I was recently approached by a representative from a subsidiary of the national trade organization and asked to give one of my pieces to a national campaign to promote independent bookstores. What first caught my eye was how her pitch borrowed much from the language of contemporary social justice movements. It was a cheerful, youthful message with subtle, anti-corporate undertones we've come to associate with many "indie" movements. Very seductive. But then I started thinking. I started to wonder if it ethical for a professional trade organization to entice illustrators to give away their art without pay? What if the offer is ostensibly about promoting a greater social good, like getting people to buy local, and that sort of thing? When a not-for-profit organization acts as an advocate for for-profit entities, particularly small, independent business, is it wrong for me to expect them to see illustrators as independent business people and support them as such?

I tried to rationalize her organization's position by pointing to the AIGA, which regularly solicits donations in the form of graphic design, printing and paper, volunteers, and in-kind donations at the local and national level. Vendors and other professionals routinely and generously give time and money in exchange for a by-line or company logo on a piece of marketing collateral. And it can't be easy getting people to give, especially in lean times. Maybe I should be honored and excited that someone wants to use my work and help me to gain national exposure.

The idea was to provide their members with files that could in turn be downloaded and printed at their own expense, and used as part of their in-store promotional materials. The idea, I assume, is to give customers an added feeling of value to their decision to buy from their store, and not just preview the book and get it for less online. And there's the rub. Whether it's a bookmark, a leave behind, or a poster in the children's section, the art would function like any other form of advertising designed to convince the viewer to spend money. At some point, a vendor, such as a local printer, gets paid to reproduce the pieces. The printer pays its suppliers, rent, and electricity bill. The bookseller pays its dues to the organization, rent, insurance, taxes, its employees.

Who pays me for my work? Doesn't it have value?

The membership dues for the organization's members range from $200 to $300, and they offer listings for approximately 1200 member bookstores nationwide. Somewhere in there has got to be a fair usage fee for my image or anyone else's for that matter. Ya think?

I spent a little time over the last two days deleting old images from my Elfwood gallery. Not easy. A mix of stubbornness and recent nostalgia made saying "good-bye" to some pieces really hard to do. So many of them were milestones in my own development. Some remind me of what was happening in my life when I created them. Artist Stephanie Piu-Min Law mentioned in a recent post at the Epilogue forums that art directors will occasionally land on her Elfwood site when using a search engine. I've always been aware of this, having searched my name a few times, but I think it's time to really get a handle on what's out there with my name attached to it.

As a start, I'll be experimenting with new tags on my work.

Thanks everyone for your support. The first issue is off to a good start, and I'm working on updating darkstrangercomics.com and pencilling issue 2. The website will feature character bios, an art gallery and other media.

In other news, I just read the first three issues of Ashley Woods' Millenia War. I'm really enjoying Ashley's colors and storytelling. The art has a manga feel to it, but it's still uniquely hers. She also spends time designing unique clothes for the humans and elves in the story. Next month I'll be ordering the next two issues.

I've also ordered (finally) the first two issues of Abraham by Stacey Robinson (BLACKSTAR-SHABACH). With so much overlap and similarity between styles in mainstream comics, the art in Abraham is refreshing and alive. Stacey uses a strong mix of flowing lines and a strong sense of color and light that makes the pages I've seen so far nice to look at and easy to navigate.

Looking forward to seeing the full books!

It's here! IndyPlanet is currently on the mend, so I'll be shipping out the first copies of Guila: The Dark Stranger myself while supplies last.

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Well, I got the e-mail from Ka-Blam and I have a whopping... um,.. 25 ISSUES printed and heading to Dark Stranger Comics headquarters! Gotta update the site (Yes! I have a site (darkstrangercomics.com) and do some other stuff. But it's almost a reality, our first full-color comic. No Copy Central dis time!