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[Amoebas]

That he would bitch about it was predictable enough that there is no way the DC publicity department weren't banking on it to drive up controversy and, by extension, interest and sales. Moore did exactly what they expected him to do. If he had just shrugged and said, "meh," or "Who cares?" then DC would be missing a huge peg upon which to hang the publicity for the project.

I think it's the fans (and 'reporters' who keep asking the "Watchmen" question) that are more concerned about Moore than DC is.

Moore says he "hates it" = publicity
Moore says he "loves it" = publicity
Moore says "meh" = publicity
Moore says "there are eggs in my shoe" = publicity

[Punchy]

Siegle, Shuster, Kirby, etc were all screwed over because they were in a day and age where nobody knew better (and in many cases were taken advantage of by their companies). This is not the case with Alan Moore. He signed a good and fair contract.

That Watchmen ended up being the best selling graphic novel of all over the decades is a testament to how good a story he crafted. That DC continues to publish it (as the contract allows) is their right.

Did he? He signed a contract before there was really any notion of single-issue comics being collected into graphic novels and being sold in perpetuity. He would never have been able to know that Watchmen would never go out of print and not have the rights revert to him.

[Punchy]

I don't recall anybody 'crying out' for American Vampire, Unwritten, Mark Waid on Daredevil, the Avengers to fight the X-Men for the next 6 months, etc before they happened either, but then they were there.

Yes they were, many people wanted a more light-hearted Daredevil, and the arrival of the Phoenix and the culmination of the Hope storyline has been expected for years. As for American Vampire and Unwritten, yes, nobody was asking for them specifically, but people are always looking for the next new idea and concept, whatever it may be.

[Amoebas]

That really doesn't even begin to excuse what JMS said.

While I agree that the guy is an ass - What's reported above isn't anything that wasn't/isn't true.

CBR reported JMS's as saying...
Straczynski addressed the online criticism of Alan Moore and said he got it on an emotional level. "Alan Moore is a genius. No question," said Straczynski. "On the other hand, he's been using characters like the Invisible Man, Peter Pan, Jekyl and Hyde in what one fan basically called fan fiction -- in ways their original creators probably wouldn't have approved of. … You stand on a slippery slope when you use the moral high ground."

"Did Alan Moore get a crummy contract? Yes. So has everyone at this table. Worse was Segal and Shuster, worse was a lot of people." The writer went on to credit Dan DiDio for pushing the project through, despite the fact that most would not touch it.

Newsarama...
"Alan Moore is a genius, no question. On the other hand, he uses characters like Invisible Man, Mr. Hyde, Peter Pan, in LoEG and other books. He's doing things with those characters that the creators of them would not approve of. Including having Mr. Hyde anally rape Invisible Man to death. Robert Louis Stephenson wouldn't have approved. You stand on a slippery slope when you lose the moral high ground.
All credit must go to DiDio for taking a stand and making this happen. He came and we talked and he said they'll get a lot of great writers... and me."

Again - nothing untrue is being said. And as Punchy said in regards to the crappy contracts - it is something that the comic industry should be ashamed about - and to have then called out on from time to time.

If there's a video or more detailed write-up where JMS is wrong about anything - I haven't found it.

[Amoebas]

That really doesn't even begin to excuse what JMS said.

While I agree that the guy is an ass - What's reported above isn't anything that wasn't/isn't true.

CBR reported JMS's as saying...
Straczynski addressed the online criticism of Alan Moore and said he got it on an emotional level. "Alan Moore is a genius. No question," said Straczynski. "On the other hand, he's been using characters like the Invisible Man, Peter Pan, Jekyl and Hyde in what one fan basically called fan fiction -- in ways their original creators probably wouldn't have approved of. … You stand on a slippery slope when you use the moral high ground."

"Did Alan Moore get a crummy contract? Yes. So has everyone at this table. Worse was Segal and Shuster, worse was a lot of people." The writer went on to credit Dan DiDio for pushing the project through, despite the fact that most would not touch it.

Newsarama...
"Alan Moore is a genius, no question. On the other hand, he uses characters like Invisible Man, Mr. Hyde, Peter Pan, in LoEG and other books. He's doing things with those characters that the creators of them would not approve of. Including having Mr. Hyde anally rape Invisible Man to death. Robert Louis Stephenson wouldn't have approved. You stand on a slippery slope when you lose the moral high ground.
All credit must go to DiDio for taking a stand and making this happen. He came and we talked and he said they'll get a lot of great writers... and me."

Again - nothing untrue is being said. And as Punchy said in regards to the crappy contracts - it is something that the comic industry should be ashamed about - and to have then called out on from time to time.

If there's a video or more detailed write-up where JMS is wrong about anything - I haven't found it.

[bkthomson]

the quote from JMS

"Alan Moore is a genius. No question. On the other hand, he's been using characters like the Invisible Man, Peter Pan, Jekyl and Hyde in what one fan basically called fan fiction-in ways their original creators probably wouldn't have approved of. You stand on a slippery slope when you use the moral high ground." -J. Michael Straczynski

Man to see JMS and Alan Moore get into it would be a great popcorn treat.

[Royal Nonesuch]

My favorite element of this panel is the fact that DC brought up a "skeptical fan" to look at the artwork so he can proclaim to the world that the art is beautiful. As if all the fan skepticism was whether or not the art would be any good or not. Nice attempt by DC to reframe the debate on friendly ground.

[Herald]

My favorite element of this panel is the fact that DC brought up a "skeptical fan" to look at the artwork so he can proclaim to the world that the art is beautiful. As if all the fan skepticism was whether or not the art would be any good or not. Nice attempt by DC to reframe the debate on friendly ground.

