The crowd makes their way into the large halls. This scene is repeated at every entrance to each section of the convention center. It’s like the running of the bulls in Pamplona.
I caught the action at the beginning. It’s now a deluge of people of all ages, sizes and colors. They kept coming and coming. Eventually, some of them even stopped by. Some came looking for me and didn’t even know they found me until I told them. The reactions were priceless.
A father commissioned me to do a drawing of his young son posing next to Knuckles. I may get other commissions as a result of other parents watching the progress of the drawing who come away impressed.
What fascinated me are yet more fans who didn’t discover my work on SONIC until long after I had left the book, and still became fans. I continue to be gobsmacked by this development.
I had wanted to report this in real time but my iPhone kept freezing up and my iPad had no internet connection. Hopefully, Thursday will go better. I’m now calling a wrap on the day.
It’s that time again. I’ve just finished setting up my table space in Artists Alley and preparing to greet whoever shows up.
I’ll be here until the show closes at 5:00pm, doing my usual bit of conveying the happenings here on the floor.
The big difference this year is I’ll be posting on my website first, then providing links for those following on Twitter, Instagram & Threads.
I’m doing a lot of thing’s different at the show this year, looking at it more as a dry run for taking my act on the road to Boston and Toronto next month.
As usual, I welcome question and comments. If you’re attending Comic-Con, I’m at Table II-24 in Artists Alley, so stop by and say hello.
As I am ensconced in San Diego during the next several days for Comic-Con, please accept my apologies in advance for any and all delays shipping product purchased through this website. The earliest I can and will ship all packages out is Wednesday, July 26.
I appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding in the meantime.
Also, email me anytime with a question or concern. I will respond.
I’m currently going through everything I’m bringing to San Diego for Comic-Con. It’s like planning a military operation, only I lack the support staff the Air Force has, let alone the Army & Marines. While I figure everything I need to bring, I though I’d share a pic of my updated iPhone protective case as I really don’t have the time to write anything in detail as I recently have been doing.
The next time I post could be anytime between tomorrow night and sometime Thursday once I’m settled in at the convention. Expect to see my usual convention updates from that point forward. Take care in the meantime.
I’m now down to my last 15 prints of the SONIC BRAVE NEW WORLD Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Print. Because of my upcoming convention schedule, I’m only making 5 prints available for sale in San Diego, 5 in Boston and 5 in Toronto. I will release 1 from each batch for those who can’t attend.
The catch is one must order now before the start of each convention. You can order online here.
For almost the past two years, when I wasn’t working at my drawing board, I’d been spending time on film sets. From that experience, the main thing I come away with is that however important the writers and the actors are to the process – and they most certainly are as the film or TV series wouldn’t exist without them in the first place – there’s a whole support system that’s necessary to the production of one’s favorite films & television series without which the entire project would not be possible either. It does take a village, or in the case of films and TV, an army.
The vast majority of media writers are not presenting the full picture of the strike, focusing solely on the writers & the actors and whether or not they’ll cave to the AMPTP so everybody can get back to work as if filmmaking were just another 9-to-5 job.
The comments made by Disney CEO Bob Iger labeling the demands of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA as unrealistic sounded pretty tone-deaf, defining a man making $27 million a year plus bonuses even more out of touch than the workers he complains about, especially when he can’t say WHY they’re unrealistic. As if to add insult to injury, he then has the gall to blame writers and actors for costing a lot of people their jobs after firing 7000 Disney employees and/or contractors within the timespan of three months.
Add to that comments made by other members of the AMPTP about breaking the WGA by not negotiating until writers starting losing their homes should give everyone pause about what’s really at stake here.
Ever since that bastard Ronald Reagan – I won’t be a hypocrite here as the man was evil, betraying his working class roots in favor of the oligarchy he would come to champion – broke the Air Traffic Controllers Union and paved the way for replacing pensions with 401K plans, corporations have taken their cues since then that anything was preferable than dealing with a union. Name a company these days facing employees trying to join a union – Amazon, Apple, Starbucks, etc. – and you’ll see management doing everything they can to break those efforts.
