What would happen if cons ban fanart? Options

[MasonEasley]

Since this topic has popped up a few times, I wanted us to have a more in-depth conversation about what if there was a scenario where cons started openly banning fan art.

Though I don't see a time where Marvel, DC or other large companies tried to ban the practice, conventions themselves definitely could. So if this unlikely event were to occur, what would the effect be on the conventions, artist alley, and the indie scene in general?

I have my own thoughts, but I would like to hear yours before I weigh in.

[Gonzogoose]

Honestly, regardless of my own opinions on fan art, I think it would hurt indie artist sales because many fans come to cons and request drawings of characters they know. I think over time there could be a shift where people are geared toward getting indie character art, but it would take a while and in the interim could hurt a lot of artists used to selling fan art drawings and prints.

[Cary]

Well I think it depends on what's banned to be honest. If you're banned professionally printed (or even unprofessionally printed) mass produced items, like the 11x17 prints we see everywhere these days, than I would say that might be more of a temporary impact sort of thing. You'd see a lull in both table sales and fan interest in Artist's alley, but it would come back. We see natural lulls all the time and yet Artist alleys are still going strong in most conventions.

Now if you mean stopping anyone at a convention from sketching whoever or whatever they want for cash...that's a whole different gorilla we're talking about. At that point you get into some pretty sketchy civil liberty type territory, telling someone they can or can't draw something I mean. Sure, it's still under copywrite and all that, but I can see a huge backlash about something of that nature, both from fans and from artists. That's a dry up and blow away scenario for the shows that do that, plain and simple.

To be perfectly honest I'd love to see all the national cons get together and ban the fan art prints. I think that would have two very important impacts. One, it would force creators to actually BE creators and quit riding that fence, which I consider to be a good outcome. Second, it creates a very distinct line in comics again, between mainstream and indy creators. The mainstream guys would certainly be hawking wares from their gigs at various mainstream companies, and they'd get a good bit of traffic, but as the line becomes more defined you're going to see a huge amount of loyalty and interest in the Indy guys as well. People love the underdog, and they love to buck the system.

[Chad Lambert]

At the risk of offering an unpopular opinion, I think it's a pretty good idea to ban fan art. As a guy who is out promoting actual published work with mainstream publishers, it amazes me that unpublished pin-up artists get top billing at regional shows. If these shows weren't dominated by average artists selling average sketches and prints, maybe comic book fans would buy more comics at these shows. That alone could save our dying industry.

Plus, if I owned a popular property and knew that artists were out making money on it without my knowledge or permission, I'd raise a stink. I think these companies are within thier rights to enforce it. Unless you work for Marvel, don't sell prints of Marvel characters.

[MasonEasley]

At the risk of offering an unpopular opinion, I think it's a pretty good idea to ban fan art. As a guy who is out promoting actual published work with mainstream publishers, it amazes me that unpublished pin-up artists get top billing at regional shows. If these shows weren't dominated by average artists selling average sketches and prints, maybe comic book fans would buy more comics at these shows. That alone could save our dying industry.

Plus, if I owned a popular property and knew that artists were out making money on it without my knowledge or permission, I'd raise a stink. I think these companies are within thier rights to enforce it. Unless you work for Marvel, don't sell prints of Marvel characters.

What about DC, Dark Horse, Star Wars, Hasbro, Disney, and anime characters?

In all seriousness, I don't doubt that a lot of people feel the way you do Chad. I think what often gets lost though is that a lot of those artist selling those sketches and prints are doing so because that's what the fans are demanding them to sell. Sure some can (and do) buck the trend and do original prints and sketches, but then simple math sets in, and you realize that you have to pay for table and travel costs. If you're consistently coming under those costs, you won't be on the convention circuit for very long, no matter how noble your intentions are.

Honestly, if I'm trying to pay for my $300 table at Heroes and someone is offering me $100 to draw Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, I'd be an idiot to turn them away.

