Forthcoming Thrills - 2020

[13school]

No doubt I'm completely wrong about this, but Sanders' offer read to me as something that would clearly only go so far: giving the rights to Halo Jones back to Moore (and presumably Gibson) was possible because the strip was basically worthless without Moore* and not really something that was a core part of 2000AD, whereas giving the rights back to Dredd would never happen (and be near-impossible to properly divide up anyway).

The result would have been a two-tier system where new writers and artists would be getting a better deal while also benefiting from the success of the older crew that had established 2000AD but were stuck on the old deal. Which sort of happened anyway for a brief time with Crisis, but at least then everyone knew the situation going in and it wasn't a matter of retroactively benefiting some but not others.

*edit: it's also possible that Sanders' was basically calling Moore's bluff over the rights issue - at the time Moore was making a lot more money working for the US and had quit all his other UK work, and some have suggested the rights issue was just a smokescreen to hide the fact that Moore just didn't need to work for 2000AD rates any more. Moore has always seemed to have a genuine fondness for the strip so it's hard to know for sure, but if Sanders knew Moore would find some way to refuse his offer then it wouldn't have been a real offer at all.

[judgeurko]

I'm still pretty sore with Pat from that recent sharing he did of John Sanders letter that (albeit rudely) offered a gateway into regaining creator rights. 

While it painted Sanders in a poor light, I was much more alarmed by the fact that Pat did no seize on it as his "in".  Get Alan Moore back his rights, set the precedent, get yours - not rocket science surely?  All Pat could see was how it was "setting creators against each other"  -only if you let them, Pat!

So true, for all Pat's complaints about creator rights & how creators should not have their characters/stories done by other people he really means HIS rights.

[dweezil2]

I think what this boils down to is:

Grud Bless the King-Slays and their non-talking horseys!

Thirded. Expanding the franchise in an industry in decline has been an amazing sight to behold. A King-sized oil with two straws for that bicephalous droid!

Abso-fruiting-looply!!!
It inconceivable to imagine that the Prog and Megazine would still be in existence all these years later, if it wasn't for the timely intervention of the Kingsleys.

The thought of no more Dredd strips, or any other of the superb stories we've had over the intervening years, is actually too distressing to contemplate, especially when the two comics still consistently contain some of the finest storytelling and art available anywhere else in the world.
I'd take 2000AD over any off the stuff that DC and Marvel churn out, for example.

So yeah, all hail Rebellion and long may they reign!!! 

[Leigh S]

SAnders note is a generic "we can accommodate the concerns, but comics publishing isnt book publishing, and if they want to run it along different lines we can, but they have to understand once they pay out for the infrastructure we provide, there wont be as much left on the table as they think"

He then mentions Alan in the final paragraph, but its clear the offer extends beyond him.  The fact that Pat saw Alans name and dismissed the above seems to me to be the greatest misssed opportunity in British Comics history.

Full memo here

https://www.millsverse.com/mr-mills-exceedingly-good-cakes/

Tell me that isnt Sanders offering creators some form of what Pat is after. Note the offer is clearly aimed at multiple creators (unless Alan Moore would be at his own throat!)