Pat Lee Interviewed on Dreamwave Bankruptcy
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 1:59AM CST
Category: Comic Book NewsPosted by: Blurrz Views: 53,974
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Rich Johnston: Pat, Simon Furman, the man who wrote Transformers, tells me that a month before the bankruptcy announcements, you were enthusiastic with him, even though he hadn’t been paid, assuring him that everything was rosy and asking him for more work. That was a conversation between you and him, not anyone else. And other creators agree with this assessment that you, personally, were assuring freelance creators that everything was fine, despite late payments, without any indication of tough times. The accusation is not that you weren’t talking to creators, but that you were lying to them.
Pat Lee: I am unable to account for everyone but as far as I know, most creators at Dreamwave were aware that we were going through financial difficulties. We didn’t announce it, but people were not being paid in full, and it was pretty obvious. When things got really tough, I tried to keep the team and myself motivated and push on with production. I had a wonderful experience creating and working with Simon, and I think we had a good relationship.. I did my best to let the creative team know what was going on, but everyone is entitled to his or her opinion on what transpired. I respect that.
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Posted by fenrir72 on December 21st, 2010 @ 2:28am CST
Posted by Optimutt on December 21st, 2010 @ 2:42am CST
Posted by Burn on December 21st, 2010 @ 3:27am CST
I've never liked the bloke since the Dreamwave collapse, i've never been a fan of his artwork, and I truly didn't think I could think any less of him, until I read that.
I get the "allegations" of money siphoning, he's attempted to explain that many times, never really believed a word of it.
But to claim credit for that Silver Snail variant cover and not know who really drew ... what sort of bloody idiot was he and why the hell was he running a company when he couldn't keep track of who was doing what?
Sorry, but that's just sheer stupidity! It's a comic book company, when he set it up one of the first documented procedures should have been on how to ensure the correct artist is given credit!
Pathetic, absoloutely pathetic!
Posted by fenrir72 on December 21st, 2010 @ 4:08am CST
Posted by The Legend on December 21st, 2010 @ 6:01am CST
Posted by Heavy B on December 21st, 2010 @ 6:19am CST
Posted by Darth Bombshell on December 21st, 2010 @ 7:15am CST
Posted by morphobots on December 21st, 2010 @ 8:18am CST
Posted by T-Macksimus on December 21st, 2010 @ 8:42am CST
Posted by Black Bumblebee on December 21st, 2010 @ 10:01am CST
The man claimed responsibility for other people's work. That's being a dick.
The man refused to pay his best and brightest artists and writers. That's being a dick.
The man siphoned money off his company to another company to protect his money, rather than pay off the people he worked with, on a day to day basis. That's being a dick.
The man looked people in the eye and said "don't worry." Because of this, many lost MONTHS worth of work and payment. That's being a dick.
The man flaunted his Porsche around after the company went bankrupt. His "friends" were out tens of thousands of dollars, but he, personally, was fine. That's being a dick.
The man has screwed over so many people, that he can't even remember the names of the people he screwed over (duh... I dunno who drew that piece of art I claimed was mine... duh...). That's being a dick.
The man fired people when they began to get upset over not being paid. That's being a dick.
I may not have ever owned my own business, but I know ETHICS. The man (I won't even use his name) has no ethics. He isn't sorry. He has no plans to pay back what he owes (duh... I paid Alex Milne, really... duh...). He is not repentant. If given a chance, he will do the same thing again.
Do not support him. Ever. Not one dime.
Posted by Dead Metal on December 21st, 2010 @ 10:04am CST
morphobots wrote:I recall a Dreamwave art contest for Transformers in which a requirement was you had to draw "in the Dreamwave style." Nine times out of ten that meant Lee's blocky, bulky way. After reading this I can't help but wonder if that was a tactic to draw in another sucker whose work Lee could again claim was his. Also, could this have something to do with Don's announcement at the beginning of the current TF ongoing series that he never liked drawing TF's with the G1 style? IMO, there's no way Lee could truly lay claim to Don's artwork because D was simply that much better. However, if the boss tells you to work the way HE wants you to work . . . sort of leaves the door open for taking the credit as happens everywhere with managers and underlings. And if he had the brass to claim Milne's work was his, why not Don's as well?
