I know how popular the Rumic merchandise is, as well as the fun of collecting it. But do any of you feel that licensing one's characters ("selling
out" if you will) is kind of a step in the wrong direction? Especially if the writing and the original product starts to take a backseat to the plush
dolls, greeting cards, animated versions, etc. These days it seems like more people are more familiar with Garfield as a car window ornament and Snoopy as a
MetLife salesdog.
Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, was very much against licensing his characters, which is why the only C&H merchandise you've ever seen are those illegal knockoffs of Calvin whizzing on a Ford logo/Chevy logo/Bin Laden's head, etc. And yet, as he discussed in his 10th Anniversary Book, his syndicate practically insisted that he do so, leading to a rather bitter fight between the two. It may have been the cause for his decision to retire the strip after just 10 years. Now of course comics (or manga, or whatever you want to call 'em) are always a commercial venture. But I dunno, looking at all the Rumic-related action figures, plush dolls, video games...do you think Watterson had a point in his argument that licensing his characters would cause him to gradually lose control over them, or was he a stubborn, uneconomical crank?
I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say that the quality of the original drawn comic is all that matters, and if the artist wants to make more money off it elsewhere, that's okay as long as the original retains quality. But I can also admire Watterson's decision to keep C&H in comic strip form and ensure that he had control over it and not his syndicate. (C&H, of course, was a newspaper strip, and I don't really know if there are differences in how the Japanese publishing industry works versus the American, or if Rumiko had any similar fights with her publisher.)
Anyway, here are a few humorous send-ups by Watterson on his opinion of merchandise licensing.
http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cimages/cfossil.jpg
http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cimages/clicensing.jpg
http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cimages/crobot.jpg
Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, was very much against licensing his characters, which is why the only C&H merchandise you've ever seen are those illegal knockoffs of Calvin whizzing on a Ford logo/Chevy logo/Bin Laden's head, etc. And yet, as he discussed in his 10th Anniversary Book, his syndicate practically insisted that he do so, leading to a rather bitter fight between the two. It may have been the cause for his decision to retire the strip after just 10 years. Now of course comics (or manga, or whatever you want to call 'em) are always a commercial venture. But I dunno, looking at all the Rumic-related action figures, plush dolls, video games...do you think Watterson had a point in his argument that licensing his characters would cause him to gradually lose control over them, or was he a stubborn, uneconomical crank?
I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say that the quality of the original drawn comic is all that matters, and if the artist wants to make more money off it elsewhere, that's okay as long as the original retains quality. But I can also admire Watterson's decision to keep C&H in comic strip form and ensure that he had control over it and not his syndicate. (C&H, of course, was a newspaper strip, and I don't really know if there are differences in how the Japanese publishing industry works versus the American, or if Rumiko had any similar fights with her publisher.)
Anyway, here are a few humorous send-ups by Watterson on his opinion of merchandise licensing.
http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cimages/cfossil.jpg
http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cimages/clicensing.jpg
http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cimages/crobot.jpg
