I don’t get fan fiction.
Oh, I understand it all right. I know why people write it, I know what the appeal is. I suppose I just don’t understand the people who write it that are much older than 13.
As a writer, I can’t fathom writing stories about someone else’s characters. I can’t imagine being so bereft of your own ideas, or, perhaps worse, being willing to put them aside because no one else is willing to give you Jubilee stories on a monthly basis.
Sure, you can ignore most of it; it’s harmless enough, left on its own. But every now and then, a fanfic writer becomes a professional writer, and things start to get ugly. The last thing the world needs is another superhero comic written by someone who’s only ever read superhero comics. Obviously there’s a market for that sort of thing – the inexplicable popularity of Geoff Johns is enough to prove this point – but it’s certainly not healthy.
Obviously everyone is inspired by past works. But while great writers are aware of what came before them, they are also unafraid to point out that some of it sucked. DC actually had a couple good ideas when they realized the original Flash and Green Lantern looked kind of stupid, and we’re all better off because Stan Lee’s idea went beyond “Let’s have the Human Torch and Submariner fight again!” Writing the same old stories with the same old characters is at best pleasant masturbation, and at worst a threesome with your grandmother and uncle.
That said, there are certainly plenty of people willing to recycle mediocrity for a living, particularly if it means they get published in their favourite comic book. Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to Zuda Comics.
With some fanfare, DC Comics announced they’re getting into the webcomics business. Naturally, there was some skepticism.
I understand the complaints, or at least the suspicion that leads to them. Creator ownership is still something of a sore topic in the comic industry.
But on the other hand, are people really surprised that DC is going to want something out of this? That they’re not some giant, beatific philanthropist, eager bestow fame and riches on pure and hardworking writers and artists?
Excuse the skepticism of the skepticism, but: Duh. Doing business with a big company like DC has its ups and downs. You get more exposure, more quickly. Probably more money, at least up front. You also get more editorial interference, and possibly less ownership, which potentially means less long-term money.
Some people will make that tradeoff. Some will weigh the pros and cons and decide the good outweighs the bad, and some will jump at any chance to be published. This latter group can be referred to as “suckers”, but should we really be concerned with people who will give away what few ideas they have for simple gratification? These, after all, are the people the superhero industry relies upon: Filler.
And the former group, who hopefully have higher standards and better legal advice, will be working with an understanding of MacDonald’s Law “If your property that got ripped off was the only thing you had, you weren’t going to have a very long career anyway.”
I don’t believe that any concession to shared ownership is necessarily a bad one, though it may not be the best one. And granted, the webcomic model is much easier to do on your own than a print book: You can grab some rudimentary webspace or a blog for free, and a moderate investment and a bit of research into web design can get you a fairly professional site. It’s still harder to build an audience, though, and DC has something most aspiring creators can’t afford and can’t buy: A big department and big brand name.
You know, I think I had some sort of grand, unifying theme when I started this, but it’s eluding me right now. Perhaps we shall settle on this: A lot of people do things with their talents we wouldn’t consider very bright. But sometimes they know what they’re doing, and sometimes they get lucky even if they don’t.
Also, threesomes with relatives are just out, no matter who has the ownership rights.