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Patrick Ford On Alan Moore
posted April 14, 2012
 

Tom, Saw your bit on creators rights and I've got a different perspective as to what I', seeing. Not different from you on creators rights where my views are close to yours, but different as to how I see what might be called the comics community reacting to the issue(s).
You quote an unnamed (the fact the person won't go on record is telling) pro as saying:

"... the first time today's professional community has watched someone get screwed in front of them while they were objecting to this treatment as loudly as possible, all to almost no effect."

That's not what I see. It seems to me it's:

...the first time today's professional community has watched someone get screwed in front of them while waiting in line to join the gang bang, or are eager to buy tickets to watch the screwing. Some are objecting to this treatment as loudly as possible to no effect, because most people either are all for the screwing, and would like a piece of the action, or don't really care.

The reaction to Disney suing the Kirby heirs, with Stan Lee as their mouthpiece, has been just about the same. It's pretty disheartening to see even TCJ hardly comment on the case when in the '80s they spearheaded creators rights issues. The whole thing came down to one article which said, "Well, Marvel was right all along. The excitement is over, and everyone should just go home."

"And the only sound that's left, after the ambulances go, is Cinderella sweeping up on Desolation Row."

Tom Spurgeon Responds: Just to be clear, the pro in question is totally on the record about the Alan Moore thing; I just thought it would be douchey to quote them by name for some offhand conversation we had at a comics show.