Gotta Say I Disagree

Over on Robot 6, Kiel Phegley answers criticism for not pressing more on the question of royalties in his Cup O' Joe interview with Marvel's Joe Quesada.

Joe Quesada: Going pretty far back, in discussions about electronically/digitally distributed comics, our publisher Dan Buckley stated at several convention panels and in interviews that we would be paying incentives for creators of these books. We just didn't put out a press release about it, and I guess some folks just didn't catch it when he said these things. But there you go, welcome to the world of the Internet.

Kiel Phegley: To clarify the specifics of Marvel's plan a bit more, why did the royalty program take longer to get in place than the digital comics sales platforms?

Joe Quesada: Well, that's just the thing; it hasn't. Like all incentive programs, whether paper or electronic, sales are tabulated, math is done and then, eventually, checks go out. If you want specifics, okay I'll give you one: our first incentive checks for e-comics will be going out sometime right after San Diego Comic-Con. Announcing this, now maybe DC can put out a press release saying that they’re going to pay their incentives the week before San Diego. Cool, if they do that, then they’ll manage to be the first at something in the digital arena.

Phegley cited some fan reaction to the interview being negative about him even bothering to ask questions about the royalties. The idea being: imagine how much more negative reaction there'd be if he pressed with a few more questions. It would have been a waste of everyone's time.

Things I would have pressed on and wouldn't have thought were a waste of time:

1. Sure, Buckley said Marvel intended to pay "incentives". It was first said in reference to Marvel DCU that has been around for years...and still hasn't seen a dime paid out to creators. So, you know, the fact that he said Marvel would be paying incentives is about as meaningful as all of those black and white 1950s serials that said we'd have flying cars in the year 1980. When a statement that hasn't resulted in any action over a period of years is used as defense, it would be smart to politely press on that. Otherwise, you've wasted everyone's time fielding this poor excuse for an answer.
2. All due respect to Joe, but, well, that's just the thing: IT HAS. Marvel first started offering single issues via Comixology back in October 2009, but are PLANNING on paying their first incentive checks "sometime right after SDCC"? That's supposed to refute that their compensation plan has taken longer to figure out than offering their books for individual digital sale? Again, if you let that nonsense pass without a follow up, especially in light of all the "boy who cried wolf" claims about payments from Buckley that passed before, you're wasting everyone's time.

Phegley is a really good writer and, from all accounts I've heard, a great guy. I honestly think he'd be better off having not responded to complaints. Why? Because when tough questions aren't asked or bad answers aren't challenged on comic book news sites, I'm pretty sure the real reason is that freelancers have to fear professionals deciding they want to be interviewed by someone else from now on. 

Access is everything when you make your money covering comic books...and you'd be surprised how publishers and even some creators can be when deciding who to give it to. I know a writer who was pegged to do a running feature on a major comic book event and almost lost the job before it started because he had given the company's writer a negative review on one of his books months ago. 

I can't say it loudly enough: ACCESS IS EVERYTHING. And fans expecting high standards of journalism should stop looking for it from major comic book sites until less fans decide what sites they frequent based on how many exclusive interviews and previews a site gets. 

Ryan Choi Lives!

Gotta love folks taking lemons and making a parody-filled lemonade out of it.

The Ian Boothby Rules Everything thread on CBR (in Gail Simone's YABS forum) is filled with many good examples.

(image taken from Tim Seeley's twitpic contribution to the meme)

CBR's Interview With Thomas Jane

I'm a fan of Thomas Jane's work. I even liked him in the Punisher and thought it was a shame that they made some poor choices in the script and didn't get a chance to make a sequel. HUNG, for which he has received a Golden Globe nomination, was a heckuva fun show on HBO, too.

I've never really sat down to hear about his comic book credentials. When I saw this pop up in my iTunes, I decided to play it. I was about to just comment on this to bust on the fact that they label him in the video as THOMAS JAYNE, but then it kept playing. Seeing him talk about growing up wanting to be a comic book artist as he started talking about Dave Stevens...and then seeing his eyes well up as he expressed what kind of man his friend and creator of The Rocketeer was...I thought this was worthy of attention for far better reasons then joking about a typo.

Blackest Night #6 Leaked

Update: From the comments in the thread on CBR about the article, it would appear less likely that the mention of the scan being "lower quality" was pulled from popular opinion of other readers of the illegally available comic book. Given that CBR banned a member who posted a few images from the book, it seems more and more likely that the comment may have been made to discourage others from seeking it out.

Original Post:

OK, we all knew that Blackest Night #6 would not successfully be embargoed when there are no proper checks and balances in place to keep it from getting out. There are no carrots and no sticks; any retailer who sells a few copies early to their best customers will likely be found out. Probably the only DM retailers that wind up following it are just the online variety (and even then, I don't think there are any that are STRICTLY online, so just the online segments of full service retailers).

But one of the things I found odd is the following in an article on CBR about the leak, specifically discussing the scanned book offered via torrents:

The scan itself was of lower quality than is typical of the pirated books, indicating that it was scanned, compiled and distributed in a bigger rush than usual.

The above quote was not placed in any context as being based on comments culled from the sites offering the torrent, but put forth as a statement of fact or judgment by the author of the column, Kiel Phegley.

If that statement is completely genuine, it suggests that a regular contributor to one of the top two sites covering comic books downloads and reads torrents on such a regular basis as to be able to compare and contrast scan qualities enough to make that assertion.

If that statement just isn't in its proper context (it WAS, in fact, made based on the opinions of others, not the author), then it runs the risk of people drawing the incorrect conclusion that Phegley is a connoisseur of scanned comics.

The third less likely option is that the statement is being made regardless of the real quality of the scan, only being there to serve as a slight attempt to dissuade readers from seeking it out.

I'd be curious to know which, if any, is true.

Milk That Yacht

Sheesh, how much SDCCI footage can you have that you're still rolling out interviews more than two months after it ended?

You have to wonder how relevant and up-to-date a two and a half month old interview can be. I don't know if there was some info that couldn't be made public until now, but, for crying out loud, scrap it and go with something new. Jonah's a great guy and all, but even he says during the interview that this was just announced and Shooter probably didn't have the scope of the project yet.

But I guess it helps fill out the page or something.

Be on the lookout on July 1st, 2010: from the SDCCI 2009 CBR yacht, the interview with John Layman on his reaction to the Gold Key news! The Monday before the convention? An SDCCI 2009 CBR yacht interview with Fabian Nicienza for his reaction, as well.

The Cloak & Dagger Troll Situation

From Lying in the Gutters:

Last week, one particular troll spent some time masquerading identities online and stating that D’Orazio had got both Flores and Warren fired off the title. This was summarily dismissed by all parties. But there was something going on.

I didn't see where either denied it, but I probably just missed it. I did see Emily Warren deny that it was her that posted the comment on the Robot Six. Her Twitter simply said that she doesn't talk about business online at all, not that the claims weren't true.

I'm not suggesting the claims are or were true. I'm just saying that the comment I read was distinctly different than a summary dismissal. There must be some other source for Rich indicating it was dismissed by all parties, I guess.