D.J. Coffman – Sequential Artist, Thinker

Some drama for  you this morning as I post and drink coffee and try to kickstart my brain…

So Scott Kurtz decided to come on my blog and post his bloated opinions regarding the Platinum Studios situation. I wasn’t going to mention this in blog post on it’s own, but since I’ve been recently battling DUMBNESS here on the blog lately I thought I’d give Scott the Luigi treatment. I’m sick of being nice about this fucking idiot and the idiotic “facts” he thinks he knows or is so “well informed of”. So let’s lay these thoughts out there for the public enjoyment.

But before I begin, Scott has also accused me of being an “Opportunist” in the past among other things. Anytime he and i go at it, the Scott Kurtz haters and webcomic drama folks love it and want more, and I thought NOW would be a great OPPORTUNITY a t-shirt of this joyous occassion. A design that both haters and lovers can agree on and that many people can relate to…

update: (Zazzle took it down because his face was used. but if you REALLY want one of these, I can get you one, just email me. )

Here’s Mr. Kurtz late last night commenting on yesterday’s blog about Platinum Studios:

Author : Scott Kurtz
E-mail : kurtz@pvponline.com
URL    : http://www.pvponline.com
Comment:
The only thing you need to post about Platinum is “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I ever aided these snakes in duping you.” You should acknowledge your culpability in all of this, DJ.

Scott likes to insinuate that I had something knowingly to do with somehow duping creators or setting them up for the fall. That I signed on for that. That could not be further from the truth and it really pisses me off. This is not true at all, and Scott will explain his position and retarded opinion more in a moment, but he’s been consistant in running around telling people how my contracts were terrible. But if Scott was looking for the “I’m sorrys” he could have found them in numerous blogs here where I mention i feel bad that I did bring some friends in that were owed a bunch of money (and still are.) Those friends of mine assure me that it’s not my fault, even though I do feel partly to blame for their individual situations because i brought them on…. after some fans replied in of course, glowing praise of my honor on my own website, Mr. Kurtz continued…Since it’s long, let me break it down into sections and reply point to point, Luigi style… (thank god Scott knows to lay off the caps key though)

Author : Scott Kurtz
E-mail : kurtz@pvponline.com
URL    : http://www.pvponline.com
Whois  : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=72.48.27.123
Comment:
Shawn and Tim and Calypso,

I can appreciate that you are fans and/or friends of DJ and you want to defend him here on his website. I can respect that. But believe me when I say that I’m well informed in my opinion.

You are well informed on this opinion becaussssse??? Oh, you looked in a mirror and said “YEAH! I’m right! High five! I’m gonna now post my opinions on the internet, because surely I am correct in all of the insinuations I’m about to make! Huzzah!”- Now back to the posting…

Kurtz: The bottom line here is that DJ has known from the beginning what Platinum was all about. I know this because he informed me as much at my booth in San Diego the year he pitched HBN for the first Comic Book Challenge. He told me flat out that he knew that Platinum was only interested in being an IP farm, but that he was going ahead with it anyway because it was just a throw-away idea and worst-case he gets paid to make comics for a year.

This I will concede is correct, but he left a little out I’d like to add if we’re going to talk about these conversations. It was the weekend that I was pitching HBN before i knew I had won even. Scott and I were on good terms, and I think he was surprised I’d even lower myself to such a thing. Scott had been publicly attacking Platinum from day one, it’s biggest anti-cheerleader. I did say that it would end up being like a year’s salary and I could take time off from my webcomic. His last sentence bugs me, because it comes across there and in other things Scott has said that I was somehow desperate for this job or the money making comics. That is untrue. In fact, I was successfully publishing Yirmumah books on my own and clearing 2 dollars profit per book shipping them myself. Something you cannot do in the comic book industry. I even turned down Diamond Comics reps who heard of my succcess with the books on my own and wanted to list them, but i had left that direct market system behind. So no, I wasn’t desperate to get paid to “make comics for a year”, Scott — I might have been a little desperate for a break in handling the shipping stuff, because as you know from the many late orders you’ve had in he past at your own site,  it can be hard and tedious work, but still very rewarding.

