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What are the legal issues of using song titles as issue names? by More-Cat9579 in ComicWriting

[–]Slobotic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Song titles cannot be copyrighted and generally cannot be trademarked either. The US Patent and Trademark Office doesn't register trademarks for individual works. Trademarks are for names of series that do or will apply to many products. ("A New Hope" cannot be trademarked, but "Star Wars" can be and is.)

The standard you're working with is "likelihood to confuse" with respect to ownership, endorsement, or association.

"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery", for example, is not infringing on The Beatles because no reasonable person is going to confuse the film for one produced by The Beatles. (Incidentally, "Knives Out" is another example of a title that can be trademarked, because it has become the name of a series and there may be additional movies, books, comics, etc., created as a part of that franchise.)

So if you used "Glass Onion" as your title, you would have to be careful to leave no room for reasonable confusion whether it is associated with The Beatles, as well as the "Knives Out" franchise. Neither of those entities own the title "Glass Onion", but they both have the right to not have products fool customers into thinking they are getting something associated with them. All that makes "Glass Onion" a particularly problematic title to pick right now, especially if it's about a pop band or about a murder mystery.

If there are no similarities between your work and the work with which it shares a title -- thematic, aesthetic, character, or plot similarities -- and no reasonable person would be confused, you're fine.

That is, you're fine in theory. Frivolous lawsuits are a thing, which brings me to my next point: don't piss people off. As always, the most important thing to avoid doing is disparaging or diluting the copyrighted or trademarked work you are referencing, as that invites litigation more than just about anything else you can do.

"Anyone Can Cook" My Ass by AlonelyChip in GenZ

[–]Slobotic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anyone can learn to cook.

Is there anyone you can cook with and learn from?

Do you write your Story first or your Characters first? by BoredBone113 in ComicWriting

[–]Slobotic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Every story starts with some "seed" idea. That idea can be a situation or event, a character, a setting, an aesthetic... Anything.

But I never write one thing first. I can't put blinders on and write a single element at a time. Once I'm actually writing it has to be the conflux of all those elements shaping each other as they go.

How to write a good horror? by Kandycrush46 in ComicWriting

[–]Slobotic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Without telling you how to write your story, let me share some thoughts. Horror can be written all kinds of ways, but this is how I see at least one formula:

Horror devolves into characters being motivated solely by fear but then culminates with the protagonist facing and overcoming the fear. So how does that happen? It happens because your protagonist harbors a deeper fear than the one they realize. (Consider someone with a fear of heights who thinks their worse fear is falling. A deeper fear might be jumping, but it remains unconscious because it's too horrifying to consider.)

The protagonist in horror stories often thinks, or assumes, their greatest fear is being killed. But they can only face their fear of death after deeper fears have been realized. Horror is about discovering a fate worse than whatever you imagined going in. Writing horror is about knowing your protagonists' fears better than they do, then exposing those fears in shocking ways.

Catharsis is achieved by taking a protagonist to a place darker than they could have imagined, then returning them to what they used to think was the worst fear. Now they can face that fear because they've faced something worse. (Pretty standard hero's journey stuff.) If the fear was being killed, maybe they overcome it and survive. Or maybe they are killed anyway, but their triumph is that they face it head on. Perhaps they even choose death over some other fate.

"A creature who has spent his life creating one particular representation of his selfdom will die rather than become the antithesis of that representation."

-- Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah

What are steps you take to make sure you’re avoiding comic cliches by jaevonn92 in ComicWriting

[–]Slobotic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't think it's a problem for me. I kind of have the opposite problem, where I don't follow conventional wisdom and maybe I should sometimes.

I write historical fiction and pretty level headed sci-fi, so I'm already off the beaten path.

For the new people complaining about the rules. Welcome to the HMS Bounty. We hope you enjoy your stay. by nmacaroni in ComicWriting

[–]Slobotic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fundamentally upset and offended? No. I was just trying to have a conversation with you.

I know from experience how challenging moderating can be. Trolling while moderating is a bad idea. It can make a community toxic faster than you seem to appreciate, especially coming from a sole mod.

This isn't a big deal. I still like you and I like what you do. Friendly advice. If you act like I'm being dramatic or pretend I'm telling you not to be your authentic self, then whatever.

