Against what might be my better judgement I’m going to wade into this creator owned thing. So I ask patience for a second. Mostly what I have to say is in reference to the following video and the proposed creator owned movement around it.
I posted these thoughts to twitter yesterday, so I beg your forgiveness for redundancy and for the choppy "sentences". I'm reposting it here with a few new thoughts in order to clear my own mind of it and for people who may be interested.
-I’ve committed a large portion of my life to the pursuit of creator owned comics, so I understand the sentiment driving the "revolution".-We absolutely need more variety in comics. But an informed, practical discussion about how to actually produce that content is is over due. -Few people are prepared for the practical demands of producing a comic, far fewer for the business required to make a living at it.
-It’s a romantic, but admirable notion to believe that with a piece of paper you can move worlds and I don't think that should be discouraged-It requires a tremendous patience, enthusiasm and self belief to endeavor to make comics. But it also requires knowledge and self awareness
-What will create and sustain growth on that side of the industry moving forward is educating future creators of the hurdles they face.-If you’re going to throw down the gauntlet, do it responsibly. Talk costs as well as the benefits. Costs like money, time and effort.-It’s a bit irresponsible to assume that future creators are aware of such costs. How many of us knew or know what we're doing?
-I believe in doing creator owned work. I believe in it as an artist with a capital A. But (unfortunately in this country) it's not an artist's right to make a living-There is an argument that an artist's rite of passage is poverty. That may be true but it shouldn’t be due to ignorance.-It’s not punk rock. There is no getting by on a few hours of rehearsal a week. It’s a life decision. It's 12 hours a day. 7 days a week.
-So my message for the aspiring creator owned comics creator? Educate yourself .-Talk to pros,retailers, and publishers. Ask them their stories and their advice. No one person has a achieved success the same way.-And lastly: don’t waste energy. Painting your plight as a war against a corporate boogey man is divisive and unnecessary. Just do good work.-Because I assure you, you aren’t as good as you think you are. No one is. Any opportunity to make comics is a learning experience.
-Ahem... also... Comics pros? The best thing you can do is lead by example. Continue to show people what's possible.
-Okay, that's two cents of my dollar on the subject. No one asked, but there you have it.
-PS- I love Eric Powell. He's a great dude & amazing creator. I appreciate him stirring the pot. Frankly he can & so he should. I'm certainly no expert on the topic. I just want to make sure that if there is an army that they're carrying more than just a flag. I personally find most of this argument and discussion reductive, but I do think it can be a positive move. Getting people to think about the issue is no small thing and in that sense I commend Eric and company for taking that step.
More soon..
Could not think of a more practical and honest response to the call-to-arms. For the last 1-2 years I've experienced much of the above for the first time in real time on my own creator-owned book and it helps to see it corroborated in writing.
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope it does help. I can only talk from my own experience, but the people I've known all seem to have some commonalities. Maybe I'll write more about it later.
ReplyDelete12 hours a day?! How do you avoid hand cramps?
ReplyDeleteYup those about sum it up. i think if we give out advice, it should be more of the "business" side of things. work for hire glosses over that, except when to get your check.
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