Prior to a couple months ago, I don’t think I can recall reading any interviews with SLG publisher Dan Vado. That’s not saying a lot – it’s not like SLG gets weekly coverage at Newsarama or anything, and when it does it’s usually EiC Jennifer DeGuzman talking. (Amusing side note: When Marvel and Top Cow announce vague digital distribution plans, everyone goes nuts; when SLG actually debuts their online comics service, no one seems to notice.)
But man, I hope he does more. He’s just so unrelentingly blunt, as evidenced by his recent, apparently outrageous comments at Wondercon about what he’d do differently if he were starting the business over again. (other than, you know, not doing it at all) His general rebuttal and commentary is even better.
Perhaps I’m just a cynic who refuses to take things at face value (in fact, there’s no “perhaps” about it), but I don’t understand how anyone could assume he was entirely serious when he said creator ownership was bad business, or that there wasn’t more to it than that. Obviously he was serious about the purely business aspect: Vado probably could have made more money if the somehow retained the right to put together more Johnny the Homicidal Maniac comics while Jhonen Vazquez was off at Nickelodeon making far more money.
On the other hand, how many corporate-based comic book publishers have been around for 20 years? Many have come and gone, while SLG continues to put out good books year after year after year. At the same time, Vado and SLG seem to have engendered a great deal of loyalty from creators they have published: Andi Watson keeps coming back (even if he does work with other, better-paying publishers), and they continue to attract great talent like Jim Rugg, Jamie Smart, and James Turner. Vado might be a terrible businessman (by his own semi-admission), but he makes a pretty darn good patron.
But apparently, after one answer to a hypothetical question at a convention panel, he’s a mean old robber baron out to exploit the working artist. Even if he is an internet hermit, surely 20 years of running a successful (creatively, if not financially) and creator-friendly publisher speaks louder than any blog?