No Don had that art style before he joined Dreamwave, in fact it was due to his art that he was hired in the first place and I believe it was also as a way of saying "Hey you guys! If you're good at drawing we're totally going to give you a job as a TF artist!"
The reason Don decided to do a different art-style for the Ongoing was simply because he felt like he must evolve as an artist and wanted to further develop himself and his work. And not because he hated the G1 style.
Also Don was the most beloved TF artist at the time with a huge fandom who recognized his style, making it impossible for anyone taking credit for it.
T-Macksimus wrote:Wow, interesting reactions from the peanut gallery. It's pretty obvious that the majority of you folks have never owned and operated your own business and that you also seem to have blinders on and got only what you wanted to read out of that interview. Yeah, the guy screwed up but he wasn't alone in it. He was the public face that took the heat for it all but it was a team effort that drove the company into the ground, not just 1 man. Aww, screw it... it's a waste of time trying to explain it to you people. Like I said, you all see only what you want to, not all of what's really there.
You obviously need to read up on Pat Lee.
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Pat_Lee
While there is quite a bit of snark in the article it does give you a background on what you're missing here.
Posted by kuhlio on December 21st, 2010 @ 10:23am CST
Posted by Joetx on December 21st, 2010 @ 10:33am CST
Now that I have, it looks like the allegations have a lot of merit, especially when he outright avoided answering MANY of the questions posed to him.
It's a shame Dreamwave was run by such an incompetent & deceitful guy. Being in your 20s is no excuse for the latter.
It's sad not only for the employees who didn't get paid, but for the fans since I much preferred DW's TF comics over IDW's.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on December 21st, 2010 @ 11:13am CST
Posted by JazZeke on December 21st, 2010 @ 12:43pm CST
fenrir72 wrote:Good or bad, DW really did put TF back into the map back in the early 2000.
No, they didn't. The 80's nostalgia fad can be credited for that. HASBRO decided to capitalize on that and bring Transformers back into comics form, and Dreamwave won the license. Lee was in no way responsible for the idea of new Transformers comics.
But, well without it, we wouldn't have been introduced to the pencilling wizardry of DonFig,Guido Guidi and the rest of the gang
Granted, but that is the only thing he did right.
Posted by Burn on December 21st, 2010 @ 1:25pm CST
T-Macksimus wrote:Wow, interesting reactions from the peanut gallery. It's pretty obvious that the majority of you folks have never owned and operated your own business and that you also seem to have blinders on and got only what you wanted to read out of that interview. Yeah, the guy screwed up but he wasn't alone in it. He was the public face that took the heat for it all but it was a team effort that drove the company into the ground, not just 1 man. Aww, screw it... it's a waste of time trying to explain it to you people. Like I said, you all see only what you want to, not all of what's really there.
I spent over a decade working for an Accountant helping people manage their business and taxation affairs, i'm not the Financial Controller for a local engineering firm employing 25 people with a turnover of nearly $5 million. So I think I know how a business is run.
Yes, he screwed up. But come on, read that article closely. The guy avoids certain questions. He even admits to getting others to do artwork for him for which he then claimed the credit.
That alone is deplorable. Taking credit for another artists work. So please, explain to me how he did nothing wrong there. Because my blinders are off and I can see clearly how much of a thief he is, because he admits it himself.
Posted by RK_Striker_JK_5 on December 21st, 2010 @ 4:37pm CST
Dr. Heavy B wrote:this is incredible. my computer suddenly smells like bull sh*t. anyone eles getting this?
I thought that was just me...
Good lord, what a piece of shit he is. And I like(d) DW's plot and direction too, back in the day.
Posted by JazZeke on December 21st, 2010 @ 5:32pm CST
RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Dr. Heavy B wrote:this is incredible. my computer suddenly smells like bull sh*t. anyone eles getting this?
I thought that was just me...
Good lord, what a piece of shit he is. And I like(d) DW's plot and direction too, back in the day.
I still do. Just because Pat Lee is an ass, doesn't detract from the (unpaid) work done by others in the company before it went kaput.
