| |
|
i was reading through this thread, and i'm surprised at Grant/Kristan's response to the sharing of Flex Mentallo via the internet. i understand that its a strange time for the distribution of art, for the industry and the artist, with the advent of easy file transfers, p2p networks, etc. (we all know the story: napster, RIAA, dvd, etc.) but i would hope that of all people, GM would be able to to say 'fuck it' and embrace the change.
before i say anything else, let me state that i've been buying GM products for a long time. almost 15 years now. i have most of his work, and i've always urged others, even non-comic ppl, to get his stuff. i am all for Grant getting lots of money, fame, respect. i owe at least that to him for the stories.
having said that, i believe that the current structure we have for the distribution of art is becoming obsolete, as is our understanding of it that process, and maybe our relationship to art.
metallica got pissed off cuz billions of ppls were trading around their songs. i downloaded their songs. i also have them all on cassette tapes that hardly work anymore. even if i hadn't, i'd have known the majority of their songs through the radio, or MTV, or hearing other play it, etc. my point is that its already out there, in culture, and i've already downloaded it (shite, tho the quality may be) into my personal memory. 'justice for all' is no longer james hetfield's property, intellectual or otherwise. he gave it, through both grace and duty, to us. once the memes are out there, you can't take them back, you can't keep a tag on each of them, charge fees on them.
trust me, i realize that artists need to survive, and they deserve our support. but i think that its come time that everyone needs to reassess their position in the creation/distribution/consumption of art and culture.
maybe i've been wrong about all this, but i think this is what Grant has taught me.
Flex Mentallo is a great comic book. i'm not the first to say that it could change your life. i say 'fuck it'. if you want Flex Mentallo, download it. make high quality prints, and GIVE them away. the e-versions kinda suck. the most rewarding thing to do, of course, is just look for the originals. it gives me great pleasure to look through the bargain boxes, and i've been lucky too many times to list. maybe you will too. |
|
|
) so I am sure they should be more than happy for the money.