Ensuring narrative consistency is a great challenge, particularly when there is a change of writers. In our opinion, it should be the publisher’s role to ensure a harmonious transition. But that is generally not what happens, and most often, getting a new author is seen as an opportunity to re-launch a title. This may lead publishers to agree to a change in direction that isn’t always elegant. Andrew Aardizzi was very critical about the work of Mark Waid on Daredevil. He claimed that the author was breaking away from recent events and going so far as to deny them (“Episode 12: I Object! (to Mark Waid’s ‘Daredevil’),” www.comicbookdaily.com, January 19, 2012).

TV offers a simple solution for this problem. It’s rare for a TV series to be written entirely by the same team of writers. A script editor has the job of making sure that the developments one writer creates will fit into the series’ overall storyline.

We are currently in the same situation. Due to lack of time, we have turned over the dialogue for some storylines to another writer. But we always check the work and do any tweaking necessary to ensure the consistency of our story.

Also, writing in a team is very stimulating. It creates opportunities for discussion that allow us to think more deeply about the characters.