The Snark Files: Beating the Betty White Horse To Death

Marc Alan Fishman

Marc Alan Fishman is a graphic designer, digital artist, writer, and most importantly a native born Chicagoan. When he's not making websites, drawing and writing for his indie company Unshaven Comics, or rooting for the Bears... he's a dedicated husband and father. When you're not enjoying his column here on ComicMix, feel free to catch his comic book reviews weekly at MichaelDavisWorld, and check out his books and cartoons at Unshaven Comics.

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23 Responses

  1. Tony Isabella says:

    I think the important thing to remember is that this publisher has one of the most repulsive back-end work-for-hire contracts in the industry. And I wish the mainstream press would write about that and not blindly promote every crappy comic book they come up with.

    • Marc Alan Fishman says:

      Do tell Tony. I’m not familiar with this repulsion. Go on…

      • Brandon Barrows says:

        I don’t know specifics, but the gist of what I’ve read and heard online is that they hire unknown creators, or folks trying to break into the industry, with no real intention of paying them (while telling them they’ll be paid on the back-end) and then give them the bad news that the book they worked on didn’t make enough money for Bluewater to have to pay them. Or that the book won’t even be published due to (X) reason or (Y) reason, and sorry you won’t get paid or get the exposure.

        As I said I don’t know specifics, so I don’t know how much of that is factual, but I would really like to hear them from someone who has either experienced it or from someone (Tony, I’m looking to you perhaps?) who has heard the info first hand from someone who has experienced it.

      • Tony Isabella says:

        Here’s a link to The Beat’s story on Buewater’s vile practices:

        http://www.whenmonkeysattack.com/blog/2010/01/26/bluewate

        • Brandon Barrows says:

          Thanks for providing that. That’s a good resource. It makes me think even less of Bluewater now.

  2. Kristo says:

    Is the problem really that they’re milking the cash cow for a quick buck? I wonder if your beef is really with the masses of people who buy their products. If there were no quick buck to be had, they’d stop, right?

    • Marc Alan Fishman says:

      No, my real problem is with the end product. 32 pages of “biography” quickly slapped together for a fast buck doesn’t elevate the medium. My rant could be applied to many producers out there in the marketplace mind you. Essentially, I see this “milk-the-cash-cow” mentality, when applied in the form of a basic by-the-numbers bio book, to be a waste of talent, paper, ink, and time.

      Like I said, if their product was done with a wink, a nod, and a little zeal, maybe i wouldn’t be so angry. As far as the “masses” who buy their product? Well, each to his own, but I sincerely doubt there’s not a single BlueWater fan who went from buying Female Force: Sarah Palin, to being a 10 book a month subscriber, if you know what I mean.

      • Anonymous says:

        Marc, for starters I think you meant that you “sincerely doubt there’s a single BlueWater fan….” OR you “sincerely believe there’s not a single BlueWater fan…” Semantics aside, you could just as easily ask yourself if a previous NON-comic-book reader suddenly became a “10 book a month subscriber” after buying the first of Marvel’s “The Dark Tower” books came out. Sure, King fans who’d not been buying comics might have added the adaptation of “The Stand” and maybe “Stephen King’s N” and even “American Vampire” and “The Talisman” but would they be all that excited about picking up the latest Bendis-scribed Avengers title or Morrison’s Batman works? Even 20 years ago, you might’ve been hard-pressed to say that a fan of Gaiman’s “Sandman” series would necessarily have transferred their love of that title to any 10 books being published by DC, Marvel or any of the other dozens of companies publishing at the time. I’ve been a fan of “Fables” since it started and have picked up every title related to it (“Jack of Fables”, “Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love”, even Willingham’s original prose novel, “Peter and Max”) but my enjoyment of that book and its relatives hasn’t led me to bother with Zenescope’s T&A-heavy “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” line, nor has it led to my buying all things written by Willingham. Confessional time here: I’m way beyond the “10 book a month subscriber” level by anybody’s standard. I’d also be willing to bet that most people who looked at my monthly pull list would find much of my choices to be very distressing but the main point is that these are books that appeal to ME. (Frankly I find Brian Michael Bendis to be waaay overrated as a writer and I really don’t understand his appeal. So, I don’t buy anything written by Bendis, and as long as he stays the hell away from the main X-titles–*especially* away from “X-Factor”–I’ll be happy.)

