Who Makes The Decision and Why

If you do not visit the Black Tower Face Book page you'll be a day behind on news. Assuming you care of course!  :-)

Anyway, I posted this yesterday:

“I have to say that I am not in the least bit interested in what anyone -ANYONE- says in this or that comic forum. Their opinion does not matter for a few reasons.

I'm bluffing about deleting four books from my online store. They are going to look dim on the 30th.

You see, Black Tower Comics and Books is MY company. Its failures and successes are MINE.

Four books do not belong to me though I publish them: John Erasmus' Dervish Ropey and Denizen Ark and Tom Elmes Descent and True Stories. Those are creator owned and that's it.

Every other book is MY Intellectual Property. I have a Standard International Copyright Licence on all of them. Characters I created and have owned since the 1970s -or old UK Golden and Silver Ages characters I acquired in the 1980s.

I rarely work with other people -Ben R. Dilworth is the exception and that has been an on-off working relationship going back to 1987.

When and if I decide books are going to be deleted they will be deleted. If I want to offer them to an overseas publisher for publication in another language then I will.

I want to sell T-shirts or pins, mugs or baseball caps with my designs on then I will.

A person I work with messes me about then that partnership is dissolved. Any joint books are deleted. I'll redraw them myself.

There seems to be this nasty streak of stupidity running through UK comics. The 'nice guys' think that through trolling, email bullying (and I keep files on all of these) and rumour mongering THEY can control what you do. No. You see what I publish is MINE and MY company.

So when people (who never actually "Like" my posts or buy books) tell me what this person and that person has said I just respond with "So what? Who are they?" And if they try to coax me to say more to stir things up I tell them to change the subject or the conversation is over.

When they read this -and "they" do visit this page- I hope they understand. They are nothing to either me or my company. It also shows that while I have a lot of work to do at 61, they, some 10 or 15 years younger than me...their work is done and over. No careers.

Now back to comics being fun.”

I find it interesting that certain persons will actively follow my activity just to see what I am doing.

These are people professing to be "comic professionals" (which does not mean a lot in the UK!) so, like everyone else working in comics they should be at the drawing board/tablet or writing from morning to late evening and then  working on organising other projects and meetings. I work comics and writing 365 days of the year despite all the other problems.

So how can they afford to sit at their computer/laptop all day and every day trying to find things out to use against people and then go on their trolling spree?  I know of two –I will say “former”- UK comic pros both of whom have been trolling, arguing online, also changing what they posted afterwards, for years now. They even tried to get me to supply info on the other that they could use.

I step back.  These people have no careers anymore and that is pretty sad. I know both had opportunities but pushed them aside to continue their internet bile spewing. That is a mental disorder.

These are the people who, despite my telling them for well over a year that, because the company most of them worked for had been bought out by Disney (who DO NOT let creators outside the US and their direct control work on their properties) they would soon be out of regular work kept saying “Never ever happen”.  Then it happened.  I recall the near weeping (I’m not kidding) amongst these people at a Bristol Comic Expo. So I suggested a course they could take.

Most had “names” in UK comics.  Some had work reprinted in the US as well as Europe.  I suggested that they “Do an Image Comics” –group together and put out their own creator owned comics –they all knew each other and the people in the comics ‘press’. 

Twice voices rose by several octaves as the response came: “But that means we’d need to use our own money!”

Well, I pointed out, it was that or unemployment. Then it all came out: “A” would never work with “B” because “B” was a “little s---“ and there were other snide comments (after they were all smiling and chatting as ‘friends’.  But then there was the excuse that it would mean they needed to put the books together.  Yes.  Oh…”But that is the job of the bosses!”  These “bosses” who had put them out of work were still “the bosses” and as one former comic pro put it “The bosses know best”.

And so, these people have not got much to do.

For me, their opinions mean nothing.  They have never purchased a Black Tower book, they have never…well, never been involved or done anything regarding Black Tower other than bitch and troll.  If this all gives their lives importance then let them carry on.  Seriously. These people have empty lives.

As I wrote yesterday: only I decide what goes on with Black Tower Comics and Books and I take full responsibility for failures and successes.

Now, I have work to do.