Black Panther Appreciation 2020

[XPac]

Chadwick was to great as t'challa. if they can't find someone as great as chadwick it can't work. Shuri should be the black panther.

Those are nearly impossible shows to fill. It'll be impossible NOT to compare him with Boseman.

That said, Marvel overall has been REALLY good with casting. If they go the recasting route, I think they'll find someone capable of doing the job. Whether or not he'll be accepted by the fanbase is a different matter.

[Nate Grey]

Who says you can't?

There are other mice running around not named Mickey.

Off the top of my head there's Topo Gigio. He was created roughly 30 years after Mickey Mouse and is still popular today, just not in the US where I'm guessing most people never heard of him (unless people dig up old Ed Sullivan clips).

[Redjack]

Many many many years ago i was an intern on a show called Star Trek TNG.

Part of my job was to read and rate the scripts that came in from civilians, according to quality. the good ones got passed on to the producers. the poor ones went into the shredder.

What you start to notice is, without contacting each other or knowledge of each other's work, people all over the world sent in the same basic plots as one another, sometimes with the same titles. the execution would vary (though not by as much as you'd think) but, yeah, there was a LOT of duplication.

People outside the actual job think their ideas are unique because they, legitimately, thought them up on their own.

But there are several factors they don't take into account.

1) The target they're trying to hit - Superman, X-men, Star Trek, etc.- is actually tiny. The whole world and all its rules has been built so you can't tell your "new" story without following those rules. This means people who never meet are going to still "invent" the same stories over and over. The bigger the property, the more this will happen.

2) Whole teams of people work on these projects. teams of editors, teams of creators, teams of executives. the process of getting what a freelancer pitches into the story that actually sees print is just a little more complex than Marvel or whoever saying, "hey, great story, go write it. we'll just sit back over here and eat popcorn." That's not even CLOSE to how it works. The bigger the franchise, the more hoops and hurdles a creative has to navigate to get their story across the finish line.

3) Most people who think they can play at a pro level in commercial art can't. Sorry about it. It's just like sports. Lots of folks THINK they can roll with the NBA or NFL. the VAST majority are kidding themselves. Nobody likes to say that because feelings can get hurt. It's the truth tho.

Nearly every big creative in BIG TWO comics right now has a major presence in indie comics, movies, novels, games or TV (or more than one of those). This is due to several factors that i'm not going to go into here but a large part of it is because they've proven in those other fields that they can get the ball over the goal line. Repeatedly. In some cases they have a locked-in fan base that will follow them wherever they go. These are assets that can't be ignored and the people doing the hiring don't ignore it.

Not to put too fine a point on it but Coates had a PULITZER when he, Davide Walker and I (and a couple others) put in bids to write BP. Who do you think had the most juice in that equation? Who was going on CNN and MSNBC? Who was giving lectures and writing articles in plush magazines?

Not me and Dave.

Like it or not, those things factor in.

4) While there is some theft in publishing from time to time, it almost never happens. Creatives don't do that to each other. Companies don't want the smoke of lawsuits with merit. Media companies don't need to do it anyway. Between Warner's and Disney alone the catalogue of owned IP (intellectual property) is so deep and expansive, they could stop taking in new product RIGHT NOW and still have hundreds of years of "reboots" and "re-imaginings" before they'd need to think about original material. That's not an exaggeration.

5) You can't steal or protect an idea. Ideas are worthless. Literally everyone has them. An idea is like an individual blade of grass in Central Park. That's how valuable an idea is. All that matters is what you actually MAKE.

Next year I have FOUR announced BIG 2 stories and something like TEN indie comics projects. +99% of the indie stuff is OWNED by me. That's not an accident.


If you want to play in the majors you have to play like a major. That's it.

[Cville]

Just a PSA for the community. Been getting called by the Social Security Scammers over the phone. Just a reminder if you get an automated message, its not real, SS administration doesn't call.

[DigiCom]

If you want to play in the majors you have to play like a major. That's it.

Mr. Thorne? I think you dropped this mic.

[MouserGrey]

Many many many years ago i was an intern on a show called Star Trek TNG.

Part of my job was to read and rate the scripts that came in from civilians, according to quality. the good ones got passed on to the producers. the poor ones went into the shredder.

