Image Comics Community

Issue #1 came out in April, then nothing. Has this series been abandoned?

It sucks when this happens. I understand a book being a little late every now and then but three months is a little much. I wish they would announce something before i drop the book

Hey guys. Here's what the team posted on FB about Scars

Dear '68 fans, if you have not noticed '68 SCARS #2 is running a tad late, a month or so late. We have not made it to public on why we are falling behind but we thought it would be a good time now for we have a better grasp on the situation. Co-creator Nat Jones's second son Calum was born April 10th. Jocelyn Psikla(Momma) was bedridden in the hospital for 2 months prior due to complications and Calum was born 3 1/2 months premature at 1 pound 12 oz. Since then he has been at ICU and we are happy to announce as of today he is doing great at 5 pounds 2 ounces!
Let's all send the Jones family our best wishes for Calum to come home soon and raise all kinds of hell with his older brother Greyson.

Oh, well that's certainly an understandable situation then. I'll wait patiently then. Wishing them the best.

That's an understandable excuse. But it shouldn't have come to that in the first place. It would be smarter to complete at least half a dozen issues prior to announcing a new comic. That way the creator can forestall delays from happening. The creators knew she was pregnant. So they must have known they would have to take time off to deal with it. So they should have prepared properly for it.

This is one of the reasons why creator-owned comic publishing is less glamorous in practice than in theory. The work ethic is sloppy. This is also the reason why I find it difficult to promote Image Comics. Last May, I was in my local comics shop when a guy I know saw me reading Skullkickers. He seemed interested, started reading it, then flipped the front cover and saw it was from Image and handed it back to me without a word.

"What gives?" I asked.

"Image comics...yeah, I'll pass," he said. "Too many times I started reading a comic from them only for it to get abruptly cancelled. Or it comes out months late per issue."

"What about Savage Dragon, Invincible, and Walking Dead?"

"Pass. Pass. And I only buy Walking Dead in trades."

Nothing I said made him wanna take a crack at a new Image comic. I've seen this type of behavior before. On places like comicbookresources and various other comicbook sites, people have said they don't read Image because "they've been burned too many times by having to deal with books that come out late."

This late comicbook issue never goes well with creators either. They get indignant when this is brought up, basically saying, "How dare you criticize my work ethic! I work my butt off and I've got family problems to deal with. You should be grateful you get these comics at all. Comicbooks should just come out whenever rather than following this stupid schedule for a bunch of whiny collectors." And then these creators wonder why they can barely make a living off their comics.

And where is their income/revenue stream coming from if they spend 5 to 6 months getting 6 issues done with no sales?

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My comicartfans.com collection. Lots of Ryan Ottley:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=49719

capuga, will the revenue from issue 1 be enough to pay for his wife, newborn baby, and enough to start issue 2 after 5 or 6 months delay?

Probably not but that's not really the point. He had special circumstances. You're advocating that all these creators get 6 issues in the can before releasing. That's just not economically feasible.

_________________
My comicartfans.com collection. Lots of Ryan Ottley:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=49719

But the thing is, he knew the circumstances would come up. Why put out a new comic if he knew the newborn would take up his time?

As far as it being economically feasible goes, I guess you're right. Although I think creators try to get enough money for half a year's run prior to even starting a comic. It's difficult, but not impossible. The current system at Image seems to be:

1. Announce a new comic.
2. Fanboys get amped.
3. Put out issue 1.
4. Subsequent issues become late or the comic gets cancelled.
5. Repeat Step 1.

The folks at Image need a new system. It's not economically feasible to buy a house in this economy. But people are still buying houses and going into debt.

Yes, it is really hard for independet creators to get more than an issue in the can before soliciting, maybe covers for the next two issues, but since a lot have other jobs to pay the bills, it's really not feasible. Granted, the news shouldn't have come 3 months late, if they had said he had family problems since this happened, it wouldn't be a problem at all.
I just hope everything goes well for them, and knowing this I won't be disappointed when a new wednesday comes with no new 68'