Whitechapel - On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS

Whitechapel - On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS Fri, 24 May 2013 22:38:13 -0700 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/ Lussumo Vanilla 1.1.4 & Feed Publisher On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34435#Comment_34435 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34435#Comment_34435 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:47:32 -0700 warrenellis
It's as simple as this -- if I don't own it, I'm not going to spend my life on it. Joe Quesada and Dan Buckley know that, they're fine with that, and they hire me on that understanding. EDITED TO ADD: I am work-for-hire exclusive to Marvel, and I move between projects at Marvel with their agreement. I think a few people forgot that.

Or, if you like: you can only paint someone else's house for so long before you start thinking that it might be nice to own your own house one day.

I'm okay with painting other people's houses for short periods, because I'm good at it and it pays well and on nice days it's fun. But I never ever confuse painting a house for owning that house. And if I spent every waking hour painting other people's houses, I wouldn't be able to build houses of my own.

The more creators who only took on housepainting as a part-time gig, the healthier this medium would be.

For those of you who harbour a wish to write comics, consider this today: you're either on this side of the line, with me and Brian K Vaughan and Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison and Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction... or you're not. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34453#Comment_34453 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34453#Comment_34453 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:18:34 -0700 orwellseyes
Honestly, I'd really like to see more short runs by great creators. I'm not going to buy Green Lantern year in and out if it's terrible. If I knew that Garth Ennis was writing for a year, then a year of Brian K. Vaughn or someone new and talented, then I'd be interested. Especially if those creators weren't at the whim of "continuity" or crossovers or other such. Give me 12 issues of great stories. For every screaming jibbering fanboy who loses his lunchables because Spider-Man is wearing the wrong color socks you'd draw in people who haven't devoted themselves just to the character, but rather are drawn in by great writing. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34460#Comment_34460 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34460#Comment_34460 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:46:48 -0700 Joe Paoli
It doesn't change the fact that it's likely reading Thunderbolts after you leave may very well likely be like watching West Wing after Sorkin left. Lamenting that is part of the grieving process, so please don't begrudge us that. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34464#Comment_34464 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34464#Comment_34464 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:14:44 -0700 mrph On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34465#Comment_34465 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34465#Comment_34465 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:20:37 -0700 mojojoseph
Now however...there are still books I would love to write for because they meant a lot to me in my formative years, like X-Men and any teen superheroes books. But now I also have a lot of my own stuff I want to do in comics. The first project is getting a five page introduction comic in an anthology series I'm publishing out later this year (you heard it here first, etc etc).

I think for me it's because you just can't do the important stories that you would like or hope may define your career as a writer within the books of the big companies. It has to be your own stuff. For example, to take your work Mr.Ellis, I always consider comics like Scars, Transmetroploitan and Desolation Jones to be the ones that really define your own desired work, whereas the work you do for mainstream comics like Iron Man are fantastic and often the best the character has been done (Ihad absolutely no interest in Iron Man until Extremis) but it's as you say, it's a bit of fun and a job, the real creative fun comes out when your doing the work which all you and all your characters.

I'm glad I came to that decision as I matured as a person and a writer, otherwise I would have been a chronic Mary Sue writer, writing absolute rubbish like Chuck Austen. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34471#Comment_34471 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34471#Comment_34471 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:42:29 -0700 Greg SBB!
While I'd happily trade your whole run on various WFH titles for new Desolation Jones, Doctor Sleepless or Lazarus Churchyard, without company-owned stuff I'd never have enjoyed the madcap ride of Nextwave or your excellent run on Excalibur or the bitter genius of Ruins. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34472#Comment_34472 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34472#Comment_34472 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:45:17 -0700 deadhuman Thanx. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34474#Comment_34474 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34474#Comment_34474 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 09:07:47 -0700 The Rascal King On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34475#Comment_34475 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34475#Comment_34475 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 09:08:33 -0700 Joe Paoli On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34479#Comment_34479 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34479#Comment_34479 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 09:17:07 -0700 Ferburton
I only buy creator owned stuff though, because people running around in capes and the sort doesn't appeal very much to me. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34541#Comment_34541 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34541#Comment_34541 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:43:34 -0700 warrenellis I'm glad I came to that decision as I matured as a person and a writer, otherwise I would have been a chronic Mary Sue writer, writing absolute rubbish like Chuck Austen.

1) "Mary Sue" is a shortcut to thinking. On the whole, people I see using the term "Mary Sue" never ever get to be working writers.

2) Chuck Austen started out in creator-owned work. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34544#Comment_34544 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34544#Comment_34544 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:55:03 -0700 TacoHugsPHD On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34546#Comment_34546 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34546#Comment_34546 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:00:15 -0700 gdwessel For those of you who harbour a wish to write comics, consider this today: you're either on this side of the line, with me and Brian K Vaughan and Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison and Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction... or you're not.

Nope, no issues here. I would love to work for Marvel and DC in my life, but I harbor no illusions of ownership of their stuff, nor do I feel they're the only options. I have plenty of ideas of My Own to cultivate outside of that in addition to ideas of Their Own too. I know (as much as I can without being In The Biz) what I'm setting myself up for and I welcome it all. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34548#Comment_34548 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34548#Comment_34548 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:03:27 -0700 joaomachado On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34549#Comment_34549 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34549#Comment_34549 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:07:14 -0700 SullyEliot For those of you who harbour a wish to write comics, consider this today: you're either on this side of the line, with me and Brian K Vaughan and Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison and Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction... or you're not.
While I do harbor a desire to write comics and screenplays, I've got absolutely no idea how to go about getting on one side of the line or the other. Oh, sad, sad day.

Would I be wrong in assuming that you do enjoy painting people's houses, just not for extended periods of time? If I recall, you've expressed a desire to write more Nextwave, should Stuart Immonen become available, and when I read it, I got the feeling that you had a lot of fun writing it. On that same line of thought, do you consider it a good thing to write both creator-owned and not-creator-owned titles at some point in one's career, or is it better to do just the one or the other? It seems to me that the best creator-owned titles are by people like yourself and Brubaker, people who write on both sides of the industry. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34551#Comment_34551 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34551#Comment_34551 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:15:26 -0700 warrenellis when has the language changed from "i don't do superhero comics" to "i don't stay long in superhero comics"?

