An Act Of Faith: Creator-Owned Comics

Al Nickerson, Mike Allred & Kurt Busiek

at Special Edition: NYC, June 2014

Photo by Adrian King

AL NICKERSON:
(from the editorial in An Act Of Faith #9, October 2014)

The Special Edition: NYC comics convention took place June 14 & 15, 2014 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. I was a speaker on the panel "Creator-owned Comics (vs. Corporate-owned Comics)" along with Kurt Busiek and Michael Allred.

The official description for the panel read as follows:

There seems to be more and more comic books owned by the artists and writers that create them. We have Image Comics, Dark Hourse Comics, and self-published comics. The creators that make such comics don't have to answer to an editor. They can write and draw the kind of comic books that they want to write and draw. This is much different than the work-made-for-hire comics that are being published by the likes of Marvel Comics and DC Comics.

Special Edition: NYC was all about comics. It appeared to be more creator-focused, and there weren't many publishers there... which may be why I enjoyed this con so much.

The panel went very well. Plenty of folks showed up to listen while Kurt, Mike and I discussed the reasons why digial comics and webcomics can be beneficial for creators (reasons like not having to worry about the cost of printing or about the distribution of printed comic books). We talked about contracts, working with Hollywood, and moving a property from one publisher to another. We addressed how some comic book publishers frown upon their creators talking to one another. Another topic was how time-consuming the business side of self-publishing can be.

People really enjoyed the discussion, and I had an amazing time talking shop with Michael and Kurt!

I will be at New York Comic Con 2014 this coming Fall. Each year, I get my professional pass to the convention, and this year will be no different... I'm usually excited when it's time for the New York Comic Con, but I like going during professional hours because it's free and less crowded -- although, not as "less crowded" as I would like. Personally, I think it's great that comic book readers are passionate about the medium, but comics fandom can be a bt much with its cosplay...

DAVE SIM: