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AICN COMICS: CROSSGEN News and The Alan Moore/Marvel Controversy!!
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I'm trying to ease back into my editorial duties here at AICN. At the same time, I'm trying to figure out exactly how I am going to fake my own death to get out of my insane medical bills from last week.
One of the things I've sadly neglected has been the excellent work by Andrew at Grayhaven Magazine. Several of the columns he's prepared fell through the cracks here at the Labs, and it's entirely my fault. I'm also trying to get Frank Bascombe's latest column of book reviews ready for this Wednesday. Add that to my own personal diabolical projects with Harry Lime and the RUMBLINGS I'm preparing with AOTC stuff, SOLARIS and KILL BILL reviews, and a glimpse at an indie animated film underway right now, and I think I'm well on my way to completely disregarding my doctor's orders. But hey... time waits for no man, not even an Evil Genius.
Here's Andrew with an announcement about CROSSGEN and a piece about a controversy between Alan Moore and Marvel. I'll also be posting a whole mess of reviews today, and here's hoping I can keep up with him from here on:
CROSSGEN UNVEILS NEW PRODUCT: THE COMPENDIA SERIES
FORGE And EDGE To Address Price Performance Concerns Of Industry
In response to the growing concerns of the comic industry regarding inaccessibility due to the high price of modern single-issue comic books and the need to attract new mainstream readers, CrossGen is launching FORGE and EDGE, the first of its Compendia Series, and the first leg of a multi-legged plan to introduce better price performing products and to grow comic book readership.
Based on the proven models of European comics and manga compilations from Japan, FORGE and EDGE are both monthly, 200 plus page, full color, book series in standard trade paperback size that feature the same production values as CrossGen's monthly comics, including a quality paper stock similar to that of the monthly comics, all inside a card stock cover. FORGE and EDGE will sit on a bookshelf making them easy to rack, easy to store, and durable alternatives for those looking for a new way to read comics.
FORGE and EDGE will carry an initial price of $9.95. After the first few issues, page count will increase to near 300 pages and this increase will necessitate a moderate price increase of no more than two dollars per issue -- still an incredible value. Since FORGE and EDGE are primarily designed to bring new readers into comic books, the content of both FORGE and EDGE is planned to lag at least 90-120 days behind CrossGen's monthly comics and planned to not contain stories not already seen in the monthly comics.
For the first year, each issue of FORGE and EDGE will contain at least eight stories covering five series, increasing to six series by the end of 2002. FORGE and EDGE offer readers something comparable to eight comic books, a $23.60 value, for one low price.
FORGE #1 will be on sale April 10 and EDGE #1 will be on sale April 24. FORGE and EDGE will then continue to ship the second and fourth or fifth weeks of every month. FORGE #1 will contain: Crux #1-#3, Meridian #15, Negation Prequel, Sojourn Prequel and #1, and a preview of The Path. EDGE #1 will contain: The First #8-#10, Mystic #15 and #16, Ruse #1, Scion #15, and Sigil #15. Each "in-process" series begins with the first issue following the second trade paperback collection and FORGE and EDGE both contain a significantly expanded "Story So Far" description for new readers, making it easy to jump onboard.
"CrossGen was founded around a very simple idea," said Mark Alessi, CrossGen's Publisher. "We set out to make comics relevant again to a mainstream audience. Part of doing that was telling stories that map to mainstream genres and tastes. Genres like science fiction, fantasy, mystery, etc. -- the kind of stories that make up a large percentage of the fiction categories of the major booksellers. However, this was only part of the overall concept. We also needed to put those comics into a package that makes price performance sense to this mainstream audience. People buy books, so we've serialized our stories in a book format. People expect value for their dollar, so we've put together a package that can be sold at a very competitive price. We call this new product Compendia, and the first two, more specifically -- FORGE and EDGE."
FORGE and EDGE are the first stage of a planned mass-market initiative set to attract a great many new readers to the comic book industry. Further announcements regarding these plans will be forthcoming in 20-30 days.
"It's not about how many comics can we sell, but how many new readers can we bring into the comics industry," said CrossGen Vice President Business Development, Tony Panaccio. "This mass-market initiative is huge, greater than any thing that's ever been tried in this business. When those new readers come to comic stores looking for a product they understand and can afford, FORGE and EDGE will be there waiting. And they'll be waiting for them twice a month, every month, when they return again and again."