Years ago. Keep up, son!

When the market changed, to the point where non-superhero books weren't getting ordered in two-thirds of stores -- when that actually became a submarket of its own, in fact. I've talked about this before. I say what I think needs to be said at the time -- dogma is stupid, the environment around you changes all the time and you need to adapt with it. Original work is still and always will be the only coin of value that a writer has -- my point always was and is that you need to be bringing something new to the table, and you can't do that if all you ever intended to do was write Spider-Man.

but if I had to measure what I've read in pages, I'd guess you've written more superheroes than creator-owned. Is this true?

I don't think so. Possibly, possibly not. Might be a close-run thing! Having 1300 pages of TRANSMET in there makes it difficult to guess -- that's as many pages as my ULTIMATE FF, EXCALIBUR, THUNDERBOLTS, IRON MAN and ULTIMATE GALACTUS runs, right there... Not particularly interested in the calculation, but I think it'd about balance out... ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34554#Comment_34554 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34554#Comment_34554 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:22:37 -0700 brianwood "On that same line of thought, do you consider it a good thing to write both creator-owned and not-creator-owned titles at some point in one's career, or is it better to do just the one or the other? It seems to me that the best creator-owned titles are by people like yourself and Brubaker, people who write on both sides of the industry."

Jumping in here, just to put my name in the "only one side of the industry" column. I've done company books here and there (Gen X in '00, Vampirella one-shot in '03) but what's gotten me where I am is pure creator-owned work, and it's what pays the bills and clothes my kid and feeds the Roth IRA accounts. Not to say my choices are better or worse than any of my peers, just that it can be done the way I've done it.

And I don't think that writing on both sides of the industry automatically makes someone a better writer. But certainly Warren and Ed can write circles around me! :)

bri ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34555#Comment_34555 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34555#Comment_34555 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:23:08 -0700 NickMB Do you think its a difference in your approach, or is it just that you're a hardliner in the movement? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34556#Comment_34556 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34556#Comment_34556 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:23:35 -0700 Tony Lee
If I could afford to, I'd spend more time on creator owned, things like Hope Falls and Dodge & Twist are far more gratifying to me than the work for hire, but I have to say that unless you're a 'known' writer like pretty much everyone you state there (including Fraction these days), you have to take what you can get, and if that's a long term gig? Then you take the long term gig. Because creator owned makes me nothing until I gain the readership. And long term? That gets me the readership.

Down the line? Sure. I'd love to be able to throw my own stuff out more. But currently? I'm not known enough to look for anything more than whatever I can get. And my short term with Marvel's spandex (approximately one ten pager every two years) is substantially shorter than yours...

Still, agreed. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34557#Comment_34557 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34557#Comment_34557 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:25:00 -0700 jim_mayniam On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34558#Comment_34558 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34558#Comment_34558 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:31:54 -0700 warrenellis
I actually had no intention of going back into WFH (work for hire). The creator owned stuff was selling to expected numbers and things were ticking along fine.

What happened was that Mark Millar and Brian Bendis got in touch -- they'd hit a scheduling wall and weren't able to service twelve issues of ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR, and asked me to help them out. And when your friends ask you for a favour, you do it, you know? So I said yes, and got to work.

That's how I ended up doing more superhero comics.

The first odd thing happened after the first issue came out. Now, remember, I'd been doing mostly original material for the previous few years, and doing fine. But I was suddenly flooded with email from kids -- teenagers -- who had never heard of me before. What was happening, it turned out, was that I was reaching seven or eight hundred stores at maximum, and there was anything up to a couple of thousand stores who just weren't ordering my stuff. I remember talking this over with people at Marvel and particularly DC, and it turned out that this was in fact the case -- that two thirds of comics stores really don't order much other than superhero comics and a few licensed books. And in those years of doing my own thing, the audience had turned over to the point where there were people who'd never read a thing by me. It hadn't been all that long ago that I'd been selling 200,000 copies of DV8 and 150,000 copies of WOLVERINE, I thought...

The second really odd thing came in some months later. Sales of TRANSMET TPBs spiked massively. And the only thing that had changed was that I was writing UFF. What had happened was that these new readers had liked UFF, gone looking for other stuff by me, found nothing in their local store, gone to Amazon or bookstores, and picked up TRANSMET books. A few months later, I saw numbers on all my other creator-owned TPBs pick up too.

And now we can sell more than 12,000 copies of CRECY in a matter of months.

And what's REALLY strange is that I discovered Marvel under Joe Quesada and Dan Buckley is in fact a really nice place to work. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34561#Comment_34561 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34561#Comment_34561 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:33:37 -0700 Lynn
And that's fine with me. It's a labour of love really. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34562#Comment_34562 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34562#Comment_34562 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:33:38 -0700 warrenellis Do you think its a difference in your approach, or is it just that you're a hardliner in the movement?

Oh, it's just a difference in approach. You didn't see Garth, for instance, doing much other WFH. Three miniseries in five years, in addition to PUNISHER? When Grant was doing NEW X-MEN at Marvel, he was only doing NEW X-MEN.

I get wary of becoming instititionalised...! ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34563#Comment_34563 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34563#Comment_34563 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:34:55 -0700 warrenellis Not to say my choices are better or worse than any of my peers, just that it can be done the way I've done it.

Absolutely. As I say above, if Mark hadn't emailed me, I'd probably be continuing in the pattern I had in 2001-2004... ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34565#Comment_34565 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34565#Comment_34565 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:38:15 -0700 warrenellis Well put, that's why I started with an indy comic. And now if all goes well I'm getting a paid gig. I suppose that would be like people paying to see round my house.

Garth and I used to call it "the Clint Eastwood model," back in the 90s. Clint would do a film for the studio, because it meant he could do one for himself after. So he did THE ROOKIE or whatever, and then did WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART... ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34569#Comment_34569 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34569#Comment_34569 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:46:59 -0700 Jonathan Hickman Garth and I used to call it "the Clint Eastwood model," back in the 90s. Clint would do a film for the studio, because it meant he could do one for himself after. So he did THE ROOKIE or whatever, and then did WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART...

