Image Comics Community

Mr. Mojo-- I mean, Ivan-- I mean, Mikey-- it's pretty simple.

Buy the books you want to buy. Don't buy the books you don't want to buy.

Don't take your angry confusion over the intricacies of publishing out on creators and fans on a message board. Nearly every single thing you've posted is either flat-out incorrect or guesswork pulled out of your ass (Ever hear of a series called "Wanted"? How do you know the ins and outs of Millar's deal? Etc).

If you have a legitimate, non-leading and non-hostile question regarding Image's policies, you can email Image staff.

You have an axe to grind. We get it. We're not interested. We're here to celebrate independent comics. So, please-- let those of us who are here to celebrate this particular independent comic get back to discussing it.

You seem to be an expert on "flat-out incorrect or guesswork pulled out of your ass" Adam.

Ever hear of a company called TopCow? They published "Wanted" not Image Central, and they paid Millar and Jones a page rate in return for 40% of the profits. Not exactly the Image deal seeing as how it was a TopCow deal for a TopCow book.



I think you're confused Adam; this is the thread for discussing Jupiter's Children which is what I'm doing using a thing called facts, I think you want the Rainbows and Unicorns version of the thread over on the Blissfully Ignorantly Sucking Creators Cocks Only forum.

Mikey

Good to know we can have a civilized discussion like adults. Though I feel I should let you know -- there's no prize for getting yourself banned in the fewest amount of posts possible.


A Top Cow book is still an Image book, and the difference between the Top Cow deal and the Image deal has no bearing whatsoever on your erroneous statement that Millar "has never finished a project at Image." Wanted was at Image regardless of the studio who put it together with Millar & Jones. Millar's also had his Chosen series collected at Image, contributed to various Image anthologies, and so forth.

It's three as it turns out. Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner--!

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It might not be the nicest way to bring it over, but the guy had a point.

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I'll check the book out because Quitely is fantastic and Millar has an interesting premise. I do agree it's unlikely it will be a monthly. I think it will finish it's initial 10-12 issue run.

Yeah, his language was a bit aggressive, but I couldn't help agreeing with most of his points.

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Which points were those? I'm legitimately asking.

It sucks when books are late, no doubt. But there's no way for Image to force creators to deliver on time without undoing what makes Image great -- total freedom and autonomy. They can't make those kinds of mandates.

And as we all know, books are late for a wide variety of reasons. Sometimes the back-end deal can't sustain the creators enough for them to maintain a consistent schedule and they have to take on other work elsewhere. People have lives and priorities and families and emergencies. And while Millar's obviously well-off at this point, Tony Harris has to work. Last I'd heard, Harris had to take on other art jobs before he could justify getting back to War Heroes. I might be mistaken (and please notice that I'm presenting the Harris anecdote as an anecdote, not as evidence as our friendly visitor was doing), but the point is if that exact situation isn't true for Harris, it is for lots of other creators out there.

As to the question of "Why would Image take on a book that might be late?" -- the answer is twofold: 1) Well, they can't know that a book won't be late. You start refusing every pitch for a series that isn't 100% completed by the time you see the submission, and your catalog of new titles drops to zero (or close to it). And 2) No publisher would be stupid enough to turn away creators that have so thoroughly established themselves in the industry as Millar and Quitely. Whether you couch this in terms of artistry or reputation, you can't deny the mark these guys have made. Image isn't in the business of turning away books that will interest many thousands of readers.

And -- this is a big pet peeve for me -- fans tend to want to create drama, fights, and feuds where none exist. I doubt that a lot of Image creators carry copious sour grapes about the occasional late book from a big name. If some do, they aren't vocal about it.

Everyone knows Quitely is not a fast artist. Quitely himself has been very up front about this. He's said -- multiple times -- that he wouldn't be getting into this project until pretty much everything else was off of his plate. Meaning-- now that he's started it, it's not just one of a million things he's working on; it's his focus.

So, for me... I'm very, very excited to see Quitely doing some new creator-owned work. It makes sense for him to collaborate with Millar. I hope the book is good; I hope it does well for them. I hope it isn't late. If it is -- and I don't happen know the reason why -- I won't just assume via mind-reading that it's a bad reason. If it's remarkably late and I simultaneously am having a pitch rejected by Image for a series already 100% complete, I will not see it as "unfair." I will put my nose back to the grindstone, make the work better, and pitch again.