FORGE and EDGE will not only appeal to new readers, but to existing readers looking for a new product choice. With the addition of Compendia to its line, CrossGen now offers readers three completely separate and easy ways to buy, read and enjoy their stories. CrossGen offers single-issue comic books, trade paperbacks, and now Compendia.
"We've been using this analogy around the office when explaining the types of choices we're offering readers," said Ian M. Feller, Director of Corporate Communications for CrossGen. "Consider your favorite soft drink, say cola. That cola is offered in many different forms for purchase. There's the 12 ounce can, 16 ounce bottle, 20 ounce bottle, 32 ounce bottle, 1 liter bottle, 64 ounce bottle, or it is available from a soda fountain, all at different prices. But in the end, it's all the same product. We are taking that formula and applying it to comics. And if you want something other than cola, you can choose one of our different genres the way you would a different soft drink flavor."
FORGE and EDGE also appeal to those existing readers that are looking for a cost-effective way to try additional CrossGen titles.
"We have a large percentage of readers that have been reading more than just one of our titles because of the overarching backstory," CrossGen's Director of Marketing and Sales, Chris Oarr said. "With FORGE and EDGE, those readers can now pick up additional titles at what breaks down to be very little additional money. For example, if they currently buy three of our books for about nine dollars, they can try five titles for just a dollar or two more. And if they currently read five titles and are spending about $15, they can now read the entire line for about five dollars more."
FORGE and EDGE are the types of products that will not only appeal to readers looking for a new price performance choice, but to anyone who may have considered trying a CrossGen book but either didn't know how to begin or felt that it was too late to start. FORGE and EDGE offer readers another choice in making a decision of how to start reading CrossGen's comics.
"The train has not left the station," said James Breitbeil, Director of Marketing and Distribution for CrossGen. "Now with FORGE and EDGE, potential new readers have an easy and affordable way to jump aboard the CrossGen line. With CrossGen's Premier Retailer program up and running and gaining dozens of new members every week, potential readers know exactly where they can go to get them. There's no reason for anyone to feel they can't try CrossGen's stories."ALAN MOORE/MARVEL CONTROVERSY
On Friday afternoon, Newsarama featured an interview with Alan Moore in which the legendary writer said: "I'm not interested in working for Marvel. Marvel hasn't called me for a while. I saw the Captain Britain book that they recently brought out. Well, when I said that I saw it, I don't mean that they sent me any copies - I meant that I went down to the shop and bought a copy. The small, non-humiliating copyright notice that I'd asked them to include, and which I had been assured would be included hadn't been included. As far as I'm concerned, there's no possibility of me working for Marvel in the future or having anything to do with Marvel, and I don't want anybody from Marvel calling me in the future."
This stems from the recently released Captain Britain Trade Paperback, which was reported to be the lynchpin by which any other work would be done by Moore for Marvel. Judging from Moore's comments on Friday, that is not going to happen. Not ever.
So a good part of my weekend was spent sifting through hundreds of posts on dozens of Internet sites all about how Marvel is the evil corporation and how Moore has been persecuted once again and what a loss this is for both Marvel and the Industry.
Bollocks, I say.
There were the comments about how Joe Quesada, as EIC of Marvel Comics, should have caught the mistake before it went to print. Expert Internet posters who's main contribution to society have been to write 'First' in posts now have added their analysis that Joe is an 'idiot'. Wonderful. After disregarding every post that included name-calling of either side (because most of these brave souls who call creators names behind their online alias are the same sweaty palmed geeks who ask the same creators to sign 20 comic books at the next convention), I was down to about 5% of the original threads that I started with.
I won't even get into the people who were making comments about how Moore should have received his copies already. Comps and advance copies are two different things and the comp books typically come out after the comic has been shipped to stores.
The conspiracy theorists mentioned 'sabotage' as a possibility behind the mistake. Sabotage? I think this is just an idea put out there by X-Files fans to make this whole thing sound more interesting than it really is.
The debating and mudslinging and arguing were based on the accounts of one person who never cared much for the company to begin with. The truth about the situation would be much simpler.
