EVERYBODY PANIC! The corporations are breaching Wall Maria!
Artist Alleys are staples in modern day conventions. They’re some of the most lucrative weekends for artists, both amateur and professional, and many comics pros started out by selling fan art of licensed characters like Batman and Darth Vader in booths. Over the years, rights holders have, by and large, turned a blind eye to artists selling prints that feature their characters. However, as Comics Beat Editor-in-Chief Heidi MacDonald reported last week, those laid back days may be numbered. If a crackdown happens and artists are no longer permitted to sell art featuring the characters that people come to cons to see, how will the comics industry be affected? Will artist alley disappear? Can Marvel, DC, and others reasonably continue to look the other way in the face of greater pressure from their corporate overlords? All this and more on this week’s Podcorn Podcast.
Show Notes
00:36 — Show Begins! What has The Walking Dead taught us about living in a post-apocalyptic world?
05:30 — Artist Alley panic! Where do rights holders draw the line when trying to protect their products?
09:20 — What is the difference between professional artists selling prints of pieces they were commissioned to make by property rights holders and non-professional ones selling prints of fanart they created featuring those same characters?
17:00 — If no artists can sell prints featuring licensed characters anymore, where does that leave Artist Alley, a staple for many cons and one of the biggest draws of New York Comic Con?
21:40 — Does fair use apply to fan art?
31:27 — How does Brandon predict Artist Alley will change over the next few years?
36:50 — Horror stories while shipping comics!
42:50 — In the wake of the tragedy surrounding Bill Sienkiewicz’s Batman painting, we pose the question: what’s the best way to ship art? How you can you protect yourself?
Every Wednesday, I talk about comics with Brandon Montclare, writer of the hit Image series Rocket Girl and co-writer of Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur series.
We gab about what we’re reading now, what books we consider classics (Brandon loves Dark Knight Strikes Again…), and the hottest gossip of the industry. Occasionally, the inimitable artist Amy Reeder (Rocket Girl, Batwoman) stops by. Check out our full show archive at podcornpodcast.com.
Intro/Outro music this week is Broken Neck by Screaming Females, off their album Rose Mount.
Visit rocketgirl.nyc for swag from Brandon and Amy!
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