I also told him my reasoning, just like he said, HBN was an idea from a dusty shelf of ideas. I wouldn’t classify it as an “throw away” idea, because I pitched it because it was marketable in what Platinum aimed to do….  I told Scott Kurtz I didn’t even think I was going to win, and if not I’d still launch it on my own as I was going to do in 2003 and use the press from being involved with CBC to my advantage. Scott said he while he didn’t like Platinum, he voted for Hero By Night anyway because he liked me and it was the best idea and he didn’t want to see Lesbian Pirates win. I was appreciative of the fact that I had his private support, and Scott actually had a vote in that HELPED Hero By Night win. Something to think about in hindsight. Now back to his ridiculous opinion…

Kurtz: That’s a very different assessment of Platinum from the one that he evangelized on their behalf during the year or so that he was being paid handsomely by them. DJ knew the score with Platinum before and after he was being paid by them. It was only DURING his payment that he forgot their true nature and championed them as strong lovers of comic books with the best of intentions who took care of their people.

It’s one thing to take your own chances and lie with snakes. You’re only risking your own skin and your own properties. It’s another entirely to coax other people into a pit of snakes because it benefits you at the time.

At this point, the opportunist in me would like to point out that a mousepad of the same design would be funny beside people’s computers while they are reading this drama…so….

Seriously, that would be a funny reminder that… HE LURKS! Or remind people that it is what it is…

Hold the phone, Scott, reality is on the other line. Please pick up. This is where you went off track. You see I did hold the opinion that up until CBC and never putting out a book, Platinum was coasting along as an IP farm, fine. But after I won the contest and met and worked with many people inside Platinum, ALL people inside Platinum, there wasn’t a bad bone in the place. And I took the shady questions and things that popped up and I asked them directly face to face and got explainations that were satisfactory to me, and that I would then use to defend them. Many people inside Platinum became my FRIENDS, and they are GOOD people who love comics. It might come as a surprise to you, but Scott Rosenberg does indeed love comics. And the 2 hour phone conversations and face to face discusssions I had with him, you could tell that. It seemed ridiculous to me that webcomic folks like you and even Penny Arcade were painting him as this evil bastard looking to screw people over, when in reality he’s like a big little kid who’s head is in the clouds. (THAT is a big part of the problem) — So yes, when I actually WORK with people, and work with respected industry people like Jim McLaughlin or Lee Nordling, I can get a good gauge for what was working and what wasn’t working on the inside, and I saw a big opportunity for Platinum Studios and for me to be a part of how it would be shaped and changed from within. And we began doing that internally.

So, your “pit of snakes” comment is entirely bullshit opinion. It’s not factual. You say I “coaxed” people? By telling them to enter the Comic Book Challenge? CBC was great for me, and by doing what I said I was going to do internally, I was able to make CBC better, contractually and otherwise for creators– and I thought it might be the one thing that actually changed public perception about Platinum. CBC did change a lot of things for them. Drunk Duck came along right as I won, and while I was scratching my head about WHY they’d do this, why DRUNK DUCK??? , I did see a plan by their old New Media guy that I believed in and thought could work. That’s a whole other story… but long after that guy was gone, I was thinking about that plan and I adapted my own plan that actually would have done some amazing things for young creators. They’d keep their rights, 100% of their own merchandising efforts if they so chose to handle it themselves, and Drunk Duck would be a showcase for individual IP that if any agencies would want to license, Platinum instead of being a farm, could be more like a consulting service offering things that individual creators couldn’t afford. And it was non-exclusive, meaning if you wanted to, you could go deal with agents and crap yourselves that approached you, but the idea was that Drunk Duck would be a showcase, and Platinum would be shining a bright light on it and bringing it to the attention of bigger wigs like Harvey Weinstein, etc (just a random example)

