Eric Powell’s video calling for a resurgence in creator owned work vs. company owned characters has created a nice set of controversy on the internet, with everyone feeling the need to chime in as to if his message is helping or hurting.
Apparently, Powell’s take on Jonathan Swift has reached such a furvor that Powell posted the following message on his Facebook, which was then put up by the folks at Newsarama:
The video I released last week in an attempt to draw attention to the lopsided tendencies of our industry has clearly become a divisive force instead of the unifying positive one I intended it to be. For that reason I’ve taken it down.
I work in satire and humor. Apparently those aspects of the video were lost on some people. If anyone misconstrued the meaning, my exact quote at the end of the video was, “We have to make original creator owned content just as vital to sustaining this industry as the Marvel and DC super hero books.” And that’s exactly what I meant and feel. At no point did I say or even allude that no one should buy Super Hero comics. I believe diversification is the only way to keep this industry vital and strong. Our country just went through a major “TOO BIG TO FAIL” scenario. Marvel and DC control 70% of the market and there are plenty of reasons that the corporations that own them could find to stop producing comics and use those super hero properties in more profitable ventures. I still believe that to be a legitimate fear. I need no more confirmation of my beliefs than that Shelton Drum, one of the best retailers in the business and the person who runs Heroes Con, agrees with me that we need diversification.
The video came from noble aspirations and the most genuine part of my heart. I love the art form of comics. And my wishes were only to make this industry stronger and create a better atmosphere for it’s creators. For that I have no apologies. I at least know, whether it be right or wrong, that I had the courage and conviction to speak my mind.
“Be the Change you want to see in the world.” -Gandhi
“But I tried, didn’t I? Goddamnit, at least I did that.” -R.P. McMurphy
Thanks,
Eric Powell
Powell makes an excellent point by stating that his entire career has been based on satire and humor, and those that couldn’t see past the imagery in the video have probably not really read the Goon (although, maybe they have and have perhaps decided to forget about Satan’s Sodomy Baby, or even the fact that Powell has worked for DC and Marvel in the past). This is also certainly NOT the first time Powell has made comments against company owned superheroes over creator owned works. But often times in satire, the general point is lost when the speaker tends to use as ferocious wordplay as he does. I still don’t think it discredits anything he was trying to get across. You don’t have to dislike Marvel or DC and specifically only enjoy creator owned titles as it’s very easy to do both, but you shouldn’t forget that options are out there when you’re blogging about the latest continuity error in any given DC or Marvel comic.
It’s also I suppose of note that the original logo for the Creators Front is now no longer the main image of their Facebook page. That probably doesn’t mean much to anything though.
(via source)
