Pat Mills moving onto new things it would seem

[broodblik]

Article about American Reaper:

https://downthetubes.net/?p=120901

[sheridan]

Kowing Pat's bundle of research method of comics writing, I have long presumed Pat would have provided those images - see much of the rest of RoBusters robots

That's why I mentioned both Gibbons and Mills.

[rs_jr]

i guess the upcoming Slaine will be the last one ( this and Requiem Vampire Knight not continuing will hurt)

was Defoe completed?

[JayzusB.Christ]

i guess the upcoming Slaine will be the last one ( this and Requiem Vampire Knight not continuing will hurt)

was Defoe completed?

Yep, even though Sláine has meandered for years IMO, I'll be very sorry to see him go.  Depite one or two shaky choices, the art has always been outstanding for a very long time.  And I have a very, very early memory of reading the first Sláine ever and my dad telling me how to pronounce it.  Though I suspect I'd think he was a bit of a gobshite if I met him, Sláine's an old mate.

[robprosser]

I like Pat as much as anybody but he's been treading water for a number of years. I found the last Defoe series unreadable and Slaine survives on having generally excellent artists. Despite his optimism I would bet a substantial amount the Space Warp isn't around in a year's time. What's their business model? Artists working for free up front then getting a substantial royalty?

I often wonder how when he was editor how he would have felt if a writer rang him up and gave him a bollocking - my guess is the writer wouldn't have been invited back.

[broodblik]

Just imagine of DC or Marvel was the owners of Slaine, ABC Warriors , Defoe, Flesh and even Strontium Dog what they would have done. I am sure these characters will been incorporated into their universes with no regard to whomever created them. Multiple cross-overs and the popular ones have not one be multiple series not even remotely similar to what they where.

[IndigoPrime]

Well, quite. For all Mills's gripes at the apparent evil of 2000 AD and Rebellion, almost no-one else has got to play with his toys. 2000 AD has very few strips you might consider 'house characters'—only really Dredd, Anderson and Rogue Trooper. And even those have had one 'showrunner' for long periods.

[dweezil2]

Mills was instrumental in creating 2000AD so his departure from the pages of the comic will be a great loss.
Whatever you think of Mills output, he has a unique voice and style and I, for one, will miss this from 2000AD.
He's also managed to attracts and seek out some of the finest artists to ever work on the comic in its long illustrious history.

I really hope his relationship improves with Rebellion so more of his challenging storylines can be enjoyed by the widest possible audience.

[Bolt-01]

Pat Mills is digging up and re-airing his grievances as a way of generating word of mouth for his new self-publishing venture. The end.

If Mr Mills has indeed 'walked away' from Rebellion, then I doubt it is because Rebellion are treating him any differently now than in the past. Mr Mills has been working away at Spacewarp for a good while now so he needs to generate significant interest in the book following the digital release.

[IndigoPrime]

You do wonder how much someone can continue burning bridges until a publisher says: actually, we're done.

[Professor Bear]

Pat Mills is digging up and re-airing his grievances as a way of generating word of mouth for his new self-publishing venture. The end.

This has been his play at conventions and in interviews for something like 4 decades now.  I'm surprised some think of it as a new development and/or something aimed at Rebellion in particular.

[broodblik]

His latest let us "make love not war" posting: https://www.millsverse.com/mr-mills-exceedingly-good-cakes/

"Let them eat cake". I am actually getting bored with this rating and self-boosting, how bad everyone is and how the Spacewarp will save the universe

[IndigoPrime]

It's like he wants Rebellion to scream "You'll never work here again, mister!" Thing is, at this point, why would you commission Mills?

I also note now that he's specifically talking about the UK industry rather than conics as a whole. Well, the UK industry barely exists. What's left of it will have been hit bad by COVID. If these ventures cease to be profitable for too long they will just... stop. I'm not saying 2000 AD couldn't or shouldn't up its royalty rates. I am saying we know just one side of the story.

And Mills, I see, argues 2000 AD royalties are well below the industry rate. What does that mean? Is that now an international comparison? If so, with what? Image, as has been noted elsewhere on this thread, has an entirely different business model. French publishers, as Jim has said, don't tend to pay out buckets of money. Perhaps 2000 AD should offer Mills an Image-like deal, and when he inevitably rejects it, note that should be the end of the bullshit.

[broodblik]

He is going the wrong way of promoting Spacewarp by attacking the people that for the last 20 years publish his stories. If they are so "evil" way not severe your links with them and do your own thing all those years ago.

[IndigoPrime]

It gets him column inches, I guess. But there is a less aggressive way to do this, and repeatedly slamming Rebellion—basically the only reason most of British comics history is still a viable entity—seems short-sighted at best. I hope for his sake, Spacewarp does well; if it doesn't, he might find out what happens when a freelancer repeatedly poisons the well.