still working on the revamp to my portfolio site this year, and am incorporating the same sort of look into the blog slowly as well. after looking at so many colors all day (and lots of nights) it’s nice to see lots of black every once in a while. Reminds me of the back of my eyelids when I’m sleeping. sleep…………yeah, I like doing that every once in a while too. Now a deviation from the normal, laid back, relaxing posts that you’re used to from me.
I’ve been pretty quiet about a lot of the badmouthing and trashtalking going on the last few weeks/months etc…..about Platinum Studios. And rightly so, I’m just coloring a book for them, I didn’t create anything that they own the rights to, I don’t have any plans to submit projects to them any time soon. But you know, this is how I make a living. How I pay my bills. How I help support my wife and kids. So it does get to me when people say that they’re “looking out for the creators” or that, “they don’t mean any harm to the creators involved with Platinum” Guess what people, you ARE doing harm to us. You’re tarnishing the image and reputation of one of my best and biggest clients. You’re actively trying to promote animosity and ill will towards a company that is helping me make a living. You are, whether intentional or not, potentially hurting the sales of book(s) that I have a great investment of time, love and commitment in, and which I WANT to sell well.

We all should know in this comic industry that it is HARD for an independant book to sell well. LARGELY due to the fact that creators, especially ones that have their books at Image or another small publisher like Alias, etc……..don’t have the MONEY to promote, advertise and invest in getting their books name and it’s art in front of people’s eyes. So WHY does it make sense to bash a publisher who DOES come along with money to do JUST THAT, unless it’s out of envy or jealousy, or pettiness? Platinum isn’t really concerned with ruling the comic book market, they ADMIT that. They want to sell their properties to motion picture companies. Again, big deal. Even a movie that sucks and is a flop in the box office, will make a BOATLOAD more money, than a comic selling 50K copies in the direct market for a couple years straight. Why WOULDN’T you try to do that sort of thing? Especially with how hot comic to film adapatations are in Hollywood right now. People seem to ignore the fact that Cowboys and Aliens, you know that book that everyone says Platinum BOUGHT from retailers and all, HAD A MOVIE DEAL BEFORE IT WAS EVEN PUBLISHED. Do you think they needed to sell comics? Seriously? Is it any big deal if they did give the store incentive money to promote the book (even if the stores then used it to buy copies of C&A) lots of “if’s” I’m sure that if you don’t want to pay for it, you can always read it for free, because oh yeah, Platinum is also releasing ALL their titles for FREE as well. Yet another thing that no one else is doing. It’s about building an audience, promoting your product….maybe you should do some research into what the NBA or other high profile “entertainment” companies do to promote their “product” to people and see if you agree with everything they do. Platinum isn’t doing anything that hasn’t been done in every other market around the world for a long time.
So please, if you really DO care about not hurting creators, and you don’t mean anyone associated with Platinum and working on their books ill will. Just shut up already. WE, collectively, as a group, all of us creators working for Platinum, DON’T WANT YOUR HELP, SYMPATHY, OR LOUD MOUTHS running off on your blogs, and columns any more about this crap. You’re NOT helping us, like some may think, you’re NOT looking out for us, and you’re definitely NOT making any friends among us, by spouting all the vile, political, petty nonsense that you’ve been going on and on about for a while now. I can assure you that if you were in my position, coloring and painting all day, making a living doing that, you would have NO complaints about anything, so long as your money kept coming in.

So please, once again, don’t try and ruin or do in one of my best clients. If you don’t like them, if you don’t like their books, keep it strictly unbiased in your criticisms. If the art sucks, say so, if the story sucks, say so, by ALL means. But please don’t pretend that you all have business degrees from established university business schools or something. If you had the kind of money that Platinum has, if you had a solid business model, and if you could sell a property to a movie studio….don’t sit there and tell me you wouldn’t do it if it would help support and provide for your family. And if you don’t even have a family to provide for, then I REALLY don’t have anything to say to you other than maybe you should concentrate on getting a life more than you do on trying to ruin the lives of others.