With that said, I could conceivably see conventions clamp down on the unauthorized selling of merchandise and prints at conventions. A lot of anime conventions have successfully done that, and it has led to an uptick in the sale of original manga and artwork. Would that also happen in American-themed comic cons? Who knows. The demand for fan art is very strong, so even if you ban the merchandise and prints, you're still going to have artists drawing batman and spider-man at their tables.

Speaking of which, I really can't ever see them stop the sketching/drawing of licensed characters. That would just be insane to police and enforce. For example, at a recent convention I ran out of time to complete my commissions, so I had my clients give me their money and mailing information. When I got home, I completed the commissions and mailed them out, with information on how to get in touch with me for future commissions. You just can't stop those types of transactions from occurring on the convention floor.

This post has been edited by MasonEasley: Apr 10 2012, 05:40 PM

[cougar18]

Gosh....this is a double edged sword, to be honest.

While I feel that companies are protecting their products, one must argue that there is a certain degree of alienation going on if fans could no longer purchase an original piece of work from their favourite artist. Also, I understand that certain artists have ethics that mean they will not draw something or other, such as Bondage or Hardcore pornography involving characters, but others do not have those qualms, and those images could very well have a negative impact on the image of their characters.
I mean, we see such poor treatment of characters by writers that have led to negative images of the characters, that a negative image of a character could also lead to problems.

Kurt Busiek spoke about how a negative depiction of Nick Fury ( a MArvel MAx comic), in a comic that Bill Jemas approved of (and Jemas was fired not too long after from MArvel), meant that an actor they had selected for the role no longer had interest in the character because he did not want to play a woman beater. The comic had featured a scene of Fury beating up a prostitute, and naturally, the actor in question (whose name Busiek did not reveal) did not see any superheroic qualities in such a character.

One also has to wonder how the impact of Rob Granito made many folks question the originality of a piece. So cons may be wish to clamp down in cases of copyright and artistic infringment.

[Greg G.]

Given my current state of mind I say f**ck Marvel and DC.

Just to cover my own ass I wouldn't make a sketchbook containing their stuff, after all you are the product (your art actually) and you need to sell you. If you're going to be wasting time drawing Spiderman, it ought to be to land a paying gig being a cog in the machine that produces Spiderman and no small fries.

I will refer you to the creator of one of the historically successful self published comics in the history of modern comics - Cerebus.

Fans and collectors pay a few dollars to get in and most of them have found everything they're going to find that is of interest to them in the first twenty minutes or half an hour. If it took them forty minutes to get there by bus or their parents have dropped them off or they are only there to get an autograph or two from the Hot Artist du Jour, the odds are they will look around for another half hour or so before admitting that the whole expedition was a waste of time. If you are drawing, and if your chair is turned sideways so they can see that you're drawing, the odds are that they will watch you draw for a while. They will flip through the comics you have for sale and then most of them will walk away. But not all of them. Typical questions: 'What are you drawing?' answer 'Sketches, I give them away to anyone who buys a copy of my book. You want one?' or 'Can you draw Wolverine?' answer 'No, but if you get me reference I'll draw one of my characters in a Wolverine costume'. It is important not to draw actual super-heroes unless you combine them with what you're selling. There are a lot of Cerebus as American Flagg, Cerebus as Jon Sable, Cerebus as Nick Fury sketches floating around from ten years ago. If the convention is really slow or really busy, you should always make that first 'free with a copy of my self- published title' sketch the best that you can do. It is worth drawing your character in a Spawn costume or Batman's new costume, quickly enough so that the people watching know what you're doing, but carefully enough so they are tempted to shell out $2.25 or $2.95 for your book to get a sketch 'like that one you just did, but can you make it Venom instead?'. If you get to the convention early enough, you can even hand out 'free sketch' coupons to the people waiting in line, along with a flyer advertising your book. If you do a 'really cool' drawing for the first five kids, they will show everyone else what they got. Go around to all the dealers before or after the show: find out who has a store and ask them it they would like a drawing autographed to the store in exchange for buying, say, five copies of your book. At least get a business card and name from them so you can send them sample copies of future issues. When you book your table, ask if you can get the table next to the Hot Artist du Jour so his line passes in front of you. In 1979 Deni and I had the table next to John Byrne at the Atlanta Fantasy Fair and we made a fortune on back issues and sketches (as an aside, John was dong X-men sketches and since I had a set of markers with me to colour my own sketches, his fans started asking if I would colour his sketches. I told them they were John's sketches and it wouldn't be right for me to colour them, right, John? 'Hey, if you can make some money, why not?' I'll always be grateful to him for that). At joint signings with other self-publishers now, I make sure that their table is before mine so that they have a 'shot' at the fans on their way by.

