Pat would wait until I had purchased Spacewarp to go full on Alex Jones wouldn't he?
In terms of the broad principles, I agree with Pat in the main:
Creators should have a stake in their creations (though publishers need to be able to have their cut - it can;t be all risk to the Publisher and all cake to the creator, even if the balance is still for too little cake)
I have no real interest in reading Dan Abnett Slaine or even Kenneth Niemand Strontium Dog to think of as intriguing a blend as possible.
I say that as someone who likes a bit of fan fiction (hello Zarjaz!), but Abnett Slaine would at best (for me) be just that - fan fiction.
The way Pat goes about it though, sheesh. The irony here is that Pat has long (and with strong justification I would say) railed against the corrosive influence of a small subset of fans "dictating" what is good and right. Yet here he is, radicalized by or perhaps radicalizing a bunch of old fogeys who havent
read the comic since the 500s - call them the Bogpaper-Meinhoff Gruppe.
The Brendan McCarthy bit was hilarious until I realised he was being serious - two legends engaged in a pissing away your legacy competition.
As for Spacewarp, as others ahve said, as an attempt to reach kids, it's a failed product based on the format.
It reminded me of nothing less than (biase alert) the wonderful Paul Von Scott's et als Solar Wind - even moreso PVS's Omnivistascope. 15 years too late, Pat! As a (not as good as) Starlord to OVS's 2000AD, it has merit. OVS had a lot more variation in style and subject matter though, making it more enjoyable overall, and indeed, more kid friendly I would say. I am on record of a fan of Pat's stuff for the most part, but a whole book of it grates by the end. Had to take it in chunks and still not got through it all.
The rudeness though, what the hell Pat? - if I was Tharg, I'd be sorely tempted to announce Andy Diggle's Nemesis and David Bishop's Slaine as coming soon.
