I HAD A FEW THOUSAND WORDS
Hello all! Greetings from Port Huron.
Hope you’re well. This comes late because I scrapped my original post. I got a little controversial.
Alright, so onto things I am willing to talk about…
‘FLY BY NIGHT PUBLISHERS’
This is by now old news, but I had a couple thoughts worth sharing (maybe). Scout Comics was withholding payment from some creators. Those creators went public with that. Then Scout said it was restructuring or some such, and announced some partners it was bringing in to right the ship… or whatever. As you can tell, I don’t care about the details. I would prefer to talk about publishers going under and what it means for YOU. This is a topic I’ve addressed before, as publishers tend to go outta business, so longtime readers should feel free to skip ahead.
Every time a publisher goes under, creators freak. They wanna know what will happen to their intellectual property that is invariably tied up with that now defunct entity. They all believe their creations are worth billions and they can’t risk having them sucked into a dark netherworld / holding company.
But I just wanna remind you all, that ideas are cheap and even when well-executed what we do is almost as inexpensive. I don’t say that to denigrate your work or my own. I just need you to understand that A) there is no justice in this world, and B) it’s time to move on to new creations.
Matt Wagner fought for Grendel, and it paid off. Creators X, Y, and Z fought for Bum Idea, Spent Project, and Who Cares and got nothing. Who are you? Are you Matt Wagner? I know you are not. I’ve read your work. Let it go. Publisher burned down with your babies inside. Hurts. I get it. But nobody is kissing that booboo. Let it go for your own mental health.
I did two series at Aftershock. I am proud of both. I am grateful they lemme get those off. Aftershock went under. I took a risk with a publisher that co-owns my creation, and this is how that inevitably goes. Was it worth it? Of course. I love my creative life in the present moment. Image and Black Mask are great. My Aftershock books weren’t wasted. They were steps on a ladder that brought me here. Time well spent.
And if I never get those properties back, hell, man, I won’t lose an ounce of sleep. I’ll do another 50 titles before they retire me. MOST will be lost to time and the market. Do you know how few books have a life beyond the initial printing? It’s a vanishing number. So small I can’t see it.
And, yeah, I know most of you aren’t concerned about keeping your books in print. It’s about the IP. You want someone pitching your books to Hollywood and the publisher having a % of your property locked up is a complete roadblock. But, please, just believe me- the stress you put on yourself tryna get your book back isn’t worth the <$10k you’ll ever make on TV options.
Let it go.
THOSE NIPPLES AIN’T PROPER
Andrea Sorrentino was accused of using AI in a recent BATMAN book. You can follow the thread here. Draw your own conclusions. I’m no expert. I don’t believe Sorrentino has made a statement yet. Perhaps he won’t.
I don’t think he’ll need to, if I’m being honest. There’s a tip to every spear. And we’re seeing AI make its first puncture wound.
In 2021 every band needed money. Covid had kept everyone off tour, but the tide was turning. Everyone knew touring would resume soon, but was afraid to step out and take the Twitter beating that would obviously come from being the first back. “Grandma killer” and such.
But in April of that year, a show was announced. And it took that beating. People from every corner of the internet jumped out to say this was the most irresponsible thing that ever happened, was a guaranteed super-spreader event, and would push us back by years.
And then, a couple weeks later, a bigger band announced they were doing a tour and everyone was ok with it. Because the sacrificial lamb had been slaughtered. The moment had passed.
Guilty or not, Sorrentino will be the lamb. And someone else will us AI more blatantly in the near-future and will receive 1/10 the backlash. And then the next guy will do it and receive 1/100 the ill-will. And then… normal.
Greg Land has put other artists in a puke-state for at least a decade. But he works every month of his life. What he does is normal now, even if it causes some to hold their nose.
I am quite certain a corporate publisher has printed an AI cover. I can’t prove it. And, again, I’m no expert. It could just be the worst use of Blender or another modeling tool ever put to paper. But I strongly suspect it was pure AI. And I wouldn’t have the faintest idea who to blame. If an editor challenges the artist “is this AI?” there’s no way to win unless you ask for the file history of the image. An artist could deny ‘til they die.