What you start to notice is, without contacting each other or knowledge of each other's work, people all over the world sent in the same basic plots as one another, sometimes with the same titles. the execution would vary (though not by as much as you'd think) but, yeah, there was a LOT of duplication.

People outside the actual job think their ideas are unique because they, legitimately, thought them up on their own.

But there are several factors they don't take into account.

1) The target they're trying to hit - Superman, X-men, Star Trek, etc.- is actually tiny. The whole world and all its rules has been built so you can't tell your "new" story without following those rules. This means people who never meet are going to still "invent" the same stories over and over. The bigger the property, the more this will happen.

2) Whole teams of people work on these projects. teams of editors, teams of creators, teams of executives. the process of getting what a freelancer pitches into the story that actually sees print is just a little more complex than Marvel or whoever saying, "hey, great story, go write it. we'll just sit back over here and eat popcorn." That's not even CLOSE to how it works. The bigger the franchise, the more hoops and hurdles a creative has to navigate to get their story across the finish line.

3) Most people who think they can play at a pro level in commercial art can't. Sorry about it. It's just like sports. Lots of folks THINK they can roll with the NBA or NFL. the VAST majority are kidding themselves. Nobody likes to say that because feelings can get hurt. It's the truth tho.

Nearly every big creative in BIG TWO comics right now has a major presence in indie comics, movies, novels, games or TV (or more than one of those). This is due to several factors that i'm not going to go into here but a large part of it is because they've proven in those other fields that they can get the ball over the goal line. Repeatedly. In some cases they have a locked-in fan base that will follow them wherever they go. These are assets that can't be ignored and the people doing the hiring don't ignore it.

Not to put too fine a point on it but Coates had a PULITZER when he, Davide Walker and I (and a couple others) put in bids to write BP. Who do you think had the most juice in that equation? Who was going on CNN and MSNBC? Who was giving lectures and writing articles in plush magazines?

Not me and Dave.

Like it or not, those things factor in.

4) While there is some theft in publishing from time to time, it almost never happens. Creatives don't do that to each other. Companies don't want the smoke of lawsuits with merit. Media companies don't need to do it anyway. Between Warner's and Disney alone the catalogue of owned IP (intellectual property) is so deep and expansive, they could stop taking in new product RIGHT NOW and still have hundreds of years of "reboots" and "re-imaginings" before they'd need to think about original material. That's not an exaggeration.

5) You can't steal or protect an idea. Ideas are worthless. Literally everyone has them. An idea is like an individual blade of grass in Central Park. That's how valuable an idea is. All that matters is what you actually MAKE.

Next year I have FOUR announced BIG 2 stories and something like TEN indie comics projects. +99% of the indie stuff is OWNED by me. That's not an accident.


If you want to play in the majors you have to play like a major. That's it.

The studio where I worked made a ton of licensed prototypes for different companies that had the rights to sell Disney and WB merch. A lot a lot a lot of the products on the shelves of their respective stores in the 90's were first sculpted by us. Resin and ceramic figurines, jewelry, pencil toppers, etc. All of us sculptors always tried to somehow secretly put our initials on these prototypes so we could sorta "claim" them. Just for kicks. But the quality control of both companies was so high nobody ever managed to get it done. I really thought I had won when I worked on some Gossamer book ends. Gossemer is the big hairy monster with the high top all stars that chased Bugs Bunny around in the mad scientists labratory. Anyway, with all that hair I was sure my initials, that I made to look like part of his hair, would not be found. And so was everyone else. I put them on his butt. Lol. I was so excited when I finally saw it on the shelves at the WB store. But, in order for it to perform as a bookend, they had ground it off square. I was really disappointed. It's funny now.
Their litigation teams are no joke, however. There was a daycare in my hometown that had large images of their ( Disney's versions) Winnie the Pooh characters (A.A. Milne creations)on the outside of their building and they were sued to take them off. They do not miss much.

[Paul Muad'Dib]

@Paul Muad'Dib...


At first I was not certain if you are serious about your claims or just Trolling like me but here goes...


A long time ago in a galaxy far far away I knew someone important (a brotha) at Warner in their video game making department!


We would see each other at a friend of my younger brother's home usually for fights like Mayweather and other payperview events!


