The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Jubilee]

Mignola seems like a great shout Chap, will add him to the first post!

[Apache Chef]

I do, I think after a few years most writers would be looking to branch out into their own creator owned work. People like Brubaker, Millar and Hickman seemed to do the big 2 stuff, but they seem to really get a kick off their own creator owned work. Why would you want to work on Captain America when you can write Sleeper/Criminal?

Because he likes writing Captain America?

[chap22]

I do, I think after a few years most writers would be looking to branch out into their own creator owned work. People like Brubaker, Millar and Hickman seemed to do the big 2 stuff, but they seem to really get a kick off their own creator owned work. Why would you want to work on Captain America when you can write Sleeper/Criminal?

because you love Captain America, maybe?

[Chesscub]

I do, I think after a few years most writers would be looking to branch out into their own creator owned work. People like Brubaker, Millar and Hickman seemed to do the big 2 stuff, but they seem to really get a kick off their own creator owned work. Why would you want to work on Captain America when you can write Sleeper/Criminal?

Each has their benefits and drawbacks. Creator owned has inherent risks. If you fail you're out quite a bit but you reap the profits if it's successful. Company owned gives you a steady paycheck, benefits for exclusives, and stability.

Sleeper was a Wildstorm book like Welcome to Tranquility.

[Timbales]

Because he likes writing Captain America?

Someone likes to write a commercial product and get paid to do it?

[Greg]

Interesting. She did well to make that concept, but a quick look at the wiki shows that it's a book in the Wildstorm universe, with frequent references to it's expanded universe.

It's something like Secret Warriors then? Which Bendis created? Just a new team?

BKV's Ex Machina is also a Wildstorm book. I don't think that dissociates it from not being completely his own concept.

[Jubilee]

Because he likes writing Captain America?

Seems to me like you're admitting failure.

"I can't create anything as good as this creator"

As Virginia Woolf famously stated "The tools of one generation are useless to the next". It is time for the current crop of comic writers to ignore the tools of Marvel/DC and forge their own unforgettable characters. The people in the OP are trying at least!

[Jubilee]

BKV's Ex Machina is also a Wildstorm book. I don't think that dissociates it from not being completely his own concept.

I've never really read WTT by Simone, I'd never really heard of it, fair enough if it's something completely different from Simone's usual superhero fare.

[Grayson]

I do, I think after a few years most writers would be looking to branch out into their own creator owned work. People like Brubaker, Millar and Hickman seemed to do the big 2 stuff, but they seem to really get a kick off their own creator owned work. Why would you want to work on Captain America when you can write Sleeper/Criminal?

Because while there are people who get into the comic business because they want to write their own stories featuring their own characters, there are also people who get into the business because they want to write Captain America or Spider-Man. Maybe you think that mainstream super hero stories are boring, that doesn't mean that everybody else agrees and wants to stop writing them.

Like I said, DC basically allows Geoff Johns to go into the toy box and pick out whichever toys he wants to play with for as long as he wants to play with them. He could go off and create his own characters but he probably doesn't want to, especially right now when he is one of the main writers at DC. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with that.

Now, if tomorrow Johns decided that he was going to cut back the number of DC books that he is writing so that he could focus on a creator owned project, I would say "great, good for him!" I just don't see how you can fault him for being content with what he does.

[chap22]

Seems to me like you're admitting failure.

"I can't create anything as good as this creator"

As Virginia Woolf famously stated "The tools of one generation are useless to the next". It is time for the current crop of comic writers to ignore the tools of Marvel/DC and forge their own unforgettable characters. The people in the OP are trying at least!

rubbish. there is a reason characters like batman, Superman, Cap, Spidey, the X-Men, etc have lasted and been popular for so long (and in some ways, you could say they're more popular now than they EVER have been)...it's because people love them and grow attached to them. it's in no way admitting failure to say "you know what, i really enjoy getting the chance to steward the adventures of ___________________ for a couple years. i have loved the character since my childhood and this is like getting to fulfill what's basically a lifelong dream."

[Jubilee]

The reason those characters are more popular now more than ever are liscencing agreements. Batman isn't a better character than Zorro who isn't better than Tarzan who isn't better than Sherlock Holmes. They're just characters. Characters who are read by 50,000 dwindling reasons a month.

It's been fascinating having this debate again, I must leave now, because I am off to see the Avengers film. Suck on those eggs baldy.

[Timbales]

Unless a creator truly self publishes - pays for it all out of pocket - he/she still has to have a company that will stand behind their work and pay them. That means they have to produce a product the company likes enough to bankroll, so they aren't truly independent and uncensored.

[SuperginraiX]

It's funny you should say "If that doesn't work throw in a monkey or an ape", when Marvel have just recently finished there "Pet Avengers" and "Marvel Apes" storylines.

I can not see why anyone would want to tell a Spider-man or Avengers story. I don't think anyone creative should really think that way. People should want to tell a good story, I can not for the life of me figure out what makes Spider-man different from 100 other properties.

Take a leaf out of Alan Moore's book. Or someone like Kirkman whose not a fantastic writer by any stretch, but has tried to make his own properties, and has succeeded in mainstream success.

Oh, you get no argument from me when it comes to fictional characters like Spider-Man or the Avengers. Been there, done that. It's been done to death and this crazy madcap fight with the X-Men is just indicative that even fun, mindless comics have already been done before.

In fact, if you take that one step further, you'll come to realize that there's very little you can do with ANY fictional character. All the fictional archetypes have been covered to death time and time again. Even Mark Millar can only reimagine Batman and Spider-Man into his completely original characters so many times until someone notices. How many more late 18th century- early 19th century fictional characters can Alan Moore use before that avenue has been done to death. Even non-fictional characters have been snatched up by comic companies such as Whitewater.

No, if we're looking for a future outside of the Big Two for the world's top creators, what we need to look at is an area that has still been relatively unexplored in comics. That area is instruction books. Imagine a comic on color theory by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely! Think of a Geometry comic by Mark Waid and Adam Kubert! A Learning Spanish comic by Frank Miller!

This is the paradigm shift and it is guaranteed to be unique and original comics that will save the industry and draw in new readers. Especially if they are available on the iPad.

[ReturnoftheMack]

There is no trend starting.

Even the successful ones usually end up going back (see Image).

The ones that aren't going back are the ones that got a big break with a creator owned character, but there is no mass exodus coming.

[Timbales]

I must leave now, because I am off to see the Avengers film.

and with that, all credibility is lost, in my opinion