There are several ways one can look at this situation, but it seems to me everyone has been missing the point. While people cry about how Marvel is losing out on the greatest writer of our time, they don't see the clear issue that the only one who loses in this situation is Alan Moore. I won't even get into the whole issue of Alan Moore being the best comic writer ever. Simple response: He's not. Moore is responsible for my favorite comic work of all time, 'From Hell', and many, many other brilliant stories. But I could name at least 5 other writers who I'd place before Moore in that 'greatest ever' category. Maybe a few others if I took the time to really think about it.
All of this anger, this nonsense of the past few days, is nothing more than a case of geeks not getting their dream project of Alan Moore on the X-Men or Spider-Man. But does anyone believe such a thing would ever happen? Even during the announcement of the Captain Britain Trade, Moore never said that he would be returning to Marvel. The man has repeatedly stated his dislike for the superhero set. One would have to assume that any work he did for Marvel (if he had ever even considered doing this at all) would involve his own creations, ala the ABC line and not the characters most fans are hoping for him to take a shot at.
But what great loss is it of Marvel's if the man says he never wants to work for them again? Would an original concept by Moore, published by Marvel, do anything for the company other than giving them the chance to say, 'we've published an Alan Moore comic?' No. Alan Moore has had books published through independent companies and DC and none of the fail to sell more than 30 or 40 thousand copies, regardless of the quality of that work.
I'm not suggesting that a top 5 selling book like Ultimate X-Men is better or worse than say, Tom Strong, but not having Alan Moore associate with them is no huge loss on Marvel's part. Moore would stand more to gain by having an X title under his belt and reaching 60-70 thousand more readers.
This is a debate started by people who hate Marvel (and always have), getting one more chance to take a shot at them. We all know that the same people criticizing the mistake now would have criticized Moore for going to write for them (if it had happened), and then criticized the inevitable project solely due to who was publishing it.
The other day, Joe Quesada issued a public apology for the mistake:
"Why is it that all the crazy stuff happens when I'm away from home and unable to handle the problem properly?
First, let me assure everyone that the mistake on the Captain Britain trade paperback was not an act of callousness, but rather simple human error. It really is disheartening to me when people believe that there is some little evil gremlin at Marvel who is looking to screw people over at every turn. What happened with the Captain Britain copyright notice was a mistake and nothing more, and there's very little I can say except, "I screwed up!"
I can go and try to pass blame on other departments or other people, but the truth of the matter is that the buck stops with me and I'm ultimately responsible. This is me not passing the famous Bill Jemas IQ test. That's why I'm the one who has to publicly apologize to Alan Moore and Alan Davis for this incredible oversight.
When I visited Alan I made him several promises, all of which were kept but, unfortunately, the copyright notice fell through the cracks. Let me just make it clear that I didn't travel across the Atlantic to screw Alan over or to make promises that I didn't intend to keep -- it's just one of those things that gets chalked up to human error.
Our TPB department has been trying its best to get out a significant number of titles in a short period of time. I know that with the construction of this particular book they've taken great care in keeping the two Alans in the mix, but ultimately we failed and dropped the ball.
I spoke to Alan on Friday and I told him we would do two things (not contingent on whether he would ever work for Marvel again, but because making it was the right thing to do). First, a public apology from myself, and all of us at Marvel. Second, subsequent printings of Captain Britain would have the correct indicia stripped in.
We here at Marvel have been trying very hard to make amends for the errors of our past, but sometimes in the efforts to try to make everyone comfortable with the new environment we stumble slightly. To those people out there who would like to attribute this to malevolent actions on our part, I have to say that simply isn't the case.
So once again, to Alan and Alan I would like to offer my sincerest apologies, and the promise to be more diligent in the future." - JQ
A sincere and public apology from the man thrust into the center of the debating, regarding an issue that affects only one person. Let it end with this.
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I don't care what company the guy works for...as long as I am able to read something written by him I'm a happy camper. Even if you don't think he is "the greatest," you at least have to admit that he is ONE of the greatest.