        While BlueWater may represent little more than being the pustule of the comic publishing world, the fact that they DO reach SOME people who might not have been reading any comics is still a point in their favor. The company is obviously filling a need or niche that’s not been covered recently and that is a GOOD thing, regardless of whether the product itself has any relative merit. (If a product’s merit had any relation to its being published, bookstores would be utterly empty.)

      • Brandon Barrows says:

        Most Bluewater titles that make it to my LCS make it in 2s or 3s, and they end up in the 25 cent bin very quickly. Someone who works there once told me, when I commented on one of their Female Force books that I couldn’t imagine anyone who wasn’t already a comic fan even knowing they existed, saying that they get about 1 person a week looking for them.

  3. Tony Isabella says:

    I think the important thing to remember is that this publisher has one of the most repulsive back-end work-for-hire contracts in the industry. And I wish the mainstream press would write about that and not blindly promote every crappy comic book they come up with.

    • Marc Alan Fishman says:

      Do tell Tony. I'm not familiar with this repulsion. Go on…

      • Brandon Barrows says:

        I don't know specifics, but the gist of what I've read and heard online is that they hire unknown creators, or folks trying to break into the industry, with no real intention of paying them (while telling them they'll be paid on the back-end) and then give them the bad news that the book they worked on didn't make enough money for Bluewater to have to pay them. Or that the book won't even be published due to (X) reason or (Y) reason, and sorry you won't get paid or get the exposure.As I said I don't know specifics, so I don't know how much of that is factual, but I would really like to hear them from someone who has either experienced it or from someone (Tony, I'm looking to you perhaps?) who has heard the info first hand from someone who has experienced it.

      • Tony Isabella says:

        Here's a link to The Beat's story on Buewater's vile practices:http://www.whenmonkeysattack.com/blog/2010/01/26/

        • Brandon Barrows says:

          Thanks for providing that. That's a good resource. It makes me think even less of Bluewater now.

  4. Kristo says:

    Is the problem really that they're milking the cash cow for a quick buck? I wonder if your beef is really with the masses of people who buy their products. If there were no quick buck to be had, they'd stop, right?

    • Marc Alan Fishman says:

      No, my real problem is with the end product. 32 pages of "biography" quickly slapped together for a fast buck doesn't elevate the medium. My rant could be applied to many producers out there in the marketplace mind you. Essentially, I see this "milk-the-cash-cow" mentality, when applied in the form of a basic by-the-numbers bio book, to be a waste of talent, paper, ink, and time. Like I said, if their product was done with a wink, a nod, and a little zeal, maybe i wouldn't be so angry. As far as the "masses" who buy their product? Well, each to his own, but I sincerely doubt there's not a single BlueWater fan who went from buying Female Force: Sarah Palin, to being a 10 book a month subscriber, if you know what I mean.

      • Anonymous says:

