Friday, 24 July 2020

Go on...Google Him...

Discovered by accident yesterday that some of the UK comic 'nice guys'(NGs)struggling to get paying work and having to sell off original artwork.

At the same time someone I know sent me saved chats in which NG A is totally character assassinating a comics creator not in the "clique". NG B totally agreed and joined in.  However, privately, NG B was stabbing NG A in the back with NG C.  Later, it transpires, NG B was stabbing NG C in the back to someone amnd....well, it just goes on.

The sad thing is that A, B and C -and everyone else- knows this is going on but no one wants to be out of the clique "in case someone says something about them". They are doing this day-in and day-out all year round.  Fellas -get back to writing and drawing comics and grow up because living on a past minor reputation is no good. Keep the work coming and get off the net if you can't avoid the trolling wars and whisper network.

We've had months of lockdown in the UK and that was opportunity enough time for everyone in the comics field to build up new portfolios and push their work.  Posting all sad-faced that there is no paying work when you have helped create the situation is no good. Karma.

The same can be said for the Small Press, when it comes to not taking advantage of the situation. Months ago, when DC and Marvel stopped publishing there were a lot of people wanting new comics -maybe try something new. I posted yto a number of the main SP Face Book groups that weshould all provide links to each others sites on our blogs -maybe mention a book or two. I even suggested thayt if they sent me some promo material I'd post it to CBO.

Two "Likes".

That was it.

A reminder a week later and....nothing.

The opportunites have been there but, you know what?  Either no one wanted to share links in case the other person got sales of books or they were just being typically apathetic -apathy has been running at the core of the SP since the mid 1990s.

Basically, everyone had opportunities and blew them.

In the meantime I have published 30 books this year, several others awaiting publication, have lettered a few hundred pages of Green Skies and done some art between editing-publishing. I do not post that to show off but to show what others could have been doing at the same time and if everyone had been doing similar....WOW

I'll not lie -not blogging or creating big posts for CBO and chopping out a few blogs has done wonders. I have the Black Tower Comics & Books Face Book page which has seen views rise. I have posted a fair amount to it, though!

I left the SP pages because they were as dead as the proverbial dodo and no one was willing to do anything. I avoid UK comic forums (since 2010) and just get on with it.

To the seemingly rising number of people visiting CBO from Japan I would suggest that they try to find the work of an artist living in Osaka -Ben R. Dilworth.  He has lived in Japan for...30(?) years now and is probably one of the mpost under rated artists around. Just Google him.

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