*If you have been following what has been going on with Comicsgate over the last several months, you can probably skip over the long introduction and jump right into the second part of the article. The introduction is to get people who aren’t aware of Comicsgate up to speed on what has been happening.
Part I: An Introduction to Set the Stage:
I have always hated labels but I find my ideals and my fandom in line with the Comicsgate movement. I hate anything called “(insert name)-gate” because it’s been done to death and at this point, it is misused. Initially, it was used as a suffix to label anything that was a scandal. Comicsgate like Gamergate before it isn’t a scandal, it is a push back against a forced social cultural agenda brought on by liberal extremists that many refer to as SJWs (or social justice warriors).
I really don’t want to spend my time on this article talking about SJWs, as all the big wigs in the Comicsgate movement have that covered. But in a nutshell, they tend to latch on to something in pop culture and use it as a platform to force diversity on the masses. No one I talk to or support in Comicsgate has a problem with diversity. We love diversity, which can be found in many major comic book titles going back decades.
Hell, it’s rare to find an old school comic book fan that isn’t a huge fan of the Chris Claremont era of X-Men, where diversity was kind of the whole point. My favorite franchise of all-time was G.I. Joe and that certainly wasn’t short on diversity. As a kid two of my favorite characters were Stalker (a black man) and the Baroness (a woman). My absolute favorite was Shipwreck, whose real name is Hector Delgado, so he’s probably Hispanic.
What Comicsgate people have a problem with is the SJW’s tactics and how they use hate filled rhetoric and intimidation while preaching the opposite. The big thing that people supporting Comicsgate want is good storytelling and for the intellectual properties that they love and cherish to be respected. But if you disagree with SJWs, they tend to call you names like “racist”, “bigot”, “misogynist”, “homophobe”, “white supremacist”, “Nazi”, “alt-right”, “Trump supporter” and whatever other bullshit they can come up with to bully you and paint you as something you aren’t.
I’m none of those things, by the way, not that I should even have to defend myself. And I didn’t support Trump… or Hillary for that matter. I’m an anarcho-capitalist that hates talking about politics because I ran a blog about it for several years until my brain exploded. It then took several more years for my brain to regenerate into something other than pulpy goo.
Anyway, when you try to have rational or reasonable discussions, the SJWs call you more names and then block you on social media because that’s what modern day bullies do. In the old days, bullies at least had balls and would get in your face, physically. Nowadays, the bullies are setting up GoFundMe accounts to get their fans to pay for surgeries to remove their balls (see for yourself). I guess being a writer for Marvel and DC Comics with an SJW agenda isn’t a good paying gig when you need to crowdfund your sex change operation. Point being, comic book sales are terrible in 2018, as the industry is essentially being held hostage by these SJW types. Comic books, as we know them, are dying a horrible death. Seriously, look at Squirrel Girl… who buys this shit?
But with all that being said, there are several people who are now creating their own comics because they no longer want to work within an industry where they aren’t wanted by those who hold the keys to the kingdom. Many conservatives in comics have been harassed and blacklisted. Those who still work in the comics industry that don’t agree with SJW politics and tactics, keep their mouths shut for fear of losing their jobs or receiving even worse backlash.
However, guys like Richard C. Meyer a.k.a. Zack of Diversity & Comics (currently at 81K subscribers) and former DC Comics artist Ethan Van Sciver a.k.a. ComicArtistPro Secrets (currently at 68K subscribers) have spoken out heavily against the SJW types and have created their own projects, which are being crowd funded with great success, unlike SJWs trying to crowd fund the snipping of their genitalia.
Diversity & Comics was the first to come out with his own graphic novel, which is called Jawbreakers – Lost Souls. Right now, this book has raised $362K from 9403 backers, funding 3867% of its initial goal. Ethan Van Sciver followed with Cyberfrog: Bloodhoney, which has raised $436K from 6928 backers, funding 5452% of its initial goal. These campaigns are still open and will continue to raise money.
Now there are other creators entering the fray and that’s what I’m here to discuss after this long winded introduction to get my readers up to speed.
Part II: Moving Beyond the Genesis of Comicsgate:
I have supported Jawbreakers and Cyberfrog. I did it gladly, without even knowing much about the comics themselves, as it is about funding something bigger than just a comic book project. It is about funding a movement and trying to change the industry. As time rolls on and things change and modernize with technology, we don’t have to necessarily buy comic books the same way that we’ve been buying them since, well… half a century before I was even born. To be honest, I still love walking into my local comic shops and buying stuff off of the wall and I think every true comic fan agrees with me there.
Since supporting those two projects, I’ve also found myself backing Cautionary Comics’ Ravage – Kill All Men!, Mitch and Elizabeth Breitweiser’s Red Rooster: Golden Age (the one I’m most excited about) and Richard C. Meyer’s second project Iron Sights.