The AMPTP is no different. If they achieve nothing else, eliminating having to deal with the various Hollywood Unions is their Holy Grail. It won’t be long after resolving matters with the WGA & SAG-AFTRA that IATSE will want its fair share of the pie, with membership demanding their leaders do better.
But resolving the differences that the WGA along with SAG-AFTRA has with the AMPTP will take some serious negotiating as well as acknowledgement that what Disney, Paramount, Warners, Comcast and other traditional Hollywood Studios want is completely different from what Amazon, Apple and especially Netflix will agree to.
Netflix was the first to start down the path of zero residuals by buying out everyone’s interests in a project. They may have been willing to shell out the big bucks back then but they’re certainly not willing to do that now. Beyond that, they have no interest in paying residuals. That’s money the executives in the upper levels believes is solely theirs, which is laughable as all of them are the most replaceable cogs in the whole machine.
During my time on various film sets, I have dealt with a number of film crews – location managers, grips, electricians, 1st & 2nd ADs, costumers, hair & makeup professionals. caterers, medics and so on – all of whom work long hours while showing up to start their day at the most ridiculous hours. They work in extreme heat and bitter cold, sometimes in the same day. That’s California for you.
Despite the difficult conditions and extreme hours, I have witnessed nothing less than professional behavior, even when they know they’re underpaid on a particular job, which applies to a lot of industry professionals, especially those who work on the so-called “reality” shows.
The actors I have witnessed or dealt with deal with the same conditions as the crew, with the only difference is when they’re in front of the camera and the focus is on them. During that time, most of the crew is “down” until needed. But before and after the filming, the crew is all hands on deck.
Before filming, actors are getting made up and into costume while studying their lines while a beehive of activity is happening all around them. What looks like absolute chaos is simply everyone pulling together doing the job they were hired for to make it happen.
I haven’t seen any writers on any of the sets I’ve been on. Nor have I ever seen a director or writer call for an on-set rewrite during filming. According the comments and articles I’ve seen, this has been a big bone of contention between the writers and the Studios and I agree, the WGA has a legitimate grievance regarding the lack of writers on-set.
The biggest thorn to resolving the strike is the issue of AI. Actors absolutely can’t sign an agreement unless studios agree to some form of compensation for the use of an actor’s image even after the actor has passed. Neither can the writers agree to having their work studied by AI until it can create something in a given writer’s style. Maybe it’s a long way off from when AI can come up with a concept similar to Aaron Sorkin, but there’s enough available material for the AI to learn his style, and that’s a road leading to a darker path.
I’ve been watching Hollywood productions shut down over the past several months. The last few times I was on a set in recent weeks was for commercials, photo shoots and non-union film productions, the last one of which was a student film. I don’t know when the next time I’ll find myself working on-set, but my best guess is not for a long while.
I’ll have more to say when future developments happen.
Above is the very first contract I ever received for a comic book penciling assignment. It’s my first DC Comics contract. It’s my first professional contract. My first, period. It also explains why I prevailed against Archie Comics during my legal battle with them. I really kept the receipts all these many years.
The reason I’m showing this is to make clear there is a paragraph (7) in the contract stipulating a minimum payment per page for any reprinting of the the work. This contract was standard issue for all work DC commissioned during the 1980’s, and it’s also the reason a lot of the work from that era has yet to be reprinted.
I’m not sure what arrangement DC worked out with Scott Shaw! regarding the reprinting of his CAPTAIN CARROT issues in a collected format, but I know they weren’t reprinting it until they resolved the issue of the page rate. At a minimum, Scott would’ve received a check for at least $10,240K when his work was collected in a SHOWCASE black & white format trade paperback. And that’s just Scott. There were other creators involved as well. We’re also talking about reprinting one series. DC published many more at the time. And sales today aren’t what they were back then.
By 1990, the contracts were adjusted. Any title that sold above 40K copies on the direct market generated royalties. A book had to sell over 70K copies on the newsstand before creators saw any royalties. I only saw 1 royalty check as a result of sales on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION issue 17 reaching those benchmarks.