We got into a discussion about comics and eventually exposed that most executives at DC really didn't frequent comic shops let alone Comic-con but were failing badly in their video game making projects!


At some point he petitioned me to right a treatment to see if I could help them out which I did and presented him something he literally enjoyed while we watched yet another Mayweather victory that he missed focused squarely on my little script!


I didn't here from him for a while until I got a delivery "officially" from their department of the duffle bag I loaned him of various graphic novels I owned to help acclimate him... I'm talking Death of Superman, Tower of Babel, Crisis on Infinite Earth, etc. etc


I later joked about the "official" delivery where he could have just handed them back to me or gave them to my brother but whatevah...


Legalities in this business are no joke as lawsuits are a dime a dozen but most companies steer clear of potential entanglements whenever possible!


Now what was my original idea?


It was something where The Joker had seven deadly jokes one for each Justice League member that took them through trials and tribulations at a comedy club!


Later... Batman: Arkham Asylum comes out and Joker is wilding out similar to what I wrote considering that super hero games really sucked back then and sure I noticed some similarities but just like Heath Ledger's Joker or Joaquin Phoenix that's all they are!


Note: Rocksteady made 3 out of the 4 Arkham games where Origins was WB in house


I don't own Joker or any of DC's catalog and I never officially worked for them anymore than you have writing Black Panther!


In this super hero genre there are all types of "shiny" things and primary colored spandex and oh so random mcguffins so what can you really claim as yours!


Can James Earl Jones even claim co-creation of Darth Vader with George Lucas simply because his voice is synonymous with the character... That's a slippery legal slope which could have all actors, writers and creators replaced by robots!


You could design magical gauntlets, floating buccaneer boots and teleporting earrings for Black Panther but claiming creative licensing over a character that you did not create in the first place is putting you in this territory...


https://blackexcellence.com/sophia-stewart/


Plus... You would have to show that very busy professionals even came across your work and would risk their careers stealing from you as if they did not have enough qualifications to get hired in the first place!


Then you have to also contend with the fact that both Marvel and DC own the rights to the words "Super Hero" since they furthered the concept long before you and I were born!


Someone could accuse you of taking their ideas if they have things that you depict presented years before you picked up a drawing pen!


Just copyright your own characters and stay creative... Work for hire means work for hire!

Peace

Really, bro? Sophia Stewart? I definitely do not want to have this conversation. I mentioned (lawyers) having legitimate options for seeking justice.

I do not want to go thru any judicial process. I don’t even like the ‘food court’ at the mall.

There is a difference between copy-right infringement & infringement. Limiting or suppressing free expression is a form of Constitutional infringement.

We could dive deep but this is not the occasion. Also collusion & point of origin.

BP b-day 1966. new changes for BP 2015-2016. Hmmmm? why no changes until after the fan comic?

I wrote the BP movie. No doubt about it (tech, story-line, character designs). What separates me from Sophia is… I can do it again & again.

I could drop the new WWO (today) & not even an entire army of people (Coogler’s production staff) can out perform it. Can she out-perform the Wachowski brothers?

I already wrote the Matrix 4 (just for fun). The brothers wouldn’t stand a chance against my version.

Joke Theft and Cryptomnesia


This video is for you Flex & anyone else interested in the subject of artistic theft..

WWO is a parody comic. It’s meant to poke fun at copy-written characters.

True diversity includes methodology. The system they use to recruit writers cannot be limited to a singular way.

If they have set policies & procedures for hiring without differentiating, then it can not be considered inclusion or diversity.

It’s one dimensional diversity. Again, their form of diversity & inclusion is an illusion.

play like a major? They will still sell you on the illusion of separation. BP writers need to have professional accolades? Doesn’t hurt.
I have professional accolades in the fine arts community. I’m also a former stand-up comic.

I’m from the school of hip-hop. The best rapper has to prove it amongst other rappers. it’s called battle rap. No biting styles. Put Muad’Dib, Coates & Coogler on the same track… battle rap style… The two of them are gonna sound like Paul. A major MF can out-perform any amateur. right? a neophyte would not stand a chance with a veteran. Right?