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Regarding the compendia idea - good, it's about time. American comics are too expensive, and too short in length to allow any decent pacing of story, at least from the point of view of someone who has been buying more and more collected editions of comics in the past few years. I simply prefer to read the whole story at once, rather than in little chapters, droplets. That said, I used to get a lot of enjoyment out of the serial format when I was younger, you know, waiting for the next issue of X-men, or punisher, or whatever. As an adult, I'm lean more toward something that will occupy me a bit longer, engage me on a deeper level, and I believe that this is something that is only possible on longer page counts, whether the effect is psychological, or whatever. Example: what Viz has been doing with some of their collected manga titles, like Eagle, Vagabond (new, love it), and eva. I want more time for my money, and I'm glad someone is doing this. As for the Alan Moore thing, well. All I can say is that Moore is one of the few writers in comics today who treats writing for the medium as an art. Not in the wanky-self referential way, but simply as someone who welds his heart to his occupation; who does what he does because he can't dream of doing anything else. He's been like this for a long time, and I can understand him getting pissed off at being treated so poorly, mistake or no. That said, you handled this in the right way, and I think you're right about it being more to Moore's advantage to write for Marvel, if you think of advantage as a sales/ readership kind of thing. However, I don't think that he thinks of success in those terms, your terms. That's okay too. You are, after all, in the business of making money, generating sales - nothing wrong with that, despite what a lot of whinging geeks may say. I guess my point is that I see your corporation and Moore are two mutually exclusive entities, and the fact that you may not be working together won't hurt either of you. You'll keep on selling your books, and he'll keep battering away at his. I'll keep reading both.
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Fuck Marvel.
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The kids reading comics in the 70s and 80s grew up. Sort of. And comics grew up with them. Sort of. They demanded better paper stock and no ads and direct shipping and deluxe printing and they bought 10 copies of every issue, sealed them in bags and are still waiting on the prices to go up. Not the Overstreet dream of a price, but what someone is actually willing to pay. Riiiight. Of course, in the mean time, it seems like half of these obsessive dweebs broke into creating comics. The result is artists who learned to draw not from life but from studying comic artists who studied other comic artists. And writers all trying to be Alan Moore or Frank Miller, or worse, Chris Claremont, spouting cliches and pseudo-profound nonsense. So, the comics industry puts out a few gems in a load of drivel. During the great depression, ONE popular book could sell millions of copies. Today, the entire industry is lucky to hit those figures. Sales are off because the industry hitched its wagon to ONE generation and didn't pick up a new one to replace it. Now their one-generation audience is finally growing up a little bit. They are getting real jobs, getting out of the basement, finally getting laid... you know... life. And the comics industry is going to respond by putting out a ten dollar comic book? LOL... they don't get it. That might attract a die hard geek, but that won't bring a ten year old into the fold. The industry needs 10 year olds... by the tens of thousands... and they don't get Alan Moore... yet. What the industry needs is to restructure, reformat, sell some advertising, and put out a decent line of books for a buck. Use newsprint, staples, card stock, whatever, but make an economical vehicle for STORIES AIMED AT KIDS.
No, I am not saying that comics are only for kids. But right now, they are only for adults. Look at book publishers. Look at movies. Look at tv. Every other medium for stories have a variety of products aimed at a variety of people at a variety of ages. Book publishers don't expect that a kid who has never read a book is going to go on a spree at the local Barnes and Nobles at the age of 25. Even the cigarette companies know the urgency of Joe Camel to snag 'em early. But comics? Hah. They just don't get it. Take Superman away from the ten year olds and repackage him for 18 year old virgins. Brilliant long term marketing strategy. Its really paying off now, eh? Like the Pied Piper who now only plays Linkin Park for his aging audience, but no new kids are following. -
How seriously can one take an apology that damns the aggrieved party with faint praise? So it would appear that there are several comic writers that are "better than Moore"? Yeah, right. Dream On, Marvel Dude.
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Alan Moore, if nothing else, has demonstrated over the years that he is a man of his word. You can debate about whether he's the "greatest comic writer of all time," but there's no disputing that he holds himself to a high standard of integrity. Thus, he holds others to an equally high standard. His prior experiences with Marvel (both U.S. and U.K.) have doubtless left him somewhat cynical, and I imagine that he entered into this current arrangment with some considerable trepidation. So, when once again he got screwed around, I'm sure he kicked himself for getting involved with Marvel again. As to who this will hurt more, keep in mind that Moore has passed on plenty of deals which could have made him a lot of money, but presented a level of creative compromise that was unacceptable. On the other hand, Marvel is almost as bankrupt creatively as they are financially. It's a shame that they won't have the benefit of his talent, but frankly, I'd rather read his shopping list than any dozen X-Titles.
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Right on. I just shake my head and go on. I still have some of my old comics.