Hype and transparent scams are all Dan and the Gang have got at this point.
Actual creativity would take bright ideas and thinking, and they can't do any of that.

Someone needs to find out who this "skeptical fan" was.
I wouldn't be surprised if he is related to someone at DC.

[Amoebas]

My favorite element of this panel is the fact that DC brought up a "skeptical fan" to look at the artwork so he can proclaim to the world that the art is beautiful. As if all the fan skepticism was whether or not the art would be any good or not. Nice attempt by DC to reframe the debate on friendly ground.

Agreed. Glad this wasn't simply hype or a scam but rather a genuine platform for Dan and company to proudly present their points and product.
Actual creativity takes bright ideas and thinking, glad that DC has some great creators lined up for this project.

Someone needs to find out who this "skeptical fan" was.
I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't "skeptical" anymore.

[Punchy]

Agreed. Glad this wasn't simply hype or a scam but rather a genuine platform for Dan and company to proudly present their points and product.
Actual creativity takes bright ideas and thinking, glad that DC has some great creators lined up for this project.

Someone needs to find out who this "skeptical fan" was.
I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't "skeptical" anymore.

Why the hell are you on DC's side so heavily here? Are you the sceptical fan?

[Victorian Squid]

Why the hell are you on DC's side so heavily here? Are you the sceptical fan?

Apparently not!

[Herald]

Why the hell are you on DC's side so heavily here?

Because "You can fool SOME of the people ALL of the time..."

[Arion]

There’s been a lot of online debate recently about how both Marvel and DC Comics have dealt with freelancers, contracts and moral obligations. With Marvel it has been about paying dues—both credit and financial—for Gary Friedrich (creator of Ghost Rider) and Jack Kirby (creator of practically everything else). While DC’s issues have been about whether they should be publishing Watchmen prequels.

Regarding the latter, Alan Moore has commented on how dismayed he was that the publishers were rehashing something that he and Dave Gibbons created over 25 years ago. But what he’s forgetting is that is exactly what Marvel and DC have been doing for the past 60 years, let alone the last quarter of a century. And is it any wonder that they keep returning to their standard Intellectual Properties?

There is very little reward or incentive for freelance creators to develop new characters for the Big Two. Sure, you might get a credit line these days and a few residual royalties, but nothing like the a major chunk of profit share that Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird garnered when they—very astutely—kept hold of their rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

When you add the aggressive tactics that these publishers’ lawyers—and I’m singling the lawyers out, as most people I know who work at DC and Marvel are really lovely people—employ when going after freelancers who stand up for some recognition and a bit of cash, is it any wonder they are starting to seriously look like the evil, psychopathic corporations many believe them to be.

While the rest of the Internet gets in a tizzy about these specific cases it’s important to step back and look at the future of the biggest comic book publishers in America.

These battles are all about securing their Intellectual Property Rights (we’ll gloss over the argument that it took someone outside of the companies to create these characters). There’s no way any company that big is going to roll over and sign away their cash cows over a guilt trip, and I wouldn’t expect them to. However, while this aggressive tactic of tracking down and protecting their IPs works in the short term (preventing piracy and money haemorrhaging to every single freelancer demanding a bigger slice of the pie for every character ever created for their respective universes) in the long term it is far more damaging.

Based on the actions of the Big Two in recent months what freelancer in their right mind would create an original character for them? Why give away a great character to a large corporation who will exploit it ad infinitum when you see little, or no, returns from the endless licensing (the most important department in both companies). Surely, if your concept or character is that good you’d take it to Dark Horse, Top Shelf, Avatar, Dynamite, SelfMade Hero, or any of the countless publishers out there that offer infinitely better deals, in terms of copyright ownership. Christ, you could even publish it yourself using Kickstarter. “Ahh!” say the Big Two “But we can get you a bigger audience for your work with our vast marketing and PR power.” But the truth is writers like Garth Ennis, Alan Moore, and Warren Ellis have virtually abandoned the Big Two in favour of creative freedom and ownership, and they’ve still managed to pull their readers along with them. The Boys sold better at Dynamite than it ever did at WildStorm. And Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead has proved to be a massive success without having to sign away his rights or get into bed with some huge corporation (legal battles with Tony Moore notwithstanding).

So this all creates a serious problem for DC and Marvel. If no one is willing to create new characters and stories for them, they are reduced to rehashing the properties they do own (by fair means or foul). When Alan Moore attacks them for regurgitating his work—like an emaciated cash cow trying eek out some final nourishment from something that was already pretty indigestible—that’s all they’ve got! They don’t have a choice any more! They are drawing the wagon train into smaller and smaller circles, but the Indians have all buggered off and are reading more diverse, non-sexist, intellectually challenging, non-spandex-wearing work.

I’m seriously worried that Marvel and DC will eventually suffocate themselves on a lack of creative oxygen that is vital for them to grow and develop. Short-termisim works for politicians and bankers out to make a fast buck, but it leaves no legacy behind, just a hollow shell.

Unfortunately, it really does look like Alan Moore knows the score: Comics Will Eat Itself.

-Tim Pilcher

[alaska1125]

A message for all those ideologically opposed to this project: don't buy it. It's really just that easy.

[S.F. Jude Terror]

Agreed. Glad this wasn't simply hype or a scam but rather a genuine platform for Dan and company to proudly present their points and product.
Actual creativity takes bright ideas and thinking, glad that DC has some great creators lined up for this project.

Someone needs to find out who this "skeptical fan" was.
I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't "skeptical" anymore.

It was Zechs.