part the main headline. OK, fine, I thought -- numering a regular post does make sense, so I followed that format this week...for a post which, when edited and posted, has the title Manga Friday: Is That a Giant Sword in Your Pocket, Or...

No big deal. I try to follow the current style, but I can roll with changes. Not keeping track of the number will be easier, anyway.

But whoever edited it also flattened out a joke.

As I wrote it:

So, to sum up: He's a bloodthirsty doomed soul! He's a tight-ass minor demon! Together, they fight crime!

As posted:

So, to sum up: Tobei's a bloodthirsty doomed soul and Osa is a tight-ass minor demon. Together, they fight crime!

It may be a small thing, but 'tis mine own. And I do think that it both worked better my way and that the names aren't necessary.

And, luckily, I'm not an editor myself anymore, so now I can complain about editors all I want!

(I should also mention that post reviews the first volumes of the very boyish adventure series Togari, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Claymore, and Buso Renkin. I didn't love any of them, but they may be more to others' tastes.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

They edit so lightly that almost every article has something wrong. I am not volunteering to help. I have enough stuff to do.

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