So, do you look at most of your mainstream work as short-term money and your creator-owned as long-term? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34574#Comment_34574 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34574#Comment_34574 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:53:59 -0700 ScottBieser
I was right; you have signed a pact with Beelzebub. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34575#Comment_34575 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34575#Comment_34575 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:54:02 -0700 warrenellis So, do you look at most of your mainstream work as short-term money and your creator-owned as long-term?

That is actually what it amounts to, in fact.

I mean, I find other benefits to working with Marvel. But the fact of the matter is that the creator-owned work pays me far more, for far longer, than the work for hire. The WFH continually introduces me to a new audience. I consider myself to be writing for two different markets, at this time. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34576#Comment_34576 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34576#Comment_34576 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:54:39 -0700 Muldrate
As someone with no ties to the comics industry, I don't have an extensive interest in who owns what, but I have found that creators in general seem to do their best work when the continuity/corporate restrictions are gone and they can work in an environment of pure freedom. Indeed, who wouldn't work best under those conditions? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34577#Comment_34577 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34577#Comment_34577 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:54:57 -0700 brianwood
bri ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34579#Comment_34579 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34579#Comment_34579 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:55:34 -0700 GregCarter For those of you who harbour a wish to write comics, consider this today: you're either on this side of the line, with me and Brian K Vaughan and Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison and Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction... or you're not.
For a long time I only wanted to write my own stuff (and draw it). But that was while I was learning how it all works together. Now that I'm working with artists on my original titles, I started thinking I wouldn't mind writing other people's characters too. So I've done a little script doctoring for a few artists that don't work with a full-time writer but need a little help. I wanted to make comics but not be part of the comics business. This has confirmed that I'd like to be on the other side of the line. I wouldn't want to stay on any one title for very long, and not necessarily for the Big Two.

My fanboy dream title? I would kill to write an arc of Buffy. Dear Joss, I know a guy... ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34581#Comment_34581 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34581#Comment_34581 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:57:08 -0700 warrenellis I think the seven variant covers might have had something to do with it!

Noooo, surely not...!

If anyone was curious:

Cover by Humberto Ramos & Sal Regla
Gluttony Cover by Glenn Fabry
Greed Cover by J. Scott Campbell & Alex Garner
Lust Cover by Kevin Nowlan
Pride cover by Adam Hughes
Wrath Cover by Liberatore
Envy Cover by Michael Lopez & Edwin Rosell
Sloth Cover by Jim Lee & J.D. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34583#Comment_34583 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34583#Comment_34583 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:04:12 -0700 Jonathan Hickman That is actually what it amounts to, in fact.

Yeah, that's what I thought - thanks! ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34585#Comment_34585 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34585#Comment_34585 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:08:19 -0700 tedcroland
I enjoyed UFF, I LOVED Nextwave, but things like Transmet have so much more heart and intelligence to them, I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Ennis' Punisher is fantastic, but it doesn't hold a candle to Preacher, to add an example of someone else's work. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34590#Comment_34590 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34590#Comment_34590 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:20:37 -0700 SullyEliot Most extremely, I think Ennis will have done nearly a hundred issues of Punisher by the time he finally jacks it in later this year.

Er... the MAX title will finish in at just under 60 issues, if I recall correctly.

And I don't think that writing on both sides of the industry automatically makes someone a better writer. But certainly Warren and Ed can write circles around me! :)

I'll rephrase. The writers I like the most seem to write on both sides of the industry. Their stories seem more fresh, largely because they are able to do whatever they want in their creator-owned works, whereas in 616 Marvel of the DCU they're limited by continuity. When someone tells me "Oh you can't write that, it's too __________," I think my writing as a whole takes a nosedive. Dunno, maybe I'm just looking at it funny.

---

My interest in you, Warren, stems from reading Desolation Jones, when a friend of mine accused me of mimicking your style and handed me a copy of "Made in England." It was one of the first comics I ever read, and will always be, in my opinion, one of the finest. All this talk about creator-owned titles has me wondering if Desolation Jones is one of them. I was always curious. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34592#Comment_34592 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34592#Comment_34592 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:21:41 -0700 warrenellis All this talk about creator-owned titles has me wondering if Desolation Jones is one of them.

Yes. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34594#Comment_34594 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34594#Comment_34594 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:26:45 -0700 TechnocratJT Er... the MAX title will finish in at just under 60 issues, if I recall correctly

He did Welcome Back Frank, the ongoing MK title and Born before that. Plus some specials. All together its safely over a 100 issues. Tom Peyer did do some fill in the MK run but I can't recall where. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34596#Comment_34596 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34596#Comment_34596 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:33:22 -0700 Pablo On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34601#Comment_34601 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34601#Comment_34601 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:03:56 -0700 philnelson
Back to the shadows. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34602#Comment_34602 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34602#Comment_34602 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:12:11 -0700 warrenellis Have you ever considered doing the other approach, the taking one company-owned book and only one book for a few years

That's less interesting to me. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34605#Comment_34605 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34605#Comment_34605 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:29:02 -0700 TF Not everyone works in comics but everyone knows the difference between a day job and a long week end.

I am curious what the minimum audience for a monthly, creator-owned title would be to make it worth the creator's time in the short term. Specifically for the writer who is giving the lions share of the backend to the artist.

I'm speaking as someone who has just found an artist to begin work on a pitch to Image. If it works out I will do more creator-owned material simply because I don't think I have a good Spider-man or whoever story in me to save my life.

Warren - I find it interesting comparing your pre-UFF business model of purely creator owned to something Brubaker said in an interview on Newsarama regarding Criminal - that he makes no money from that book - and in the odd month that it does make cash he has that money saved for the Art Team.

It strikes me that a comic book writer is continuously paying their dues - either because they make their name in the shadow of an iconic character as one of many who've told part on their never ending story or because the majority of the comic buying public stop dead at familiar superheros. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34606#Comment_34606 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34606#Comment_34606 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:32:05 -0700 barrywynn
Either way, thanks for a great read. I'd have never believed that anyone would make The Fernis Twins (or rather twin) interesting. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34608#Comment_34608 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34608#Comment_34608 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:47:29 -0700 MattAdler On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34609#Comment_34609 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34609#Comment_34609 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:51:58 -0700 MaC On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34611#Comment_34611 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34611#Comment_34611 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:53:00 -0700 Brandon Seifert On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34615#Comment_34615 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34615#Comment_34615 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:05:51 -0700 wishlish
2) Chuck Austen started out in creator-owned work.

