shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 5, 2014 15:07:16 GMT -5
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Nov 5, 2014 15:14:20 GMT -5
Then there's McFarlane's deposition, which I've now moved on to. One exchange that has me laughing my butt off: |
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 5, 2014 15:23:10 GMT -5
I'm reading the deposition and a lot of the questions seem completely irrelevant (the bit about Scientology for instance). Is that normal?
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Nov 5, 2014 15:30:55 GMT -5
I'm reading the deposition and a lot of the questions seem completely irrelevant (the bit about Scientology for instance). Is that normal? I was wondering that, myself. I think they're trying to establish a business background for both parties; determine their basis for comparison in approaching this specific transaction. |
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Post by fanboystranger on Nov 5, 2014 16:07:10 GMT -5
This is a pretty fascinating glimpse behind the curtain. I knew some of this from second-hand sources, but to actually read the transcripts was far more entertaining than I figured it would be.
A lot more entertaining than the bulk of Spawn, too.
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Post by earl on Nov 5, 2014 18:36:50 GMT -5
"And when Image started, they were getting a lot of stick from fans and from the comics press for being illiterate garbage, which is probably a polite way of putting the things they were saying about the comics, chiefly those written by Rob Leifeld."
This is harsh, but it made me chuckle.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 5, 2014 20:36:26 GMT -5
"And when Image started, they were getting a lot of stick from fans and from the comics press for being illiterate garbage, which is probably a polite way of putting the things they were saying about the comics, chiefly those written by Rob Leifeld." This is harsh, but it made me chuckle. Even better was the quote about hiring actual writers to do four issues being a promotional stunt while Image was conducting business by pumping out foil covered #1 issues each month to keep sales figures high. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 5, 2014 23:02:15 GMT -5
What amazes me is that MacFarlane tried to do business in that way... that's insane. Could he really be that much of an immature, egotistical bastard?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2014 23:21:06 GMT -5
What amazes me is that MacFarlane tried to do business in that way... that's insane. Could he really be that much of an immature, egotistical bastard? Yes, yes he could. -M |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 5, 2014 23:37:13 GMT -5
What amazes me is that MacFarlane tried to do business in that way... that's insane. Could he really be that much of an immature, egotistical bastard? Yes, yes he could. -M Beat me to it. "The Todd-Meister". I love it. |
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Post by Nowhere Man on Nov 6, 2014 10:20:36 GMT -5
I still can't believe Todd got Alan Moore, Dave Sim, Frank Miller and Neal Gaiman to work on those crappy early Image properties. Obviously those guys have one hell of a sense of humor, because they're all far too smart to have ever taken the endeavor seriously. Yeah, that, or they all had to take care of some tax dept.
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 6, 2014 10:36:45 GMT -5
IIRC, Frank Miller probably was easy to convince as he was in full-on rage against Marvel/DC and pro creato's right mode at that time. Moore actually did a lot of work at Image at the time, but the why always seems a bit mysterious. I mean it's clear why he worked for Jim Lee in the end (because he got a lot of freedom to do whatever he wanted with ABC... at least until DC bought Wildstorm), but he worked several times with both Liefeld and McFarlane, so there must be a reason there. Sim I know too little about.
Funny that they didn't mention Grant Morrison as one of the big writers that Todd got to do Spawn at the time. I guess Morrison wasn't as big a name yet at the time? (Oh wait, looking it up, those issues are about a year later).
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Post by fanboystranger on Nov 6, 2014 11:13:51 GMT -5
It was basically because Image framed themselves as part of the fight for creators' rights even if they were producing very derivative versions of Marvel and DC comics. There was a solidarity between the four creators, particularly Sim, and the Image founders as far as that. Also, Moore's self-publishing venture had busted by that point, and he found himself in a position where he needed work again. Image provided him with an ethical means to do so.
It always struck me that Image survived its first few years while Tundra went under, but those Image guys were better businessmen than they've been given credit for. Valentino was the one who started shifting the perception of the company when he started his b&w line, which gave early opportunities to creators like Brian Bendis and David Mack. His time as publisher also made the company more like the creator-driven powerhouse it is today, a lead that Erik Larson and Eric Stephenson have followed.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 6, 2014 11:17:38 GMT -5
Believe it or not, Dave Sim was a big fan of Todd McFarlane. He espouses this quite a bit in his later letter columns, and even includes a homage to Spawn (it's not really a parody) in his later stories.
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Post by fanboystranger on Nov 6, 2014 11:24:18 GMT -5
Believe it or not, Dave Sim was a big fan of Todd McFarlane. He espouses this quite a bit in his later letter columns, and even includes a homage to Spawn (it's not really a parody) in his later stories. Yes. And Todd has, to my knowledge, honored his deal to never reprint Spawn 10, which features Spawn and Cerebus having a veiled conversation about creators' rights.
I think there's a rush to paint Todd as a villain because of the Neil situation, but my feeling is the real problem was a combination of naivety and stubbornness. Todd was figuring things out on the fly, and he made some very poor decisions. He compounded that by being stubborn about those decisions rather than recitify them. I've heard the term "man-child" thrown around when discussing Todd, and I think that's as good a description as any.
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