I only found out about it about a week ago, and, even though I have until January 31st to enter a brief one paragraph synopsis of my super-heroine, for a chance to become one of ten semi-finalists in the contest, I'm not doing it.
Why?
Fear I would win. See, I have a concept, one which I think is pretty strong. One of the ten best of all that are entered? I don't know. What I do know is that this idea would be perfect for one of the supporting cast of the Crimson Scarab, and if, by some miracle, I managed to win the contest, I'd be kicking myself for giving the character up. Well, actually "shared ownership" with an artist.
Either way, the chances of being able to use it in a no-profit webcomic would be greatly compromised.
I'm coming to realize, for better or worse, that I'm becoming very possesive of the characters I've created for my strip (still shooting for April, by the way). And, as such, when I come up with a good idea, I'm eager to find a way to adapt it to my characters.
I frankly can't figure out how Stan Lee or Siegel and Shuster or Bob Kane could ever tolerate seeing others play with their creations. I suppose that they knew that they were working for a company, so they had no choice... but, still.
Actually, that's where I notice the difference. What difference? The difference between comic strip creators and comic book creators. Comic strip creators tend to stay with their creations permnently. Comic book creators? Not so much.
Sure, there are a few (Robert Kirkman and Erik Larsen spring to mind), and the number increases with the smaller the company that produces the comics, but there is still a tendency to allow others to play in your sandbox.
Maybe someday I'll be okay with letting go. For now, I think it is just an aspect of "strip-preservation" - I know how tough this is, and I want to give my strip every advantage toward a long existence.
Type at you later.
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