[Ezyo1000]

I would personally love to do my own work, I have ideas and some design's for my own character created work. I also love drawing BP and the drawing I am working on right now is going to be my favorite yet. However, what I lack is time to really work on my drawings (between my
oldest distance learning and using my computer, working 10 hour shifts, spending time with family and sleep) I work on it sporadically and so it's a long process.

If I could dedicate tine to comics full-time then I would. That being said I would probably start out small, maybe 5-6 pages, and go from there. I know I can do it, as my wife and I worked on a book for our kids last year for Christmas and I drew a few pages comic style for the action scenes. But between all the stuff mentioned above it took a long time to do, but I'm using my drawing tablet and it's sped the process up significantly. My goal is to get to a position where I can just for fun for do parody art for some of the ideas here (flex has the funniest isht and I would love to draw done of it just because it's so hilariously awesome) but I realize in not going to make a career out of it. It's too late for me but it's still a fun thing

As for what RJ said about clout. I understand and it make sense why Coates got the job, but it bugs me that it was assumed that those accolades would translate into good story telling Which it definitely did NOT

[Redjack]

I would personally love to do my own work, I have ideas and some design's for my own character created work. I also love drawing BP and the drawing I am working on right now is going to be my favorite yet. However, what I lack is time to really work on my drawings (between my
oldest distance learning and using my computer, working 10 hour shifts, spending time with family and sleep) I work on it sporadically and so it's a long process.

If I could dedicate tine to comics full-time then I would. That being said I would probably start out small, maybe 5-6 pages, and go from there. I know I can do it, as my wife and I worked on a book for our kids last year for Christmas and I drew a few pages comic style for the action scenes. But between all the stuff mentioned above it took a long time to do, but I'm using my drawing tablet and it's sped the process up significantly. My goal is to get to a position where I can just for fun for do parody art for some of the ideas here (flex has the funniest isht and I would love to draw done of it just because it's so hilariously awesome) but I realize in not going to make a career out of it. It's too late for me but it's still a fun thing

As for what RJ said about clout. I understand and it make sense why Coates got the job, but it bugs me that it was assumed that those accolades would translate into good story telling Which it definitely did NOT

it's never too late.

i promise you, it's never too late. you just have to be frosty about what you can give to it and how good you actually are.

[FLEX HECTIC]

The Ghost of Johnnie Cochran: "I think it would be best if you did not take the stand... Your alibi is all over the place and the prosecutor would eat you alive!"

O.J. Simpson: "But Johnnie I wanna tell my side of the story if I did do it..."

The Ghost of Johnnie Cochran: "I wasn't talking to you O.J. I was talking to him!"

Paul Maud'Dib: "What... I'm the realest, the illest, you pheel this, I kill dis, the guerrilist, the thrillest, I'm a stand up comedian, the base median, you see me in, all types of battles competing in..."

The Ghost of Johnnie Cochran: "Hold that thought... Your honor may I approach the bench?"

Approaches bench...

Your Honor: "What's wrong with your witness?"

The Ghost of Johnnie Cochran: "Can we call an emergency recess I need to holla at my client before we proceed any further."

Your Honor: "You got other problems please take all the time you need and bring me back some popcorn this is getting good!"

At the recess in a private room...

The Ghost of Johnnie Cochran: "Let's go over this again... Exactly when and how did Coogler, Priest, Hudlin, the late great Macduffie, Macgregor, Thorne and Hickman steal your ideas?"

(crickets)

The Ghost of Johnnie Cochran: "Was your Black Panther work on any best sellers list... Amazon... Barnes and Nobles... Black bookstores in da hood... Prison walls of cell block H... Written on toilet paper in a public restroom... We need at least some random evidence that someone crossed paths with your work and decided HEY, why not borrow from this guy as opposed to what DC did with Batman being the Prep Time champ while Black Panther was on hiatus... Work with me player gimme something to help your case BRUH!"





Black Panther Stand Up Comic 101-

[Marvell2100]

I would personally love to do my own work, I have ideas and some design's for my own character created work. I also love drawing BP and the drawing I am working on right now is going to be my favorite yet. However, what I lack is time to really work on my drawings (between my
oldest distance learning and using my computer, working 10 hour shifts, spending time with family and sleep) I work on it sporadically and so it's a long process.