And, to be fair, his creator-owned work is quite readable for porn comics. (That's meant to be a compliment, not damnation with faint praise.) His STRIPS and World-something-something superhero porn were no IRONWOOD or BIRDLAND, but they were readable, with interesting characters. You could do worse.

I liked Warren's THUNDERBOLTS, and I'll miss it when it's gone. Reminded me of reading MARSHALL LAW in the early 90s. Good stuff. Thanks for doing it. Also: you got good work out of Deodato. Deodato's an interesting stylist, but I've seen some terrible frustrations in his storytelling skills manifest with other authors. Didn't see that here, which confirms my long-standing hypothesis that you are excellent at getting the best work out of your artists. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34619#Comment_34619 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34619#Comment_34619 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:28:26 -0700 CodyMelartin
This discussion reminded me of Warren's old Come In Alone column, which frequently delved into the WFH vs Creator-Owned debate. CIA is very fascinating to read now, 8 years later, as a sort of comics industry time capsule. Warren's thoughts on the then-upcoming Ultimate Marvel line and Joe Quesada's rise to Editor-in-Chief are particularly interesting, given what would end up happening.

EDIT: Damn, MaC beat me to the CIA citation. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34620#Comment_34620 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34620#Comment_34620 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:29:05 -0700 Egon
I don't even think I'd be reading Marvel again if it weren't for seeing Bendis' work on Sam & Twitch and Powers beforehand. It's certainly a better place than when I left it back in `95. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34626#Comment_34626 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34626#Comment_34626 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:43:35 -0700 Andre Navarro Of course the story was written by the brilliant Garth Ennis.

I like the way there's no big gap in quality between your creator-owned work and WFH. Of course your creator-owned work will always be better, but it's nice to see you also do an excellent job on WFH comics too. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34628#Comment_34628 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34628#Comment_34628 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:49:48 -0700 kaiho
i wish the current creative team could stick for more issues though. It was not enough for me .... ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34634#Comment_34634 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34634#Comment_34634 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:14:51 -0700 joe.distort
ps: since i dont know what the hell a mary sue writer is, is that a good thing? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34639#Comment_34639 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34639#Comment_34639 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:36:02 -0700 warrenellis i thought t bolts was always going to be finite for you?

Yep. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34640#Comment_34640 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34640#Comment_34640 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:38:15 -0700 KaraokeFanboy
For what it's worth, a good writer can make a company-owned property and make you forget it isn't really theirs. Consider "NextWave." I can only imagine what fell to the cutting room floor, but that wasn't a B-list Marvel team book, it was an Ellis let loose on superhero camp book. Thank God for it.

I'm confused on the difference, though. Does Warren OWN Spider Jerusalem? If he wanted to continue Spider's gonzo adventures at Avatar, could he, no problems? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34641#Comment_34641 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34641#Comment_34641 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:38:28 -0700 BClayMoore
I've found that, financially speaking, I can make quite a bit more money on well-placed creator-owned projects, and, as a result, it's hard for me to rationalize not pursuing that work with some vigor.

Of course, the advantages that come attached to work-for-hire are self-evident, and in many ways work-for-hire is much, much less taxing than creator-owned work.

-BCM ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34643#Comment_34643 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34643#Comment_34643 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:38:46 -0700 warrenellis i think i'll stick to the title after Warren's departure but only because a fellow Greek will possibly take up the writing chores

Heh! ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34644#Comment_34644 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34644#Comment_34644 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:41:08 -0700 warrenellis I'm confused on the difference, though. Does Warren OWN Spider Jerusalem? If he wanted to continue Spider's gonzo adventures at Avatar, could he, no problems?

Darick and I own TRANSMET and all that is included in that. If the terms of the contract were met (and don't ask me what they are because I don't recall), certainly we could do new TRANSMET stories elsewhere. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34645#Comment_34645 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34645#Comment_34645 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:48:05 -0700 TechnocratJT I'll give him a couple of issues to "convince" me Thunderbolts can take my $3 per month.

Christos Gage is good writer whose current role seems to be the pinch hitter. If you want a clear idea of what his work is like at its best, take a look at his Union Jack mini. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34647#Comment_34647 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34647#Comment_34647 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:52:10 -0700 warrenellis Christos Gage is good writer whose current role seems to be the pinch hitter.

A lot of writers come up like that. And Gage, I believe, has been a professional writer for some ten years. I imagine he'll become a main guy in the Brevoort office. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34650#Comment_34650 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34650#Comment_34650 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:58:56 -0700 TechnocratJT A lot of writers come up like that

Oh certainly.

He also wrote some episodes of Law and Order: SVU I think, and I recall enjoying his Stormwatch cop procedural that was part of the last ill-fated Wildstorm relaunch. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34655#Comment_34655 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34655#Comment_34655 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:48:13 -0700 MaC
I had more of a point, but I'm having trouble wording it coherently now. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34657#Comment_34657 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34657#Comment_34657 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:51:15 -0700 KaraokeFanboy Darick and I own TRANSMET and all that is included in that. If the terms of the contract were met (and don't ask me what they are because I don't recall), certainly we could do new TRANSMET stories elsewhere.

Cool, Warren, thanks for that. Not to beat it to death, but does DC reserve similar rights, not that they'd make more comics, but in the marketing department? Or do you oversee franchising stuff, too, like those kick ass Spider glasses, or the DC Direct action figure, etc.? If DC decided, could they continue to produce supplemental Transmet stuff w/o your approval?

I think these are the questions the Seigals are tackling... ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34659#Comment_34659 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34659#Comment_34659 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:56:35 -0700 Unsub I picked up the Gage ,Thunderbolts International Incident one shot and it had the plot driven story but a unique feel. I will definitly give it a chance when Warren leaves.
The guy they got to do a run of Punisher Max during the middle of the Ennis run(I forget the name but it was about crazy cab drivers)was good as well.
If the editors pick the right up and comer for the follow up it could help some people find new authors. I also enjoyed Gages run on Stormwatch ,not quite as much as Team Achilles but worth having. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34662#Comment_34662 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34662#Comment_34662 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:06:20 -0700 warrenellis Cool, Warren, thanks for that. Not to beat it to death, but does DC reserve similar rights, not that they'd make more comics, but in the marketing department?

