There has been a big trend over the past few weeks of comic creators taking their creator owned work to Substack. The platform is mainly email-based, with a supposed app of sorts in beta testing. Creators are using the platform to connect with their readers in a new way, and are hoping that the subscription-based model will be a boon for not just their work, but their quality of life as well.
Taken in a vacuum, the ability to get comics directly from James Tynion IV, Jonathan Hickman, and Chip Zdarksy is a good thing. The idea that my subscription dollar isn’t going into a giant corporation, but right to the creators is a good one, but not an entirely new one. Image Comics, self publishing, Patreon, and other similar solutions have been around for a long time now.
The difference is that Substack is providing grants to the creators, something that other self-publishing/creator owned solutions haven’t had. This, again, is a good thing for the creators, who have been historically underpaid for their work.
What is problematic is Substack itself, which has taken a “free speech at all costs” position which, as part of their ‘Substack Pro’ platform, had paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to people with some pretty abhorrent opinions. Their Pro platform has been compared to a pyramid scheme, and they have never been particularly forthcoming with their business practices (this is true even of folks in business with them; Chip Zdarsky noted that he couldn’t be told what other creators were involved) .
Is this worse that the evil shit that Disney and AT&T, parent companies of Marvel and DC respectively, do? Maybe not, but if creators are looking for a “better” system for both them and their readers, everyone should be a little concerned about the type of company they are getting into bed with.
What does this all mean for us, the folks potentially buying subscriptions? Well, that’s the point of today’s Reader Poll. Do you think that this new Substack model is a good thing for comics? Vote in the poll, and check back on Monday for the results!
