Show me the money, show me your options!
An edition about the balance between money and control in a creative world
WELCOME TO A NEW EDITION OF MY NEWSLETTER
Hello again! While I am writing this, I’m preparing my trip to the International Comic Convention of Barcelona. After two canceled editions due to COVID, I return to the most classical event in the Spanish comic business. Honestly, I’m pretty excited and nervous. First, because I will see a lot of friends I only meet in these kinds of events. And second, it will be a test about how I respond to a big event after those years of forced reclusion. I admit I’m not a person of big masses, and usually when I had a convention on the horizon my immediate feeling is… laziness (in spite of later I will have a lot of fun and I will return with a lot of anecdotes and tons of comics under my arms). So let’s see how it marches. If you see me, be nice to me because I probably will feel so confused like Morgan Freeman at the end of The Shawshank redemption. (“Can I go pee-pee, mr. editor?”)
MONEY VS CONTROL
I had some conversations about movie rights with some friends, artists and writers recently. Like I have attended some panels and made a long class about licenses, options and basically authors’ rights, some friends consult me often. But please, don’t understand that I am an expert. In the end my best advice is “search for a person with real knowledge about this matter”. Lawyers exist for one reason.
And evidently, I often ask to colleagues with much more experience in the field than me about those same questions.
Well, during these chats two questions always appear: How much money do they offer you? How much control do they offer you?
After the Polar movie adaptation released, I had the chance to sell some options of my books (if you don’t know what an option is, it’s basically when a producer pays you money to be the only one to develop a potential adaptation of one of your works during a specific time, after this time the option is renewed with more money or discarded). I was contacted by different producers interested on my work or in having me on board to develop a project with them. I had a lot of mail exchanges, phone calls and zoom meetings during the lockdown. The producers couldn’t film but they could develop and they were looking for new ideas. I made a lot of contacts, some of these meetings were a waste of time but others were really productive.
Some of these producers were what we could call indie and they didn't have very much money for an option, but they offered me something different: Be part of the development, build and create the project with them and having the chance to be executive producer or consultant producer. So if the project gets the funds, I would receive more money than the payment for the adaptation and I would be "part of the crew”.
Let’s go with some practical examples:
With the Polar movie I had little participation in the development but luckily the people of Dark Horse Entertainment sent me the scripts, let me suggest ideas for the casting and about the script’s drafts. They were not obliged, but they were nice to me. In another similar project adaptation, the director interested in my work contacted me: I worked with him and with a professional script writer in the adaptation, I drew some concept art and we prepared a project to offer to the big streaming companies. It was not approved (by the moment) but I learned a lot and later, it got me a little assignment as a concept artist in the pilot episode of a show developed by this guy.
Other of the books (one I co-created with another author) was optioned by a streaming company. It was managed through an agency. They paid us really well, the option was renewed but I have not read any script draft and except one actor who is one of the potential producers, I have no idea about the cast or status of the project. And it’s fine, I really trust the people who are involved and if we renew the deal, the money will be welcome.
Meanwhile, I have other projects in development with more implication by myself. Two of them are projects of TV shows with people from different European countries involved. One is the Born Wild/Ecco Rights adaptation of my comic Ezequiel Himes Zombie Hunter I have mentioned often. The other is a TV miniseries directly created by me without a previous comic-book (but I want to do the book at some point). I wrote the storyline of the episodes and a professional writer and producer is writing the pilot episode. I also have a movie project based on an original concept I created where I would act as executive producer.
This could sound pretty exciting but these are long term projects I am balancing with my daily job as comic author.
And a writer friend of mine is moving a project he wants to produce (this time I own that book completely) and we are conscious about one truth: The bigger the company which wants to develop the book adaptation is, the less control we will have about the final result. But they will pay for it.
The point is: If you can’t get money, get control, be part of the process (if you are interested, of course, this is an investment of time and effort and maybe your only interest is making the comics). To me, working with indie producers has been a kind of school for free about how to develop a project, write a pitch, contact with potential investors and a lot of things in this new exciting world. I like this world (and when I got sick of this pool of sharks, I can find shelter in my beloved comic-books).
I don’t know if one of these projects will materialize in real adaptations but I am earning things during the process. It can be money, it can be experience or knowledge… And you can choose what projects sound interesting. Maybe they can promise you will be the director of all but simply you don’t feel like working on this project or with that people. But in the end the moral of the story is simpler: “try not to sell your talent for free”.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I wanted to do a simple introduction about some things I’m working on and the final result looks like one of my talks about authors’ rights. I hope you find it interesting at least.
Let’s go with a quick recommendation! I have begun to read some Shonen Jump series using the Manga plus app on my phone (currently in my “favourites section”: Claymore, Captain Tsubasa, Zipman!!, SpyxFamily, Dandadan) and I discovered Yuto Suzuki’s Sakamoto days. And like the first volume of the series has been published recently in Spain I began to buy it. Sakamoto Days is an action-comedy series about a legendary hitman who retired, created a family and owns a grocery store… But you know, things are not going to be so easy.
Think of John Wick mixed with the Dr. Slump sense of humor. I think it’s Suzuki’s first ongoing series, and even though the art it’s a little rough sometimes (specially the female characters' faces) his style improves quickly and the pages bubble with energy and enthusiasm.
SOME REMINDERS
-Until my Knuckles bleed paperback will be release July 12th but you can pre-order it:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/until-my-knuckles-bleed-vol-1-victor-santos/1140802059
-Paranoia Killer, my Panel Syndicate series, is available in pay-what-you-want mode. I have a compilation of the four chapters waiting for an opening in the website calendar:
http://panelsyndicate.com/comics/paranoia-killer
-Some of my best works are published by Dark Horse:
https://www.darkhorse.com/Search/Victor%20Santos
-My crowdfunding GN Moon Eaters was fund but you still can get it:
In English: https://www.spacemanproject.com/es/proyecto/moon-eaters/81
In Spanish: https://www.spacemanproject.com/es/proyecto/moon-eaters/81
And that 's all! Take care of yourselves and take care of others.
See you in a couple of weeks with a new chapter of Ginger Revenges!
Victor
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