The thing is, there are more projects out there that I haven’t supported and many more in the pipeline. So that raises some questions worth exploring.
To start, these comic books are typically graphic novel size or longer than standard comics. Plus, they are printed independently without being under the banner of a large publisher like Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, etc. Therefore, they can’t print these books as cheaply because they aren’t printing mass quantities, month after month, till the end of time.
Printing costs are determined by a combination of things: mainly cost of goods (paper, ink, etc.) and labor. More comics means that the cost of overall goods goes down and so does the amount of labor, as labor is mostly tied in to setting up the press. It doesn’t matter if you set up a press to print 100 comics or 100,000, the set up process is virtually the same. Spreading that cost out over 100 copies is going to cost more per issue than spreading it out over 100,000 copies.
So keeping that in mind, the cost of these crowd funded indie comics is more expensive than that issue of Detective Comics that you bought at your local store. What usually costs $3.99 to $4.99 costs at least $20. Keep in mind that there are more pages in these books but the price is still quite a bit more than the norm.
But realistically, most people will spend more than this. I’ve spent between $30 and $75 on each of these projects. Reason being, there are all types of perks based off of what tier you decide to purchase. So for instance, on Red Rooster I got the $50 tier, which comes to $60 after shipping but it includes a signed copy of the 48 page Red Rooster comic, a sketchbook of unused and conceptual art, as well as a sticker related to the project. I really wanted the sketchbook in addition to the comic, so I spent twice as much as I would have for just the comic alone, which was $25.
The point I’m trying to make here is that these things aren’t cheap. But that’s okay. I gladly funded these projects because I like them, the people behind them and what all of this represents. Tens of thousands of other people feel the same way and so far, these Comicsgate related projects have raised more than $950,000 in less than two months and that’s just the projects I have supported. I’m sure the ones I haven’t backed push the number over a million dollars. Plus, Red Rooster and Iron Sights just started a week or so ago.
Additionally, there is a lot of buzz around these books as most of the creators are helping each other out by promoting different projects than just their own. YouTube and Twitter have been the strongest forces in getting the word out. And since Jawbreakers and Cyberfrog both went gangbusters, everyone is excited and motivated even more than they were a few months ago. This is great for the creators and even better for the fans.
But can this momentum maintain? How big is the market share, really? It is easier to control a few projects and to pinpoint where the consumer should put their buck but what happens when others start jumping on the bandwagon, which is already happening?
Part III: The Uncertain Future:
The thing is, as more projects hit the market, there will be more choices. That is how capitalism works.
However, more doesn’t necessarily mean better and while the creators now seem like a good, solid group of people in this for the right reasons and to help establish something larger for the comic book industry, there are no guarantees in the type of people that could come along next.
I’m not saying that we should be weary? Quite the contrary. I’m all about accepting people with open arms. If they turn out to be a douche, I cross my arms and move on. But everyone should be given the same platform and means to achieve success. I think people should be smart with their money though and not just freely throw it onto every project that pops up. I’ve had to do that with some projects that I was going to help fund simply because of my excitement level for what’s been happening. I’d love to fund all of these things but I only make so much money and have bills to pay; that’s life. Plus, there’s other things outside of the Comicsgate sphere that I want to back just because they’re projects that resonate with me in some way.
Anyway, once the floodgates are open and they’re nearly there, it will be hard for others to have the same sort of early success that Richard C. Meyer and Ethan Van Sciver had with their first projects. Truthfully, their follow up comics might not perform as well either when other projects pop up on Indiegogo or Kickstarter. I hope that the word spreads and that sales continue to increase but we don’t yet know how big this market can be.
Right now, the market is only so big. It is growing, however. I definitely feel like it still has room to expand but that also comes from maintaining the level of enthusiasm people have for all of this.
I found out about all of this Comicsgate stuff through a friend that introduced me to Diversity & Comics six months or so ago. I also started following Ethan Van Sciver after that because I liked a lot of the things he was saying, even if his channel is mostly about Star Wars and I’ve pretty much moved on from that franchise.
I think that it is important for people to share what is happening on social media because in this day and age, it is the best way to get the word out. And people are doing just that, which is why the movement has drastically expanded in the last few months and why Cyberfrog and Jawbreakers are crushing it on Indiegogo.
Wearing your passion on your sleeve is the best thing you can do. And being outspoken against the haters and the bullshit is also important because anyone who supports these guys is public enemy number one to the majority of comic book pros in the mainstream comics industry.
