The series of fictional tales of Goldmine Studios by former Platinum VP Dan Forcey that we wrote about a few days ago have proven very popular. How popular? They’ve even inspired some FanFic! Here’s one by JD Coughlin, winner of Goldmine’s inaugural “Comic Book Survivor” contest. The scene: Magician’s World Los Angeles. The occasion: a very odd dinner.
Everyone told me they loved my upbeat “tell it like it is” Pittsburghian (Yinzer) attitude and positive energy. There wasn’t a lot of people who told the truth in Los Angeles it seemed, so I guess I was like a breathe of fresh air. Or at least so I was told by Goldberg a few times in previous conversations. I can’t lie, I felt pretty important. Goldmine rolled out the red carpet for me, and on Friday night I found myself in the super duper private party where only the BIG pros and legends gathered. Free mixed drinks were flowing… WHAT?! FREE RUM AND COKE?? Jay and I kept looking at each other thinking we had just hit the lottery or something. You gotta love us east coasters, we’re cheap like that!
One passage in particular will strike a chord for anyone who has been following this story since the beginning:
This was peculiar to watch some big name comic creators seemingly walk up and kiss Goldberg’s ass, when I had been dealing with a lot of independent and web media people criticizing Goldmine and my deal with them. I totally bought into the explanation from Scott that the online crowd were just player haters because they couldn’t get into a room like that…. and yet there I was. And my trusty colorist Jay.
Player haters. So awesome. We can’t help but remember the chorus of world weary old voices who stood up back in the day and decried the business practices of companies like Goldmine and “JapanPOP” while the kids rushed over to get the free rum and cokes. Selling your ideas for a few free drinks might just be a worse deal than Siegel and Shuster’s.
2011 is a different world even from 2006. The Foulfellows of comics have mostly foundered — those who are left don’t have the smokescreen of a publishing boom to cover their tracks. There’s little they can deliver that isn’t available on the web or POD. DIY is SOP for today’s creators. But getting more cautionary tales out there can’t hurt.
