Main Menu

KING'S REACH: 25 years at the top

Started by Leigh S, 19 January, 2021, 06:00:21 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Leigh S

Anyone working their way through it?

Finding it bizarrely addictive, but it is also bringing me back on board with Pat Mill's opinion!

He spends a lot of the early part of the book decrying the short sightedeness of a system that was patently inefficient and top heavy, run by people with Titles, castles, yachts and private airplances ( and that's just the Union reps!). 

Then when it comes to creator rights he uses the exact opposite arguments....

Still, a fascinating read!

Funt Solo

I can think of one online commentator that does these two things almost endlessly:

1. Bang the drum for creator rights and the sharing of the grand wealth that's being spent on imaginary yachts.

2. Expose Rebellion's publicly available financial information in such a way as to depict it as a busted flush, utterly devoid of profit.

Square that circle.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Leigh S

Yes it is becomng a little "Alien vs Predator" at this point!

Sanders spends a lot of time bemoaning how the creatives are not valued in the ealry part of the book, saying at one point that the industry relies on a uniquely talented individual comming forward every few years to push the business on.   He complains that the business was monolithic and wasteful.

He then says there was no extra money to give to creators as it would bankrupt the Castle owners, and anyway, those bloody Unions would soon put an end to that and those foriegn reprints?  We didnt make any omney on them, guv...

But it is very revealing to see just how the system was set against the Youth Groups success and how it was ultimately doomed before Pat set foot in the Nerve Centre....

Leigh S

oh yes and the endless lunches, Savoy grills, foriegn travel.... but no money left over, you understand...

Funt Solo

You get that from "Mighty One" (McManus, 2016) - when he gets sent off to the US on a sort of whimsical fact-finding mission that effectively results in Crisis. I don't know if you call that a success or not - it probably depends on how you measure it.

Any company that can afford to speculate in that manner has some extra dosh lying around, is my point.

It would be interesting to hear Rebellion's thoughts on creator rights - but I can't imagine that being a particularly welcome interview question. Pat vs. Kingsley wouldn't go well, I feel. One of them owns lots of sharp weapons, after all. And the other one dresses like a Knight.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Leigh S

Just hoping I havent ended up with two copies!  Had an email from Rebellion telling me there would be  couple of weeks delay sending and asking if I wanted to cancel. Saw I could get it cheaper and next day elsewhere so took them up on the offer.... silence since and my order still sits there.... 

Colin Zeal

I've ordered the book even though I'm sure I'll disagree with Landers on just about everything. I'm particularly keen to hear more from him slagging off trade unions and why they ruin everything. As a management man I doubt he has ever been a member of a union but he must be an expert.

Professor Bear

Quote from: Funt Solo on 19 January, 2021, 06:16:53 PM1. Bang the drum for creator rights and the sharing of the grand wealth that's being spent on imaginary yachts.

2. Expose Rebellion's publicly available financial information in such a way as to depict it as a busted flush, utterly devoid of profit.

Square that circle.

Most indie publishers already have.  A great many of them are in worse financial straits than Rebellion and yet not only still manage to treat their creators more fairly, but several ex-2000ad creators are regular sights on their publication schedules.

CalHab

Image have a creator-favouring model that manages to shift risk and reward firmly onto the creators. Rebellion, for better or worse, take the risk away from creators and give them a fixed return. Both of those sound to me like reasonably approaches, as long as every party knows what they're getting into. The problems historically have come from unforeseen issues (merchandising, reprints etc) and a lack of clear (or any) contracts.

Back on topic, Sanders came across very poorly in the Meg interview and I decided not to get the book since I could easily imagine myself flinging it out the window in a rage.

IndigoPrime

Depends what fairly means, doesn't it? I used to write books and get a hefty advance, after which point my royalties ranged between barely acceptable to pitiful. Other publishers have much better royalty rates, but there's no guarantee a book will sell. Half the battle seems to be between standard WFH, a utopian place where a publisher takes all the risk yet benevolently gives away all the money because creators are so wonderful, and a successful place in-between that those in the industry suggest is pretty rare.

I've not read King's Reach, but did read through the Meg interview last night. It struck me that Sanders was—from a cold business perspective—simultaneously right and wrong, in terms of public credit for creators. And, honestly, that's something that does irritate me today, when I write a piece and it's bylined to the publication rather than me. But, hey, it's work. However, the business model a creator signs up to is what it is. If you don't like it, go elsewhere and take your chances. As Jim has said a few times on here, Image isn't exactly an immediate pathway to a pot of gold.

Professor Bear

Quote from: CalHab on 25 January, 2021, 12:52:49 PM
Image have a creator-favouring model that manages to shift risk and reward firmly onto the creators.

Image are an outlier because you essentially pay them to publish your comic (the number I heard for buying-in was around 3000 dollars), a model obviously meant to be attractive only to the biggest name draws working in the industry, but other publishers offer different terms ranging from the Image deal to what is more or less WFH on house or licenced properties.  There are many publishers now, all knowing they have to be competitive by offering better terms than creators can get elsewhere, which is essentially how an industry/capitalism is supposed to work anyway.

Richard

Somebody tell the proof-reader that Islington is not in South London.