Re: Hey Mack!
Apr 08, 2004 8:41 pm

Congrats!

I remember that book. I think it shipped in Feb of 95.
Like most of our Caliber issues, I think it is pretty rare. I think I have a few of them.

I also have some of the early single issue Kabuki books from caliber. The single issues to Fear the Reaper (the first ever kabuki book, and it was a 4 pg preview sequence for Bendis' Goldfish), all of Circle of Blood, the color special, Skin Deep and Masks of the Noh.

If anyone is looking for these single issues Anh Tran sells them thru mail order or online order, and does paypal and the rest. You can e-mail her at

Oh, and I have that Kabuki gallery from 1995. 32 pages of full color and painted art from artists such as: Brian Bendis, Mike Oeming, Michael Gaydos, Paul Pope, Rick Mays, Dave Johnson, Greg Land, Mark Ricketts, Colleen Doran and other amazing artists that have went on to further distinguish themselves

If you want any of these, I have one box left and sell almost all these books for cover price $2.95, and happily sign it if requested.

Hey all,
Thanks for all the kind words.

After seeing some posts at Newsarama and other boards concerned about the situation of Image, I felt I should say a few things. Feel free to cut and paste.

There is no danger of Image going under, as some people posted on the newsarama board in response to Eric Larson's post.
Image has a lot of great books and continues to be the one place that any creator can go to get the fully creator-owned deal. There is a huge need for that and Image fills that need.

The deal at Marvel does not compete with the deal at Image. Icon is not set up for, nor is it looking for, submissions and pitches for new projects the way Image is. It was an exceptional situation offered to Bendis, Oeming and Myself specifically for Powers and Kabuki.
Don't be concerned about other Image books (or other companies) jumping to Icon, because that is not the nature of the imprint.

This move does not diminish Image's role in the industry. It builds upon it.
What Image does in this industry is indispensable. Both the Powers and Kabuki library of collections continue to be available thru Image.
And Oeming has other new Image projects on the schedule.

Eric Larson is a stand up guy, and is running a great company.
Image is still THE place to get a fully creator owned deal.

Bendis and I have a unique situation in that we have a readership on our indy books that we have cultivated for over a decade and we have a unique creator relationship with Marvel. There may be a couple other Marvel creators who are offered this unique situation, but it is Marvel rewarding that kind of commitment to our books and readers. Icon is not created to fill the same niche in the industry that Image does.
But it does reinforce the need and importance of the creator rights that Image has long championed.

185

well...today I'm 187...
Which is the police code for a homicide...

Hey all,
Thanks for all the kind words.

After seeing some posts at Newsarama and other boards concerned about the situation of Image, I felt I should say a few things. Feel free to cut and paste.

There is no danger of Image going under, as some people posted on the newsarama board in response to Eric Larson's post.
Image has a lot of great books and continues to be the one place that any creator can go to get the fully creator-owned deal. There is a huge need for that and Image fills that need.

The deal at Marvel does not compete with the deal at Image. Icon is not set up for, nor is it looking for, submissions and pitches for new projects the way Image is. It was an exceptional situation offered to Bendis, Oeming and Myself specifically for Powers and Kabuki.
Don't be concerned about other Image books (or other companies) jumping to Icon, because that is not the nature of the imprint.

This move does not diminish Image's role in the industry. It builds upon it.
What Image does in this industry is indispensable. Both the Powers and Kabuki library of collections continue to be available thru Image.
And Oeming has other new Image projects on the schedule.

Eric Larson is a stand up guy, and is running a great company.
Image is still THE place to get a fully creator owned deal.

Bendis, Oeming, and I have a unique situation in that we have a readership on our indy books that we have cultivated for over a decade and we have a unique creator relationship with Marvel. There may be a couple other Marvel creators who are offered this unique situation, but it is Marvel rewarding that kind of commitment to our books and readers. Icon is not created to fill the same niche in the industry that Image does.
But it does reinforce the need and importance of the creator rights that Image has long championed.Back to top

By the way, just noticed that I misspelled Larsen. My apologies.

DM

Hi Mike,
I appreciate you mentioning the great points about Image. Which was what I was trying to do in my post. So I'm glad we are on the same page there.

But you are assuming an awful lot in your characterization of our motivations. Obviously you are not privy to the entire sequence of events that led to this. I think we would both acknowlege that. And it is true that we are not making some of that public as it is not professional and appropriate to do that.

