For the sake of full disclosure:
A while back I took a very public and strict stance against illegally downloading entire comics over the internet.
While I was doing this-- I WAS downloading TWO types of media:
1) TV shows which were out of circulation and not available on DVD.
2) International TV shows and movies which were not available for sale on American region DVD players.
I did this with the knowledge that WHENEVER material I'd downloaded became available in the States, I IMMEDIATELY purchased those shows/movies/boxsets-- and I've got a wall full of the American releases of British and Japanese DVDs to back that up-- as well as boxsets of American shows that took awhile to be released.
While I was passionately arguing my case about comics-- it was pointed out to me that if I REALLY wanted to-- I could BUY a foreign region DVD player AND international DVDs when they came out in their respective markets-- I had no counter argument for that. THAT was a good point. I conceded and STOPPED downloading shows all together. That was a few years back and I've still stuck to it.
People's views can (and for a proper cause should) change. I hope that I can put forth arguments that convince some of you to that downloading affects myself and other creators-- and our potential FUTURE incomes.
While that's a concept that might seem intangible to some of you-- for comic book creators (not the highest paid jobs on the planet) it's a VERY real and deeply PERSONAL concern as we try to budget for ourselves and our family's expenses and quality of life. Whatever you may think about any creator's skill, talent, ability what-have-you-- we ARE people, this is our JOB, this is what brings us income, food, shelter, security, and helps us provide for our loved ones.
If you consume the product we've produced-- if you were compelled to experience the unit of entertainment we worked on-- and you read it ALL THE WAY to the last page-- we DID our job-- and it's my belief that we fulfilled our part of the understood contract between the storyteller and the audience. If the audience does an endrun on that pact by denying their patronage-- that's not very ethical. The fact that in some cases it's EASY to skip that step does not mean that it's RIGHT or that it's an ENTITLEMENT.
Comics are fun. To the audience they're not a necessity-- like food or clothing. But for creators, it DOES provide those things-- and the promise of FUTURE food and clothing-- when the audience HONORS their part of that contract.
That said, I am not approaching this subject with a my-way-or-the-highway attitude. I DO understand that there are mitigating factors in some cases. I have a world of sympathy for that fan in the middle of a foreign country with no LCS for hundreds of miles-- and practically no access to ANY U.S. comics. And I understand the validity of certain circumstances here and there. But I see no excuse for (and I'm going to be VERY specific here) someone who lives in a country where comics are available but who HABITUALLY downloads a title issue after issue-- month after month-- who reads it cover to cover-- and who has no intention of buying it. That specific person is a robbing creators of a "vote."
Those "votes" determine what projects we are offered in the future. Those "votes" determine our worth to the company-- and are taken to account when our page rates go up for review. I can tell you PERSONALLY that my quality of life would be DRASTICALLY altered by the simple math of-- at my next rate review-- Marvel saw fit to give me a raise of even $5 a page-- and EVEN more if Marvel were to give me a raise of $10 or even $15 a page. I can't even begin to tell you how that would affect my annual budget and how and where I could live, putting away for my future, etc. Those "votes" also determine what pencilers, inkers, colorists, etc. that I get to work with. In the case of smaller niche titles like SHE-HULK and THE THING, those "votes" determine the longevity of the project. Those "votes" affect MY life and other CREATORS' lives in SO many ways that it's not even funny.
That's what this subject means to me.