I'm not blaming Image, I'm blaming Millar for not being able to make those kinds of mandates. Since that's his job as the creator/editor. If he can't handle the realities of self-publishing in the past, why is this time going to be any different? And if he has a spotty record of incomplete or delayed projects, why does Image keep giving him a slot? Probably because his name will draw sales, and they'd be foolish to turn him down.

I'm not saying this is good or bad (sales are always good), I'm just saying form an outside observer these kinds of projects seem to do a lot of damage to the Image brand when they become chronically late or incomplete.


I don't know why I care, because I don't like Mark Millar as a writer, never have. So I wasn't going to be buying this comic anyway. But how he handles his various products ties into my dislike of him as a creator. Lots of late books, incomplete projects. His track record is all over the place, and I really don't think it helps out Image's *ahem* image that much to take him on time and time again. Just just perpetuates the stereotype that 'all Image comics are late' because high profile books seem to end up that way.

I do hope for the best for this book. I hope it comes out on time, and to its conclusion, and sells a million copies.

I'm just not holding my breath on that one.

EDIT: I have no real opinion on Quitely, I'm not an 'art guy', I'm a 'story guy'. For a while I didn't care for his style (creepy Superman), but its grown on me lately. But his name isn't enough of a draw to get me to look at a comic who's writer I don't care for.

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I don't know you from Adam, Adam. All I know is that in your first post to me you accused me of being 2 posters I wasn't, dreamt up an imaginary scenario explaining my post, dismissed FACTS as being 'pulled from my ass' (I put that word in caps in the hope you'll look it up as it seems alien to you. Then you tried to dictate terms for posting here (more akin to the Byrneboard), showed you don't see any difference between a studio that use's WFH and Image Central which is 100% creator owned and invented truths to support your stance.

You've also proven yourself wrong and or ignorant in every one of your posts on this thread so I'm assuming you're a small child or just special, in which case I shall temper for my fortright tone in light of your shortcomings.

Putting it simply; Millar has dicked Image around on every prior occasion they've supported him and I think it's shameful that they're supporting him again without addressing all the retailers and fans who were stiffed on the last series he abandoned.


I can see why Millar had Chosen reprinted as American Jesus in any number of ways that benefitted only Millar but the fact is that Image only got a second hand trade (with mild amendments) that was already available through Dark Horse that didn't involve any extra work from Millar. Big Whoop.

Thanks for bringing up American Jesus at Image though, as Millar announced at the time that series 2 would appear from Image the next year (2009-2010) with the trilogy wrapping up the following year (2010-2011), so that's a third or even a fourth series Millar has screwed Image over whilst enjoying there full support.


Really, which ones?


Except for actually honouring his commitments to them and finishing any projects there.


Millar IS the hold up there. Harris posted in Oct 2011 that Millar hadn't written issues 4-6 yet (that's nearly 3 years after the series debuted) but had promised to provide them all over Xmas 2011; Millar hasn't done so, isn't responding to queries from his fans. Harris can't draw scripts he hasn't got.

When the movie deal was re-announced a Millarworld poster asked Millar when they were going to finish the series; Millar responded that Harris was coming over to a Convention and he'd hopefully meet up with him and find out when he was free to do it. That's how much finishing the comic meant to Millar; no e-mails or phonecalls just the vague hope that he'd meet up with Harris who had no scripts to work on months down the line to see how their schedules were.


As a fellow Celt it's 100% pronounced Millar not Miller like every other Millar in Scotland. Millar doesn't mind being called Miller as some yanks have a problem with the english language.

By soliciting this series regardless of the names involved (and Kick Ass is shedding readers with every issues and Liefeld's new Hawk and Dove outsold the last few issues of Superior) Image is saying Millar is more important than the retailers and fans who supported Image and bought a lemon with his last series.

And that's not even addressing the unliklihood of this series ever to materialise based on Millar's record and the fact that Quitely has done nothing on it other than a single image in the 10 months since it was publically announced.

Mikey