Tag Archives: creative commons

Boys Don’t Cry, a Free Graphic Novel Under Creative Commons

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Ostragoth Publishing is doing things a little different releasing Boys Don’t Cry their 80 page debut graphic novel under a Creative Commons License of CC BY-NC-ND as well as the ability to purchase a print copy.  Creative Commons is an easy to understand licensing structure that makes it clear a creator’s intent.  In this case the BY-NC-ND means:

This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.

It’s one of the latest in creative ways comic book companies are building an audience and getting material out there in a mass entertainment environment.

The book in a nutshell:

Teenage boys aren’t known for sharing their fears and emotions, so if you’re the father or sister of one, how do you know how he’s coping with his mum’s death?

Fifteen year old Hunter isn’t entirely sure himself, and even if he could put any of it into words, he no longer knows who to say it to.

Boys Don’t Cry is the debut 80-page graphic novel from Ostragoth Publishing: Jacqueline Saville, Mark Pexton, Andrew Woods.

You can get your free copy here.

New Creator-Owned Publishing Imprint, “Small Batch Comics” Launches

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NEW CREATOR-OWNED PUBLISHING IMPRINT,“SMALL BATCH COMICS” LAUNCHES

Kansas City, Mo. April 16, 2012 – New comic book publishing imprint opens its doors to publish the work of first time creators:

Straight from the ever-expanding comic book proletariat, comes a brand new opportunity for independent comic creators: Small Batch Comics. Created as a home for new comic creators to showcase their work, Small Batch Comics now joins the ongoing movement in the comic culture to help push creator-owned content straight from unknown contemporary artists, into the hands of readers.

“I strongly believe that creator-owned titles are the renaissance the medium desperately needs right now in order to survive and truly evolve,” said Small Batch Comics’ founder, Jonathan Duran. “Now that technology has made interaction, collaboration and world-wide discourse so manageable, we should inevitably expect comic books as a medium to benefit from this instantly accessible pool of people, information and tools.”

It could be said that Small Batch comics is the first Socialist collective in the medium; a publisher with a political, ethical and communal stake in the medium itself. Originally, with the creation of r/ComicBookCollabs, Small Batch’s main goal was to cultivate a community which focused on creating new comics via an online classified section for first time, burgeoning creators of all stripes. By combining a social networking backbone and more traditional, independent publishing, Small Batch Comics has made it easier than ever for first time creators to jump into the game. 2012 has often been referred to as ‘the year of the creator,’ and Small Batch plans to do their part to see that conjecture become a reality by helping amateur, undiscovered talent publish their work.

Small Batch Comics will offer an outlet for creators which includes a print and digital distribution method with full editorial services, all of which feed into the goal of helping first time creators create. “It has been said time and again; the way you break into comics is by making comics,” observes Duran, “The very specific phrasing, of having to ‘break in’, is vile to me; the fact that you have to break in to anything means that someone is actively trying to keep you out – art should not work this way. This is an opportunity for independent creative minds to articulate whatever they’d like, without filter; to say things that are volatile, poetic and subversive. By utilizing the resources freely available to us all we will usurp traditional publishing methods and create truly independent comics with authenticity, honesty and conscience – and in turn, take an active part in democratizing the medium and pushing it more into the hands of the masses.”

Small Batch Comics is currently seeking additional contributors for their first release; an anthology project titled “Batch #1”, which will showcase many new and innovative voices. Small Batch has also launched an Indiegogo crowd-sourcing campaign, to ensure larger scale distribution and creator recompense. Please find more details at http://www.indiegogo.com/smallbatchcomics

Small Batch Comics allows creators to retain 100% ownership of their projects and properties. All Small Batch comics will be released under creator specified Creative Commons Licenses.

Characters Go Creative Commons

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The idea of copyright and character/property creation is a touchy subject in the comic book industry.  There’s the current fights between characters or their heirs and publishers or the ongoing battles against piracy.  It’s big business with lots of cash flowing around, so of course it’s going to get heated on all sides.  Mark Waid caused waves when he addressed the issue at this year’s Harvey Awards.

But where does public domain come into it all?  This article over at Wikipedia covers public domain pretty well as well as this list of public domain fictional characters.  The bigger issue is why are we bringing this up?

In a pretty stunning move, Vito Delsante has released 35 characters into the public domain under creative commons.  That means today, you can take his 35 characters and create your own comics, stories, movies, whatever.  His logic is simple, he only has so much time to deal with all these characters, and why leave good ideas on the shelf?

So what do you think?  Do companies keep the rights to characters too close to their chest?  How do you think this shakes up the comic industry?  Can you see new revenue models generated from this?