But I’m not here to complain about that. The contract I’m showing doesn’t talk about royalties generated from sales figures, only what I’ll receive if the work is reprinted.
What interests me here is the part about DC authorizing the reprinting of the work as defined in Paragraph 7.
The reason I’m focusing on this is I know for a fact a LOT of comic book freelancers – some of whom I personally know – who worked on licensed titles during the 1980s and 90s are now seeing that work collected in deluxe hardcover and trade paperback editions, and they’re not receiving a dime, despite the promise of reprint money or royalties in the contracts they signed.
In recent years, IDW has reprinted work I did for DC Comics licensed TSR line – ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, FORGOTTEN REALMS – and DC Comics STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION series in trade paperback format. On top of that, the STAR TREK work I did has also been reprinted in hardcover editions by Eaglemoss & IDW and God only knows who else has published the work in what format over the past couple of decades.
STAR TREK inker Arne Starr and others attempted to get the royalties promised by DC paid, so they first approached IDW, who said for them to take the matter up with Paramount. Paramount, in turn, told the creators to take up the matter with DC Comics. When they contacted DC Comics, they told the creators they needed to talk to Paramount as they haven’t published the TREK title in decades. Had I been among them, I would’ve asked what was the mechanism for DC to transfer any negatives or digital files or any material used for reprinting the work to Paramount? Doesn’t that constitute authorization? Just asking.
But this is just STAR TREK. I’ve had work reprinted in the DC COMICS WHO’S WHO OMNIBUS as well as the KULL THE SAVAGE OMNIBUS by Marvel. I hadn’t received even a token check (nor do I suspect did other creators involved) or a comp copy of either book. My credit isn’t even listed for the KULL story I inked collected in the omnibus.
There has been so much reprinting of old material from the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s as well as other eras, but the only ones profiting are the publishers despite promises made in writing to the creators in exchange for their rights.
Dark Horse has published STAR WARS, CONAN and so many other series from back in the day that originated with other publishers. IDW has published reprint collections BEST OF DAN DeCARLO and BEST OF STAN GOLDBERG, yet neither the estate of Dan DeCarlo or Stan Goldberg (who was alive at the time of its release) saw a dime from these projects either.
Stan had just been unceremoniously released by Archie Comics after having worked 40-something years for them when he told me the circumstances surrounding Archie letting him go as well as IDW reprinting his work, which he had extreme feelings about. On the one hand, Stan was proud to see his work collected in such a manner, something he couldn’t have imagined previously. On the flip side, having a book of one’s collected work on the bookshelf may be prestigious, but it doesn’t support one in retirement if one isn’t getting paid for the work. Archie wasn’t issuing a pension check after all those years of service as they had gotten out of Stan what they wanted and had no problem cutting him loose.
(Stan and I discussed a great many many things, but that’s for another time.)
I could go on about the various titles collected by various publishers who didn’t originally commission the work in the first place, but the main point I’m trying to make here is whether one is dealing with Comic Book Publishers or Studio Executives, both are always going to be crying poverty to the creators – whether writers, artists, actors, whatever – while continuing to profit off the work of those creators as they ignore agreements entered into with them.
I myself get asked often by various parties why don’t I go after a SONIC THE HEDGEHOG assignment or work on one of the various STAR TREK titles published by IDW, and my response is always the same. Until they pay me for my work already reprinted as well as issue an agreement that guarantees royalties based on sales figures, I’d just as soon not deal with people who have no problem screwing creators over.
At least the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are unions with lawyers to protect their members. Comic book people aren’t so lucky and are thrown to the wolves immediately. But they all share this: none of the creators are looking for mega-millions. If they work on a project where they do hit the jackpot, great. But the most any of these people expect is the ability to put a roof over their heads, groceries on the table, new clothes now and then, decent transportation, the kids through school (those that have them) and maybe – just maybe – a night out every now and then. That’s a reasonable expectation of one’s paycheck over the long haul.
