I am not saying that you should scoop up the talent or create a company that would change things. I said that you would if you were competent. Given your and comicsgate's standards and behavior, it is good that you didn't.
With all the upheaval going on now, there is a very good opportunity to make an impact as big as Image made in the 90s. Publishers restructuring and cancellations mean that there are and will be many people with talent and experience looking for jobs. It is absolutely worth it for someone who cares about the industry and the medium. In right hands it could change things for better. Both for readers and creators. It is not worth it for someone obsessed with raking in as much cash with as little effort as possible.
Just a quick primer on IMAGE Comics in the 90's:
During the biggest boom comics had ever experienced, the very top paid and most popular creators at Marvel left to work for themselves. IMAGE was famous for revolutionizing one thing in comics: Digital coloring. The rest of it was basically exactly as you are describing me. "Raking in as much cash with as little effort as possible." At a time when all mainstream comics were selling hundreds of thousands of copies, the biggest creators defected to do less work for more money, while hiring teenagers to mass produce imitation, spin off product to fill out their publishing line.
It didn't last, because of egos and personality conflicts, not to mention the fact that the massive print runs weren't based on readership, but on speculation. So it all fell apart.
It might be true that I'm not competent and my behavior is just awful, but I did figure out how to make millions in comics while the mainstream was in massive decline. If it's possible to take creators who were never the Todd McFarlanes or the Jim Lees of the mainstream and spin them into a new Dustbowl Image Comics, I have to admit that I am not qualified to make that happen.
And you're right that I don't care about the industry as it is. The Comics Biz has been self-harming for a decade now, and it doesn't seem to want to listen to people who want to help.
I do care about the medium, though. I care about being able to tell CYBERFROG stories for as long as I'm able to, and I care that other people should be financially able to do comics too. That's about all I'm concerned about regarding comics in 2020.
By the way, is All Caps Comics even an actual registered company yet? I could not find anything named ALL CAPS tied to you in states you lived in at some point. Maybe I missed something.
No, I have the common law trademark on ALL CAPS COMICS and that provides enough protection to do what I'm doing now. I haven't registered it yet, but I'm told by my attorney that I don't really need to yet, just express via TM that I intend to do so.
If your posts regarding the company are anything to go by, you have no clear idea of what to do. Nothing but publishing your own books, and then maybe making an offer to your buddies. How are you going to publish them exactly? Will you keep resorting to indiegogo?
If so, good luck to you. Reliance on crowdfunding alone is not a good idea for long term. Same goes for being an eceleb. Sooner or later people will donate less often and in lower amounts. Portions of your fanbase will even turn on you. Post-covid financial crisis and trade war with China will shrink profits even further. Crowdfunding stage will get more crowded post covid. To further complicate things, if $20 for 72 page GN becomes the standard, fewer people will agree to $25 for 45 pages.
Answers:
Yes. Why does there need to be a plan in place right now other than to publish my own books and perhaps make an offer to my buddies?
I will publish them by crowdfunding them through IndieGoGo or another CF website, as I have been doing.
IndieGoGo isn't a "last resort" it's an excellent substitute for DIAMOND or a Direct Market solicitor. It charges less, but removes the distribution, which makes it your job to fulfill. So it's the same thing on a smaller scale for small businesses.
I'm not sure why "reliance on crowdfunding alone isn't a good idea for long term." I guess reliance on the Direct Market wasn't a good idea for the long term either, since it's falling apart now.
But it's working really well at the moment, and we'll adapt and change as circumstances force us to do so. Other options are eBay and Amazon. We'll be using both of those as well.
If being an eceleb isn't a good idea long term, imagine trying to sell your comics without an internet presence. I guess if I'm an eceleb, it's a good thing.
And yes, sooner or later, it's quite possible that people will be less interested in CYBERFROG or me, and I'll make less and less money. Or it could go the other way, and CYBERFROG could get bigger and bigger, but can you tell me which scenario would make this not a likely outcome? Almost everyone has their day and then fades away.
Prices are always a concern. I agree that $25 for 48 pages is a lot, which is why once we reach funding thresholds, I add bonuses. At the moment, $25 gets you three CyberFrog comic books, 6 trading cards, 2 big stickers, a keychain and a PVC toy. It's a pretty great deal.
But that's what crowdfunding does. People are committing to help me make the book. If we only sell 100 copies, I need that $25 to simply pay the printer so that 100 people can have the book. Once we get bigger, we make that $25 a better deal.
I love it. It's a lot of fun. It's definitely not low effort, no matter what it looks like to you. I think what we're doing is the future of comics.
