Dear Indie Creators, MARVEL & DC are out of your league.

       The world of comic books is far & wide. While notably this extends far beyond the scope of American comics, seeing as how French/Dutch Comics, Japanese Manga, & so forth have their own strong presence, my focus today will be on comics primarily produced within the Americas. C.S. Lewis wrote how one of the hallmarks of envy was found in the phrase, "I'm just as good as you." He expounded on that point in saying how the rich person never says to the poor person, "I'm just as good as you", nor does the wise utter such things to a fool. Frankly, it's an act of unbridled stupidity to think it.If you listen to the over-inflated, over-estimated ranting of indie comic creators/publishers, they look at the multimillion-dollar comic book empires and rattle off this same sort of talk as though they're playing the same game. It's not the same.

             People hold value; it differs in different areas, which should be viewed as complementary. Yet at the same time,  when you break people down into denominations as to what they do & are suited to do, we're not all the same. Two people can go to medical school, seminary, or whatnot & they're not of equal quality. It doesn't matter that two preachers are reading from the same Bible; one could be the better teacher/preacher, while the other could be a better counselor/pastor than the other. That's the way that we are as individuals.

       Personally speaking, the way that I am is that I feel like if I can play off of my strengths & surround myself with people doing things within areas that they have a natural inclination to do, then collectively we'll excel. Being the church-raised, Bible-minded guy that I am, I constantly take part in self-reflection. My mind likewise works like someone playing multiple chess games. I'm always hashing, rehashing, second-guessing, studying, people, situations, and so forth both consciously & unconsciously. I'm always thinking a myriad of somethings & drawing nearer to conclusions about an amassment of things. I say all of this to preface this article about gauging both Independent & Mainstream comics as I see it. My opinions are my own.

CREATING CREATOR-OWNED/INDIE COMICS IN AN IDEAL WORLD

       In the book of Genesis, we read a story of how the wicked, yet brilliant, King Nero, had the people constructing a tower that would ascend up to Heaven, lest their vile debauchery would cause GOD to bring about another global flood. In that story, GOD confounds the peoples' language, causing there to be different dialects, and states how if people would unify together, be it for good or evil, they could do great things. Of course, in modern business, marketing, and what-have-you, it would be difficult to get everyone's oars in the water rowing the same way. Speaking personally, as I write this article, my upcoming comic book series HELLFIRE is being produced. I've been really blessed by all of the people who've come aboard. However, speaking of how things would be in the pretend ideal world that I've never been a part of, at some point, everybody & their cousin who is involved in comics would want to come aboard. While that's unrealistic, I am building to a point. Say they did. If that happened, there'd be a lot of synergy.

        If I had a big publisher behind it who could get it into comic shops, certain big-name artists making merch or special edition variants of the books, companies that made statues, apparel, movies, & (like the Shopping Malls used to do when taking on stores) worked a percentage deal with me - It'd saturate the market & quite possibly blow up due to the join effort, hype, and output generated around it, wouldn't it? As that's not really how we see the world work amid the shallow-minded, short-sighted, tribalistic mindsets of most individuals & companies, it'd be like some kind of an enomally if that happened. It'd seem to be the exception to the rule, as I don't believe that I've ever seen that sort of thing happen before with any property, and if it did, that property would've been something like Star Wars. It's sad too, as here are a few indie creators whose IPs have enough popularity & drive that they could metaphorically dump gas on the fire & watch their brand really boom bigger.

         Scott Snyder (Absolute Batman, DC Comics) is right when he talks about the importance of having monthly issues of comics, so that they're being talked about monthly. For entities who lacks the immensity of funds to hire a sizable staff like Marvel, DC, and such, creating a conglomerative network of creators, with a good track record, is one of the only viable options to flood the market with their brand; thereby allowing it to become bigger, if it is ever going to become bigger at all.

CREATING CREATOR-OWNED/INDIE COMICS WITHIN INDIE COMICS

        The Comics Indiesphere is really pretty typical. There are certainly some nice people, many who are struggling, some who're making a living wage, those who sometimes will help you, and others who're too busy working on their own interests/branding. Even though some of those names, and those are usually the ones who do better monetarily, have once worked with the mainstream industry, they're now overall seen as some otherworldly thing that lives in some metaphorical 3rd World Country comparatively in regards to the Mainstream. Generally speaking, they're not in comic shops, big box stores, or the public eye. Many of them also seem to do more harm to themselves by either isolating, ostracizing, &/or ignoring the mainstream comics industry, which is by definition more relevant because it is mainstream. Clarifying, the opposite of the word mainstream would be niche. ...Not that the Mainstream hasn't ever misread the room & put out something that stands contrary to the built-in audience for any of their comics, characters, or whatnot. Still, that is another thing altogether, isn't it?

