The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

by **Punchy** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:44 pm

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/04/19/chris-roberson-quits-dc-comics/

Chris Roberson wrote:Having an afternoon cocktail to celebrate the end of my time at DC.

Aside from the Fairest arc I already committed to doing, iZombie will be the last time I’ll ever write for DC.

Sorry. In a better world, characters like the Legion would be owned by a more ethical company, but sadly not in this one.

The short version is, I don’t agree with the way they treat other creators and their general business practices.

I decided quite some time ago, but waited until after the cancellation of my book was announced to discuss it.

And he linked to a ComicsAlliance article about Before Watchmen. Could DC be burning a lot of bridges with that project? Even a DC stalwart like Grant Morrison mocked the idea of a 'Before Flex Mentallo' in an interview.

It'll be interesting to see fallout like this, much has been made of fan reaction, but what about other creators?

by **guitarsmashley** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:48 pm

those that need/want paychecks wont give a shit.

by **BlueStreak** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:48 pm

In my opinion, Roberson has been repeatedly screwed by DC over the last couple of years, despite bending over backwards to help them out of the JMS jam.

On a completely unrelated note, be sure to check the front page in June for an interview with Chris!

by **Benderbrau** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:49 pm

guitarsmashley wrote:those that need/want paychecks wont give a shit.

You'd be surprised. Artists tend to put their morality ahead of their necessities. It's both inspiring and stupid as fucking hell all at the same time.

by **nietoperz** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:51 pm

Good for him for taking a stand.

by **e_galston** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:57 pm

guitarsmashley wrote:those that need/want paychecks wont give a shit.

i'm sure if DC is screwing creators over, Marvel/Image/IDW/Dark Horse/Avatar would gladly pay them...

by **Cat-Scratch** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:59 pm

He's a LoSH fan!! :-D

by **chap22** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:02 pm

Sitebreaker wrote:
i'm sure if DC is screwing creators over, Marvel/Image/IDW/Dark Horse/Avatar would gladly pay them...

since that article he linked bitches just as much about Marvel screwing Kirby, he'd be pretty hypocritical to work for them. not that i'd be surprised by that in the least...

this is bad news for DC though...i really like Roberson. his Cinderella minis were both fantastic, and iZombie's fun.

by **Punchy** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:02 pm

Cat-Scratch wrote:He's a LoSH fan!!

Well yeah, he wrote the Legion/Star Trek crossover.

by **Chris** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:04 pm

In 5 years, when he's writing books that sell 2000 copies per month, and nobody knows who he is.. I'm sure he'll change his mind.

Not very smart to be burning bridges in the industry at his level, though. He's not a Mark Millar. He's not going to sell comics on his name alone on the indie level.

by **achilles** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:04 pm

I'm a bit confused, I know how DC screws the fans over, (any way they can), but apart from the thing with Moore, which seems to me to be in large part a crazy man's fit, I'm not in the loop about what they do to their creative talent.

Could someone please provide some examples? I mean I though that creative types should take it for granted the big company wants to screw them, or their agent or whatever, and take precautions. Which is a big reason I admire JK Rowling, (not for her writing, but her business sense---she kept all rights to e-book sales for example, when they normally flow to the publisher, with the writer getting far less than he or she would if they self-published).

I just don't know specifically how DC is screwing the talent. Is it worse for example than Marvel?

by **Chris** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:06 pm

It's odd to me how and when people decide to take the moral high ground on stuff like this. All big businesses have their dirty little secrets and shady business practices on some level, some are just more well known than others. But you can't exactly just shut down and block all society out or anything.

by **misac** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:09 pm

If he was leaving he should have moved I Zombie to Image or something. Can't he do that?

I'd love if he'd written the Legion. I'd probably still be buying it.

by **Cat-Scratch** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:10 pm

Punchy wrote:
Well yeah, he wrote the Legion/Star Trek crossover.

Didn't notice his name.

by **Punchy** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:13 pm

Holland Oats wrote:In 5 years, when he's writing books that sell 2000 copies per month, and nobody knows who he is.. I'm sure he'll change his mind.

Not very smart to be burning bridges in the industry at his level, though. He's not a Mark Millar. He's not going to sell comics on his name alone on the indie level.

Well it's not like his previous work at Vertigo was all with corporate characters, it was pretty much only Superman that he worked on, the other stuff, iZombie, was sold on the creator's names.