Reasonable priced collections are a good idea. But there are a few problems: If they are not self contained stories (or at least a majority of it) it won't sell. Who wants to invest time, money and energy in a never ending soap opera? Get these books marketed outside of a comic shop. Comic shops market strictly to the super hero crowd. The general public doesn't shop there and it is a COMPLETE WASTE of time to try and get the general public to shop in comic shops. The industry had one shot with the Death of Superman and shop owner greed destroyed that chance once and for all. If you want to sell non super hero books to the general public get the books where the people shop! -
Are you guys high??? Marvel are creatively bankrupt are they? So I'm just imagining things when I buy Daredevil and Ultimate Spiderman, Alias etc written by Brian Michael Bendis? New X-Men written by Grant Morrison and Drawn by Frank Quietly? Ultimates written by Mark Millar drawn by Bryan Hitch.... X-Force , Pete Milligan and Mike Allred? These people aren't creating great comics in your opinions then are they....And what about the very important fact that in 2001 comics had their highest sales since 1992? Hmmmmm..... Face it fanboys... you have nothing to complain about anymore, comics are in the best shape they've been in (Marvel especially) for many a year.... (some) of the X-titles are incredibly readable these days... the ultimates line is very promising... We've got DK2 over at DC doing some serious business.... Yet you still complain and criticize Marvel like it's the bad old days when f**k-face was editor in chief (can't even remember his name now). In my opinion Marvel's turned itself around in the last 12-18months... I'm buying more comics now than I have for 10 years.... This alone is testament to the quality that is out there at the minute..... Be excited guys, stop being bitter!
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Things like this piss me off. They always have, mainly because you have an industry that is rife with creativity but at the same time, that abundance of creativity stifles the industry to the point of near bankruptcy, moral, financial, what have you.
Alan Moore is full of shit. Yeah, I said it. Sure is is a superior writer, and his stories are well worth the price of admission, however, his attitude is for shit.
As a writer myself, I understand totally about creator's rights and not wanting to get it in the rear end when it comes to recognition, but this is ridiculous. Here is the problem of the comic writer. They fel that they are rock stars in a small arena. They must be the only attraction, or else.
If the comic industry was anything like the film industry, guys like Alan Moore would be out of work. To me it's funny when an Alan Moore can come down from the mountain every so often and we as readers or ex-readers as the case may be marveled (sic) by their latest creation. And that creation is so good that we dare not ask for anything more. That is USDA Grain Fed bullshit.
I love Alan Moore's work, I think his titles are must reads, but if he thinks that comicdom should bend over and kiss his english ass, then he has another think coming.
Joe Quesada is one of the most stand-up guys in comics today. Love him or hate him, he has been the catalyst of more growth in this dying industry than any one man or group of men since comics were actually read by more than fanboys.
But in doing this, Joe has to be the one to take the flack for no apparent reason. Like I said, a bunch of shit.
When primadonnas like Alan Moore say that they will never work for Marvel or any publisher, they are hurting the industry. Comics are one of the few industries that rely solely on the fan base. Property money only lasts so long, and because of public perception, a top creator can go on a shit book, and make a turnaround, or simply resurrect a character who's popularity hadn't existed in the last 10 years.
Joe Quesada saved Marvel. Marvel now puts out at the very least, reasonable products. The prices for these books will always be high, but that is the nature of the beast at this point until circulation rises, and that is the catch-22.
The Ego level in comics is way too high at this point. Just compare the attitudes of the greatest creators of the Golden and Silver age against today's creators and you will see why comics are so weak right now.
The reason why nothing I have said will hold water with most of you is because you are fanboys, which for its purpose is ok, but it also explains why comics are suffering. They cater too much to the fanboy, but then if they didn't, what little sales remain would be gone...another fatal catch-22. -
Moore has a beef with Marvel about copyright. Fair enough. Seems Moore is just one of many creative tallents who feel they've been screwed over by the big M. I do feel for Moore, since he just wanted a fair shake.**************************** However, I'm getting really tired that one mega tallent's troubles with this "house of ideas" should somehow negate the quality of their product overall. Marvel has been the proverbial punching bag of fandom for way too long. This debate is so last decade (and the decade before that for that matter). Can't we just let Moore and Marvel settle this privately or in a courtroom? Does this really merit the obligatory pinyata exercise on Marvel? I should hope we could focus our efforts more on what can save the ailing beast that is the comics industry.
