dfstell

June 17, 2013 12:13 pm Agreed 100%. I wish "they" would stop making things like these infinite comics and AR and just put in clickable links. How hard would it be for Comixology to incorporate some kinda browser technology into their app just like Facebook's and Twitter's apps do (open a browser that isn't quite as good as a real browser, but enough to share the information). A true 2.0 version would be to let readers add the links like a Wiki.....

May 28, 2013 3:47 pm It's funny because I'm sure it isn't unclear at all in the contracts because for it to be unclear would mean that big companies screwed up basic intellectual property licensing. I'm sure there is an Appendix A to the license that has a big long list of character names. And then there is some use-it-or-lose-it diligence language. Maybe if the license is extra fancy, the characters are lumped into tiers where Marvel would have said, "We know you'll make movies with Wolverine in them, but at some point, if you don't use these minor characters like Scarlet Witch, you should have to give them back to us." I'd just be really really surprised if the list of characters is something as vague as, "Licensed Characters means all members of the X-Men and any characters associated therewith."

April 1, 2013 12:40 pm I'm sure it's just that the rights are screwed-up. There are probably a few rights in the pile that are unclear and some of them may be owned by someone who is difficult to deal with. These things happen. Companies don't do good agreements with consultants and contractors. Consultants and contractors pass off the work of third-parties as their own. Companies may have adequate agreements in place with their consultants, but possibly fail somehow to give the creator appropriate consideration for the assignment of the IP. Or maybe some of the rights were individually owned and they got sucked into a divorce proceeding and how to get access to the rights, you have to deal with the cheated-upon divorcee and her nasty attorney. After this much time, it can be hard just to figure out who needs to be around the table for a group negotiating session. Plus, there isn't that much money on the table. Perhaps a few million dollars? For a company like Disney, they'd rather just create new IP rather than deal with the pain and agony of negotiating with these other parties. I mean.....it isn't like we're talking about the rights to The Lion King or Toy Story.

March 27, 2013 12:23 pm Excellent ideas. I'd add one thing to this. I think it's also very important for our most "normal looking" fans to be a little more open about your love of comics. You know who you are! You're the people who others act surprised when they find out your "into comics" because you don't have a goatee, aren't dressed like a hipster, are wearing shiny leather shoes and wool pants, etc. You don't have to have a Green Lantern undershirt on or anything like that, but you can have an OGN or two on your office bookshelf and you can hang a piece of original art on your office wall. Those are little steps that let other "normals" to think that it's okay to be seen reading comics. The problem we have luring those people in is that they don't want to rub their reputation up against "Comic Book Guy". We need to show them a few more "normal" faces.

December 3, 2012 12:37 pm Yeah.....I loathe Big Bang Theory, Comic Book Men, Comic Book Guy, etc. Honestly, I think a big part of the answer to, "Why can't we get new readers into comics?" is that most non-readers don't want Kevin Smith or Comic Book Guy anywhere near their self-image. Not a big fan of the freaky cosplayers either. I don't mind the folks who have put time and skill into their outfit, but the fat dude who is dressed up as Slave Leia just to get attention isn't doing comics any favors.

October 9, 2012 1:51 pm I know what you're saying and I feel pretty much the same way. I'll try some of these Marvel NOW titles, but I don't feel like I'm as committed to them as I used to be to some of their titles. If they're good....I'll read them. If they are "okay", I'll find something else do read or do. I guess this is how I'd summarize my thought: My threshold for dropping a Marvel title is really low right now AND I also seem somewhat immune to my comic buddies gushing about a title and convincing me that I MUST read it. I dropped Daredevil and even though I know it is probably good, I just don't care enough to buy it.

December 15, 2011 11:08 am Regarding Sean's fee....one thing to keep in mind is that artists as talented as him have opportunities to do work outside of comics. I don't know if Sean does other work, but some guys like him might just be "too good" to work regularly in comics when they can get much better paying work in other areas. On the topic of the post....I'm an original art collector, so it makes me cringe a little to think of inking going away.

November 4, 2011 2:13 pm Been there and done that with commissions. It's almost just part original comic art collecting. I currently have two slow artists that I'm dealing with. One is a artist who recently did a guest arc on a well known Vertigo series. I contacted him to see if he was selling art, we agreed on a price and I paid him back in August (via bank transfer since he didn't take Paypal). No page yet. I've followed up with him a few times and he always says, "Sorry, I'll send it." and then it doesn't show up. I know that eventually I'll get my page, but it is annoying. Then there's another dude (ironically who's also done work for Vertigo) who wasn't able to finish my sketch at HeroesCon back in early June. I asked if he wanted to just send it to me after the con. He said he really appreciated me being so understanding and I told him to just let me know how much to Paypal him for shipping. And, he's been unresponsive since them. Ironically, this guy recently launched a creator-owned project at a small publisher which I've reviewed very nicely over at Weeklycomicbookreview.com (b/c it is an awesome comic) and he's thanked me for saying such nice things. But for some reason, I feel like I'm being a douche if I say, "Hey....how about finishing my sketch for me." But, like I said.....this stuff is just par for the course. Some artists are super prompt and others are just disasters. It's kinda a small window into what being a comic book editor must be like. :)

November 3, 2011 4:58 pm So happy about this. There are actually a lot of comics that I still want in paper format because I do like collecting them. I actually told my comic shop what my digital plans are and they'll still get a lot of business from me. But it will be nice to get titles like Hulk (that I want to read, but not devote living space towards) digitally.

November 2, 2011 7:41 pm Kinda a shame that I had to scroll down this far to find someone else who enjoys firearms. One of my GRADE A pet peeves in comics (or other creative fields) is how much creative types like to use firearms in their fiction, but how incredibly lazy "they" are about getting any of the details right. I'm talking things like pistol's "clicking" to signify that they're empty, drawings of weapons that defy logic and physics and made up crap like "45 magnums".