We’re gonna see a lot of this moving forward. Accusations, credible and fabricated, will be leveled against creators. Until it no longer matters.
You can see this in the minority of responses to the Sorrentino allegations. “I don’t care if it’s AI, I loved the book.” That’s the reader who will dictate the future. Feel sad, if you want. But confront reality. We lowered the quality of comics and the expectations are on the floor. Robots can do it.
X-MEN SLATE
I’ll break ranks a bit here and just come clean. The Krakoa era of the X-Men wasn’t good. It was interesting for a moment, but never good. Respectfully. Hickman does good work elsewhere, but this just was not it. I get the thirst for something new. And I get that there were angles on this that satisfied some readers (at least for a time). But, c’mon, son. The infographs became a meme. The provocative aspects didn’t go anywhere because no corporate publisher would allow it. The cash grab feel of the million spinoff books was off-putting.
And now we’re back to square one. Or something. The new slate of books has been announced.
I’m not here to slam any creators. I’m sure everyone involved is capable at their jobs. But does this strike you as enough? And I understand that’s unfair to ask in some respects. But they are asking for your money, so don’t feel too bad applying some scrutiny.
A major problem is the nature of the question. What WOULD be enough?
We’re down a generation of names. We go from Brubaker to Tynion with no stops between. And people want names. So what do you do if you’re Tom Brevoort, new editor of the X-books?
Brubaker asks how you got his number.
The stories about how Remender was treated are approaching legend. If there’s 5% truth to those, he’s never coming back.
Fraction sorta blew the big come back moment by doing small books at DC, but you could maybe squeeze some juice from him doing a mainline X-book. Except he’s got Hollywood credits now. A little busy.
DeConnick doesn’t actually sell, and I say that respectfully as a creator who also doesn’t sell.
Cates was the only star of our moment, but he had some personal-professional hiccups and he’s now in a full rebuilding era. Might be a minute before Marvel goes back into business with him.
Tyion may’ve considered it had you reached out a year ago.
Now we’re down the list. Do we go with older talent that makes the 35+ year-old reader feel good? Claremont? Byrne? No, keep scrolling. I contributed to the Peter David Gofundme. Not sure if that means he’s more or less available at this time. Simone is an interesting choice because she’s no one’s favorite writer, but she is a name. It’s a Slott-ian type of thing, where a creator does not exist outside of the Big Two ecosystem and now must find ways to remain ingratiated there. Because it’s cold outside for these types.
You could go for the manufactured names. The anointed few that Marvel has tried to put over the last few years. But I think there’s prolly some self-awareness in those offices that nobody actually cares. MacKay and E. Ewing are potentially examples of that. Capable writers that no one is mad to see on a MOON KNIGHT book, but nobody considers marquee. Maybe in time. Which is another problem, how does anyone become a name?
I’m looking at the field and feeling sympathy for Brevoort. There’s no real way to win. The crowd he’s brought in aren’t visionaries, but maybe that’s the point. After Hickman’s project went off the rails, perhaps it’s back to base. Meat and potatoes.
A gay friend told me he loved the Krakoan era because it was so gay (I’m too old and not academic enough to unself-consciously use “queer-coded”). He thought most of it read like shit, but was pumped it was so gay. An interesting question for Brevoort’s office now is, “do you try to thread the needle between meat and potatoes and gay?” I imagine they will, as they were very proud of reaching queer readers. But, man, getting this one right is no easy thing. In this moment everyone is on edge about their entertainment. They see everything as intentional. Agenda-driven. Borderline conspiratorial. And lest anyone think I’m only referring to right-leaning readers, I assure you it’s the same going the other way. Accusations of queer-baiting can come as easily as allegations of a ‘gay agenda.’ It’s a fraught time where creative decisions are assumed to be corporate decisions, with no way to win.
What’s depressing is that many people will be watching the vibe of the launch more than the content of the books.
I don’t know if corporate comics are over, as my more indie-centric friends believe. But I do think they’re on zombie mode at the moment.
ONCE AGAIN, I FORGOT
I had more to say, but I lost the plot somewhere the past few days. Every point I wanted to touch on just exited my head. Blame Canada.
Have a good weekend. And a good week. Hope your brain works better than mine currently. Do for self.