The basic point is that you can go to a convention, set up your table and sit there obviously hating everyone and everything within sight assuring yourself all the while that your stuff is just too good for these low-life fanboys: or, you can decide to take a few positive steps towards creating a core following that you can build on in the years to come.

Full archive of his essays here.

Listen to the people who have come before you and been successful. Always listen and learn.

If you're trying to promote your own stuff, then do as Dave Sim advises and draw your character in hero-drag. Please the fan and build your audience.

If you want to be a right jerk, and I fully endorse this given the legal history of both Marvel and DC, then do a sketch of Green Lantern or Spiderman if you don't have something to promote. These characters were swindled from their creators with strong arm tactics and B.S. legalese.

I'm glad to see people getting up in arms over this subject (creator rights) lately, and guys like Chris Roberson kicking DC to the curb.

It seems that with the whole civil unrest and tightening of the belt in American culture today, we may be on the precipice of a new creator revolution in comics. Image lead the way in the 90's and as Todd McFarlane stated at the Image Expo - artists can generally only do one book a month, which is why it failed when writers tried to start up their own imprint. Why would a customer that likes Spiderman buy your creator owned book, when you still give them the option to buy Spiderman?

In a perfect world it wouldn't need to be either, or - we don't live in a perfect world. I'm reading knuckleheads worrying about Cullen Bunn taking over their precious Wolverine.

Why?

Go read The Sixth Gun and find out why Bunn came to Marvel's attention in the first place you idiots!

Next we need to get artists and writers that work for the Big Two to unionize. Revolution baby! Banding together for a common cause is how the Solidarity movement booted the Commies out of Poland in the 80's. It's time for comic creators to band together and rise up. Get a better deal. Get health benefits. Get a retirement package.

There's no reason Disney/Warner Brothers can't give a kick back to the families of the creators of the characters they swindled. Just a small percentage off the top of your annual take off of what the Captain America / Ghost Rider movies brought in for you.

As a culture we value wealth and there are annual taxes on that income.

What about comic creators whose main asset are ideas?

Shouldn't we value ideas as much as money? Particularly when these ideas generate millions in toys, cartoon, movie, and video game sales? If you can tax wealth, then tax the accumulated earnings of ideas annually and send that portion of the money to the families of the creators of those ideas.

Required reading:

Marvel/Disney v Kirby: Do Avengers Avenge… Or Not?
“Avengers—Dissemble!” What Long-Term Service Did Stan Lee Provide That Jack Kirby Didn’t (or Couldn’t)?
“Don’t worry if I write rhymes. I write checks.”
The Ethical Rot Behind 'Before Watchmen' & 'The Avengers' [Opinion]

Once you read those articles/essays, you'll see why I'm mad as Hell.

Gettin' all riled up over here. I'm ready to tip over cars and start fires.

Sorry - I'm going to go drink my V8 and take a nap now.

[Cary]

I don't know that I'd advocate a union under any circumstances to be honest. I've worked for them and I simply don't trust them.

But I have always felt the way Dave Sim rocked his stuff was more than a little pure genius. The whole "draw Cerberus as..." thing was inspired and it not only served to move his books but also to gain him fans. I know a lot of folks who had no clue who he was that came away from his table wanting to know more and bought a ton of his stuff from that one meeting. There's a lot to be said for how you present yourself at conventions, sketching, prints, or whatever.

