Webcomics In The News 8/23: Loser-Generated Content, Eh?
Zeros 2 Heroes in the news again, eh? I bet you never even thought about what the largest Canadian webcomics "publisher" was before now, eh? Web 2.0: continuing to set records no one cares about. Eh?
"Comic Creation Nation." I've heard a name very like that before... can't put my finger on it...
I've come to realize that one of the great things about the modern comics scene is that nobody cares whether you're from Canada, or the U.S.A., or the Netherlands, so long as you speak the same language and understand the general needs of your audience. A lot of people don't even know that Gisele Lagace and Ryan North are Canadians, and that's fine, because their work's appeal translates well to American audiences. Sure, there are some cultural differences, but it's not like Canada has flying cars or anything. Is there really a need for a Canadian-only webcomics channel?
Ah, but if it weren't Canadian-only, it wouldn't qualify for the Canada New Media Fund. A nation spending money to raise its own cultural capital is a good thing. I just wish I were confident that the Fund's money would filter down to the creators.
Like most other online "talent farms" (Zuda is a kinda-sorta exception... I think), the idea here seems to be to trap creators with the promise of multimedia development deals, the implied promise of financial compensation, and some squirrelly language about who actually holds the rights, so that the company can claim it's the holder of "thousands of intellectual properties" to herd-mentality investors who are looking to be part of "the next Marvel, Web 2.0." (These investors either don't realize the long-term incompatibility between intellectual property ownership and the Web 2.0 spirit of sharing, or they hope to sell the idea to others who won't.)
It's offensive and upsetting to me to see this snake oil peddled in place of the real value-adds of webcomics collectives past. Keenspot got overambitious in the long run, but it offered free hosting, social networking, cross-promotion and advertising dollars, back when those things were hard to come by. Modern Tales debuted as a new way for cartoonists to make money. OhNoRobot was and is a means to make your comic more findable. Webcomics Nation debuted as an advanced tool suite. Clickwheel represented a hub for comics formatted for a new medium. All of these projects offered these things without laying any automatic title to the rights of its creators. I know, because I was a creator using all five of those.
Zeros 2 Heroes offers...
The chance to help out Zeros 2 Heroes, and a chance to feel more Canadian, I guess.
Company president Matthew Toner: "We're calling on all Canadian novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, journalists-- pretty much anyone who can set down a laptop and write-- to submit their storylines for development. We want to change the way genre entertainment is created and consumed. The strategy is simple and effective: combine user-generated content with social media enhancements to produce market-ready properties that have a built-in following of hardcore fans."
How nice for them. How... investory. SUBMIT!
I resist the term "loser-generated content" because I know there are lots of cartoonists out there, especially beginners, who do good work but who haven't thought through the business side of cartooning, and I don't want to call these guys losers. Because they don't lose at everything. But if they make a bad deal, they're gonna lose at that.
UPDATE: Company president Matthew Toner has asked for a chance to clarify his press release; we'll be speaking tomorrow afternoon/evening. I admit the possibility that Z2H has a value-add it has not shared with the press. I'll share whatever I learn.
Also, Robert Khoo on the Penny Arcade Expo: "[It] has grown into something much more than the comic itself. Some people don't even know about Gabe and Tycho."
(Cue weeping and gnashing of teeth as purists cry out, "IT USED TO BE ABOUT THE COMICS, MAN!")
"Comic Creation Nation." I've heard a name very like that before... can't put my finger on it...
I've come to realize that one of the great things about the modern comics scene is that nobody cares whether you're from Canada, or the U.S.A., or the Netherlands, so long as you speak the same language and understand the general needs of your audience. A lot of people don't even know that Gisele Lagace and Ryan North are Canadians, and that's fine, because their work's appeal translates well to American audiences. Sure, there are some cultural differences, but it's not like Canada has flying cars or anything. Is there really a need for a Canadian-only webcomics channel?
Ah, but if it weren't Canadian-only, it wouldn't qualify for the Canada New Media Fund. A nation spending money to raise its own cultural capital is a good thing. I just wish I were confident that the Fund's money would filter down to the creators.
Like most other online "talent farms" (Zuda is a kinda-sorta exception... I think), the idea here seems to be to trap creators with the promise of multimedia development deals, the implied promise of financial compensation, and some squirrelly language about who actually holds the rights, so that the company can claim it's the holder of "thousands of intellectual properties" to herd-mentality investors who are looking to be part of "the next Marvel, Web 2.0." (These investors either don't realize the long-term incompatibility between intellectual property ownership and the Web 2.0 spirit of sharing, or they hope to sell the idea to others who won't.)
It's offensive and upsetting to me to see this snake oil peddled in place of the real value-adds of webcomics collectives past. Keenspot got overambitious in the long run, but it offered free hosting, social networking, cross-promotion and advertising dollars, back when those things were hard to come by. Modern Tales debuted as a new way for cartoonists to make money. OhNoRobot was and is a means to make your comic more findable. Webcomics Nation debuted as an advanced tool suite. Clickwheel represented a hub for comics formatted for a new medium. All of these projects offered these things without laying any automatic title to the rights of its creators. I know, because I was a creator using all five of those.
Zeros 2 Heroes offers...
The chance to help out Zeros 2 Heroes, and a chance to feel more Canadian, I guess.
Company president Matthew Toner: "We're calling on all Canadian novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, journalists-- pretty much anyone who can set down a laptop and write-- to submit their storylines for development. We want to change the way genre entertainment is created and consumed. The strategy is simple and effective: combine user-generated content with social media enhancements to produce market-ready properties that have a built-in following of hardcore fans."
How nice for them. How... investory. SUBMIT!
I resist the term "loser-generated content" because I know there are lots of cartoonists out there, especially beginners, who do good work but who haven't thought through the business side of cartooning, and I don't want to call these guys losers. Because they don't lose at everything. But if they make a bad deal, they're gonna lose at that.
UPDATE: Company president Matthew Toner has asked for a chance to clarify his press release; we'll be speaking tomorrow afternoon/evening. I admit the possibility that Z2H has a value-add it has not shared with the press. I'll share whatever I learn.
Also, Robert Khoo on the Penny Arcade Expo: "[It] has grown into something much more than the comic itself. Some people don't even know about Gabe and Tycho."
(Cue weeping and gnashing of teeth as purists cry out, "IT USED TO BE ABOUT THE COMICS, MAN!")
Labels: Webcomics
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