Public Domain Goes Public

First of all, thank you all for the well wishes! As the first person to ever catch Covid, it means a lot. I’m doing much better and all I seem to have now is what I always get on the other end of a cold, my standard several-month cough. Good thing I’m not promoting a book right now! OH WAIT

PUBLIC DOMAIN VOLUME ONE is in comic shops today!!!

Thus begins the ZDARSKY NEWSLETTER CHALLENGE! If everyone who subscribes to this newsletter buys one copy, I could retire for, like, two weeks! Don’t you want that for me? I’m so sick please help

(The ZDARSKY NEWSLETTER CHALLENGE doesn’t apply to my paid subscribers. You are all precious angels who support me enough!!!!)

To celebrate release day, here is my forward for the Urban Comics edition coming soon en français:

A lot of people assume that Public Domain is a very personal work. And I suppose it is in some way. But most of it is still from the outside looking in. It’s true that I’ve worked for the big North American comic book companies, but I’ve never been put in a position where I felt taken advantage of. I’ve never had characters or storylines used in movies or TV with minimal compensation. And, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I’d be upset if it happened to me. Because the story of poorly-treated creators is an old one now, part of the history of comics and of its present, and I knew it going in.

I knew it because of how many creators were blindsided by their unfair treatment, by their creations that were used to fuel billion dollar companies while they walked away with a few thousand dollars to pay their rent after falling to the wayside in an industry with no protections, no job security. Because of this knowledge I’ve always made sure to have a strong focus on works that I own outright with my fellow creators. Sex Criminals, Newburn, Kaptara and the book you’re holding right now, Public Domain, are mine. Writing Batman is fun, but writing and drawing Public Domain is a treasure, one that I’ll own until I die, and that my family will own once they kill me.

See, I’m not worried about comic companies now. I’m worried about my shifty brother, my conniving wife, my duplicitous sons Chad (5), Charles (7), Chip jr (10), Chucky (13) and Champ (29). Because I own all of my characters, I’m sitting on a goldmine and the ones closest to me know this and will stop at nothing to get what they haven’t earned. Do you think Ed Brubaker has to worry about his beloved wife Mel suffocating him with a pillow for the rights to Winter Soldier? Of course not. But he has to sleep with one eye open thanks to his lucrative back catalogue of crime books.

So, yes, Public Domain is personal. I may never see a dime for my hot new character “Batman 2099” but the mere creation of this book and these characters that I own has put my life in danger. 

I hope you enjoy it.

-Chip Zdarsky 

And tonight I’ll be LIVE, coughing and promoting Public Domain and Mr. Batman and Mr. Daredevil, etc. on WORD BALLOON:

In more “Chip talking too much” news, I did an interview with Multiversity about the year that was:

Multiversity Comics @multiversitycom

We chatted with our #2022YearinReview best writer, @zdarsky, about his work last year.

multiversitycomics.comOur Best Writer of 2022, Chip Zdarsky, Sheds Some Light on His Year in Gotham and BeyondOur staff chats with Chip Zdarsky about his insanely prolific and accomplished 2022 in comics.

And that’s it this week!! I’m still in frantic catch-up mode, banging out scripts and gearing up to get back into my studio to keep drawing Public Domain. In 2022 I had thirteen projects on my schedule and I went into 2023 with just nine. In a month’s time that’ll be down to six! What a lifestyle I’m gonna have.

In the meantime, post any Qs you have in the comments and I’ll A them in a future newsletter!

cough COUGH koff

koff

Bye!!