Joey Manley wrote a post (which I am not giving the benefit of a link) that he says "isn’t meant to start a fight" --
"But her recent post about webcomics, and how the business should (or will) evolve in the next five years, is just plain wrong."
Disclaimer: Joey Manley's main business is in webcomics -- including the running of sites that host web comic creators.
From Wikipedia:
"Joey Manley is best known as the founder and publisher of the webcomics site Modern Tales,as well as numerous other web-specific entertainment properties. These properties include the subscription webcomics sites Serializer, Girlamatic, and Graphic Smash, and the webcomics hosting service Webcomics Nation."
So if I say that I think the mainstream will (at least try) to co-opt a large portion of the webcomic market within 5 years -- which I still believe -- this is essentially saying that Mr. Manley's own business is threatened. Which, if I had to guess, he doesn't take too kindly to.
Just to clear that up.
As for me -- I can hack it either way. If the mainstream co-opts webcomics, I'll do mainstream webcomics. If webcomics remain an independent uptopia of creator-owned opportunity, I'll do that. Either works for me. And I'll probably do both regardless, just to see how things shake out. I'm not holding on to one schema or another as the end-all be-all for my life and livlihood. Only fools (or people with a lot invested in one side or another like Joey Manley) do that.
But because I know this post will provoke another of those lovely ad hominem attack posts, let me just start it out for you:
"Valerie works for Marvel! It's part of a conspiracy to destroy us, don't you understand? And her boyfriend works for Zuda! Obviously, everything she says is finely calibrated to destroy our way of life! Valerie's words are dangerous! She is working for the vast fascist conspiracy! Valerie hates webcomics! How can he keep working for Friends of Lulu when...SHE HATES WEBCOMICS!!! Did I mention that she hates webcomics??? And hates creative freedom??? And hates puppies? She actually kicks puppies when she sees them. Don't you see that nothing she says has a grain of truth in it!? It's lies! All lies, I tell you! And she's crazy...it's the rantings of a crazy person! Anybody who says that the business that I have an interest in might be threatened some time in the future -- must be crazy! That's it! That's what I will keep telling myself. Oh...oh look...that post I wrote, about how she's evil and crazy...it just...gave me all these hits! Wow! I have to do this more often. It makes me seem relevant. It gives me a degree of extra importance in this little world we've created on the Internet. Oh, and before I forget: Zuda bad! Zuda bad!"
Oh, and whoever is going to do the bullshit "hit" post -- I never said in my post that webcomics were amateur. Just in case you thought you were going to use that for your pathetic article. I never said that. If you use that, you are an asshole, because it isn't true. But there are no "rules" for Internet "journalism" either, are there? So I guess you *could* make something up.
Hey Joey, let's all compare notes in five years -- and if I'm wrong about webcomics, I'll post a picture of a sad bear.
