DrunkDuck Bought Out

Escushion · Post by **Escushion** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:11 pm

For people who don't want to look, here's the whole PA thing (I won't bother linking the comic):

Platinum Studios, whose chairman Scott Rosenberg has something of a history in the print comics industry, is now - according to the New York Times - going to dip his tip into the moist world of webcomics. The most savory quotable goes:

"We want to make a statement that it is safe to do this, that people can do this."

Good, because as it stands only rabid weasels are reaping the benefits of digital distribution - it's about time human beings got into the game. It's either a statement of profound naivete or profound hubris. Saying that you're going to make the web a place for comics is like suggesting that you plan to colonize the Earth. If they want to break down the walls that keep artists from publishing online, well, I hope they brought a wall with them, because we don't really have anything like that here. I suppose we could special order.

This definitely has a "gold rush" feeling to it, and it's far from over. There is so much excellent work being done online and then being parceled out for practically nothing that it was only a matter of time before the city slickers caught wind of our potent local sauce. When they - and Platinum may prove more benevolent than the shadow lords in their wake - when they come for your life's work, at least try to negotiate visiting rights.

Jpac · Post by **Jpac** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:21 pm

Well that was an interesting read. Now I have to go read the Penny Arcade article to confirm Platinum Studios is only a decade late on the venture.

Ya know, I've never gone to Drunken Duck except for this one time I saw a racist monster appear in the archive forums here. He had a comic on DD and when I went to check his site out he was already remove. *shrug*

If any of those webcomickers get something extra out of it then good for them. Maybe someone will check DD out because it was mentioned in the NY Times and gain them readership. Now I'll write a letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times asking them to do a story on CGen.

Does anyone second the motion?

Escushion · Post by **Escushion** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:00 pm

jpac wrote:Well that was an interesting read. Now I have to go read the Penny Arcade article to confirm Platinum Studios is only a decade late on the venture.

That was the Penny Arcade article.

Jpac · Post by **Jpac** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:09 pm

I didn't know the Penny Arcade article was that short. I thought it was an excerpt. I read the NYTimes Article and the PA quote. Guess my job is done for the day.

*packs up a satchel and heads west*

Escushion · Post by **Escushion** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:11 pm

jpac wrote:I didn't know the Penny Arcade article was that short. I thought it was an excerpt. I read the NYTimes Article and the PA quote. Guess my job is done for the day.

*packs up a satchel and heads west*

It technically is an exerpt, but the rest of today's post is talking about something else; that's all that references the DrunkDuck thing except today's PA comic, which won't give much insight, if any.

Tynan · Post by **Tynan** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:40 pm

Drunk Duck is bought, Claude just told us to be calm...and War has been asked not to rip into the newblood...what backwards world have I come upon!?

Escushion · Post by **Escushion** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:52 pm

Tynan wrote:Drunk Duck is bought, Claude just told us to be calm...and War has been asked not to rip into the newblood...what backwards world have I come upon!?

#R-11493Q2

You come here when you give Santa cookies, but no milk.

Post by **Mercury Hat** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:54 pm

Tynan wrote:Drunk Duck is bought, Claude just told us to be calm...and War has been asked not to rip into the newblood...what backwards world have I come upon!?

In my defense, he was a little tipsy.

Black Kitty · Post by **Black Kitty** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:53 pm

I would just like to point out that even though Platinum Studios bought DrunkDuck, everybody still owns their comics, nobody's copyrights are taken away, and you're free not to make merchandising deals with Platinum Studio.

I also heard that a 90/10 split is actually fairly common. You're not going to get a better deal with CafePress or Lulu that's for sure.

Of course, Rich probably knows this since I'm also talking to him in the DD forums.

Post by **Mercury Hat** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:02 pm

Thanks for stepping in with that side, Black Kitty. I have no opinion on things, but I don't want this thread to turn into "DD sucks hard" just because we're a different community.

Good on you guys for getting your own server, though.

Escushion · Post by **Escushion** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:44 pm

Black Kitty wrote:I also heard that a 90/10 split is actually fairly common. You're not going to get a better deal with CafePress or Lulu that's for sure.

Actually you get 70% of profit with Lulu.

Rich of EMD · Post by **Rich of EMD** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:09 pm

Escushion wrote:Actually you get 70% of profit with Lulu.

Shh...

The corporate overlords will be angry if they hear you spreading the truth!

Jim North · Post by **Jim North** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:41 pm

For some reason, I'm having great difficulty mustering up anything other than indifference to this turn of events. Certainly DD can't be any worse off than before and there's no guarantee that they'll do any better. Maybe webcomics will go more mainstream, but I doubt it. Besides the novelty of the buyers in question seeming to think this is a Big Deal™ and The Next New Thing™, this really seems just like business as usual to me.

Escushion wrote:
Tynan wrote:Drunk Duck is bought, Claude just told us to be calm...and War has been asked not to rip into the newblood...what backwards world have I come upon!?
#R-11493Q2

You come here when you give Santa cookies, but no milk.

Man, I hope broccoli still tastes like chocolate here.

