I think the amount of hate Alan Moore gets from other comic creators for not being cool with how DC has continuously mistreated him says a lot about the likelihood of creator rights improving any time soon That's been especially clear during this season of Watchmen, where Moore keeps getting reduced to a creator whose career is built on adapting others' work and/or a cranky serpent worshipping weirdo

That Beat piece on unionizing comics has some good stuff in it but also some weird things that don't really fit the real life structure of unions and the actuality of bargaining with them, in my experience. So, here are some specific thoughts. For background, for about a decade I worked for a massive food and beverage operator in their sports and entertainment division and specialized in labor relations, particularly for large scale events, like the Olympics, Final Four, etc.

In the wake of more comics outlets shuttering, I think it's important to talk about what comics media actually needs when it comes to support, because subscribing or donating to a few outlets can't be the only way you support comics media. The media landscape on the whole is obviously dire so a lot of what follows applies to media in general, but in my opinion, the foremost support issue that exists in comics media is respect.

This is something I'd been worried about since the Air Force-heavy Captain Marvel trailers popped up: "[Boden and Fleck's] idea of empowerment involves montages that look like they came straight out of a military recruitment ad"

film.avclub.com/the-dream-of-t… The "underwhelming" criticism popping up consistently in Captain Marvel reviews is unsurprising to me-- have any of the main Marvel films not been underwhelming, really?-- but the recruitment ad aesthetic was something I hoped was just the trailers and marketing.

I understand why people say it but the "it's illegal for freelancers to unionize" response whenever organization comes up is frustratingly defeatist. It was illegal to organize, period, when the modern labor movement began. Just accepting the law as it is will get you nowhere. Most of the illegality of freelancer organizing centers around a severely outdated view of price fixing. As more of society becomes freelance due to the scarcity of true employment, it becomes all the more important for people to push back on anti-freelancer laws.

Everything else aside, it would be great if comics media would stop thinking they need to show "both sides" by printing unedited, manipulative open letters from jackasses cbr.com/alterna-comics… Alterna has multiple platforms to publish whatever open letter they want, journalists are not under any obligation to help them spread that open letter, and to be frank, running these open letters does not add to your journalism, it detracts from it.

Unsurprisingly, Alterna is quite possibly the dumbest and least useful publisher in comics

https://twitter.com/cryoclaire242/status/1035471178670981120

Just to break things down for people who are curious about whether Alterna always had this model
- Some time before 2011, Alterna, in an effort to stave off bankruptcy, started shuffling the burden of print costs for their comics on to the creators

more and more people are bringing up the Gilded Age lately so it's probably important to remember how laborers gained victories back then because it sure as fuck wasn't through polite protest: it was by absolutely, 100%, unquestionably wrecking symbols of wealth and capitalism here's a general rundown of what kicked off the Gilded Age
1873- Cooke & Company investment bank collapses, triggers economic panic
1875- 238 Grant cabinet members and associates are indicted for fraud
1877- Congress declares Hayes president after massive voter fraud scandal

I always get pretty depressed when I see old union cartoons from the late 19th century that are still super relevant to today, like this one This specific cartoon was inspired by the situation with the serfdom tycoon George Pullman built outside Chicago, which led to the Pullman Strike of 1894 paleofuture.gizmodo.com/blood-on-the-t…

Alternate headline: Artist at one of world's largest companies forced to ask strangers for help with medical bills

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Disney made $55.1 billion last year and yet Marvel can't pay artists full time or provide them health insurance. This is absurd. forbes.com/sites/greatspe…

I was watching people tweet positively about rereading Invincible now that it's ended, and I gave up on that series probably around the midway point, so I decided to reinvestigate it too and that series is actually way more flawed than I even remembered. First, just keep this letter response from Kirkman in mind for everything else that comes up. Funny how this talking point hasn't changed at all in 15 years.