If I could dedicate tine to comics full-time then I would. That being said I would probably start out small, maybe 5-6 pages, and go from there. I know I can do it, as my wife and I worked on a book for our kids last year for Christmas and I drew a few pages comic style for the action scenes. But between all the stuff mentioned above it took a long time to do, but I'm using my drawing tablet and it's sped the process up significantly. My goal is to get to a position where I can just for fun for do parody art for some of the ideas here (flex has the funniest isht and I would love to draw done of it just because it's so hilariously awesome) but I realize in not going to make a career out of it. It's too late for me but it's still a fun thing

As for what RJ said about clout. I understand and it make sense why Coates got the job, but it bugs me that it was assumed that those accolades would translate into good story telling Which it definitely did NOT

Bro, like I said I have family working as a writers' assistant. They struggled just to make it to LA. It was years of hard work but most important of all encouragement and support from family to continue even when things seemed like they wouldn't work out.

You know it won't happen in a day but just keep building.

As far as Coates goes, RJ makes a good point about the pub that would be generated in mainstream and social media by announcing Coates as BP writer rather than another professional in the industry.

But as we've come to learn, name don't mean much to a BP fan looking for a good comic story.

[Marvell2100]

C'mon Flex, OJ just wanted the world to know...Hertz is your go to place when renting a car, especially a Ford Bronco.

[skyvolt2000]

Bro, like I said I have family working as a writers' assistant. They struggled just to make it to LA. It was years of hard work but most important of all encouragement and support from family to continue even when things seemed like they wouldn't work out.

You know it won't happen in a day but just keep building.

As far as Coates goes, RJ makes a good point about the pub that would be generated in mainstream and social media by announcing Coates as BP writer rather than another professional in the industry.

Dwyane McDuffie made the same point. He pitched a She Hulk series. Someone else also pitched a She Hulk series.

They went with the other guy and that run remains the LONGEST She Hulk run to date. McDuffie's pitch became She Hulk Ceremony.

Another guy took all his rejected pitches and made one final pitch. It recently ended it's 6 year run on Cartoon Network. That show was Amazing World of Gumball.

As for Coates-it was the same thing with Jason Reynolds on Miles's first novel. Same with those DC OGNs.

Between Warner's and Disney alone the catalogue of owned IP (intellectual property) is so deep and expansive, they could stop taking in new product RIGHT NOW and still have hundreds of years of "reboots" and "re-imaginings" before they'd need to think about original material. That's not an exaggeration.

I keep trying to tell folks that. With as many folks collecting dust at the both companies-you could give Panther a rogue gallery without trying. An all black Legion of Doom is shockingly not impossible.

In some cases they have a locked-in fan base that will follow them wherever they go.

And when a bad story happens-they IGNORE being told to go read something else, if the book is bad.

And will question your fandom because you choose not to support it and sales look bad. Right John Stewart and Panther fans? How many times have we been lectured?

[Ezyo1000]

it's never too late.

i promise you, it's never too late. you just have to be frosty about what you can give to it and how good you actually are.

Not to knock anybody, but some of the art o have seen in books ( bp included) I know I can match up to if not surpass. And it's not to say they are bad, I have been drawing off and on for over 15 years. But I do know I could hang quality wise. Speed is a different story though, but that again could also be how much time I have available as well.

Bro, like I said I have family working as a writers' assistant. They struggled just to make it to LA. It was years of hard work but most important of all encouragement and support from family to continue even when things seemed like they wouldn't work out.

You know it won't happen in a day but just keep building.

As far as Coates goes, RJ makes a good point about the pub that would be generated in mainstream and social media by announcing Coates as BP writer rather than another professional in the industry.

But as we've come to learn, name don't mean much to a BP fan looking for a good comic story.

Yeah, again, I'd I had the time and didn't need my job (it's a great job and I love it and the work I do) drawing would be my main focus. But if I can atleast get to the level of a few pages a week for comedic shenanigans then I'll be happy

Yeah RJ is right, I just wish marvel learned their lesson the first time with Cap marvel when they did the same thing and failed miserably with her getting non comic writer's

[Marvell2100]

My latest Pic:

BP Hatute Zeraze.jpg

War Dog ready!