They're time-sensitive, as I recall, in the merch stuff. They don't get to make more TRANSMET comics without me and Darick. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34681#Comment_34681 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34681#Comment_34681 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:29:29 -0700 AndrewMayer
The thing to remember in all this is that it in the long run it doesn't matter all that much to the big license books that much whether or not a name writer does or doesn't do a run on the book. At best you can change the direction of the momentum, but the meteor still keeps hurtling through space.

It's great that guys like Warren are showing up to make a buck on these titles, and I highly respect that he's using it as a marketing vehicle for his creator owned work, because at the end of the day these characters were around since we were born, and they'll keep going long after we're dead. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34685#Comment_34685 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34685#Comment_34685 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:53:05 -0700 Zak_Kaveney
My second confession is that I own not a single book written by Warren Ellis. I seem to go through phases. Specifically: Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, etc.

Anyways, when one's faced with so much content out there, there's chance someone's work will never be found. I appreciate your analogy Mr. Ellis, and working both sides of the fence can benefit everyone involved when it's good stuff. I'd say the hardest part is finding someone to publish your work. And with writer and artist being rolled into one person by many people, it seems that the room for paintbrushless writers is becoming smaller. I'm sure getting started in comics is similar to getting started in any field of writing; Just write till you bleed from every pore.

Well, here's to hoping a job driving a semi for a year or two will help in some fashion. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34686#Comment_34686 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34686#Comment_34686 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:06:07 -0700 johnjones It's great that guys like Warren are showing up to make a buck on these titles, and I highly respect that he's using it as a marketing vehicle for his creator owned work, because at the end of the day these characters were around since we were born, and they'll keep going long after we're dead.

That both cheers me up and profoundly depresses me. I mean, I'm genuinely glad the occasional work-for-hire gig helps introduce Warren and other talented creators (and their owned work) to a new group of fans. Also, if Warren making a run on Iron Man or Thunderbolts or X-Beings means the market increases for Fell and Desolation Jones, I'm happy as hell.

On the other hand, the idea that in the year 2408 Batman will still be here, and he'll still be Bruce Wayne whose parents got whacked in "Crime Alley" in Gotham City just makes me tired. I know there's a kind of precedent. People still write stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, after all. But after literally decades of continuous publication how much more can anyone really say about this one obsessive rich guy who dresses in fetish gear and beats the shit out of criminals?

I admit to watching and liking the Batman Beyond TV-series. It had it's flaws to be sure, but at least it was moving forward instead of servicing the same tired status quo. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34687#Comment_34687 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34687#Comment_34687 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:15:01 -0700 Admiral Neck
Same with Mr. Ellis and Iron Man. The Extremis arc is the only Iron Man I've read and really enjoyed, and it was because Internet Jesus remembered what the character was supposed to be (i.e. the ultimate futurist) and used that as a jumping off point for a modern take on it, all without having to use Ultimate Marvel style reboots. Well, that and going all Jeremy Narby on us. Both these runs prove there are still stories to tell and new ways to use the characters (and I see the irony that the "new" approaches rely on going back to the roots).

Sadly a lot of writers don't get a chance to do that, either because they don't think to do it or they don't have the clout to do something too bold, or the character is perceived to be working well enough to not need a revamp. A lot of characters that appear at the end of their natural lifespan might be revitalised somehow (if Geoff Johns can do it for Booster Gold, I think anything is possible). ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34688#Comment_34688 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34688#Comment_34688 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:18:03 -0700 joe.distort I recall enjoying his Stormwatch cop procedural

STORMWATCH PHD was fucking brilliant. if tbolts can come even close it will be well worth yr monies. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34690#Comment_34690 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34690#Comment_34690 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:47:30 -0700 beginsinwonder
I am also curious at the parallels in other fields that can share this style of working. The Client Eastwood model works in movies, house painting, and comics it seems, and I have seen a similar set of choices amongst programmers; how do you think Open Source happened? You can only be so creative in most day jobs, leaving teeming masses of folks to find a means to draw their creativity out on their own time. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34695#Comment_34695 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34695#Comment_34695 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:06:51 -0700 Michael Woods
I think the short burst thing is a good strategy. Get in and get out, leaving the poor bastard behind you plenty to play with and a lot to live up to.

EDIT: Any chance of a new Vertigo series or mini anytime in the near future? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34702#Comment_34702 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34702#Comment_34702 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:33:03 -0700 Jon Wake Maybe I'm a little divorced from fanboydom, because I never think of anyones WFH stuff as anything more than 'neat'. All the really interesting stuff going on these days is in creator-owned books.

I just don't get that sense of entitlement people get about work they have contributed nothing more than $3.50 to. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34731#Comment_34731 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34731#Comment_34731 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:08:38 -0700 David xvx Ludd Darick and I own TRANSMET and all that is included in that. If the terms of the contract were met (and don't ask me what they are because I don't recall), certainly we could do new TRANSMET stories elsewhere.

If you don't mind me asking a pretty tedious question...is there much of a continuum between the two poles (fully creator-owned and fully WFH) in comic books? Are - for example - there examples where a writer is hired to write a certain existing book, but retains right to new IP created in that book (new characters etc), or where someone owns the IP of a book, but allows (or pays...) a publisher to hire new writers on it, or where someone owns the IP (and so receives royalties etc), but is heavily restricted through restraint of trade clauses etc?

(Yes, I worked in a corporate law firm...though I find this interesting in terms of considering possible contracts, I'm intrigued by the existence of possible middle-ground works. Was Strange Kisses etc WFH or creator owned (or a middle ground?)? If the latter, could this perhaps be part of a developing middle road, where creators retain IP but licence it out...or is this already common place?) ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34732#Comment_34732 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34732#Comment_34732 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:11:49 -0700 magmar
I do believe the Garth Ennis - Warren Ellis stance is the better way. Nothing against whoring out, it pays the bills, it brings in some new readers, but it should be done with some restraint. Keeps you from getting too much blood on your ass... ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34739#Comment_34739 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34739#Comment_34739 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:35:22 -0700 Owsler
Admittedly I was slightly put off by the aggressive change in the Thunderbolts concept, but just as it is for many of your contemporaries, it's your ability to breath new life into old, kind of goofy characters, that is a huge draw along with a wealth of storytelling ideas that burst with potential. The whole psychic Trojan Horse (if I can call it that) was inspired. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34741#Comment_34741 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34741#Comment_34741 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:43:02 -0700 warrenellis I'm quite surprised you needed to explain the reasoning behind short stint work.

