Obviously you have other commitments now. And obviously you would know better what to expect in regards to your sales than I would. Maybe I’m just colored by my enjoyment of Super-F*ckers.

As for your interpretation of copyright, that’s as accurate an assessment as they come, from what I can see.

Really, I will always be grateful for that.

I do happen to believe that the copyright is doomed, it was a little experiment that will end up being just a blip in the history of man. It’s already nearly defunct in practice (no one thinks twice of stealing music, for instance) and it’s just a matter of time until the law catches up with the general perception that everything should be shared freely. Which would make the notion of creator ownership or company ownership a complete non-issue.

(I’m not saying this is right or wrong, just that it’s the direction mankind seems to be headed in.)

Yeah, honesty and forthrightness really is a bad buisness model. As a creator I much prefer to be patted on the head an assured that everything is just swell.

In the first place, such a public lament that “I’ve wasted 20 years” tends to cast a pall over the company. You just don’t say shit like that until after you’ve quit or retired.

In the second place, he can reassure his current creators that nothing will change, and they can believe him, but the next batch of undiscovered geniuses are more likely to pass him by now.

Of the three deals I can tell you that I definitely prefer the last, but I learned a lot by working with other creators and published their properties not because I wanted to make money on ancilliary rights, but because I thought they were great pieces of work and wanted to help my friends get their books out there. Many of the creators I’ve published are people I’ve worked with and known a long time and I prefer NOT to get into how much I’ve spent and why I should perhaps get more… nevertheless I fully understand why other publishers have a 50/50 or 35/65 take-it-or-leave-it deal on all rights relating to creators’ properties. Publishers have to think about their future as well as yours.

The costs involved in running a publishing company are ridiculous. Promotion alone can often cost more than your print bill. Establishing a presence at a show like Comic-con can cost a small publisher THOUSANDS of dollars, and if you make a thousand dollars a day selling product you might just break even… However, very few publishers can make that kind of money without a broad range of product, a few high ticket items and three or four employees managing the booth — and, hey, costs of shipping, hotels and floor space just doubled… now you have to make $2,000 a day!

Chris Staros once told me that he attended 18 shows a year to build the TOP SHELF name, and for that kind of dedication, man, Chris and Brett DESERVE a piece of the action! Without companies like TOP SHELF, PLANET LAR/AiT and IDW there’d be a whole boatful of creators who’d have sunk without trace. Like so many other former self publishing creators (Paul Grist, Robert Kirkman, Tom Scioli), I’ve taken my book (ELEPHANTMEN) to IMAGE where it can enjoy better exposure, better Diamond discounts (and storage!), better credit terms and unit prices with printers, overship opportunities and cross promotion with other titles. Having learned all about the ups and downs of self-publishing, I’m happy to give IMAGE their monthly fees and a cut of trade paperback sales.

Personally, I’m amazed that Dan Vado has stuck it out for so long — he’s a better man than I am, Gunga Din, and I salute him! Even so, I’m not AT ALL surprised that he’d do things differently now. After just three years publishing other creators’ properties, I’m already doing things differently!

Rich!

Eh, I was going to type more, but I have to get a bunch of comics and graphic novels to the printer. It’s like it’s my job or something.

That said, Dan’s got to recognize that the “rules” by which the comics industry has operated for so long are in their final stages of breaking down, and that if one wishes to be a successful businessman, even in comics, you’ve got to rely less on bonhomie and more on contract decisions based upon product evaluations in the context of market research. However, if he wants to continue as an innovator and caterer to the comics zeitgeist, and I hope he does, he has to accept the inevitable risk of little if any reward that comes with the territory. Somehow others in his position have been able to balance these factors, encouraging loyalty and respecting creators’ rights while also putting out products that are safer bets.

But don’t grouse about not being adequately compensated or recognized for making the almost purely virtuous choice. You don’t make that choice and expect to profit by it; if you’re lucky, you might die with the coins for your eyes.

I think in the end all Dan is saying here is that he’s tired of other publishers using him as an unpaid talent scout — but I also think he still has a greater loyalty rate than most publishers, because he’s a good guy to work with. I have four full graphic novels with Tokyopop now, but I still miss my time with SLG.

If the company can support itself AND talented creators out there, what is there to be unhappy about?