"Think of it as evolution in action."
- Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Oath of Fealty.

According to an online Enneagram test which I filled in during an idle moment a couple of weeks ago, I am a Type Three - I "thrive on competition", and believe it "brings out the best" in me - and, presumably, in people in general. Not a philosophy I endorse one hundred per cent, but one I can get behind in broad principle.

A week before that, Joe Quesada made some ill-considered and widely misinterpreted comments about creators who lose their touch as they grow older, and how it is therefore a necessary thing for publishers to find 'new blood'. You can read Quesada's original comments here, and the most-publicised misinterpretation of them - from Chuck Dixon - here.

Dixon, a sprightly and bearded 47, was understandably worried by what he saw as the editor-in-chief of the second largest comics publisher in America saying, "Our writers are all too old to do good work any more. We need young people." As this also followed hot on the heels of one of Dixon's own Marvel titles, MARVEL KNIGHTS, being cancelled... Well, you can see how it might have made him a little paranoid.

And he wasn't the only one. Not by a long shot.

The common interpretation read Quesada as saying that many creators eventually become stale; their peak is often a relatively short one, and once they have passed it, their work will become increasingly irrelevant to Marvel's audience. (Make no mistake; Marvel is actively seeking a younger audience than the current one, even with the MAX line.) This is why many older creators today find themselves unable to get work from companies such as Marvel and DC.

'This is about work, money and food on the table.' After the inevitable wailing from the always-outraged internet community, Quesada quickly responded in general (and to Dixon specifically), claiming that he was horribly misquoted, taken out of context, nobody saw him and you can't prove a thing, Guv'nor. He wasn't saying writers past a certain age were about to get fired from Marvel, he was saying that one has to be realistic when faced with a creator who is no longer producing work as good as the young turks. Not that there are especially many of these young turks around at the moment, but hey - that's what good old Joey Da Q is about to set right. Right?

Let's be clear here - this isn't about art. This is about work, money and food on the table. Dixon (and I'm only singling him out because he was the most vocal professional to respond to Quesada's comments) may well enjoy writing MARVEL KNIGHTS or NIGHTWING, and be thankful every day that he has a job he loves doing, but if Marvel suddenly decided they weren't going to pay him for his work, it's ten to one that his enjoyment would dwindle pretty quickly.

Because Dixon's a professional. It's all about the money.

Back in around 1993 I read an interview with Vinnie Paul, drummer of heavy metallers Pantera. The 'Pants' had just hit their peak with the scorching album VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER, and were almost outselling Metallica on the wave of publicity and word-of-mouth they were riding. Now, Vinnie's a canny man. It was clear to anyone who looked that he was the businessman of Pantera - co-producer of their records, the oldest member, generally quiet and not often interviewed. (Drummers hardly ever get interviewed except by specialist drumming magazines - they're saddled with a reputation for being uncommunicative and, frankly, idiotic. Most of the time this couldn't be further from the truth.)

There's one part of that interview which sticks with me to this day. Paul was asked if he was concerned about Pantera being a 'fad', and about the ethics of 'selling out'. Paul's response was hearteningly honest, and while I can't quote it verbatim I can adequately paraphrase: "The working life of a musician is very short. Unless you're very lucky, you've got around four or five years to be as successful as you can, before you get too old and someone else is flavour of the month."

A sentiment which no-one who pays attention to the pop/rock music market could disagree with, I think.

It can be argued that this only applies to pop and rock. Classical musicians, jazz and blues performers, etc., may experience it to a lesser extent, but their audience is generally less finicky and more inclined to respect the experience and skill of their favourite performers, supporting them over many years.

'These creators survive because they exploited their peaks.' But even then, very few musicians get rich from just selling records. That goes for pop, rock, classical, blues, country, techno, the whole gamut. Seriously. It's the concerts, the t-shirts, the merchandise and the repeat sales - these are what elevate musicians like Pantera to millionaire status.

And they do it by having a cut. By owning that which they exploit.

Now, we can all name creators who had, or are currently having, their five years riding that wave. Frank Miller rode in on DAREDEVIL, grimaced moodily at the crowd during DARK KNIGHT, and finally splashed down after YEAR ONE. Alan Moore caught a wave with SWAMP THING, found himself in the green room with WATCHMEN, then went arse over tit with BIG NUMBERS. Garth Ennis hopped onto a board when HELLBLAZER beckoned, rode that wave for a fair few years, and promptly avoided a big kahuna with PREACHER - which has now ended, leaving Ennis to ride the calm-but-small waves of his beloved war stories instead.

There are others of course, but enough tortured analogy.

The point is this: A continuing revenue stream - something which earns a creator money long after their star has, if not burnt out, then certainly dimmed a little - will always bring in more than page rates and royalties from the corporate titles. Always.

The creators mentioned above, and others of their ilk and longevity, continue to survive because they exploited their peaks to the fullest.

By owning that which they exploit.

This is one of the big differences, the one that gets overlooked time and time again, between corporate- and creator-owned comics. No-one, especially 'artistes', likes to admit that they want to get rich. But everyone does, to some degree. Everyone dreams of having 'enough' money to be financially secure, of not having to worry about where next month's rent is coming from.

But if MARVEL KNIGHTS was turned into a profitable movie tomorrow, Marvel would be under no obligation to pay Dixon a penny above what they paid him for writing the comic. They may decide to pay him a bonus to keep him sweet, sure, but they're not obliged to. Of course, the same goes for any of DC's corporate franchises. Hell, even ARCHIE comics and VAMPIRELLA. You think that if that film of BATMAN: YEAR ONE ever gets made, DC will reward Frank Miller with a straight percentage of the profits? Think again.

It's going to be many years - and a major cultural shift - before more than a handful of comic creators can be comfortable for life just by selling comics. Remember: The only creator making millions from SPAWN is Todd McFarlane, and it ain't from the comic sales.

'Creators only get rich from the books they own.' Besides, Quesada is right: the corporate titles do need new blood. Many of them are at least thirty-year-old concepts, for heaven's sake! It takes a special kind of writer to start working on a decades-old corporate character, make it fresh and exciting, and then maintain that freshness and/or interest for more than a few years. Dixon himself has done it with NIGHTWING. Peter David did it with HULK. Mark Waid with FLASH. And, of course, we can wheel out Chris Claremont's long and acclaimed run on X-MEN. But try to think of many more than that. Difficult, isn't it?

This is why it's a good thing that someone optioned a movie of Dan Clowes's GHOST WORLD. This is why Brian Michael Bendis' never-ending quest to validate himself in Hollywood (by producing comics which may as well have 'OPTION ME!' stamped over them) is Right and Just. Why Warren Ellis may not see the appeal of Spider Jerusalem action figures, but is happy for DC to sell them so long as he and Darick Robertson get their cut.

Because the only way these guys are going to get rich is from action figures, movie options and royalties on sales of books they own. They're certainly not going to do it writing ULTIMATE SPIDER-TEAM-UP-CROSSOVER-MAN for a year.

This, as far as I'm concerned, is the way it should be. Anyone - writer, artist, cover painter - who relies on income from corporate-owned comics and nothing else to make their fortune, anyone who honestly believes that in thirty years time Marvel are still going to be knocking on their door with offers of regular, well-paid work out of some vague notion of 'respect', is playing a very risky game. And they'd be well-advised to get out of it.

If you've got five years to ride a wave, don't hire a surfboard: ride your own.

Antony Johnston is the author of JULIUS, SPOOKED and THE LONG HAUL. His new ongoing series WASTELAND begins in July 2006.

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