Saturday 16 May 2015

Colleen Doran: Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

COLLEEN DORAN:
(via Twitter, 13 May 2015)
If there's one thing I can't stand in comics is how many young creators benefit from who came before and show nothing but contempt for 'em. There's almost nothing many of us enjoy about working in comics now that someone else didn't have to fight really hard to make happen first. 

Remember Junior, when you scoff at that dated comic art, that out of touch oldster: you're next. Everyone praises him now, but young creators used to make prank calls to Kirby and call him a hack. No kidding. Have a little compassion. 

I'm just as glad to see bad, sexist racist attitudes in comics die off as the next person, but a lot of the people in comics have worked long and hard to make the industry better. 

Didn't happen overnight, didn't happen easy, and there's lots more to improve. None of this happened without one person at a time who came before you making the right decisions and taking actions. So, give credit where its due. 

And as awful as some people have been, we can forgive where we can, move on where we can, & get justice where we can to make comics better. And if we cant get justice from people who did harm, we can get justice for ourselves by doing our best for comics as individuals & creators.

Personally, I do not want to put any more emotional energy into trying to get anything out of people who did me harm in this business. They are all entrenched and desperate to protect their "legacies". They have no incentive to do the right thing because admitting harm would tarnish their "legacy". 

"Legacy" is something a lot of comics creators put stock in, whereas before, we were all just a bunch of schmucks doing comics for fun and a little cash. I can't change anyone. I can only change how I frame the past and how to make the experiences work to better the future.

 YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME.

I have the power. I will outlive all of you. And do better comics. That's all.

Colleen Doran's A Distant Soil was a frontrunner of the '80s indie comics scene. The sci-fi/adventure series originally broke several barriers: Colleen was one of the first women in the indie comics scene to write and draw creator-owned comics and A Distant Soil broke ground by featuring openly gay characters as series stars. After a recent hiatus, Colleen returned to complete A Distant Soil (with publisher Image Comics/Shadowline) and the series is scheduled to conclude at #50. The restored collections A Distant Soil Vol 1: The Gathering and Vol 2: The Ascendant are available directly from Colleen Doran.

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