Judging by the email I was getting, some people weren't understanding. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34749#Comment_34749 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34749#Comment_34749 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:38:18 -0700 John Keats by the wat I miss a lot Desolation Jones, the first issues were rock solid, I have less enthusiasm for the two issues made by Zezelj, but damn this book had potential. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34752#Comment_34752 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34752#Comment_34752 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:52:25 -0700 Ted

Are - for example - there examples where a writer is hired to write a certain existing book, but retains right to new IP created in that book (new characters etc)

Yes, the obvious example coming to mind is the dispute between Neil Gaiman and Todd MacFarlane over some ownership of characters Gaiman created whilst writing an issue of Spawn. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34760#Comment_34760 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34760#Comment_34760 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:45:17 -0700 Insect King Judging by the email I was getting, some people weren't understanding.

Direct them to Crecy and say you've hidden the answer in an elaborate code based on visuals and metaphor as you understand the comics industry currently to be.

Cheers,

Chris. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34809#Comment_34809 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34809#Comment_34809 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:38:09 -0700 dnwilliams
i'm pretty sure the first ellis-penned book i read was the authority, although i was ignorant of who had written it at the time (being eleven years old and not caring), is that creator-owned? i'm not sure, but i do know the first ellis titles i read were picked up on the basis of word of mouth hype, borrowing global frequency from someone etc...not a surefire way to secure an audience, whereas doing a stint on a marvel title is.

thunderbolts has been the only post-civil war book i've picked up that has been entrenched in the marvel u's new stat quo and it's been incredible thus far, i hope you're going out in a blaze of glory mr ellis! i look forward to more marvel work in the future ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34818#Comment_34818 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34818#Comment_34818 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:59:48 -0700 warrenellis i'm pretty sure the first ellis-penned book i read was the authority, although i was ignorant of who had written it at the time (being eleven years old and not caring), is that creator-owned?

No. (Although DC does compensate Bryan and I for having created some of those characters.) ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34821#Comment_34821 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34821#Comment_34821 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:03:30 -0700 Bruce O. Hughes
just curious... ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34829#Comment_34829 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34829#Comment_34829 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:12:26 -0700 warrenellis On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34838#Comment_34838 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34838#Comment_34838 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:50:05 -0700 XIbalba2012 On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34867#Comment_34867 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34867#Comment_34867 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:34:01 -0700 Derleth RUINS. I will never get the partially disemboweled Kitty Pride out of my skull. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34914#Comment_34914 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34914#Comment_34914 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:43:22 -0700 veryunderstated No opinion, sorry. And my even considering that in public would do a serious disservice to the new writer, Christos Gage.

okay, how about we change up the question a bit. If you woke up as EIC of WildStorm, who would you want to work on The Authority? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34916#Comment_34916 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34916#Comment_34916 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:47:40 -0700 tedcroland okay, how about we change up the question a bit. If you woke up as EIC of WildStorm, who would you want to work on The Authority?

I believe that the response to this will be akin to the first one, especially since Christos Gage is also writing that book. Not to mention the fact that Darick Robertson is penciling it. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34923#Comment_34923 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34923#Comment_34923 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:06:20 -0700 Malifer
You mentioned getting readers from UFF to Transmet. I thought I would share how I started following your work. I'm sure I had read DV8, Age of Apoc, maybe some the DOOM 2099 stuff but I wasn't paying attention to whom was making the books (I was young), but I was joining the Scifi Book Club for the second or third time and they had started giving the first two Transmet trades as a selection and "I figured what the hell, people said it was good I'll give a shot".

I was hooked went comic store subscribed to Transmet around issue thirty something and I have been looking forward your books ever since. sfbc got you at least one fan.

I actually prefer shorter stints for writers. I think you get more concise stronger stories. I remember in the 80s and maybe early 90s there was one guy who had written Captain America for like 10 years or something and at first the were good stories but in the end I distinctly remember one where Cap turns into a werewolf and another one where Capt got cancer and dressed like Super-Pro. Less than the man best, but hell after cranking out tens years of stories for one character it was bound to happen.

Speaking of Super-pro that is a comic book character I dare any writer to make cool. lol ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34966#Comment_34966 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34966#Comment_34966 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:24:02 -0700 James Puckett
But when I was a kid, there were some really terrible books out there. It’s good to see that so many of the really great comic writers are doing the superhero books along with their own stuff. It gives me hope that at some point I’ll have kids who read comics, and there will be some really great writing there for them. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34980#Comment_34980 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=34980#Comment_34980 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:39:35 -0700 alwayscrashing
I was very much a Vertigo (and similar) only person until fairly recently.... Then names like Warren Ellis, Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey and Grant Morrison got me picking up the pervert-suit comics as well, and while I will probably never rate X-Men, UFF, etc as being anywhere near as good as Transmet, Desolation Jones, Doktor Sleepless, etc, they can still be great fun if they have the right writer. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35035#Comment_35035 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35035#Comment_35035 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:24:39 -0700 epalicki
Man, between this and the Superman copyright thread, comics has actually succeeded in making me dumber today. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35054#Comment_35054 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35054#Comment_35054 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:53:16 -0700 veryunderstated I believe that the response to this will be akin to the first one, especially since Christos Gage is also writing that book. Not to mention the fact that Darick Robertson is penciling it.

actually he isn't anymore. the miniseries he was doing is done now, so the question is rather appropriate if there hasn't been another writer picked for whatever is to come next for the authority ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35069#Comment_35069 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35069#Comment_35069 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:17:49 -0700 Jim Moore Judging by the email I was getting, some people weren't understanding.

These must be, for the most part, the new readers you are attracting, so I would think that it's a positive, at least in terms of audience not knowing your MO.

