I’m enjoying your conversation, though I’m not done with it. I don’t really agree with everything (the only name I’m okay with seeing in the creator list is Len Wein– if anyone’s going to get some money, at least it’s Len Wein, of all those people). But you guys sure cover a lot of ground and a wide range of topics and reactions. It’s fun to listen to. I’m curious to hear the names that would be persuasive to Jeff to pick these up, but. Thanks.
Apropos of absolutely nothing you guys are talking about, or maybe apropos of “this brings out the worst in everyone”:
The thing that’s been striking me as funny these last couple days are the arguments being made by comic creators that the Watchmen sequels are acceptable because “Watchmen isn’t sacred.” The word sacred’s come up more than once by a range of creators dismissing complaints, including I know one major DC writer not involved in any of these books and a creator owned artist. Comic creators with no way of benefiting from any of this, saying “Watchmen isn’t sacred.”
There’s the JMS quote where he says its “deeply illogical” that “no one should touch these characters besides Alan” (the piece of shit thinks he’s on a first-name basis with the guy he’s ripping off, which I also enjoy), sort of alluding to that argument, essentially arguing that authorship isn’t all that important, right?
DC and it’s top talent are now inherently taking a position that authors AREN’t sacred, no single book is sacred, authors aren’t important, that what’s important is characters, and the only sacred thing is not works of authorship but “revitalizing” characters, and you should buy these comics because it’s author isn’t the one who matters.
What’s striking to me about that is it’s a WEEK, if not days after the piracy argument– comic creators talking about how piracy is WRONG hither and dither.
The thrust of which was “don’t pirate because these comics have AUTHORS, and you should respect that fact. Comics don’t just write themselves, and you should buy comics because that’s how authors make their living.”
And all of the people making the piracy argument– do any of them have a problem with Watchmen 2? Not publicly, not the ones I’ve seen. If anything, the ones I’ve seen have been SUPPORTIVE of DC’s arguments. (Because Watchmen 2 isn’t in the four corners of their limited self interest, but).
So…
I’m pretty sure we’re all allowed to steal comics now.
2:05 in this video basically: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Hx5ka1FiA.
If authors don’t matter, then the argument that you should buy comics because their authors have rights– isn’t that argument not only dead now, but arguably murdered at comic’s own hands?
How are all comics sacred, one week and no comic is sacred, the next? Don’t comics have to pick one at some point?
Or, what, is the rule going to be comics are sacred when readers want to steal them from their authors, but not when comic creators want to steal them from other authors? “Don’t steal Watchmen– that’s the Murder She Wrote guy’s job.”
I don’t know. I doubt anyone else sees things that way, I’m probably completely out in the rain alone on this one, but once I noticed the timing, I thought maybe there was kind of a funny irony there.