[Greg G.]

I don't know that I'd advocate a union under any circumstances to be honest. I've worked for them and I simply don't trust them.

To be completely honest I agree, unions in modern America are fat and lazy; but at one point in time and in other cultures they have served as an important force for change and worker rights. See also the founding of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933.

I don't see any other way you're going to get these corporations to give their talent a better deal. Either everybody needs to make a row over it, or everybody will remain screwed.

Not just for the artists, but the letterers, and colorists as well.

Otherwise we end up with situations like Steve Bissette:

Tyrant was viable for two years. And then distribution fell apart. When the comic direct-sales market imploded, and we went from 14 distributors to one, I just went “My kids are teenagers. That’s a risk I can no longer take. I have to find a day job.”

...

AVC: What was your day job?

SB: I had been a shareholder in First Run Video, a video superstore in Brattleboro, Vermont, since November of ’91, when we opened our doors… And then, in ’97, ’98, when the whole comics industry collapsed, I pulled the plug on Tyrant, I went back to my friend and the owner, Alan Goldstein, and said “Alan, I’m looking for work now.” He wanted to bring me in as a manager, and I said “Nope! I want to start as a desk clerk, minimum wage. I need to learn every job in the store if I’m going to be manager, and I want to work my way up the ladder.” So I started at the front desk, and I popped popcorn my first week, because I didn’t know how to run the computers. And I did every job, worked my way up through.

There was a kid who walked into the video store. He was one of the customers, this shaggy-haired teenager. And he looked at my nametag one day, and it kind of hit him. And he said “Are you the guy that used to draw Swamp Thing?” And I went “Yeah!” And he bolted out of the store. It’s like I’d hit him in the head with a board.

And then I got an e-mail from a friend saying “Have you seen Grant Morrison’s blog?” I didn’t even know what a blog was. And I’m pretty sure it was the kid, because he said “I just found out that Steve Bissette of Swamp Thing is working at a local video store, and he writes a column for the local paper, and I’m horrified!” And Grant Morrison said something like “I’d rather put a bullet in my head first.”

Stories like Bissette's are why I view working in the comic industry as a pursuit of the young and dumb. When you don't have many financial obligations or other life concerns to hold you down. Also it's easier for the corporations to fleece (or otherwise take advantage of) young and dumb talent.

It's particularly egregious when you step back and look at who owns the Big Two. Warner Brothers and Disney. You're not going to sit there and seriously tell me these two titans of the entertainment industry couldn't afford to offer all their employees a better deal. Particularly Disney/Marvel who offer better deals to creators with exclusivity contracts.

Which is Marvel's way of saying this writer/artist is a House N***er and these other writers/artists are the Field N***ers.

Apologies for being blunt, but that's the way it seems to me.

[Anthony Hochrein]

And remember that although during the 1990's with all of the pay offered to animators creating 2D features, and union memberships to boot, Disney STILL gave their 2D animators the shaft and outsourced animation to other countries, thanks to the imagination machine running dry thanks to the suits.

[Cary]

I certainly wouldn't have an issue with some sort of creator's association type thing, where by they collectively bargain with companies and such, but it just seems like once you form an actual union it starts feeding itself and becoming an entity apart from what it was meant to be. It no longer serves the membership, the members in fact begin to serve the union. If that could be avoided, then I coudl totally see something of that nature being worthwile to join and advocate for.

[Greg G.]

And remember that although during the 1990's with all of the pay offered to animators creating 2D features, and union memberships to boot, Disney STILL gave their 2D animators the shaft and outsourced animation to other countries, thanks to the imagination machine running dry thanks to the suits.