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Joe Quesada admitted that Marvel made a mistake, and like a gentleman he apologised. Alan Moore, equally a gentleman, accepted that apology, and everything seems to be fine between them now. End of problem, really... *** As for there being 'five or more better writers than Moore' in comics, well... I can't name one. Moore IS the best IMO.
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screw that guy. i like his stuff but if he doesnt want to be a team player ,screw him. i mean what is that dudes problem he is a fucking baby. let him keep working on shitty titles at and abc. screw him dont give him another chance,quesada. he acts like a fucking woman.
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I finished League of Extraordinary gentlemen 3 days ago and loved it so much that i raced to the comic store for more Moore. I ran smack into Watchman, i couldnt put this down, I think it is probably the greatest comic i have ever read (one mans opinion), or at least ties for the best. It was so well written i was dizzy. un-fucking-believeable. oh by the way, the article about Moore was pretty good untill it degenerated into a detective piece to stroke the ego of the author, that was stupid. I used to have a freind who would whack off to the movie poster of Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects, he used to tell us all about this and we all felt real uncomfortable: this is the same feeling i got when the slack jawed author of the article wrote his little detective fantasy.
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If Alan Moore needed Marvel more then they needed him,why'd JQ go to England?if JQ took "great care in keeping the two Alan's(and how exactly?) in the mix", then why was there a mistake? how many times did JQ say how important it was for marvel to get guy's like Moore to work for Marvel? and how many times are people gonna' belittle the artist's after Marvel doesn't get'em.?
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I can't believe that I would say this, but David Lee Roth was right about the little detials in contracts being important. Van Halen had in their contracts, that the venue would make sure the sound system was up to par and the bands would be supplied with M&M with all the green ones taken out. When he noticed the green M&M's at one venue, he double check and sure enough, the clubs soud guy and everything fucked up. While Joe Q has done some amazing things with Marvel, You really need to watch yourself with Alan Moore. DC had to scrap a Watchmen anniversary collection because the coloring of the canadian version of V for Vendetta got messed up. In fact DC lost Moore because an "DC exectutive" threaten to do the Watchmen series without him in an elevator. He said he never had a problem with the editorial staff of DC, they were great people...you just don't threaten Alan Moore on any level and you don't back out on your word with him. While this is clearly primmadonna behavior...well, moores earend it.
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It ain't often I feel driven to indulge in some kind of talkback activity. All I have to say is do not under any circumstances call into question Alan Moore's credentials as a comic book writer par excellence. Let me list the evidence that exists to support the theory that he is the greatest comic book writer ever. Unless you have read all of the following you have absolutely no right to call his brilliance into question,
From Hell
Miracleman
Skizz
Swamp Thing
D.R. & Quinch
The Ballad of Halo Jones
The Killing Joke
Promethea
V For Vendetta
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
And so much more...
The above works are just some of his primary works. His secondary works still stand head and shoulders above most of the stuff that DC and Marvel publish. Don't make the mistake of thinking I dislike the stuff Marvel is pumping out these days. The Ultimate titles and the MAX titles have so far been almost uniformly excellent. The Marvel Knights range has also produces a goodly number of gems. But good as these titles are...they just ain't up there with the best that Moore has produced. -
Just wanted to add (because I failed to mention it in my first post) that Joe Q. showed a lot of class with his apology, and I hope that Elliot Kane is correct in that Moore has accepted it. The industry as a whole benefits from harmony among the various players. Bitterness and rancor do not serve in the long run. Now, where is that MIRACLEMAN reprint???
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...is that he can spoof comics while still loving them. He can make fun of something without insulting it. I don't think he and Marvel need each other. And I don't see him doing SPIDER MAN or THE X-MEN. I'd like to see the MARVELMAN book myself.
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Feb 04, 2002 5:23:11 PM CST
Joe Quesada is good for Marvel AND the comic industry....however
by smugbug
I'm a creative professional and you don't EVER EVER mess with Copyrights!!!! Yes, Alan Moore is being a egotistical bastard - but he's upset! Copyrights is such a touchy subject amongst creative professionals that it does rather amaze me that Joe Quesada, who started in this industry as a creative professional, failed to follow through on the one issue that protected his career: Copyrights. Yes, folks, copyrighting your work protects you NOW and in the FUTURE. And it was Alan Moore's responsibility as a creative professional to *follow up*. Yes, this man wrote From Hell and Watchmen. But I don't care. You still follow up on the issues that matter and affects your future in ANY creative industry. A simple phone call from Alan to Joe probably would have save alot of time and anger - but I suppose Alan will next say that he's TOO BEYOND that? Bollocks, to that.
