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1) Work-for-hire versus creator-owned. Which is better for creators? (That one's quite easy, financially anyway.) Is there a place for work-for-hire?
I think that there is a place for both, and there's no reason why they shouldn't co-exist. While a lot of folks in the comics field go into it purely for work-for-hire, I don't think those are the people we're talking about here... we're talking about the super-creative types, right?
Well, it's pretty clear that a lot of those people do like to go back and forth between their own creations and others, and I don't blame them...there's a lot more at stake when yr making things up on yr own, and it can be very rewarding, but also very draining. It can also often not be very lucrative. I think that by doing work-for-hire with corporate owned icon/universe characters, creators have the opportunity to do a few very attractive things: They get the benefit of not having to come up with their own ideas, and not be punished for a lack of creativity. They can just fuck around with other people's creations, obviously a lot easier, but also fun and cool in a subversive sort of way if they happen to be working on popular icons like X-Men, Batman, Justice League, etc. In defense of writing corporate owned properties as an ambition, I've read some interviews with Mark Waid, and he's always saying that he wanted to 'give something back' to the characters he loved when he was a kid, and I think that's valid in its own sentimental sort of way.
Superheroes. The rightful focus of the medium or a terrible, terrible mistake?
Certainly not the 'rightful focus' of the medium, not by any stretch, but definitely not a mistake in any way. I don't think there is anything intrinsically wrong with superhero fiction than there is with any other form of fiction... sure, I tend to fucking hate Westerns, but it's a big mistake for me to write them all off, just the same with superheroes and those who put them down...
Does the superhero genre have its advantages?
Sure. it's great for a lot of power fantasy (which need not be a bad or unhealthy thing), it's great for its iconography, it's a wonderful outlet for subversion. on and on... there's a reason it has persevered through the past century in many different forms...
Can superhero comics appeal to a mainstream audience?
Are you kidding? They already do. That may not be matched by sales figures in relativity to other mediums like film and music, but superheroes are a big chunk of western pop culture, they have a huge universal appeal (at least in terms of concept and iconography), and in its most basic sense, it can potentially hold appeal for most anyone, it just depends greatly upon execution.
There is no good reason why superhero comics shouldn't exist, or shouldn't be really good fiction. The problems with the vast majority of superhero comics have a lot more to do with deficiencies in the comics industry and talent pool than it does with the concepts that make up the genre.
Just the same, there's no good reason as to why there shouldn't be a great ammount of variety in terms of what stories are told in the comics medium...I think that every year, this situation gets a little better, more and more diverse material gets published, and slowly gets recognized, and the success stories keep getting happier....think about the massive sales jumps Chris Ware and Daniel Clowes have been experiencing, the fact that their work is becoming more and more accessable in mainstream bookstores. Those two are a wonderful example of where I think the industry is headed in, whether it knows it or not.
Should we shame them into ceasing their fanboyishness and buying only Safe Area Corrigan The Smartest Homicidal Marbles In My Underpants from now on,
The thing is, it's a bit silly to begrudge superhero fans for not buying Chris Ware comics. There are issues of subjective taste at play....the odds of a Spawn fan being really into Adrian Tomine isn't nearly as likely as a fan of Robert Altman being into Harvey Pekar. You've got to get the comics to their appropriate audiences, and that means people who are aware of the comics actively recommending them to people who would be interested in the subject matter.
It's also not impossible (or even that weird) for the fans of the 'alternative' non superhero comics to also really like some superhero comics. It's probably a lot more healthy for people to have a broad interest and taste than a narrow one, don't you think?
[ 25-10-2001: Message edited by: Flux = whatever ] |
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