I certainly wouldn't have an issue with some sort of creator's association type thing, where by they collectively bargain with companies and such, but it just seems like once you form an actual union it starts feeding itself and becoming an entity apart from what it was meant to be. It no longer serves the membership, the members in fact begin to serve the union. If that could be avoided, then I coudl totally see something of that nature being worthwile to join and advocate for.

Agreed.

Anyhow we're drifting off topic.

My stance on the topic at hand is - stick it to the man. With a thousand little daggers.

[Anthony Hochrein]

Agreed.

Anyhow we're drifting off topic.

My stance on the topic at hand is - stick it to the man. With a thousand little daggers.

And the only way we can "stick it to the man", is by smart creators selling their own work, which would more than likely be stifled if union bosses were to take over and overlord the industry with regulation upon regulation upon regulation. Ralph Bakshi had some choice words for creators who want to remain chained to the Disney company for their careers. This is the first time creators all over the world can use the internet and conventions for their promotion and marketing. Union regulations would kill that liberation.

[Greg G.]

And the only way we can "stick it to the man", is by smart creators selling their own work, which would more than likely be stifled if union bosses were to take over and overlord the industry with regulation upon regulation upon regulation. Ralph Bakshi had some choice words for creators who want to remain chained to the Disney company for their careers. This is the first time creators all over the world can use the internet and conventions for their promotion and marketing. Union regulations would kill that liberation.

That's what I get for trying to get back on topic.

I agree, but a union/guild would be important for employees of the Big Two.

There's a reason Marvel and DC are just rehashing existing IP's and it's because creators aren't giving over their ideas to the two largest publishers of comics out there. I don't blame them, but if the Big Two would begin to treat the creators and their families fairly moving forward we could get more than a different color Hulk, a female Wolverine, or an entire reboot of DC's catalogue of characters.

Todd McFarlane recently spoke to this on Newsarama.

But we didn't want to be out fronting for people saying, "you've got an idea; let me buy it." We didn't want to do that piece of it. And 20 years later, we still don't do that. And it all started right there at the beginning, with the principles we had in 1992. They still guide what we do.

I think that when we came out of the gate and we offered the deal to creators who wanted to jump on board the bandwagon, it was the best deal that was out there, and 20 years later, it's still the best deal. Nobody offers what we offer right now. You know?

The down side of it, which is frustrating to me, as a guy who just always wanted to get out of his cage and at least try to run around free for awhile, is that a lot of people aren't willing to take that leap. Because we don't own anything at Image, we also don't pay you anything. So it's all on you to start with. So you can put a book out at Image, and you can own it, but you've got to put a team together, convince everybody to do it or just fund it yourself or whatever. But they don't get any money from the sales of that until we solicit, sell it and we collect it and give it back to you. So that means there's about a three to four month window where you have to sustain yourself somehow. Somehow. I don't know how you do it, one way or the other.

But from my perspective, I would beg, borrow and steal any and everything that I could. I'd hit up my mom, my dad and my relatives. I mean, anything I could to get enough money to eat macaroni and cheese so that I could survive and keep the electricity on for three months and hope that when that book finally hits the shelf and I collect the money, because I'm going to get the pre-orders, that I can now basically do this book for a hundred issues. And I've run into, sadly from my perspective, way too many guys that have let 90 days of living a bit of a lower standard of life dictate the next 10 years of their life. It's incomprehensible to a guy like me. Are you kidding me? I'd live on the streets for 90 days to just get that opportunity.

And in a bizarre way, they've actually offered to sell their idea to us if we give them a paycheck. And I'm thinking, wow, that's counter to why you'd want to work with Image. Our whole point is for you to own it. Own it yourself.

Full interview

There are still some folks out there that may have ideas; but no concept or ability of how to get it off the ground.

Hell, there's another popular art message board with a "shared universe" that people visit, the catch? You sign a contract to participate in the "shared universe" and relinquish the rights to your characters just to play in an online playground. No money. No profit. But hand over the keys and title to the site admin or get out.

Really?!

If Erik Larsen and Mike Mignola can reach a gentleman's agreement on Hellboy appearing in Savage Dragon, there's no reason hobbyists can't as well.

