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It's Wednesday again! Welcome to the latest Wednesday Waffle!
You can watch the video above, or read the text below - or both, they're not completely identical... Anyway, let's waffle on!
MELTDOWN COMICS GONE FOREVER
For twenty five years Meltdown Comics and Collectables was a fixture on Sunset Boulevard, and was the comics emporium to the stars. More than just a store, it housed a performance space for live comedy - the "Nerdmelt", and podcast recording facilities. It was one of those places - like Midtown Comics in New York - that entered the consciousness of comics fans internationally, becoming a must visit site for any comics fans visiting the city.
The store closed on 2018. finally defeated by high rental costs. Many hoped that it would one day come back. Now it definitely is gone for good. The building has been destroyed by fire - there is no official word we've been able to find regarding the cause, but online speculation is that the blaze may not have been an accident.
Meltdown's still active Twitter account tweeted of a "Viking Funeral" and reassured followers that there had been no injuries. 2020 continues to be 2020, and another little piece of comics heritage vanishes.
DON'T GO INTO COMICS FOR THE MONEY...
There's an old joke that the only way to become a millionaire in comics is to start with a billion and work your way down*. Sure some of the big name creators make a very good living - but have you seen how many books somebody like Brian Michael Bendis has to write a month?
Comics Laureate (yes, there is one...) and comic creator Hannah Berry set up a survey of UK based creators to see how they were faring in these troubled times and the answer was depressingly predictable. More than half of UK based creators make either no money from their work, or less than £100 per year, and sources of regular income, whether that's paid work from a company, or commissions, or whatever, are incredibly hard to find.
So. If you want to get into comics because you dream of money and fame, forget it. Such things may come to you - you might be the next Jim Lee - but it's unlikely. But if you want to get into comics because you love comics and don't mind fitting your comics around a day job (because you will need a day job, at least at first) jump in. Comics is a wonderful community that I'm proud to hang out on the edge of. But it's not a wealthy community - all the money is in TV...
Read the full details over on Down the Tubes...
*If you're a creator this isn't entirely true. If you're a creator the only way to become a millionaire in comics is to retain the film, TV and animation rights to your characters and then get them made into a major movie or TV franchise.