Posted by RK_Striker_JK_5 on December 21st, 2010 @ 6:52pm CST
JazZeke wrote:RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Dr. Heavy B wrote:this is incredible. my computer suddenly smells like bull sh*t. anyone eles getting this?
I thought that was just me...
Good lord, what a piece of shit he is. And I like(d) DW's plot and direction too, back in the day.
I still do. Just because Pat Lee is an ass, doesn't detract from the (unpaid) work done by others in the company before it went kaput.
Good point. They still deserve something for their work/time.
Posted by fenrir72 on December 21st, 2010 @ 9:57pm CST
This does notlet Pat Lee off the hook though........he is and will always be a creep to put it lightly.
P.S. I remember a few years back when George Perez did rough pencils for his War of the Gods before full pencils by another artist. It was a female artist who did the finished pencils who was acknowledged properly. Pat should have at least done something to that effect and not take all the credit himself.
Posted by JazZeke on December 21st, 2010 @ 10:06pm CST
fenrir72 wrote:@JazZeke, let me be clear, let's give credit where credit is due. No matter what fan nostalgia there was available, if the comic sucked...........well it will continue to suck. DW presentation was kick @ss for it's time. The computer effects reminded me of an anime on paper, heck, it even rivaled the 1986 Movie at one point. And show cased a lot of talents from the fan base.
Except that "Prime Directive" did suck. If you look back you'll find mostly negative reviews once the "holy crap TRANSFORMERS ARE BACK IN COMICS!" rush had dissipated. As soon as the 80s nostalgia fad passed, sales plummeted so badly they couldn't keep up.
Posted by Shadowman on December 21st, 2010 @ 11:41pm CST
I had a wonderful experience creating and working with Simon, and I think we had a good relationship..
When asked if Pat Lee would ever be allowed to work at IDW, Simon Furman responded "Over my dead body."
T-Macksimus wrote:Wow, interesting reactions from the peanut gallery. It's pretty obvious that the majority of you folks have never owned and operated your own business and that you also seem to have blinders on and got only what you wanted to read out of that interview. Yeah, the guy screwed up but he wasn't alone in it. He was the public face that took the heat for it all but it was a team effort that drove the company into the ground, not just 1 man. Aww, screw it... it's a waste of time trying to explain it to you people. Like I said, you all see only what you want to, not all of what's really there.
So what you're saying is it's totally cool to not pay your employees, lie to them about it, then steal credit for the work they did? Then basically bankrupt your own company by stretching your employees thin and buying expensive luxuries for yourself? Then when your company is about to go down, transfer all of that over to another company you own with your brother so you don't have to lose it? Then publicly say "Everyone's totally cool with it" and drive off in a Porsche while your former employees sit penniless and still royally pissed at you?
"Team effort"? No. He was the boss, it was HIS responsibility to make sure everything worked, that everyone got paid, everyone got credited properly, that the money was spent responsibly. And he failed that.
At the time, Dreamwave seemed like a really good idea. Hey, Transformers are back in comics! And hey, War Within is pretty cool, this Fallen guy is pretty awesome! Then we began noticing problems with the art, and we began hearing about all of that dirty crap he pulled.
Posted by morphobots on December 22nd, 2010 @ 12:16am CST
RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:JazZeke wrote:RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Dr. Heavy B wrote:this is incredible. my computer suddenly smells like bull sh*t. anyone eles getting this?
I thought that was just me...
Good lord, what a piece of shit he is. And I like(d) DW's plot and direction too, back in the day.
I still do. Just because Pat Lee is an ass, doesn't detract from the (unpaid) work done by others in the company before it went kaput.
Good point. They still deserve something for their work/time.
At least they were trying to pump some action into stories instead of having Prime sit on his can in jail for 12 issues. In the short time DW was publishing Shockwave took over Cybertron, Grimlock got half of his face blown off, Superion actually died (!), Omega Supreme and Sunstorm nearly burned down Alaska by themselves, and Jetfire wasn't some wimp nerd who literally got his wings clipped by Vortex. Yes, I am bitter about that last one.
Posted by fenrir72 on December 22nd, 2010 @ 2:31am CST
And yeah,I agree nearly 90% of the story were all fan wank from the G1 cartoon.