In general I feel a lot of potentially creative people are dropping the ball and not taking full advantage of the freedom and audience access the Internet permits. Mainly it's the vanity aspect. The comics they read were paper, so their vanity demands they get their comics in print. So they crap out one issue and that's it. You never see a second issue because they now have hundreds or thousands of unsold comics sitting in their attic that they may still be paying off and that comic shops won't stock because Diamond isn't distributing it, or simply because it's not as good as everything else that's out there.

However there's also a merit to working at the Big Two, so long as you realize what you're doing and don't hand over any creations.

You can build a name for yourself and momentum working on a popular series, and spin that into success for your own property when the time is right.

This post has been edited by Greg G.: Apr 21 2012, 11:45 AM

[Anthony Hochrein]

That's what I get for trying to get back on topic.

I agree, but a union/guild would be important for employees of the Big Two.

There's a reason Marvel and DC are just rehashing existing IP's and it's because creators aren't giving over their ideas to the two largest publishers of comics out there. I don't blame them, but if the Big Two would begin to treat the creators and their families fairly moving forward we could get more than a different color Hulk, a female Wolverine, or an entire reboot of DC's catalogue of characters.

Todd McFarlane recently spoke to this on Newsarama.



Full interview

There are still some folks out there that may have ideas; but no concept or ability of how to get it off the ground.

Hell, there's another popular art message board with a "shared universe" that people visit, the catch? You sign a contract to participate in the "shared universe" and relinquish the rights to your characters just to play in an online playground. No money. No profit. But hand over the keys and title to the site admin or get out.

Really?!

If Erik Larsen and Mike Mignola can reach a gentleman's agreement on Hellboy appearing in Savage Dragon, there's no reason hobbyists can't as well.

In general I feel a lot of potentially creative people are dropping the ball and not taking full advantage of the freedom and audience access the Internet permits. Mainly it's the vanity aspect. The comics they read were paper, so their vanity demands they get their comics in print. So they crap out one issue and that's it. You never see a second issue because they now have hundreds or thousands of unsold comics sitting in their attic that they may still be paying off and that comic shops won't stock because Diamond isn't distributing it, or simply because it's not as good as everything else that's out there.

However there's also a merit to working at the Big Two, so long as you realize what you're doing and don't hand over any creations.

You can build a name for yourself and momentum working on a popular series, and spin that into success for your own property when the time is right.

BINGO! That's why I'd LOVE to see more smart creators band together to create new production companies. The one thing they don't need are bullies that will hover over our shoulders to tell us, well, you can't use that printing company or this font or that font or this designer, or that shop. The big two can be a stepping stone and many have used them as such. But young naive talent can be used up and spat out if there's no plan, and that's happened as well.

[Cary]

If Erik Larsen and Mike Mignola can reach a gentleman's agreement on Hellboy appearing in Savage Dragon, there's no reason hobbyists can't as well.

In general I feel a lot of potentially creative people are dropping the ball and not taking full advantage of the freedom and audience access the Internet permits. Mainly it's the vanity aspect. The comics they read were paper, so their vanity demands they get their comics in print. So they crap out one issue and that's it. You never see a second issue because they now have hundreds or thousands of unsold comics sitting in their attic that they may still be paying off and that comic shops won't stock because Diamond isn't distributing it, or simply because it's not as good as everything else that's out there.

I fully agree about indy creators teaming up. I've done it a couple of times already with some great success actually. Tyler James and I put out the EPIC/Dynagirl crossover last year for FCBD and had a blast with that as well as some awesome reaction. There's a couple of other projects in the works along those same lines, and as always I'm open to more of that sort of thing. I don't think you're ever going to see anything like Marvel or DC again simply because it's restrictive and people aren't looking for that as creators anymore. But the more or less shared universe concept is certainly alive and well, and totally viable IMO.

