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.