       Mostly, like some pastors whom I know, that only believe in fellowship when it's in their ship, and see things in light of their church (a building) on one hand and everyone else's on another, rather than what the Bible says, i.e. that there is One God, One Church, & One Baptism. Like those four-and-no-more pastors, many of these independent comic creators fight alone atop their own little hills rather than being unified/conglomerating with others to elevate a brand & all of the individuals tied to it. But then, there's a lot to unpack with that...

         I feel like small independent comic publishers largely remain small independent publishers for an array of reasons - though that'd probably take a book's length to write in full detail. To simplify, good business is based on Supply & Demand, Consistency/Predicability, & Quality. When I go to a restaurant and have a good experience, I'll go back hoping to have the same sort of good/quality experience the next time. This is true with many things. The fact that I get what I want, have a fair idea as to when it is coming, and am treated kindly matters - if that business wants to thrive. Again, rather than using someone or someone's work as an example that might make a reader with a distaste for that associated individual turn me off in their head, I'll use my own.

        Again, I'll stress that if you could imagine with me that if people had the vision to see how my upcoming HELLFIRE series could blow up into something huge, they wanted to be a part of it (i.e., partnering) and come aboard. I'm not just regarded as a good writer, but a fast writer. I could have multiple artists from here, there, and yonder doing a one-shot, semi-annual, limited-series spin-off, etc, for a percentage of the profits, if a bunch of competent people wanted to shoulder that weight. The difference in that versus how things are going is that through the unification of a bunch of people working on one brand, we'd collectively saturate the market with a new character/franchise that's being launched. Of course, being real again, that'd be far more likely to happen with the creations of someone like Eric July, not because of a differentiation in talent; that's irrelevant in this matter. Our difference would be pomp/popularity. You see, a firebrand preacher, workaholic, bleeding-heart activist, born leader-type like me would do more for someone for free than what a lot of folks would charge for. I have talent coming out of my nose & am fighting like an animal - like I have something to prove. It's legitimately the way that I live my life. It's who I am.

        Meanwhile, Rippaverse is filling up the cool kids table with YouTubers & such who'll bring the audiences on board who'll buy their products due to their celebrity more than anything else. That's not to say that they don't have talent. What I am saying is that their persona/celebrity is their shining factor. If DC or Marvel stuck someone like me on a big title & it exploded, I'd be called a dark horse - because people blindly looked at me like a piece of glass when I'd in fact reveal to them what I knew all of the time - that I am a pure diamond. ...I mean, it's even my birthstone (as pagan as the origins of birthstones are); April-baby.

JUDGING PUBISHERS, APPLES TO APPLES – IN COMICS:

        In many regards, I don't view creating comics as a competition. While many do, I suppose the greater question would be how we all gauge it. Constantly, I see trolling, rage-bait videos, and the like on YouTube, comments on Twitter, and so forth declaring how an indie comic publisher like The Rippaverse is beating Marvel &/or DC Comics. In all sincerity, the real questions should be – (1) "In world is that true?" & (2) "In which ways?" The Big 2 are making vastly over 100x the amount of money that The Rippaverse is. Companies like Dynamite Entertainment are making what like 40+ times the amount of profit than them. While The Rippaverse stands head & shoulder above many within the Comics Indiesphere, it's just another case of people ignorantly comparing Apples & Oranges, Chalk to Cheese, and so forth.

         Within baseball, you have different factions. Comics is kind of like that. There are the batting cages, travel teams, Minor League Baseball has A, AA, & AAA, then finally you have the major leagues. Saying that The Rippaverse is beating Marvel Comics is the equivalent of saying that the best College Football Team could win a game against an NFL Team. 

       Going back to my baseball analogy, the person at the batting cages would be like the individual who is at the lowest level of comics. Maybe they'd just be getting into it, or dabbling.  The travel team is the tier above that; the people in it are not making a living wage off of creating comics, and at the same time, they're also paying to play. They do conventions & such, but haven't reached the hire plateau of it equating to the level of a job that makes money. Within the Minor Leagues, the lowest level (A) is the indie comic creator who is making a living wage off of it. In this assessment, I'd put The Rippaverse in the AA league, because they're collectively making around $5M per annually. At some point, the much higher plateau of AAA would be there. While it is questionable as to who I'd imagine there versus the Major League bracket, what is clear is that there is a distinct divide between companies like Image Comics, DSTLRY, & The Rippaverse, who all deal in creator-owned properties. To be clear, I'm not even talking about their business models, accessibility in comic shops, or anything like that. I'm purely talking about the amount of money each of those publishers makes annually. When considering that, it'd be criminally ignorant to suggest that The Rippaverse was batting anywhere near their levels in that way. Still, they have their virtues & in ways seem to be climbing higher.