[MasonEasley]

That McFarlane interview looks pretty dumb when you consider that he never had to experience 4-5 months of not getting paid, or making a living. He left a highly lucrative gig on spiderman and jumped right onto Spawn, which sold a million copies on its first issue. John Doe's little Indy that could isn't going to sell nearly as much, and is a massive financial gamble to take. It is also ridiculous for McFarlane to disparage up and comers from going the mainstream route when that is exactly the route he took, and the reason his independent project was so successful.

I would also disagree that creative people are dropping the ball. The simple reality is that there's more methods to being successful in this industry than just making comics. In some cases, a collaborative effort is not only unnecessary, but can also be a burden. I don't need a creative team to sell my art at shows, eBay, or to publishers. I only need a collaborative effort if my goal is to create an indie comic, and even then a collaborative effort is completely optional depending on my personal strengths and weaknesses.

Bringing this full circle, the reason fan art is so prevalent among up and coming artists and why the majority will almost always head for the big two before doing sequentials for the indie scene is because the vast majority of artists grew up wanting to draw marvel and dc characters. I started drawing because of Jim Lee's run on X-Men. I can now draw the X-Men on posters, sketch cards, tattoos, and elsewhere and make money doing it. Today at the Pittsburgh comic con, I drew Spiderman fighting Gambit on the cover of a comic book, loved every minute of it, and got paid for it.

You put that experience against slaving on an indie book for 3-6 months (which has a slim chance of even making it to the lettering stage, much less the printing stage), and I'll pick the fan art option every single time.

This post has been edited by MasonEasley: Apr 22 2012, 01:34 AM

[Cary]

You put that experience against slaving on an indie book for 3-6 months (which has a slim chance of even making it to the lettering stage, much less the printing stage), and I'll pick the fan art option every single time.

I'll submit that those who make indy comics don't see it anywhere near "slaving" otherwise they'd likely not be doing it. Some of us, for a wide variety of reasons that range from mental problems to personal drive actually enjoy making comics for the creative outlet that it provides.

[MasonEasley]

I'll submit that those who make indy comics don't see it anywhere near "slaving" otherwise they'd likely not be doing it. Some of us, for a wide variety of reasons that range from mental problems to personal drive actually enjoy making comics for the creative outlet that it provides.

Well if you are drawing 3-6 issues of an indie project for free, you are "slaving". You're doing work for no compensation, which is completely fine if that is what you want to do. There are multiple paths of success in this field as an artist. One path isn't more virtuous than the other.

[Greg G.]

That McFarlane interview looks pretty dumb when you consider that he never had to experience 4-5 months of not getting paid, or making a living. He left a highly lucrative gig on spiderman and jumped right onto Spawn, which sold a million copies on its first issue. John Doe's little Indy that could isn't going to sell nearly as much, and is a massive financial gamble to take. It is also ridiculous for McFarlane to disparage up and comers from going the mainstream route when that is exactly the route he took, and the reason his independent project was so successful.

Are you so blind you truly cannot see the forest for the trees Mason?

Todd McFarlane wasn't always Todd McFarlane.

He had to work his way up through the rank and file, put in his years on books like Coyote, Infinity Inc, Who's Who, and G.I.Joe after submitting numerous rejected submissions to every publisher at the time to get those jobs.

Yeah, it's real easy to look at the money earner as he is today; but he fought his way to the position he's in. It wasn't handed to him.

More to the point, what he's saying about not handing over your characters is what's important and what you're missing.

He built his name and reputation on Spiderman at Marvel, and along with the other six Image founders spun that out into the success of Spawn and the other Image titles.

Or he could have sold Spawn to Marvel / DC* when he was trying to break in to get food on the table.

That's the point.

* Assuming Spawn even existed in his imagination when he was breaking in.

One path isn't more virtuous than another, but one path clearly benefits the creator and his or her heirs more than another. Assuming the idea is solid and not derivative and finds and audience, or that the creator has stock with fans and that following contributes to the success.

There are no overnight success stories.