The increase in prices isn’t just the result of problems in the supply chain, but a reaction to supply and demand, with businesses no longer hesitant to squeeze whatever dollars they can from the general public.
One doesn’t see a Comic Book Publisher or a Studio Executive worry about their next meal or where they’re going to live. Their biggest concern is how long they get to enjoy the gravy train at the expense of those working for them. And when it’s over, there’s still the Golden Parachute, whether they truly earned it or not. It’s in the contract.
While their contracts get honored, how about honoring the agreements entered into, yet broken time after time? I don’t want to hear how the publishers and studio execs are the ones assuming the risks anymore.
The creators are tired of being the ones assuming the risk without being properly compensated.
It’s been interesting reading the commentary section of articles presenting the latest on the WGA & SAG-AFTRA strike, particularly the negative comments, giving me a strong sense of “I’ve seen this before” to say nothing of still experiencing it even now.
The negative comments amount to essentially either the writers & actors are overpaid, nothing’s going to change or if anything will be worse than before, or for the writers & actors to quit being selfish so the rest of the film production crews don’t lose their homes and have jobs to go back to.
That last argument particularly resonates with me as I’ve heard from a number of Sonic fans over the years how selfish I was to fight for my copyrights which allowed me to claim ownership of my characters and stories. Just like the negative commentators of the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike fail to see the big picture, so too did Sonic fans.
Regarding the current strike, members of the WGA & SAG-AFTRA can’t afford to give one inch to the AMPTP or they may as well call it a career, because what they had will no longer exist.
Even now, actors are presented contracts in which their likeness can be used on licensed products without further compensation to the actors, with all proceeds going to the producers and studios. The AMPTP has made it clear they want to hire actors who fill in the backgrounds of a film shoot to come in and be scanned, paid a day’s rate with their image usable in any permutation imaginable without further compensation thanks to AI.
Before I even learned of this aspect of the contract negotiation, I was already speculating studios would hire talent off the street, scan their image and pay $100K or thereabouts for a Forever License. I now discover I was being far too generous and studios really are that despicable.
Then there’s the “writers & actors are being too greedy” argument. Anyone who’s ever been involved in a TV or film production knows not only do these people work hard for the money, there wouldn’t be a production at all without them. The other major sticking point the general public – and even some media writers – fails to take into account is that the vast majority of writers and actors are not on the receiving end of the great contracts and dollar amounts discussed in the trade papers. Far from it.
Instead, Disney should be asked why they agreed to pay Bob Iger $27 million a year plus bonuses for the next 2 years. On top of that, there’s a number of Disney executives receiving 7 & 8-figure compensation for doing God only knows what. Instead of pointing fingers at the writers & actors who are the most responsible for getting the project off the ground, one should be pointing fingers at the mediocre execs with the great paychecks and ask what they contributed to a project’s success or if they’re shouldering their fair share of the responsibility for a project’s failure.
I still get hammered for fighting my battle against Archie Comics even though the facts are completely on my side. What else was I supposed to do once Archie filed a lawsuit demanding I pay them $250K on the grounds of tortuous business interference? Just give up and end up even worse off than I was before? That wasn’t even an option. I had to fight at that point. Even more, I had to go the distance if I wanted to come out the other end having survived the ordeal.
Working in comics and the film industry is akin to working in the Circus. There is no stability. There’s only the next show. Unlike comics, at least many professionals working in the film industry belong to a Union, which offers benefits such as health care and a pension. Only the ignorant proclaim that all Unions do is take your money and allow the deadbeats to keep their jobs. There is no deadwood on a film set. People have to bust their tails and prove themselves for the next job, especially if they want to move up the ladder. People in comics can only envy people working in films for what they have.
When I started working in the animation industry, I thought I’d be looked down upon because of my comics experience. If anything, I was surprised at the respect I was treated with. As one storyboard artist said to me, “Unless you’re the director or writer on a film or animated TV series, everyone else is just a passing glance tacked in the end credits. In comics, your credit starts on Page 1. People know who you are and what you did.”