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Marvel is like Disney now. The Peter Pan piss-poor sequel, that's the type of quality comics are generally putting out. It might teach a kid to read, but it sure as hell won't entertain his imagination. Marvel Comics are largely only marketed to kids today, stupid kids with learning difficulties. 1996 was a good year for comics, just compare them. Let Moore do what he wants to. He's not in charge of saving comics, and all the classic marvel titles...
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That's probably because of the movies, and it will likely get better for them. I'm not sure about DareDevil, but Ultimate series starring kid-versions of superheroes is sooo moronic I can't believe anyone over 10 takes it seriously.
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So who needs who more? They both need EACH OTHER.
Alan Moore changed comics. His greatest work was WATCHMEN. After WATCHMEN came out no one could ever look at super hero comics again. Moore made all of us fanboys embarassed, but we loved him for it just as we love Chris Ware now.
Everyone had to change... Creators started longing for something more outside of the big two. There was no one in the world Todd McFarlane wanted to be more than Alan Moore. But Todd just wasn't smart enough, and he drew too well.
But WATCHMEN couldn't have had such a drastic effect on the superhero genre if it hadn't been published by DC. Publishing Watchmen as a popular DC comic with big Dick Tracy tonal covers right on the rack next to Superman and X-Men made what would have been only another excellent comic into a cultural phenomenon. If Watchmen had been printed in B&W by Fantagraphics and had been put on the rack next to Ghost World and Love and Rockets... no dice. The people who bought Watchmen expected it to be a grittier version of JLA, and found the most cynical, dystopic visions of Cold War America ever put to panels. And no one, not the most ardent Captain America fan, could admit that anything Moore wrote wasn't absolutely dead-on accurate.
Then again From Hell would have been awful in the hands of Marvel or DC. Popular and independent publishing markets both have their advantages and disadvantages.
So Alan Moore needs popular comics. Publishing at Marvel or DC can be a powerful cultural tool, and it's a tool that has served him well in the past. He shouldn't forget that. -
These titles sound very interesting. In fact, I have long thought that something like this should be done for quite a while. For example, a monthly book containing all the batman and/or superman titles. A Marvel book containing all the X-titles. Sure, not everyone wants all titles, so they can still get single issues, but for those who do, they can skip single issues and get the monthly anthology, without having to wait/worry about TPBs.
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dehayd: Alan Moore HAS accepted the apology. That has been reported on some very reliable comic news sites. Things are OK between him and Joe Q now. *** Smugbug: Joe Q promised Alan Moore that the copyright notice would be correct. Moore calling to check would have effectively been calling Joe a liar. A rather impolite thing to do, as I think you will agree. *** The basic facts are that Marvel made a mistake which Joe then apologised for, and Moore accepted his apology. If that is good enough for them, it is good enough for me. Attacking Marvel or Moore is pointless and helps neither 'side' because there are no sides to be on.
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GRANT MORRISON.
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sorry to dis on alan moore, but he is constantly crying about how marvel and dc is screwing him over. i say if you don't like to work for them then fine dont do it. but shut the hell up, if you signed a bad contract and don't have a legal leg to stand on, to fight it. i respect alan moore immensley, but i think artists who work for big corporations, should know what they are getting into. many other writers have worked for marvel and dc, some have gotten screwed, some haven't. the simple fact is alan moore the individual has a choice he can make. if he doesn't want to work for marvel, then so be it. i really don't want to hear it from him though. jack kirby got screwed alot worse than he did.
