Oh snap! Look at that. Thije posted a link. That’s the kind of spontaneity you can expect here at ATTWZ.com. I’m still working on getting the Thije to write me up a bio, but I should at least inform the crowd that Mr. Prins is indeed a native and occupant of the Netherlands, a fictional country I’m told is somewhere between Africa and Siberia. Thije is the creator of Sara Sunshine, a comic about a young Dutch actress trying to find her way. You might have noticed the nifty “19″ logo around the site. It represents Royal 19, a studio headed by Thije and friends that has helped guide the process of getting this whole bad boy online.
As I promised without any real commitment or collateral I’m going to hit this site up with the best and latest in news according other people’s articles, Twitter feeds, speculations and meanderings. You’re probably here because you are a big-time fan of either zombies or comics, so let’s get into what’s happening in those two subjects.
The “Week” In Zombies:
Walking Dead. That’s the hot shit right now.
Guess what? I’ve never seen it. Or read it.
“Whoa!” you might exclaim, “And you call yourself a zombie fan!”
I am! I swear. I have the first two volumes of the series three feet away from my desk. I have abstained from the series because I fear some of the finer details might be too close to my idea for ATTWZ, and wanted the creative process to stay as pure as possible. Of course, this is while I sublimely “borrow” off of every other zombie movie, book and cool looking poster my subconscious can stealthily pull in. Still, I hope it’s not long before I can I actively discuss it with the rest of the world.
Anyway, on to the relevant news concerning Robert Kirkman’s star franchise:
- The premiere of the second part of the second season aired Sunday. I don’t need to link anything here, you’ve heard about it. Premiering after that premiere was Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men. A show about guys in a comic shop. It was a pretty bad episode, but I think I will let get it’s sea-legs before I really go about critiquing it for it’s many flaws.
- The video game by Telltale is steadily moving forward. It looks decent, but zombie games are beat to death. However, like the undead they keep coming back with creative ways to incorporate Z’s into games. TWD is a huge draw for the general audience, so this make sense. I’m scuttling my way through Telltale’s Back to the Future game and while the game play is simplistic, the puzzle solving and story depth is tremendous. BttF is a franchise overdue for a comic tie-in, but that game goes a long, long way in throwing on some fun additions to the already fantastic mythology.
- Also, some awesome looking swag.
The “Week” In Comics:
It’s been a weird week in comics. But that’s because comics is weird, y’all.
Creator rights have been the huge issue in play over the last week year decade 1920′s, and a slew of big time stories have seeped into between our discussions on Bats vs Owls and Iron Fist possibly getting a solo series. Three stories broke recently that fall under the realm “creator rights”, which is increasingly looking to be an oxymoron.
Firstly, the long, long running feud between Alan Moore and Detective Comics Comics entered a new phase with the announcement of the Watchmen prequels, Before Watchmen. We all know what happened — Moore, even in his profound looniness, was screwed. Fortunately, for inspiring creators. the industry learned tremendously from the shady practices of yesteryear. I will never blame Moore for being mad about not having rights, but due to his curmudgeon-like nature he blew any chance of rectifying the situation.
The other half to his argument against furthering the mythology of Watchmen is that people shouldn’t touch the characters because the idea of Watchmen is finite, and actually, as he explains it now, the book is a commentary on the never-ending superhero saga. I never read it like that, and even if it’s true, it’s been more than pointed out that Moore is a culprit of using the influences of others in conventional ways. The Watchmen characters themselves are parodies of the old Charlton Comics characters. His Lost Girls series features sexed-up versions of Alice in Wonderland, Wendy from Peter Pan and Dorothy from Oz. Neonomicon is a creative spin on the stories of H.P Lovecraft and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen… well the point is proven. The creators of the characters and franchises mentioned probably wouldn’t endorse a fraction of the stuff point out in their name.
I once read the phrase “Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources” scribbled on a wall of a room I was hanging out in during a drunken, boring night. I later discovered the quote is attributed to Eisenstein and I think it speaks profoundly to life and art. How I think it applies here that Moore, in all his genius, is still someone who pulls his creativity from the inspiration of others. To moan on about the industry having no new ideas left is simply untrue, but to imply no new ideas can come from Watchmen is simply facetious. He’s trying to find any excuse or reason is kill fan excitement.
That said, I’m having a really hard time not getting a smidge giddy when I think about the adventures of Nite-Owl, the co. I can’t say I’m an active fan of the any the creators, but the line-ups are undeniably impressive. The tipping point might be this piece by Eisner Award-winning creator Darwyn Cooke.
Just like a baby’s face, how could some hate that?!
The second comics bombshell came in time for the release of major motion picture.
Basically, you can Google and get the scoop, but Gary Friedrich, co-creator of the Ghost Rider, sued Marvel over the first movie. They counter-sued and now he owes them $17,000 because he makes a living in connection with their product blah blah blah.
Another nightmare scenario. Yet in no way groundbreaking. There have been so many of this type of case that I’m surprised Friedrich even filed suit in 2007. Particularly, since he co-created a character with several other people and the name Ghost Rider was owned by the company before the current blazin’ skull incarnation. Can’t blame the dude for wanting part of the pie for a character who was about bring in millions, but the precedence was set for him to lose, and thus to waste time and money in court.
Sad day for The Creator. Nothing I can say other than to graciously thank those before us for blazing this path in comics for those who came after them. Working for a major company doesn’t have to be a terrible experience, but it can be if someone is naive about the realities of business. No one wants to pay for something they don’t have to.
These kind of backroom dealings and hidden language contracts rolled into the creator movement 90′s, Image and a lot of the Mark Millar-type hucksterism you see today. It also led to creators being proactive, educating other artists and the community about what’s what and thus forcing the companies to change their practices and be somewhat more “about face” about how they do things. A recent pillar for the movement has been the aforementioned Robert Kirkman.
Which brings us peculiarly full-circle on the creator rights, and Walking Dead themes of this post: This week Tony Moore, original artist for The Walking Dead filed suit against Kirkman over royalties and reportedly being swindled out of creator rights. Kirkman asserts the deal in place is fair.
I have no idea the specifics of their arrangement, nor does anyone have a clear idea of their collaboration or creative development of the product that now has millions of fans, but wow, I can’t help be taken aback by the irony of this.
After years of big companies dumping all over creators for their inspiration and hard work mavericks like Kirkman have come out and forged the path of the independent creator. If you don’t want to work with the big companies 100% of time you aren’t required to be someone who needs to self publish out of their garage and hit the convention circuit year-round. The method works for him, to great evidence, but eventually the “creator rights” bug bit him too. I’m in no way a fan of big business, but I wonder if just for a second Kirkman had a “CEO” moment and understood the mentality of those evil executives we all love to hate.
Maybe the true irony is that I write a webcomic about zombies that another dude, a guy I’ve never met in person, draws and develops it thousands of miles away. But that’s the nature of the industry isn’t it? The collaboration, the meshing, the unification of two or more minds to create a work of undeniable quality. I love comics!
I also love pouring out a rambling, barely edited thought every know and then. Be ready for more.
-Jamil