Comics publishers are like studio executives. Neither truly respects the talent for their success. They’re well aware of many others would love to work on the projects they produce and take advantage of that reality with as much ruthlessness as one can imagine. It’s reflected right there in the contracts they issue. And it explains why they would rather shut productions down rather than even provide so much as an extra crumb to the talent.
Even today, I still receive email demanding I turn over my stories and characters to SEGA to do with as they please without any form of compensation to me. The individuals expressing those thoughts are not shy in stating whatever I created is SEGA’s by devine right trumping any legal rights I have.
Overall, I feel this moment in Hollywood is actually a microcosm of everyone’s life in general. We’re all just hanging on trying to make it through to the next day, not knowing what tomorrow will bring, with most hoping things will go back to the familiar we all used to know. The funny thing is, deep down, there is no going back to what was. There’s only a race to an uncertain, unwritten future, where life will never be what we once knew.
I don’t mean that to sound dark and apocalyptic. If anything, I think change can be good. And it’s high time the wealth started to be shared more equitably instead of preserved for the fortunate few. The working class deserve at least that much.
It took me from September 2008 to well past mid-2013 to complete my legal journey in some respects, while other respects are still out there just waiting to be detonated. The same applies to the WGA & SAG-AFTRA. They’re on a journey for their own survival, one which will come with an armistice, but not a final solution, as the business evolves leading to another battle at a fork in the road yet to be arrived at some later date.
There is a reckoning coming to the gaming industry as it has exploited its workers far too long for the benefit of the suits in the executive suites. Kids grow up playing video games and for some it becomes a passion that they want to be part of it. The problem is that most people entering the gaming industry aren’t business savvy, so they’ll take the lousy conditions in exchange for their dream job.
The problems grow the longer one remains a part of the industry. One gets older and priorities change. Health care becomes an issue. Long term financial stability becomes an issue. When one is in their 20s, life after retirement seems so far in the distance that one can’t imagine not having enough time to prepare.
The comic book industry has similar problems, only worse, as it takes less time to work on a single issue than it does building a gaming platform for release. How many writers and artists have steady work month in month out? Definitely not the majority.
Change is not going to happen that benefits the creators unless and until the majority will band together and fight for those benefits.
I got off the rat race because I didn’t see the benefit of working on the latest issue of FANTASTIC FOUR or BATMAN beyond the immediate paycheck. The page rates being offered weren’t commensurate with pay working in animation or other fields. The promise of royalties was never lived up as stated in written agreements.
The kids today have the tech and opportunity to build their own paths instead of taking the corporate path. They just have to decide what’s to their benefit.
I’m a huge film fan with particular tastes. If the poster doesn’t appeal to me, the trailer better. And if that doesn’t do the job, the cast has the last best shot to win me over, as I don’t go by reviews.
I didn’t see the poster, but I did the trailer, and that completely sold me on spending 2 hours of my time watching the story the filmmakers had crafted into what could best be described as the TITANIC of geekdom.
It’s made clear early on that geeks, particularly STAR TREK fans (and I most definitely count myself as one of them) were inspired to spend their lives working to invent the future. The Blackberry smartphone was clearly an early attempt to invent the Starfleet Communicator the crew of the Enterprise used by people whose love for the material knew no bounds.
What the film also makes painfully, factually clear is that creative types aren’t the best business people. They’re too busy having fun creating the device, the artwork, or whatever. This lack of business acumen thus makes creatives easy prey for the business types.
Anyone who’s been around since the 90’s is aware of the Blackberry as a cautionary tale of how one technological achievement can be the biggest thing in the world at one point only to be surpassed by a greater achievement. Just like the Titanic didn’t swerve in time when the crew saw the iceberg, the developers of the Blackberry weren’t prepared to deal with the iPhone.
Despite knowing the eventual fate of the product, it turns out the journey from humble beginnings to spectacular success to a complete flameout is far more entertaining than anyone could’ve imagined.
It’s a fun ride and I highly recommend checking this out.