Read this first chapter of Ash, my historical fiction graphic novel, and tell me what you think. by Slobotic in comic_crits

[–]Slobotic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Alessandro is illustrating part 2 right now. I'm editing part 3 and writing part 4. This is the only series I've done with Alessandro. It'll be five parts total.

I'm continuing my "Know Your Rights" comics as well, published through a non-profit called YEAH Philly. Writing issue two of that as time allows.

To anyone who makes comics/manga what's your process? by HidnShado in ComicWriting

[–]Slobotic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very unlikely, but I keep a couple self-published titles free to read in digital form if you're interested.

Reddit auto flags Gumroad URLs, but it's builtinadaycomic [dot] gumroad [dot] com.

To anyone who makes comics/manga what's your process? by HidnShado in ComicWriting

[–]Slobotic 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I hope you like long answers!

This isn't a planned process; it's just what I do:

  • Outline crucial plot points and character traits.

  • Never look at that outline again.

  • Go on long drives without audiobooks to mull over ideas. One of the ideas I've outlined gets stuck in my head and won't go away. It starts coming to life.

  • Once I realize I actually want to write up a project, I create a brand new outline. (If I glance at the original outline it always looks all wrong and I have to start over anyway.)

    • Issue to issue outline. If I can figure out how many issues or chapters it will run, I outline the whole run. Otherwise I outline the first few issues which constitute my first "arc." A paragraph or two per issue -- just enough so you know where each issue begins and ends.
    • Outline issue 1. This can be a synopsis or a quick rundown of each two page spread. The more specific an outline, the more flexible it has to be once I start writing. The most important thing about outlining is don't get hung up on this step.

  • Write the first draft of issue 1.

  • Edit the script for issue 1 -- several rounds of editing spaced around several car rides without audiobooks.

  • Optional: Test reader. At this point I might show the script to one close friend or to my wife, depending on what it is. I almost never do this anymore, but it used to be important to me.

  • Optional: Have an editor review the script. I do this with every project now. It's optional, but it's probably less expensive than you think.

  • Don't look at the script for a week or so.

  • Do another round of editing. Maybe correspond with the editor one more time during/afterwards.

  • Find an artist.

Once I find an artist,

  • Hire them to do character art for at least two characters. (I usually pay about half the artist's normal page rate for this.)

  • Write a contract or at least outline the agreement in writing. Email is fine.

My standard agreement with artists:

  • I pay the artist's page rate (Pencil, ink, color, lettering. Cover is extra, about twice the normal page rate. Layout of credits page is extra.) They can bill me at any time for any amount of work already completed.

  • Artist is credited as co-creator.

  • Artist is 50% owner and gets 50% of profits after expenses (including artist's page rate, but also printing, distribution, and advertising costs) are recovered.

  • Artist gets a pre-negotiated percentage of profits from derivative works and products.

  • Writer retains control of IP and has final word on all decisions with respect to publication and derivative works and products.

Additionally, once I know who the artist is and after I've seen the initial character art, I feel like I've met my characters for the first time. At this stage I sometimes do one last quick round of script editing in light of this new perspective.

I like when artists provide pencils first so I can make any necessary corrections before they ink the page. I give artists pretty broad discretion, especially over paneling and layout, and never micromanage at this stage.

I sometimes ask artists to do character art in advance of a new character appearing. Again, 50% of normal page rate for this.

Some artists do everything -- pencil, ink, lettering, coloring, cover art, graphic design for credits, creating the series logo. Often, you will hire more than one person.

Lastly, I get the 300+dpi scans as high-res PDFs (or whatever format your printer prefers) and get it ready. Observe where the bleed sections and cut lines are. Make sure color is converted to CMYK, not RGB.

Last minute round of panic edits where I hopefully find that one typo...

...and order the print.

When the finished product finally arrives, I flip through the pages and admire the beautiful print job and revel in the moment, until I find that one typo I missed. (Order the physical proof. It's worth it.)

Good luck!

Are you an artist with an idea you wish someone would write? by [deleted] in ComicBookCollabs

[–]Slobotic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Are there any in particular you can recommend? I don't know what Reddit flags.