        Marc, for starters I think you meant that you "sincerely doubt there's a single BlueWater fan…." OR you "sincerely believe there's not a single BlueWater fan…" Semantics aside, you could just as easily ask yourself if a previous NON-comic-book reader suddenly became a "10 book a month subscriber" after buying the first of Marvel's "The Dark Tower" books came out. Sure, King fans who'd not been buying comics might have added the adaptation of "The Stand" and maybe "Stephen King's N" and even "American Vampire" and "The Talisman" but would they be all that excited about picking up the latest Bendis-scribed Avengers title or Morrison's Batman works? Even 20 years ago, you might've been hard-pressed to say that a fan of Gaiman's "Sandman" series would necessarily have transferred their love of that title to any 10 books being published by DC, Marvel or any of the other dozens of companies publishing at the time. I've been a fan of "Fables" since it started and have picked up every title related to it ("Jack of Fables", "Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love", even Willingham's original prose novel, "Peter and Max") but my enjoyment of that book and its relatives hasn't led me to bother with Zenescope's T&A-heavy "Grimm's Fairy Tales" line, nor has it led to my buying all things written by Willingham. Confessional time here: I'm way beyond the "10 book a month subscriber" level by anybody's standard. I'd also be willing to bet that most people who looked at my monthly pull list would find much of my choices to be very distressing but the main point is that these are books that appeal to ME. (Frankly I find Brian Michael Bendis to be waaay overrated as a writer and I really don't understand his appeal. So, I don't buy anything written by Bendis, and as long as he stays the hell away from the main X-titles–*especially* away from "X-Factor"–I'll be happy.)While BlueWater may represent little more than being the pustule of the comic publishing world, the fact that they DO reach SOME people who might not have been reading any comics is still a point in their favor. The company is obviously filling a need or niche that's not been covered recently and that is a GOOD thing, regardless of whether the product itself has any relative merit. (If a product's merit had any relation to its being published, bookstores would be utterly empty.)

      • Brandon Barrows says:

        Most Bluewater titles that make it to my LCS make it in 2s or 3s, and they end up in the 25 cent bin very quickly. Someone who works there once told me, when I commented on one of their Female Force books that I couldn't imagine anyone who wasn't already a comic fan even knowing they existed, saying that they get about 1 person a week looking for them.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Well, Marc, I hope you had the same sense of righteous indignation regarding Revolutionary Comics when it was regaling us with the “biographies” of such great people as MC Hammer, Metallica, Queen, Madonna, the Beatles and the cast of (the original) 90210. That publisher was in business for about 5 years (or so) and gave us a dozen or so biographical comics series covering the stars of music, sports and TV (hell, the “Elvis Presley Experience” mini-series even told the story from the point of view of Elvis in Heaven).I also wonder how you feel about the bastardization of “great literature” through the “Classics Illustrated” series–whether the original line or the 1990s revival from First Comics. After all, could anyone REALLY adapt a book like Great Expectations or Moby Dick in a single issue and convey anything more than just the barest of bones? (And with the original line, how many of the artists, much less the writers, received credit for their work–at the time?)I honestly don’t bother with the Bluewater books (and I really would prefer they vanish, but that’s neither here nor there) but in the long run, your disdain is completely irrelevant to Bluewater. I would just as soon see certain “real” book publishers go out of business (especially those which pollute bookstores with the latest crapfests containing the “wisdom” of the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly and Palin) but it won’t happen until people wise up and quit buying the garbage. Eventually Bluewater will fold (with any luck, LONG before the rest of the comics industry is forced to quit printing monthly books).

  6. Anonymous says:

    Well, Marc, I hope you had the same sense of righteous indignation regarding Revolutionary Comics when it was regaling us with the “biographies” of such great people as MC Hammer, Metallica, Queen, Madonna, the Beatles and the cast of (the original) 90210. That publisher was in business for about 5 years (or so) and gave us a dozen or so biographical comics series covering the stars of music, sports and TV (hell, the “Elvis Presley Experience” mini-series even told the story from the point of view of Elvis in Heaven).

    I also wonder how you feel about the bastardization of “great literature” through the “Classics Illustrated” series–whether the original line or the 1990s revival from First Comics. After all, could anyone REALLY adapt a book like Great Expectations or Moby Dick in a single issue and convey anything more than just the barest of bones? (And with the original line, how many of the artists, much less the writers, received credit for their work–at the time?)

