#11085: — 12/14  at  02:54 PM
Some gospel...

#11125: — 12/15  at  01:19 AM
Actually, this seems to be aimed at Scott Kurtz, creator of the online comic PVP. Kurtz has offered to run his comic in newspapers for free. Wiley... has a problem with this. A very vocal and public problem.

#11131: PZ Myers — 12/15  at  08:38 AM
Ah, I'd heard that Kurtz was getting flak for that...I didn't know Wiley was one of them. That makes sense.

#11166: — 12/15  at  02:02 PM
Yes...and I confess I don't understand what the problem IS. It's his product, why shouldn't he be able to do whatever he wants with it, however he chooses? Is the argument that this could disrupt the way most comic artists make a living? Even so...again...it's his product...

#11214: — 12/15  at  11:19 PM
Eric Burns wrote an excellent article on it at http://www.websnark.com/archives/2004/11/the_frightening.html . Basically, it seems to be a combination of ego and a justified fear of obselescence. It's stubborn and a bit stupid, but entirely understandable.

#12921: — 01/10  at  01:26 PM
Came in through Google, because I was searching for mentions of this inane Wiley-Kurtz feud for a paper I'm writing for social studies about tempests in a teapot online.

After reading through tons of blogs and discussion forums like Toon Talk and Keenspot, I've concluded Scott Kurtz is mostly to blame for all this. It began when he posted his plans on his website and simultaneously took a swipe at syndicates AND syndicated cartoonists. Then, there are a couple forums frequented by syndicated cartoonists - Toon Talk (http://www.toontalk.org) and The Wisenheimer (http://www.thewisenheimer.com). DJ Coffman, an online cartoonists, comic book artist and Kurtz fan, posted links to Kurtz's blog. The threads I read showed fairly reasonable discussions ensued, where syndicated cartoonists discussed the pros and cons of Kurtz's approach. Some said it wouldn't work because editors at big papers don't care about the price of a comic strip, so offering it for "free" wouldn't make them run it if they didn't like it. In fact, the syndicated guys mostly said PvP was good, and papers who don't buy only from syndicates would take it even if he charged a small fee for it. They also had the justified fear that offering a good strip for free would cause newspaper editors to demand that other cartoonists work for free. Kurtz would be Walmarting all the cartoonists who rely on their work to feed their families.

(Incidentally, I had to get a syndicated cartoonist to send me the thread from the Wisenheimer, because you need to be one to get in there)

Then Kurtz posted in those threads, calling those cartoonists "dinosaurs," saying they don't respect the Web or online cartoonists (never mind that a lot of them also have successful websites), saying they're idiots, bragging that he earns so much more money than them, etc. etc. Then the syndicated cartoonists seemed to offer an olive branch, saying he's just misunderstanding them and saying he shouldn't take their opinions so seriously, but he persisted in claiming they were personally attacking him. He seemed rather paranoid.

Then all his supporters flooded the forum at Toon Talk also claiming Kurtz (and by extension all online cartoonists) were being unfairly bullied by syndicated cartoonists, especially Wiley (I can find no post from Wiley where he does this, but by now these people are just going by the misquotes and quotes taken out of context by Kurtz on his own website).

All this insanity naturally gives Wiley fodder for a couple cartoons (one a couple months ago, and one a few days ago), where he lampoons the self-importance of some people who publish content on the Web, and that cartoon hit too close to home for Kurtz and his fans/colleagues. They totally ignore that he's also lampooned the self-importance of print authors and people who aspire to be published in print (you can see that in his book collections, which I checked out at the library).

One guy at Toon Talk and Wisenheimer, Malcolm McGookin (who, importantly, is NOT a syndicated cartoonist) was contemptuous of webcomics in general. NONE of the syndicated cartoonists were, especially Wiley, who gave reasoned, respectful advice and then (understandably) rebuked Kurtz and his fans for the way they blew his advice out of all proportion.

A prime example of an Internet tempest in a teapot. I'd better get an A for having to read through all that ridiculous, boring, overblown BS.

#12925: PZ Myers — 01/10  at  01:49 PM
OK, one A+ coming up. That's interesting.

I like PvP, and I like Non Sequitur. I actually didn't read the Wiley cartoon above as a specific attack on Kurtz, but as a generally applicable poke at lots of people who validate themselves with their IntarWeb presence...and really, since very few people would even be aware of the feud, I suspect it had to have been drawn with that general purpose in mind.