Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

ZLRK Wrote:Certainly, seeing that the whole creators' rights thing was becoming more of yet another problem (fracturing factions, etc) instead of a solution, it'd be understandable some artists didn't want to know anything about it. But, "assumed their creative rights"? How is that? In what other way would they survive in the comics media?

I think the line about where they showed no interest in contract work and the comic assembly line means they would have to abandon the "old ways" of comic book artists. I would have to assume this means going to "alternative editorials". The conservative or traditionalist artist would have done it like everyone else had, but progressive artists would have done it differently. So, I guess they'd have to find new ground with different publishers. The way Scott McCloud phrases that passage, it seems to me that money wasn't a motivating factor for these people, rather it was the art form of comic books, hence it resulted in an "aesthetically ... positive movement". Contracts and the comic assembly line might have meant a steady income and possible a sort of "right" for those in the industry, but these 90s progressives might not have gotten to drawn what they wanted. Instead, the potential of comic books as a creative medium was more important. In essence, trading economic security (taking a risk) to advance an art form.

ZLRK Wrote:But still, why would alternative editorials continue fading? Due to constant fighting?

Back in the 90s, maybe not enough market share to sustain themselves. It took a lot to make a presence in the comic book industry before the internet was widespread. Marvel and DC were absolute giants, and everyone else basically had to carve out their own audience, and distinguish themselves from the rest. However, I believe McCloud is talking hypothetically, as if assuming the worse-case scenario in the future. Any number of other factors could conceivably contribute to the downfall of independent or alternative comic book publishing operations, although that's incredibly hard to imagine these days with the web. Anybody can start their own comic and a Patreon account to support it. I doubt such worries are valid today, although it was probably pretty realistic at the turn of the century.

@Shonumi:

First, thanks for all your support either in forums and PM. Hope you manage to be a bit less busy lately, since when you're able to reply, your arguments have nothing of nonsense.

Back then I decided to use PM because you began to have busy times and I really thought this thread should be dead already.
It's also my fault for not having kept copy of sent PMs, so I'll try to make effort in recalling stuff.

As far as I can recall, my problem was with the parts you just quoted, but before them, perhaps still this one:
"Image Comics proved wildly successful, but confounded purists who saw creators' rights as deeply intertwined with comics' higher aspirations".
A guy at Freenode who has read some of McCloud's books helped me to finally understand at an acceptable point with his points of view.

The key fact, as it seems, is the following: one thing was the creative rights, and another *different* one was the creative freedom/versatility.
Image Comics, as I understand, seized creative rights back then according to McCloud, but they continued to make just the same mainstream type of stuff as the 2 giants Marvel and DC. So perhaps it could have been seen almost as the emerging of just a mere new owner.
This (and perhaps the "fracturing factions" as well?) may have pushed some artists to deviate to their own roads and certainly abandon the comic assembly line. May start their own editorials to keep their "creative rights", but just as you mentioned, in a market totally dominated by the assembly lines, the small independent editorials' struggle to survive could get very hard, and in worst case they would fade.

By the way, I finally finished this McCloud's second book. Very interesting just like first one. Now just third one left out of the group.