Hopefully this translates into good sales on your Avatar novellas. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35099#Comment_35099 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35099#Comment_35099 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:34:10 -0700 promethian The second really odd thing came in some months later. Sales of TRANSMET TPBs spiked massively. And the only thing that had changed was that I was writing UFF. What had happened was that these new readers had liked UFF, gone looking for other stuff by me, found nothing in their local store, gone to Amazon or bookstores, and picked up TRANSMET books. A few months later, I saw numbers on all my other creator-owned TPBs pick up too.

And now we can sell more than 12,000 copies of CRECY in a matter of months.

So Warren, translation... if you work in WFH for a while it gets all the new readers interested in your creator-owned/ independent/ superhero & non-superhero stuff... then that sells books and benefits you financially and allows you to do purely creator-owned work for a while... until it is time to introduce a new crop of (up to this point) superhero comics readers to your body of work... mission accomplished, you go back to WFH for a while... and the cycle continues... ? Sounds like an awesome system you got going on. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35111#Comment_35111 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35111#Comment_35111 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:01:47 -0700 promethian
I have seen a lot of praise for your Transmet series in this thread, but I gotta say that for me your creator-owned wildstorm series "Planetary" wasn't merely my favorite Ellis comic, but is actually my fave series of all time. And I know from following the Wildstorm message board for a while that it was the favorite series of quite a few readers. I don't read superhero stuff much anymore so the fact that you are gonna do a lot more creator owned stuff is fine in my books.

Whatever you do will be interesting or awesome! ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35116#Comment_35116 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35116#Comment_35116 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:12:32 -0700 promethian
Example: in Thunderbolts, you totally resucitated the character of Mac Gargan, formerly the Spider-man villain the Scorpion. He was a great villain back in the classic Lee-Romita era of spiderman, but treated like a total loser who gets his ass kicked without a please or thank you by recent spiderman writers in the last decade. under your pen he is a once again a powerhouse, this time of brain chomping evilness. you have restored his dignity in villany! That is totally the way he should be written. thanks man! ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35117#Comment_35117 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35117#Comment_35117 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:14:01 -0700 Spiraltwist On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35120#Comment_35120 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35120#Comment_35120 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:28:09 -0700 warrenellis I can't believe this is two pages.

It's been one of those days. 501 messages posted in the last 24hrs... that's like 33% of the old WEF message velocity, and that place was huge and had three or four years under its belt at that point. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35131#Comment_35131 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35131#Comment_35131 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:21:55 -0700 chris g On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35132#Comment_35132 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35132#Comment_35132 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:37:35 -0700 warrenellis On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35134#Comment_35134 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35134#Comment_35134 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:42:14 -0700 seanarcher wanting to revisit Transmet? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35140#Comment_35140 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35140#Comment_35140 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:06:10 -0700 warrenellis
And it's "Darick." ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35145#Comment_35145 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35145#Comment_35145 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:52:14 -0700 Spiraltwist It's been one of those days. 501 messages posted in the last 24hrs... that's like 33% of the old WEF message velocity, and that place was huge and had three or four years under its belt at that point.

Off the subject for a second. Does this bother you, or make you ecstatic? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35166#Comment_35166 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35166#Comment_35166 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:27:45 -0700 BClayMoore
But if you're sitting there as a fledgling creator trying to learn lessons from Warren's experiences, you're most likely barking up the wrong tree. There is no logic, nor rhyme or reason to the way things work. Do what you do, and do it well, and see how things shake out.

Also: I have a very hard time believing that Warren's UFF work led to the massive spike in TRANSMET sales, for what it's worth. I can't fathom how that would correlate.

-BCM ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35172#Comment_35172 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35172#Comment_35172 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:49:45 -0700 caseyvegas
Sure this has been answered before - but if Q and B know your stand on creator owned stuff, how come they have not offered to publish all this great new stuff you've been doing via Icon? ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35173#Comment_35173 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35173#Comment_35173 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:54:57 -0700 William Christensen On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35175#Comment_35175 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35175#Comment_35175 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:58:34 -0700 SJD
I know right?

BTW: Thanks for giving all of Warren's recent creator-owned toys a wonderful new home. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35177#Comment_35177 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35177#Comment_35177 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:01:17 -0700 caseyvegas On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35183#Comment_35183 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35183#Comment_35183 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:12:02 -0700 Egon On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35185#Comment_35185 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35185#Comment_35185 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:17:05 -0700 caseyvegas On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35188#Comment_35188 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35188#Comment_35188 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:42:16 -0700 Egon On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35241#Comment_35241 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35241#Comment_35241 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:05:05 -0700 warrenellis Also: I have a very hard time believing that Warren's UFF work led to the massive spike in TRANSMET sales, for what it's worth. I can't fathom how that would correlate.

There was nothing else happening that would explain a seriously unusual spike (which has pretty much stayed there). And, later, the fanmail confirmed it.

They were both science fiction works. I wrote UFF as YA sf, and I think that's the correlation -- I think TRANSMET was the first "grown-up" sf graphic novel for a lot of them. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35257#Comment_35257 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35257#Comment_35257 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:59:32 -0700 Insect King That BClayMoore guy wrote:
Also: I have a very hard time believing that Warren's UFF work led to the massive spike in TRANSMET sales, for what it's worth. I can't fathom how that would correlate.

I don't. For the longest time Transmet vol 2 and 8 were out of print and getting 4 or 5 was troublesome and most times they were up two weeks late from order from Diamond. They were not getting reprinted - for another hideous Absolute edition, I suppose - when all of a sudden, they started coming in thick and fast, an indication in my mind of a new surge in popularity.

Cheers,

Chris. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35263#Comment_35263 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35263#Comment_35263 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:17:49 -0700 warrenellis They were not getting reprinted - for another hideous Absolute edition, I suppose - when all of a sudden, they started coming in thick and fast, an indication in my mind of a new surge in popularity.

There was never any question of an Absolute edition. I guess they just weren't getting reprinted. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35452#Comment_35452 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35452#Comment_35452 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:12:04 -0700 tedcroland On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35505#Comment_35505 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35505#Comment_35505 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:25:24 -0700 Admiral Neck On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35517#Comment_35517 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35517#Comment_35517 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:41:33 -0700 tedcroland On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35518#Comment_35518 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35518#Comment_35518 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:42:21 -0700 Z On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35521#Comment_35521 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35521#Comment_35521 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:44:09 -0700 TechnocratJT And likely to smell like bacon.