    I honestly don’t bother with the Bluewater books (and I really would prefer they vanish, but that’s neither here nor there) but in the long run, your disdain is completely irrelevant to Bluewater. I would just as soon see certain “real” book publishers go out of business (especially those which pollute bookstores with the latest crapfests containing the “wisdom” of the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly and Palin) but it won’t happen until people wise up and quit buying the garbage. Eventually Bluewater will fold (with any luck, LONG before the rest of the comics industry is forced to quit printing monthly books).

  7. Anonymous says:

    Well, Marc, I hope you had the same sense of righteous indignation regarding Revolutionary Comics when it was regaling us with the "biographies" of such great people as MC Hammer, Metallica, Queen, Madonna, the Beatles and the cast of (the original) 90210. That publisher was in business for about 5 years (or so) and gave us a dozen or so biographical comics series covering the stars of music, sports and TV (hell, the "Elvis Presley Experience" mini-series even told the story from the point of view of Elvis in Heaven).I also wonder how you feel about the bastardization of "great literature" through the "Classics Illustrated" series–whether the original line or the 1990s revival from First Comics. After all, could anyone REALLY adapt a book like Great Expectations or Moby Dick in a single issue and convey anything more than just the barest of bones? (And with the original line, how many of the artists, much less the writers, received credit for their work–at the time?)I honestly don't bother with the Bluewater books (and I really would prefer they vanish, but that's neither here nor there) but in the long run, your disdain is completely irrelevant to Bluewater. I would just as soon see certain "real" book publishers go out of business (especially those which pollute bookstores with the latest crapfests containing the "wisdom" of the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly and Palin) but it won't happen until people wise up and quit buying the garbage. Eventually Bluewater will fold (with any luck, LONG before the rest of the comics industry is forced to quit printing monthly books).

  8. Marc Alan Fishman says:

    To my anonymous fans:
    My articles are meant to be snarky, opinionated, and draw out people to debate and discuss the issues at hand.. and you’ve done a great job of that. Specifically to your questions: While you doubt Sandman fans picked up anything but Sandman… I know plenty of people out here in my neck of the woods that started in on Sandman, and ended up big Veritgo fans. I know a few choice people who were drawn into the comic shop the first time because of the Steven King books… and ended up buying 30 Days of Night, The Sandman, and a few others. Not “10 books a month” persay, but I think you get my point.

    Concerning the “Classics Illustrated”… I actually don’t have any problem adapting a classic into a comic, versus a silly bio like MC Hammer or Bette White. An illustrated classic might be picked up by a kid who’d be less likely (and SADLY I might add) to pick up the actual literature first. But I’d be happy to see a kid at least be drawn into a classic because of a comic, then not read at all. But to be totally fair… what kid gives a crap about Femme Force: Hilary Clinton or Bette White.

    The main point of this snark files was to show my disdain for BlueWater and their line of inane books, and I think that was pretty clear.

  9. Marc Alan Fishman says:

    To my anonymous fans:My articles are meant to be snarky, opinionated, and draw out people to debate and discuss the issues at hand.. and you've done a great job of that. Specifically to your questions: While you doubt Sandman fans picked up anything but Sandman… I know plenty of people out here in my neck of the woods that started in on Sandman, and ended up big Veritgo fans. I know a few choice people who were drawn into the comic shop the first time because of the Steven King books… and ended up buying 30 Days of Night, The Sandman, and a few others. Not "10 books a month" persay, but I think you get my point.Concerning the "Classics Illustrated"… I actually don't have any problem adapting a classic into a comic, versus a silly bio like MC Hammer or Bette White. An illustrated classic might be picked up by a kid who'd be less likely (and SADLY I might add) to pick up the actual literature first. But I'd be happy to see a kid at least be drawn into a classic because of a comic, then not read at all. But to be totally fair… what kid gives a crap about Femme Force: Hilary Clinton or Bette White. The main point of this snark files was to show my disdain for BlueWater and their line of inane books, and I think that was pretty clear.