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Feb 04, 2002 11:35:40 PM CST
You can name five BETTER comics writers than Alan Moore? That&#
by brashhulk
I DARE you to name five comics writers who are better than Alan Moore. You can name some of his contemporaries who are possibly on his level, and you can mention some older writers who were the creators and innovators of the comics genre, but five BETTER writers? You'd better back up, man. Foregoing the fact that anyone's opinion about the creative arts is just that - an opinion - you'd better have some mature guidelines to base your judgements upon other than "I just like so-and-so's style better than Moore's." Let's not forget that this is the man who gave us Miracleman, an incredible re-inventing of the Swamp Thing, The Watchmen, all the ABC books (Promethea, Top 10, League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Tom Strong, etc.), V For Vendetta, and more. If you want a more realistic assessment of quality than one columnists slant, go ask the creators themselves. Go ask Frank Miller, John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Dave Sim, Grant Morrison, Walt Simonson, Garth Ennis, Brian Michael Bendis, Stan Lee, George Perez, Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, and the rest. Take a poll of these guys and then tell me that there is a world out there that Alan Moore finishes no better than SIXTH in a listing of all-time best comics writers. It ain't happenin', man.
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It is interesting the copyright situation going on here. It makes me think of an ongoing thing many of us have been wanting from Marvel. Have some acknowledgement
to Jack Kirby on the appropriate comics at Marvel. I have no feelings one way or another for Marvel or JQ. He sounds like he is trying to get Marvel to be a well run and creative company. I just hope that credit gets put in as DC has done with Bob Kane, Siegel, Shuster, Kirby, etc. As for Moore he is a great talent and it sounds like the Marvel deal has been worked out. I am still perplexed that he worked with Liefeld at one time. He is to the republishing of MARVEL MAN! -
Joe Quesada has been the best thing to happen to Marvel in years... and he is probably one of the top reasons that this year I started collecting comic books again after a 5 year hiatus.
Sometimes stupid mistakes happen. I'm glad to see that Joe has the balls to stand up and take responsibility for them (even though I doubt he had anything to do with the copyright omission).
To do so like that took a lot of guts, and was a real classy act!
Keep it up, Joe.
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Yahimajerk,what bad contract are you talking about? Moore had JQ's PROMISE face to face and on many conversations. if JQ makes so many promises and can't follow through with them it's hardly Moore's fault.JQ called Moore. JQ went to England.JQ made promises.and while he takes full responsibility, he still mentions how bad their TPB dept. is.JQ had just fired about half the trade paper back dept. at Marvel,and then assumed every thing would be done correctly. and as far as JQ's commitment to quality,did you see X-Man 400? or the Captain America mini that's out now? maybe if he wasn't busy giving smart-ass interviews or writing lame Christmas poems he could concentrate on making Marvel the one to watch again
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Moore isn't interested in writing for an established character, so what's the difference if he writes for Marvel, ABC, DC or Dark Horse? Would you not go and see a film by a favourite director simply because it was released by say WB rather than Universal? You don't base your decisions about a film going on the distributor, but by the star or director.
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As a comic writer I realize how important it is to get credit where credit is due. Alan is not a selfish or angry man, he just wants acknowledgment for HIS creation. Marvel has made its apology and issued statements but that doesn't change the error. He has every right to be angry and take whatever actions he deems necessary. If he chooses never to work for Marvel, so be it. The man is not hurting for money and Marvel , in its current state, is not as half as revolutionary Alan's ABC line. But hell, the man may need a new BMW someday , so just wait and see if ever works for Marvel. He once said he would never work for DC too.
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Crossgen has had wonderful ideas, and for all the people whining about how bad Marvel and DC have gotten, they really should take a look at Crossgen. It's only flaw is that it's still young. Well that and the fact there are only a handful of characters that aren't white. But that's been changing so it should not be the basis for ignoring their books. There aren't many high profile minorities reprepresented in the DC universe either, which is quite a bit larger than Crossgen. Marvel does a pretty good job of showing ethnic variety. If only it would deflate itself a bit, iron out and streamline all those continuities the way DC did in the '80s with Crisis. Really, check out Crossgen. Now that they're doing compendiums, you can read the titles from the beginning!
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Perhaps Moore not working for marvel would be no great loss for them economically...is that all there really is though?
So what if 30,000 books isn't a huge sales margin....for christs sake Alanis Morissette and Elton John are the biggest selling recording artists to date! -
The Only People That Lose Out Here?- -The Fans.
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I don't care who wrote it, who drew it, or what company published it, if it's a good story, I'll buy it and read it and enjoy it. As long as the publishing company isn't part of a corporation that also produces nuclear missiles, I'll buy their product. I'm a selfish person. I read what I want, no matter if the creator's are assholes or the comany is a money-grubbing, unscrupulous corporation. I have no loyalty to either, nor will hold grudges against either. It's all about whether I'm entertained or not. And that's it.
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