With more people coming into this from the creative side, the pie will have to be cut up into smaller pieces. That’s fine though, because in a free market, the better comics will survive and outshine the ones that just aren’t up to snuff. That’s how it works and I think that most people on the Comicsgate side of the coin understand this. But if the market continues to increase, that’s just more money to go around.
Unfortunately, there are some lesser known creators that are getting all worked up and accusing the more popular guys of stealing their thunder and cutting into their pieces of the pie. The truth is, this shit isn’t going to help them sell more books and no one will really have sympathy for this sort of whiny bullshit. Everyone that’s creating on the side of Comicsgate is working towards making the industry better overall but ultimately, are also working to make their bank accounts larger because that’s what business is.
These people that feel entitled to something just because they have been doing it longer won’t matter in the grand scheme of things and this sort of infighting within the network doesn’t help anyone. Get motivated by your competition and use that as fuel to make a better product; see what works for the successful creators and learn from those successes.
Plus, the success of the bigger guys like Ethan Van Sciver and Ricahrd C. Meyer is what brought more people to the movement. I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for these two guys. The truth is that they’ve baked a much larger pie for people to get in on. Their presence in this network of like minded people should be seen as something positive, as it does benefit everyone.
Part IV: What the Future Can Be:
I have heard a lot of people make the same connection that I am about to but this Comicsgate movement is very similar to the Image Revolution in the early ’90s. The last time I felt this way about comics was when I was in middle school and seven major comic book creators walked out on their jobs at Marvel to start their own independent company. Their reasons and motivation were different but what they were looking for was essentially the same: a better comic book industry where the creators own their creations and get to make as much money as they possibly can by plying their trade. And in the case of Comicsgate, creating better stories and respecting the established history of the industry.
The biggest difference between this generation’s rebels and the founders of Image, is that these modern rebels interact directly with their customers. They are approachable, easy to communicate with and have the ability to adapt to trends on the fly. This isn’t just about crowd funding money, it is about crowd funding ideas and criticism. It’s also about building the movement. If my middle school aged self could have had conversations with Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld or Jim Lee, I would’ve lost my damn mind. We live in a really cool time.
The SJW creators don’t want to interact with their fans, they want to dictate what their fans should support and call them “toxic” if they don’t follow suit. The SJW way of doing business will absolutely fail and the Comicsgate creators are on the right side of the consumer.
As this continues to grow, the future will start taking shape for the comic book industry in new ways. I don’t think Marvel or DC will ever go out of business, as they own very profitable characters that are essentially the gods and heroes of American mythology. But guys like Ethan and Richard will probably have to start their own companies. Or there will end up being some sort of indie publishing house that will form to take on the duties of printing and distributing these products with more regularity and eventually, at a cheaper price.
This could very well lead to a third major company forming and making the same sort of impact that Image did with their first string of releases in 1992. In fact, this could be bigger, as a large part of the Comicsgate fan base is comprised of people that have been long time fans and are no longer kids buying comics with their allowance. We have jobs, make real world money and are a much bigger financial pot to dip into than Image had with their earliest fans. I understand that the comics industry doesn’t do early ’90s numbers in 2018 but that can change. Maybe this is what the industry needs and the x-factor that can propel it forward for future generations. Especially, when just two guys have independently crowd funded over $800,000 for just two comics in less than two months.
Part V: Conclusion:
There is a lot to be excited about and things have changed for the better with the impact that Comicsgate has made on the industry in just a short time. The SJW creators try to ignore it and downplay it but they’re terrified, which is why they spend all their time trying to undermine it, harass its supporters and attempt to sabotage it at every turn. Just look into what Mark Waid did to Antarctic Press in trying to stop Richard C. Meyer’s Jawbreakers from being published (video on that here).
It is still an uphill battle and a few big victories don’t necessarily win a war. It’s up to the fans and the creators to keep pushing forward in positive ways and to not become swayed by hate filled shitbirds that are just projecting that hate onto normal, well adjusted people. Plus, SJWs have proven time and time again that they’re not very smart and that they’re just cowards that will talk shit and then immediately block you. Ding Dong Ditch was a game for pussies.
It is important to support these projects if you believe in what all of this stands for and if you want to create a comic book industry that is once again thriving and healthy without lame ass identity politics, crappy writing and shitty Tumblr art.
As the train keeps running, spend that money wisely. Buy what you want though. So many new projects are about to flood the market and that’s a good thing because you now have more choices. It’s okay to be selective because these comics are pricier and with that, you deserve to get more for your investment. The cream will rise to the top and with that, bigger and better things for the creators that succeed and the fans that have supported them.
Maybe one day there will be a Jawbreakers or a Cyberfrog movie. Why not both? Why not more?
*The highest rated definitions of “Comics Gate” and “SJW” on Urban Dictionary.
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