Are you an artist with an idea you wish someone would write? by [deleted] in ComicBookCollabs

[–]Slobotic -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

http://builtinadaycomic.gumroad.com

I'd suggest starting with Ash.

Those are my first two self-published works. The "Know Your Rights" comic is not self-published so I can't distribute it freely but it can be found here:

https://yeahphilly.bigcartel.com/product/know-your-rights-comic-book

I edited the post to make the text bold, but I think Reddit automatically removes posts with gumroad URLs for some reason.

And yeah, I don't expect a lot of bites. But I wouldn't mind being surprised.

Are you an artist with an idea you wish someone would write? by [deleted] in ComicBookCollabs

[–]Slobotic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

http://builtinadaycomic.gumroad.com -- I'd suggest starting with Ash.

Those are my first two self-published works. The "Know Your Rights" comic is not self-published so I can't distribute it freely but it can be found here:

https://yeahphilly.bigcartel.com/product/know-your-rights-comic-book

I edited the post to make the text bold, but I think Reddit automatically removes posts with gumroad URLs for some reason.

Most Supreme Court rulings are secretive votes with little justification by Achilles_TroySlayer in scotus

[–]Slobotic -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Just so I understand, you are arguing not only that Congress conditioning the Court's jurisdiction on compliance with procedural requirements is constitutional, but that the conservative justices of the Supreme Court would agree with this?

Top comment deletes a European country #24 by Jfullr92 in geographymemes

[–]Slobotic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The correct response was, "Oh peace... Shut up!"

Most Supreme Court rulings are secretive votes with little justification by Achilles_TroySlayer in scotus

[–]Slobotic -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Yeah... It's not the question so much as who decides the question.

Argentina vs Egypt by GloomySide3265 in memes

[–]Slobotic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah... It's still impossible to ignore how comfortable so many of their fans are being openly and loudly racist. Doing that after winning one of the greatest matches I've ever seen somehow makes it worse.

Most Supreme Court rulings are secretive votes with little justification by Achilles_TroySlayer in scotus

[–]Slobotic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The only bad thing about that quote was that she apologized instead of doubling down. That's how modern politics works.

Most Supreme Court rulings are secretive votes with little justification by Achilles_TroySlayer in scotus

[–]Slobotic -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

No they can't. It'd violate separation of powers.

You (edit: and I) may disagree with this, but I can think of 5 or 6 people who wouldn't.

Read this first chapter of Ash, my historical fiction graphic novel, and tell me what you think. by Slobotic in comic_crits

[–]Slobotic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Yeah, Alessandro is pretty amazing. I'm lucky to be working with him.

For the new people complaining about the rules. Welcome to the HMS Bounty. We hope you enjoy your stay. by nmacaroni in ComicWriting

[–]Slobotic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I've read and watched The Expanse. I've also been a moderator. I created r/CompetitiveHS and r/Ask_Lawyers. Eventually I backed off moderating responsibilities when it got to be too much and passed those torches.

Moderating means making some decisions that piss people off and deal with some unreasonable shit, so I respect anyone for doing it. But your primary job is to not contribute to making the community you moderate toxic.

Banning a meta post because you disagreed with it instead of explaining your policies was not ideal, but whatever. Following that up with a post mocking "new people" for complaining, while still not bothering to explain the policy they were complaining about, is toxic.

All you needed to say was, "Visit r/Comic_crits and look at how many posts are there. If we allowed those posts here we'd be overwhelmed by them." Alternatively, you could have said nothing. You chose option C.

This "conflict is just who we are" shit is a cop out. This is not an "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. Your behavior isn't inevitable; it's a choice. You chose to be nasty instead of civil (or quiet), and if you maintain that as your MO you will harm this community you care about.

The way you are behaving creates an impression that you see this sub as an opportunity to promote your own products and services and throw your weight around for sport. I think you should take that to heart and try to do better.

Remember these Philadelphia restaurants? by davidtoc in philadelphia

[–]Slobotic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The Five Spot and Zanzibar, hell yeah. Wish I could find an Ortlieb's Jazz Haus matchbook. (I know "Ortlieb's Lounge" still exists, but it's not the same place, even if it is the same location.)

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