Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, jimmy palmiotti

Creator Owned Heroes Cancelled With Issue 8

Published Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:00:50 -0600

Issue seven is out today. Issue nine is solicited for February. But issue eight, out in January, will be the last. Creator Owned Heroes, the Image anthology headed up by Jimmy Palmiottil, Steve Niles and more will be gone.

Jimmy, I've just picked up Creator Owned Heroes #7 and I love it, my favourite I think being Darwyn Cooke's story about a deadly book, somewhere between The Ring and Monty Python. It's a great book, with great names and it feels far heftier in the hand than, say, anything else priced at $3.99. What went wrong?

Well, I have been told so many things by pros, fans and retailers that contradict each other, I don't think there is a clean answer, but a few answers to that question. First, I think the idea that people thought they were getting fewer comics in the book since there were so many articles and interviews when in fact there was the same amount of comic pages, if not more, each month. I was told that new characters cannot work in an anthology format, I was told the names involved were not big enough, how the logo didn't work and how there were to many articles and so on. We took all these comments to heart and as you look at each and every issue, you see that we moved the logo, shrunk the logo, added comic pages, moved the placement , added new talent, and so on. Some very generous pros gave me advice and others told me the book would never find an audience because the big two companies are putting out too much product, ect. The reasons go on and on and I am sure the posts after this piece will show what each person thought killed the book. It will be a variety for sure. Creator-Owned heroes is something Steve, Justin and I thought would be a fun change from a quick 22 page read and we felt since so many people enjoyed and wanted to make comics, that we would offer advice and insight into the process as well in the book. In the end, it was a failed experiment that we are really proud of. If people wanted it, it would have sold more…and if it only sold a few thousand more per issue…we would have had this going for years, but even adding bigger names didn't help…so in the end we figured we would do better just putting our energy into other projects. I am very loyal to all the retailers and fans who did support the book though and these are people that are near and dear to me. We speak via twitter and Facebook and this bunch, I am sorry to disappoint by this news. You all have been so awesome and vocal with your support.

Anthologies seem to work elsewhere, what is it about Americans that seems to make them allergic to the format?

Anthologies are a risk for some reason and retailers these days would rather put their money into a sure bet…and who can blame them. I understand this on so many levels. Look, I see big name creators stepping out of their safety zone with the big two and put out books that mostly don't break even, so I understood on all levels that this was a risky thing to do…especially an anthology, but at the time we figured we could bring our separate audiences together and have enough sales to pay everyone. It just wasn't so. We were not looking for big numbers…consistent numbers over 6 thousand would have been perfect. We also didn't have money for publicity, and working for Image comics, other than a few interviews and cons, you have to go out there and sell it yourself, day in and day out…which we did our best. The characters and book just did not find an audience past the 4 thousand people and the harsh fact of it all is that when you see its not catching on and you are trying your best to give the people what you think they want, if it isn't working, move on to other things. The reality on another level is some people didn't want to read these characters…and that happens.

What future for any of the concepts. characters and stories launched by the comic?

Well, we have solicited the collection of Triggergirl 6 by Phil Noto as a single book and have Killswitch doing the same, as far as the other books we had in the works…Weapon of god will become a Kickstarter project that we can now build on. Steve has plans for his material and Darwyn was about to start a series…that will find a home in a N.Y. minute. Eventually we will collect all 8 issues into a book, but not for a while. Nothing will go away forever. As you already know, outside of my mainstream work, I always have creator owned projects in the works. Our latest Sex and Violence is on its last week on Kickstarter as we speak. The simple fact is I love comics and will continue to push the envelope with formats and content till I drop. This was a case of live and learn. I sure learned a lot on this one.

Is the answer, as the CBLDF Liberty Annual discovered, that you just need more Walking Dead?

Yes, because if its familiar, they want it. We have an interview with Robert Kirkman in issue 8…watch that thing sell out in a second, lol. Looking back, if we have a name character in it each month, it might have lasted longer, but it is easy to look back and guess. What we plan to do moving forward is to understand that the audience for this type of material might be smaller than we thought and plan our future projects at this audience and bring in the books for a cost that makes sense with the audience. To wrap up though, I would like to thank everyone that worked hard on the books, we really appreciate it beyond words and I have told all of you this already. The fans…well, we are down for now, but never out. Tomorrow is another day.

Can you see a Creator Owned Heroes Vol 2 with lessons learned?

Honestly, its swimming around my brain at all times how to make another go at it and what we would do differently, but for now, we are going to let these 8 issues do what they have to and see how the business is changing and maybe approach it one day when we are in a better position financially to continue or if there is a deal where we can work the book into someone else's publishing plan that is working. That or quarterly, or…

Are there any homes for the new projects that would have started in issue 9 that you are aware of?

Yes, with WEAPON OF GOD we plan to now expand the story and pitch it as a Kickstarter project that we can finance and publish in 2013. Beyond that, I do not know what the others have planned for their work. These are all great books, so they will easily find a home.

Given the credos of Creator Owned Heroes, and your own committment to pursuing that, were there any awkward conversations between yourself and your good lady wife over her decision to work on Before Watchmen – given that Watchmen was intended to be creator owned?

None whatsoever. Amanda is her own person and I respect and back every single choice she makes. We have two creator owned projects we are working on right now together, one being Captain Brooklyn and the other something that was going to be featured for Creator –Owned heroes, but now we can open it up a bit more and see what our alternatives are.

Here's a look at what Creator Owned Heroes #9 would have looked like…

CREATOR OWNED HEROES 9
story / art STEVE NILES, JIMMY PALMIOTTI & JUSTIN GRAY, SCOTT MORSE , GIANCARLO CARACUZZO & DARWYN COOKE
cover AMANDA CONNER / PAUL MOUNTS & SCOTT MORSE
FEBRUARY 6
48 PAGES STORY/ARTICLES / FC / M
$3.99
"WEAPON OF GOD," Part One
Generations have gone by and now evil has shown its face and only one man can put a stop to it. Training his entire life, the man living in seclusion known only as "the weapon of God" is sent on a mission to track down and destroy his mortal enemy, but not before making sure his legacy will live on with a gift from the holy ones.
"THEY COME BACK," Part One
Being a cop you get used to things being a certain way, a thief is a thief and dead is dead. When those certainties start to fade, Lou Vector's world and career start to crumble. It's tough enough being a cop. It's even tougher when THEY COME BACK.
Interviews, contests, art galleries, con photos, and original articles, all celebrating the creator-owned spirit.

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