Want a snapshot of the way that fandom at large thinks about indie books? You could do worse that check out this Bendis Board discussion about that very subject. It all starts with indie creator Kody Chamberlain asking admittedly loaded questions:

“Seems that there’s a common perception among fans that us ‘indy’ creators are in the minor leagues and dreaming to grow up and someday work on a ‘REAL’ comic (I’ve experienced this directly on may occasions at cons and signings). As readers, what are your thoughts on this? From your perspective, how do we change this perception? Can we change it?”

By the second post, by Bendis Board regular Jacob Lyon Goddard, you can tell the thread is going to be a good one:

“that’s easy [...] just have all the ‘indy’ creators stop selling out”

Chamberlain responds to the idea of selling out:

“A creator with a house and a family can’t earn a living doing ‘indy’ books, so a creator scraping by for years will eventually have to pack it up and go where the money is, or win the lottery to keep the mortgage paid so they can stick with their true love of doing Spaghetti Western comics. No shame in wanting to keep food on the table.”

Goddard doesn’t buy that ‘supporting a family’ crap:

“but what about the guys that didn’t sell out? Burns, Ware, Brown, Tomine, Sim, etc [...] sure they starved for a while, and do illustation gigs to pick up some extra cash, but they never sold out [...] the only catch is that you have to be really, really, really good at making comics [...] the question becomes, what’s more important to you, the integrity of your work or the corporate pay check”

Other posters try to explain:

“dunno ’bout Burns and until recent Ware, but the unifying thing these artists have are no kids. It’s easy starving alone in a one bedroom apartment.”

“I don’t understand what’s so bad about getting paid.”

“Agreed. There’s a certain integrity that comes form being able to sustain oneself (or a family) as well.”

Other posters try to get back to the point:

“American Splendor and Ghost World garnered much respect from critics and fans years before they became movies. Our pal Fialkov’s 7 Harvey nods for Elk’s Run in the midst of the big-time corporate spandex books, then getting Random House to publish the collection. His reviews in EW and Variety didn’t hurt either. And again, Mistah Niles and his stable of startling stories and Hollywood hook-ups. Granted, the ‘mainstream’ will probably always associate comic books with superheroes, but the people that really matter – the fans – are becoming more discriminating and literate, I think. Of course they’ll always be the by-the-book capes and cowls retread creators, but the generation of guys doing them now are among the sharpest and most grounded in ‘indie’ roots that the industry has ever had. Bendis and Brubaker don’t forget where they come from.”

“the only problem i’ve had is indy creators who are obviously trying to get themselves into marvel or dc. or, trying to get their comic into a movie. i dunno, it bugs me.”
“Now is the best time in the world to be an indy creator. Comics are EVERYWHERE. They’ve got an entire section of Entertainment Weekly, they are in movie theaters, on TV, in Newsweek all the time, Watchmen made the Time magazine top 100 literary works list, in the NYT, on NPR, Major booksellers have prominent trade paperback displays, etc. Comics are everywhere, right in everyone’s face. These media outlets are hungry for “The Next Big Thing”, and it’s up to us to deliver. It’s literally right there for the taking. The thing is, a lot of people do think small scale and therefore be thought of, as Kody put it, “Minor League”, but that’s a perception problem. If you just want to work the cons and sell direct, fine, go for it. More power to you. But if you want to sustain yourself publishing, it’s right there. The media outlets are there. The websites are there (and most are totally supportive). The comic shops are there. WORK THEM ALL. Use a mix of traditional, viral, and internet marketing and you will see numbers if you do it right. Go to Yahoo Yellow pages and literally go through every state’s comic book listings, make a distribution list and send them a mailer announcing your presence and how to buy your comic. Go to places like Entertainment Weekly and work them. The thing about comic book fans that I love is this basic truth: All they want are GOOD COMICS.”

“I actually have a HUGE problem with this. Basically, these large publishing houses are jumping on the bandwagon. They don’t care about comics, they care about the recent jump in popularity of comics. I feel it’s unfair to indy publishers like (Top Shelf, Oni, etc) who have been busting their asses through the hard times to now have to compete with these corporate publishers. It’s bullshit.”

Thankfully, Your pal, Jim, puts everything in perspective with his Indy-Man Manifesto for saving the industry:

“Whenever I enjoy a smaller obscure work, the very first thing I do after putting it down is think about how so few other people have had their mind expanded like myself. I fret about it. I sulk at the ignorance of the common man. I figure by boasting about how different and interesting my tastes are, that others will know I am too unique for anything ‘normal’. And when my heroes accept mainstream work, I don’t enjoy their success or anticipate the fans they will bring back with them to their more personal stories when they get back to ‘em. Nor do I look for the quality or touches they bring to their mainstream work. Not! Good! Enough!!

“People wake up to reality after I smugly tell them that they are cattle. That they are sheep. Telling them their ‘consumerism’ is killing my more meaningful pursuits may seem selfish and hyperbolic, but it is the damn truth! Oh sure. I could just recommend stuff now and then. I could say ‘hey, if you like that, try this!’ But that’s too damn risky. Too easy to ignore. I am in your face and I’m gonna slap it. You will wake up to what I think is more important.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 7th, 2006 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Comic Books, Fandom, Independent, Industry, Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.