Who's Hardest to Edit?

Category: Who's Editing?
Last article published: 1 August 2023
This is the 27th post under this label

Nearing the end of the original goal for the Who's Editing? podcast, in which my guest and I design a line of comics based on the heroes featured in a single issue of Who's Who, one tends to reflect on the project. I say the end, but of course the show may return occasionally, if I decide to cover other iterations of Who's Who, or even encyclopedia comics covering other universes.

One of the things I asked each guest (and myself) is which character was the hardest to pin down. Who was it the most difficult to find an angle for? I kept records, and thought it might be interesting to reveal the results at the end (so I will update this article with the two episodes still to come). Here's what's what in Who's Who's Hardest:

Vol. I - Abel to Auron
Siskoid: Atom II
Guest (Ryan Daly): Auron

Vol. II - Automan to Blackhawks
Siskoid: Beautiful Dreamer
Guest (Chris Franklin): Automan

Vol. III - Black Lightning to Byth
Siskoid: Broot
Guest (The Irredeemable Shag): Broot

Vol. IV - Cadre to Chris KL-99
Siskoid: Celsius
Guest (Max Traver): Chris KL-99

Vol. V - Chronos to Cyclotron
Siskoid: Congo Bill
Guest (Ryan Blake): Colossal Boy

Vol. VI - Daily Planet to Doctor Polaris
Siskoid: Dr. Fate
Guest (Dr. Anj): Dial "H" for Hero

Vol. VII - Dr. Psycho to Fastback
Siskoid: Elu
Guest (Paul Hix): Elu

Vol. VIII - Fatal Five to Garguax
Siskoid: Flash II
Guest (Diabolu Frank): Fury

Vol. IX - Garn Daanuth to Guardians of the Universe
Siskoid: Green Lantern II
Guest (Gene Hendricks): Grim Ghost

Vol. X - Gunner & Sarge to Hyena
Siskoid: Hawk Son of Tomahawk
Guest (Tim Price): Hawkman II

Vol. XI - Icicle to Jonni Thunder
Siskoid: Jemm Son of Saturn
Guest (David Gallaher): Infinity Man

Vol. XII - Jonny Double to Kong
Siskoid: Knights of the Galaxy
Guest (Martin Gray): Judomaster

Vol. XIII - Krona to Losers
Siskoid: Little Cheese
Guest (Russell Burbage): Looker

Vol. XIV - Luthor I to Masters of Disaster
Siskoid: Mal
Guest (Diabolu Frank): Mark Moonrider

Vol. XV - Matrix-Prime to Mister Tawky-Tawny
Siskoid: Metron
Guest (The Irredeemable Shag): Mercenaries

Vol. XVI - Mr. Terrific to Nightmaster
Siskoid: Nemesis
Guest (Steve Givens): Mother Box

Vol. XVII - Nightshade to Persuader
Siskoid: Nimbus
Guest (Paul Kien): Orion

Vol. XVIII - Phantom Girl to Pursuer
Siskoid: Phantom Lady
Guest (Max Romero): Privateer

Vol. XIX - Puzzler to Roy Raymond
Siskoid: Roy Raymond TV Detective
Guest (Shawn Myers): Roy Raymond TV Detective

Vol. XX - Rubberduck to Shining Knight
Siskoid: Shade the Changing Man
Guests (Gareth Madeley and Paul Cornish): Sandman II

Vol. XXI - Shrinking Violet to Starfinger
Siskoid: Son of Vulcan
Guest (Brent Brickhill): Stalker

Vol. XXII - Starfire I to Syonide
Siskoid: Starman II
Guest (Micheal Bailey): Super-Chief

Vol. XXIII - Syrene to Time Trapper
Siskoid: Tigorr
Guest (Bass Levesque): Tempest II

Vol. XXIV - Tim Trench to Universo
Siskoid: Tsunami
Guest (Notes film historian Rob Kelly): Tyroc

Vol.XXV - Unknown Soldier to Witch Boy
Siskoid: Wildfire
Guest (Ruth & Darrin Sutherland): Vykin the Black

Vol. XXVI - Wizard to Zyklon, Angel and the Ape to The 1000
Siskoid: The Yellow Peri
Guest (Ynza Morganstar): Captain Triumph

Make what you will of the raw data. Reasons depended a great deal on what ELSE had been hacked first (sometimes you block one idea for a character by using it on another, for example), the editor's own knowledge and interests, and yes, the character's own innate difficulties (as there must be a reason why some of these characters are underused or misused generally). I evidently had the most trouble with Omega Men (for whom I have no interest), while a lot of guests had difficulty cracking Kirby creations. But in each case, we DID find something, and sometimes those ideas turned out to be the other podcaster's favorite in the line.

I think that's in line with the great theme of the show: No character is unsalvageable, or at least no I.P. is. You just need to put the right person on it!