Which, all things considered - a selling point. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35522#Comment_35522 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35522#Comment_35522 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:45:16 -0700 tedcroland On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35539#Comment_35539 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35539#Comment_35539 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:21:24 -0700 warrenellis Would you be adverse to approving an absolute edition?

Yes. I want those books as affordable as possible. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35551#Comment_35551 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35551#Comment_35551 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:36:26 -0700 Z
The Absolute edition of other books hasn't meant the removal or discontinuation of smaller volumes- is this something you think would be the case for Transmet in particular? I only ask this because a limited edition of Crooked Little Vein was produced, so I don't see 'limited' or 'special' editions being the concern.

- Z ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35553#Comment_35553 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35553#Comment_35553 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:41:52 -0700 warrenellis The Absolute edition of other books hasn't meant the removal or discontinuation of smaller volumes

Given the trouble they seem to be having keeping the TPB version in print, I rather think as Absolute would be discontinuation-by-default. Better they keep their focus on keeping the TPB version around. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35556#Comment_35556 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35556#Comment_35556 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:44:19 -0700 Z
- Z ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35578#Comment_35578 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35578#Comment_35578 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:54:11 -0700 Mark R
Warren - While the idea of a hardcover set of Transmet is cool, thanks for keeping the working folk in mind.

Now like Z said... Subject dropped. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35643#Comment_35643 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35643#Comment_35643 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:15:29 -0700 will_butler On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35657#Comment_35657 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35657#Comment_35657 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:01:30 -0700 orwellseyes
There was nothing else happening that would explain a seriously unusual spike (which has pretty much stayed there). And, later, the fanmail confirmed it.

As an anecdote, I've often discovered new writers by asking my comic shop guy for "anything else by so-and-so". Seen more than a few other people doing the same.

Really good comic shops will have displays up that highlight the other work by someone getting mainstream attention. I've seen "Other works by Warren Ellis" at least two comic shops around me. Good shops know how to sell. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35704#Comment_35704 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35704#Comment_35704 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:57:37 -0700 David xvx Ludd
On cross-pollination: I'm the opposite to the UFF->Transmet types: It was reading Transmet in the library that got me buying comics again (first Transmet, then across to Preacher, then...) and it was our Mister Ellis' name that got me back onto superhero stuff (Planetary (if that counts), then Stormwatch, then the Authority), through I'm still very, very wary of buying Marvell stuff. They scared me off comics back in the Rob Liefield era, when I was barely approaching my teens...only Marvell books I've bought since were Nextwave. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35754#Comment_35754 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=35754#Comment_35754 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:15:12 -0700 Insect King And warrenellis spoke thusly:
Given the trouble they seem to be having keeping the TPB version in print, I rather think as Absolute would be discontinuation-by-default. Better they keep their focus on keeping the TPB version around.

I wish DC and Marvel would do an Avatar and release HCs and TPs simultaneously. The TPs are coming out sometimes a year and a half later than the annoyingly overpriced HC releases (or longer if you count in Marvel Zombies 1). Even HCs piss me off to such a point when the TP s released I've lost all interest in the title.

Cheers,

Chris. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=36290#Comment_36290 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=36290#Comment_36290 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:39:19 -0700 BClayMoore There was nothing else happening that would explain a seriously unusual spike (which has pretty much stayed there). And, later, the fanmail confirmed it.

They were both science fiction works. I wrote UFF as YA sf, and I think that's the correlation -- I think TRANSMET was the first "grown-up" sf graphic novel for a lot of them.

I find that remarkable, if true.

It's the kind of thing you always hope happens, but most evidence suggests it rarely does.

I suppose the s/f correlation makes some sense.

-BCM ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=36310#Comment_36310 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=36310#Comment_36310 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:18:53 -0700 warrenellis It's the kind of thing you always hope happens, but most evidence suggests it rarely does.

It freaked me out a little, too. Marvel ended up making some calls and doing a bit of demographics on my UFF run. I lucked into a sf-loving YA audience who were just on the cusp of moving on to something else -- as someone put it to me, "the smartest kids in the store". ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=37949#Comment_37949 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=37949#Comment_37949 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:51:38 -0700 SullyEliot On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=37988#Comment_37988 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=37988#Comment_37988 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:21:37 -0700 Brad McLoughlin
I have to say, Extremis is still one of my favourite comic arcs, mainstream or not. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=37994#Comment_37994 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=37994#Comment_37994 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:44:38 -0700 Spiraltwist
Unfortunately, TOKYO STORM WARNING is no longer in print. However, you LCS should be able to easily order CRECY for you. ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=37998#Comment_37998 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=37998#Comment_37998 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:47:04 -0700 Gilgurth
Two friends at work telling me of this comic where the FF were the badguys, all the things they've discovered, invented and found, but they couldn't put 15 minutes in to cure cancer or autism... hounding me to read them. Oldschool ties to ever work of sci fi and fantasy from doyle, wells, lovecraft and on through the early movies all the way to the golden and silver ages forward. Oddly, I gotta say thanks, man.

Looking forward to AXM, Planetary 27, more stuff like Dr. Sleepless, Crecy and where you're going with Gravel. Luckily, in NY, I can get my hands on indy stuff if I know when it's comming out. Still took like a month to get Crecy. My friend got me the first 3 TPB of Transmet for xmas. Wait, was I supposed to ask a question?

Um, Despite france having the All Black's #, do you think they really are the best side in the world, or did SA's weaker bracket have nothing to do with them winning the cup? ;) ]]> On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=38020#Comment_38020 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=38020#Comment_38020 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:42:16 -0700 SullyEliot On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=38468#Comment_38468 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=38468#Comment_38468 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:39:25 -0700 ralf.haring On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=38473#Comment_38473 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=38473#Comment_38473 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:46:56 -0700 joe.distort On Leaving THUNDERBOLTS http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=38485#Comment_38485 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=1606&Focus=38485#Comment_38485 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:46:11 -0700 Mark R
I'm the monster... ]]>