So I always wonder why, when someone knows that they do not know the entire story, why they tend to jump to a cynical conclusion concerning personal motivations.
If you are going to jump to conclusions and make a characterization of our motivations, why not give us the benifit of the doubt, and jump to a less cynical conclusion concering our personal situations and the sequence of events? If you know us, and give us the the credit of integrity, why not conclude that we have a good reason for this outside of the dollar signs that you mentioned?

Kindest regards,
David

Mike,
I understand your point. But respectively, I think you missed my point. The point was that knowing you don't know what the situation was, why assume through that lens?

Why not assume that we know what we are talking about? Why is it so hard for you to give us the benifit of the doubt? Of course the press release is not going to talk about private details. Why fill in that margin of the lack of knowledge with that negative tone?

I know people like to make this a Marvel vs Image thing. And I've heard a lot of crazy stuff to that effect from people who think they are in the know. But they aren't in the know. And that is not how it happened. As much as people like to talk about how it is Marvel out to grab market share and kill the little guy, that is not even remotely close to what happened.

A handful of people know how this went down. And I know that one of them is leaking it because people keep telling me that they were told by that person. So I'm sure you will all hear more rumors about it in some form or another, as I have from other people. So in time, you may hear the truth or some fraction or angle of it. And that may fill in the dots for you, and you may understand at that time.

The fact is, that something disturbing took place. Erik Larsen is blameless in it. It was disturbing for Brian, for me, and for Erik. Your are not going to get those details in a Marvel press release. Bendis' decision was to promote the positive and not point fingers at the negative. And to not let any of this reflect badly on Erik or Image as it was beyond Erik's control and he has been nothing but a prince in this situation. As much as I would like to explain it, and as much as I'm sure Erik would, (so people don't make these kind of assumptions about either of us from either polarity) we are honoring Brian's wishes to to be professional and discreet.

It is a free country and you are free to continue to surmise in your line of assumptions. I'm just letting you know that you are barking up the wrong tree.

The point of my original post was to indeed champion the causes that Image and Erik stand for and let people know that we continue to believe in Image and what it stands for and we continue to be in business with Image. We continue to have all of our collections there and are proud to be involved with Erik.
I'm grateful to Erik on many levels. Especially his reference to us in his recent post and his welcoming attitude toward us and our books.

You (and people from either polarity) can choose to give all of us the benifit of the doubt, or not. My original post was just to voice my affinity for Erik and my belief in Image to the people that were making those wrong assumptions.

Thank you for wishing us the best. I wish the same to you.
David

Dear readers, potential readers, and friends of this medium and industry,

I want to extend my appreciation for those that support our books no matter where they are published. But I have been disappointed by some of the polarity, antagonism, and cynicism directed toward one company or another.

In particular, I’ve seen some anti-Image posts on other boards that have horrified me.

It’s one thing to be supportive of the decision Brian, Mike, and I have made, for our current launch of Powers and Kabuki, but there's no reason to slam Image in the process. That kind of talk doesn't help Brian, Mike, me or Icon. A healthy industry is defined by more than one or two successful businesses -- anyone eager for ANY comics publisher to fail is wishing ill on the industry as a whole. That's something to be stressed to people gloating about what's happening with CrossGen or others, and I think it applies across the board.

After seeing some posts at Newsarama and other boards concerned about the situation of Image, I felt I should say a few things.

There is no danger of Image going under, as some people posted on the newsarama board in response to Eric Larson's post.
Image has a lot of great books and continues to be the one place that any creator can go to get the fully creator-owned deal. There is a huge need for that and Image fills that need.

This move does not diminish Image's role in the industry.
Icon is not created to fill the same niche in the industry that Image does. What Image does in this industry is indispensable. Eric Larson is a stand up guy, and is running a great company.
Both the Powers and Kabuki library of collections continue to be available thru Image.
And Oeming has other new Image projects on the current schedule.
We are still in business with Image and it is the only place that you can get the entire six volumes of Kabuki in paperback and hardcover collections.

I hope that you will continue to read all of the Powers and Kabuki collections that remain completely in stock at Image. And I urge you to continue (and start to, if that is the case) to try all of the other wonderful fully creator owned titles at Image.

Besides all of the wonderful Image books that some readers here have named and discussed, I’m looking forward to NYC Mech, Mike Oeming's new books, and many other new series that I know are being launched this year.

Feel welcome to cut and paste this and post it on any and all other boards.
Kindest regards,
David Mack

I'm sorry,
LarsEn!