Black Kitty · Post by **Black Kitty** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:00 pm

Mercury Hat wrote:Thanks for stepping in with that side, Black Kitty. I have no opinion on things, but I don't want this thread to turn into "DD sucks hard" just because we're a different community.

Good on you guys for getting your own server, though.

Thanks.

I don't want it to be like that either.

Rich has been at it in the DD forum for a while now about this and if he wants to complain about DD elsewhere and badmouth the person whose hard work he uses for his comic, that's his decision. However, there has been no proof or indication that Platinum Studio is going to steal everyone's comic and even if the merchandising deal is pretty poor, it is completely voluntary. You do not have to take it from Platinum. Any deals with Platinum Studio or anyone in general is completely separate and is only between the user and Platinum Studio.

Actually, I stand corrected twice: both about Lulu and the 90/10 quote. From the newly released FAQ:

Q: Do I still own the rights to my comic once I upload it to DrunkDuck?

A: YES YOU DO. YES. One more time just to be clear: Yes! Drunk Duck offers free hosting, and a community for webcomics. We DO NOT own any rights to YOUR comics. Federal copyright law is VERY CLEAR on this and is designed to protect the creator. Anybody telling you differently is uninformed or lying. On the other hand, if somebody offers you a contract, such as a purchase agreement or option agreement, be it Platinum Studios or Marvel or Simon & Shuster, you should read it carefully, take it to your attorney, and get a clear understanding of what rights you might be giving up once you sign a contract and how much money you may be getting in return. But the choice will always be yours.

Q: What's this we hear about Platinum Studios merchandising my comics and 10% royalty share or something...?

A: That 90/10 split mentioned recently was a misquote that has nothing AT ALL to do with comics. We at some point in the not too distant future plan to enable creators to make some money on the Duck. It's all in the very early design phase. No percentages have been worked out. None. It will probably be variable depending on what it's for, how complicated the deal was to make, and how much profit is even there for us to share. Any number right now is purely speculative. And before we would do anything with YOUR comic we would need your permission. It will be purely voluntary. We will be approaching this gradually and with lots of feedback and dialog with the creators on DrunkDuck.

Legendary · Post by **Legendary** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:05 pm

Tynan wrote:...what backwards world have I come upon!?

Soviet Russia?

Kirb · Post by **Kirb** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:40 pm

IN SOVIET RUSSIA DRUNKDUCK BUYS YOU.

Czar · Post by **Czar** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:26 am

Kirb wrote:IN SOVIET RUSSIA DRUNKDUCK BUYS YOU.

Actually, in Soviet Russia, the state owns Drunk Duck.

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 1:03 am

Czar wrote:
Kirb wrote:IN SOVIET RUSSIA DRUNKDUCK BUYS YOU.
Actually, in Soviet Russia, the state owns Drunk Duck.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:57 am

Yeah, I may have come here late, but I could spot all kinds of faults in this post:

Ya see, what they are going to do is put all of their print stuff on there in some format before they sell it in RL. And then they will try to recruit new artists from on DD and will keep 90% of the profits made from said comics.

Now all of us will have to compete with thier professional print comics as well. And I don't think any of us want to compete with print comics. If we did, would we be on the internet?

I believe that DD TOS say that artists retain rights of their intelectual property. This can't be changed an the fly and you can't just all of a sudden lose ownership of your comics. Platinum can but DD resources but nit it's comics, because they don't belong to DD. They belong to you, and you can choose whether to sell them or not. And choosing between 10/90 deal and no deal is, IMO, the best deal most of us are ever gonna get.
DDers might use a crash course on how to sign contracts, but I'm taking noone who has a worthy comic he's put a lot of effort in, is going to sign anything without consulting with a lawyer, at least.

Other thing is that ridiculous idea about us competing with print comics. My suggestion is that we are (or at least some of us are) on level of print comics and, as far as quality goes, we can compete with them. If they get out to net, with equal competition best comics will win, and not many of them are comics that are currently in print. This means among other things, that print comics audience would be driven toward webcomics. I simply can't see any bad thing about having to compete with print comics, unless you're unsure of quality of your own comic.

This deal seems just like what Keff said: someone heard that there are some things called webcomics and that they are a rapidly developing thing and wanted to jump in before all stocks are bought. I'd like to believe that it's a breaktrough instance of larger publishing house stepping in on outsider ground, but I somehow doubt it. In my opinion, the worst scenario will be if absolutely nothing happens. You know, if they browse around, shift some things around, try to do things their usual way, fail, and in the end give up without accomplishing anything.

That guy · Post by **That guy** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 1:19 pm

I don't get the impression that Drunk Duck comics are going to get raped for potential profits (afterall... WHAT profits?) I just think the whole thing's retarded:

"Ooh! Lookit me! I'm being new and innovative - by buying a 4 years old site... one which started several years after the real start of the webcomic phenomenon. Time to break down some walls!"

Either he IS planning something devious and clever or he really is as naive as he sounds and, like so many upstart webcomickers, he thinks it's gonna be a cash cow when really it's gonna stumble and die within the year.