Why in the name of Perry White would I want that job? I've known a number of people who were publisher of DC and it's hard…and not completely in a creative way. It's very corporate, very entrenched in the business side of things. There are folks who enjoy that kind of work but I never have. I don't even like having the power to hire and fire anyone. The last time I had to get rid of my gardener, I had a stomach ache for three days.
Yeah, it probably pays well…but you're being paid a lot for the stress and the long hours and for making decisions that affect human lives. I like to sit home and write all day and all night. There wouldn't be a whole lotta time to do that as publisher of DC. Besides, while I think I know a lot about how a comic book company works, there's a helluva lot I don't know. And what I do know includes the fact that the business is constantly changing and that the right course of action this month may be the worst possible one next month.
I'm thinking now of a couple of times when I've given a suggestion to whoever was then publisher of DC. Once in a while, they act upon them but more often, they tell me politely why it wouldn't work…and the reason is something I never would have imagined. It's within the realm of the stuff I don't know about…and you really can't from outside. Almost anything can seem like a good idea if you don't have to apply total reality to it.
True, there are lots of people in this world who get jobs for which they are not qualified. That doesn't mean I have to be one of them.
I'm starting to think that when they call in the next day or two to offer me the job, I just might turn it down. Or maybe I'll take it, change the look of Aquaman back so he looks like Aquaman, and then quit. See? I haven't even started functioning as a senior executive yet and I'm already having trouble making decisions.