John Rozum no longer on Static Shock
Writer John Rozum, who was serving as co-writer of Static Shock along with Scott McDaniel, announced via his blog that he would no longer be working on the book. Rozum has the displeasure of being the first creative team member of any of DC’s New 52 to cut out early, sure to cause unwarranted controversy. However, he attempted to preempt the uprising through his blog statements, saying:
‘My decision to leave was of my own choice. I was not fired.
“My decision to leave had nothing to do with the character of Static. I think Static is a great character with loads of potential, which I hope will get exploited. Given a lot of people’s suspicious feelings regarding the relationship between DC Comics and Milestone Media, I will also warn not to read into this that my decision was based on any decisions regarding the handling of the character by DC Comics. This is not true. I maintain a belief that the folks at DC also share a belief that Static has a lot of potential as part of the DCnU and that they would like the character to remain true to his origins, and established nature.
My decision had nothing to do with DC Comics. I’ve been very happy overall with my time at DC over the roughly 15 years that I’ve worked for them and I plan to continue working with them into the future. The feeling is mutual. I’m developing new material for them even as I write this. DC Comics is in no way responsible for my decision to leave Static Shock, and have been very supportive of this decision.”
Furthermore, DC Comics Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras made a brief statement on DC’s The Source blog, saying, “John Rozum called me today to tell me that he’s leaving Static Shock. DC Comics has had a great relationship with John for 15 years, and he and I had a great conversation about new ideas, new concepts and moving forward. We’re all excited to see what comes next.”
We recently talked with Rozum and McDaniel about their work on Static Shock, in which the writer seemed enthusiastic about the book and excited to be a part of the New 52. It’s assumed that McDaniel, who also serves as the artist of the series, will continue on as planned.
Before Static Shock, Rozum was writing Xombi for DC, another Milestone character, that was ultimately a casualty of the DC relaunch.
One Response to “John Rozum no longer on Static Shock”
Lord Shaper
A very similar statement issued today about JT Krul leaving Green Arrow……
I’m guessing these are “politically correct” press releases being issued when someone is let go from one of the new DC titles, kind of like when an executive leaves a company to “spend more time with their family”….