HOW THE RIPPAVERSE EXCELS OTHER INDIE COMICS CREATORS

          The Rippaverse is structurally different from most indie comic creators, of course, when you have sizable internet popularity, & raise around $4M on your initial comic book campaign, it'd be unthinkable for it not to be. Due to a combination of their resources and their vision, the publisher has done a number of things that have helped them to fly higher. The Rippaverse's logistics, customer service, marketing, merchandising, and the turnaround time on their books doubtlessly excel most indie creators. Eric July has pulled on board other individuals associated with Indie Comics, both artists & writers who'd formerly worked for Marvel & DC Comics, and also YouTube personalities who boast thousands of viewers that they can stack in their antholog(y/ies), like I would bands on the roster at a music festival, to draw a larger crowd. All of those things, as well as tying their company with celebrities like Dean Cain, who are seen as relevant to the comic book community via roles that they've played, equate to building notoriety, assimilating other fanbases, and subsequently making more money. Howbeit, when focusing on their virtues, I would not say that they end there.

          Seemingly, they have a happy workplace. God knows that the people you work with can either make your job wonderful or miserable. Eric July also aspires to use internal talent, allowing them to do more. While I can say authoritatively (as someone who has pastored, etc) that can be a slippery slope, so long as they're talented/capable, it otherwise is a good thing.

         Some while back, I spoke with Eric July's executive assistant at length. As a creator myself, whose aim has been to work with other publishers as a comic book writer, I was highly interested in how their creator-owned division (i.e. Rippasend) worked. Quite frankly, I found it favorable that they review submissions & partner with creators for a percentage instead of asking for money like a vanity press model would. The inference is that they won't take on creator-owned comic projects that they don't believe in. This means that they're not looking to merely be a middleman, but to partner with others & create ease, rather than bleeding those who've already poured thousands of dollars into their print-ready books. While those percentages would make a sizable difference to other indie creators in ways that'd be based on how much money they can make doing it on their own, versus how much they'd make working with Rippasend with the larger audience & merchandising sales that they'd pull in, it does in at least have virtue that many publishers don't if they're willing to market, manage, publish, ship, creator-owned content in a way that otherwise seems rare.

THE BIG TWO – MARVEL & DC:

         Often, toxic-fandom, bad-faith reviewers, & internet trolls alike will seek to dogpile on creators & publishers who gain some sort of clout-chasing prestige, gaining notoriety from it. While certainly, I'm not saying that all criticisms are invalid, what I am saying is that if Marvel or DC Comics do anything, it'll be reported on by virtue of their status, while smaller publishers like Ahoy Comics will be overlooked. 

         Currently, at the time that this article is being written, it'd be fair to say that Absolute Batman is the #1 comic series going. Of course, due to that, it has had potshots taken at it. One YouTube commentator said that according to their sources, this monthly book, which has gone into multiple reprintings, will be given new life through trade paperbacks, apparel, statuettes, and so forth isn't selling 100K comic sales, but rather it accused them of only (and I say "only with a sarcastic smile) selling 80K issues monthly. There's a lot to that. Talk like that kind of makes me feel about the same way as when some YouTube troll mocks an indie comic creator for "only" pulling in the equivelent of my yearly wage in a 30-day crowdfunding campaign.

       These same sorts that criticise that, decide that a movie will be garbage a year in advance, talk about it monthly to hold onto views, watch the movie & nit-pick it to death, etc. Quite frankly, some of these things that the quote/unquote haters consider a loss for Marvel & DC would be considered a major victory if these same feats were done in what I earlier referenced as the Minor Leagues of comics. They're not playing by the same rules. Batman, Superman, Wolverine, Spiderman, and many other characters of these giants aren't just found inside comic books, but movies, series, video games, action figures, apparel, accessories, children's books, audiobooks, etc. When James Gunn released his Superman movie, it wasn't just about Superman, but opening up the DCU & normies to Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Krypto, & the Tom King book & the Elseworlds version of Super Girl, Super Girl: Woman of Tomorrow. Whenever people just talk about how much the movie made, they're simply missing the big picture. James Gunn's Superman opened the door to multiple avenues of income by setting several more characters in people's laps, whom non-comic readers were likely not fired up over prior to it.

       Again, I stress that on the smaller stage, Eric July/The Rippaverse seems to understand that methodology. If you look at his first comic, despite any criticism that people have brought to it, it largely aimed to introduce, expand, and merchandise at every turn. That's why it introduces Yaira, Alpha Core, amid others who've been a part of multiple spinoff graphic novels, apparel, statues, and trading cards. The only thing that keeps it from going to a higher level is accessibility (i.e., Comic Shops, Big Box Stores, out where people who aren't looking run into it by accident) & that it really appeals strongly to/captures people. There's truly an art form to making people care about a character, but that is an entirely different subject altogether.