Had I just read the reviews of Front Mission 4 and not actually played the demo I might not go buy it today. Thankfully I did play the demo and I know that the reviewers are full of shit. I just want to make sure that others aren’t steered away from the game by misleading reviews. If you’re still hesitant at least rent it and check it out.
I am taking some flack for a recent Wired article in which I am quoted as saying that people who choose to make sprite comics do so because they can not draw. It’s funny that some people would take that as me being an asshole. I remember when the interviewer called me, I made a conscious effort to not say anything to “Gabe” like. I have sort of a reputation for being an asshole and I was trying to deliver quotes to him that were very reasonable.
I really don’t want anyone to think I was referring to comics like Diesel Sweeties. R. Stevens is a talented artist who has created his own unique and interesting characters. I was only speaking about comics that pull sprites from video-games as that was the focus of the article. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that someone who chooses to make a comic with someone else’s art rather than their own probably cannot draw. I think they are probably writers who have a head full of ideas but no ability to convey them visually. Rather than seek out an artist they choose to take sprites from games and create something more akin to a puppet show than a comic strip. Granted it’s a puppet show where the puppeteers just steal all their puppets from some other show, but that’s not the point.
By using game sprites you are really limiting the potential success of your comic. If you ever reach the point where you could actually make some money from merchandise and print, you are not is a position to do any of those things. Since you own none of your own IP you can’t ever hope to make a cent off your work. I know that lots of these comics are started just for fun as a hobby, but so was Penny Arcade. I thank Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior every Fucking day for my job. Imagine your hobby took off and became some kind of cult phenomenon. Imagine you had a large enough readership that you could quit your job and make a living doing what you love. Then imagine you can’t actually take advantage of any of that because you stole all your characters from Capcom.
I guess I just felt like my quote in that article needed some clarification. I probably came off like even more of an asshole. I guess while I’m at it I might as well say that anyone who fantasizes about conjoined skunks pleasuring themselves, (NSFW) is fucked up in their head and needs to get some counseling. Man, I’m glad my email is still broken.
-Gabe out