And to Platinum’s credit, they did dump a lot of money into Drunk Duck, but the whole thing was managed very poorly. The vision was there, the execution was not. When I went to shows and saw the space they bought up in artist alley, it left me scratching my head, because we both know they could have promoted this better. We had Webcomic panels at all of the WIzard World show that I headlined and not once did I cheerlead Platinum or CBC there and hardly Drunk Duck!, instead I did what I always did and told these young creators to forget about trying to break into comic books and start publishing themselves online. I directed people to my old how to make money in webcomics blog, but I inspired the crowd with stories about how I had done Yirmumah on my own, made and sold many fake bricks, doubled my profits off FULL COLOR books distributed directly to my readers… and I loved seeing the lightbulbs go off. I would bring up hosting options, for the more advanced users, I pushed getting a Wordpress setups, and for the MANY people who don’t have a clue about websites, Drunk Duck WAS the easiest setup for someone starting a new comic. Bar none.

Now… if that’s the ONLY coaxing I’ve ever done was to encourage these creators to get moving. And I’m proud of that.

If you mean I was coaxing people to sign up with Platinum? Not true. I would suggest people sign up for the CBC 2. You’d be surprised to know about a lot of the conversations about RIGHTS behind the scenes too, and how we got them rethinking a lot of what they did and how they were operating. in my opinion, CBC could have been the thing that could have saved Platinum, or just become it’s OWN company. Zuda figured that first and implemented it better. My friend Jorge Vega ended up winning CBC2, and while it wasn’t the smoothest going for his timeframe of winning and being paid on time, his earnings from 80 pages of work have now allowed him to launch his own line of books on the side, independently and he has some great things going on, and some great connections because of the spotlight it gave to him. There WAS a benefit to that outside of the insular comic book industry where just about nobody trusts Platinum.

Let’ see… coaxing into a pit of snakes? No. But the one thing I still feel guilty about and I mention it over and over is getting my friends involved. Jobs opened up, I know a lot of creators and I was asked if I knew a guy to draw KISS, or other projects, and I’d connect the two parties and that was that. It really did make me mad when I found out these people weren’t being paid on time and hurting because of it. They didn’t blame me, but I was the only one they could email about late pays because Platinum went radio silent on them. When I’d pass along their message, things would get done and replied to. You’ve gone as far as to call these people IDIOTS for banking on money that was promised to them contractually and that angers me also.

I’m sure that if Platinum had simply managed to keep paying DJ and his crew to continue producing HBN, he would have absolutely NO problems keeping silent on any internal wrongdoings, no matter how many emails he was getting from other disgruntled platinum contractors.

Well, you are dead wrong. And I’m angry at you because this is the point you’ve run around the internet with “chiming in” . And there are ways if you really wanted to, you could confirm it. Anytime during my ENTIRE time there (2 years) if there was something askew, i’d voice it. Sometimes heads rolled, which I regret as well. It might have just been my paranoia, but whenever I’d make suggestions or ask why things weren’t being done the proper way, that person who was the “contact” there would no longer be there within a week or two. Scott Rosenberg was the one who told me from the get go that if I EVER had a problem or questions or ADVICE for them, to send it in and I did, and they often listened. Believe me Mr. Kurtz, you have absolutely no idea how frustrated at times we all were, even management, trying to figure out WHY they couldn’t get their damn website updated with the comics that were in the current Previews catalog. SIMPLE THINGS… The marketing people there, while really nice guys, were just coasting in my opinion and not doing the simple things that could have made a big difference in comic sales, and it was just that they weren’te experienced in the comics industry. We (Jason Embury and myself) made a lot of progress behind the scenes in showing them a way forward, to the point where earlier this year they called (Brian Altounian and Scott Rosenberg) to offer me a salary job THERE and move my entire family out. The position would be pretty unique to the things that I can do. Because I don’t pussyfoot around and i get things done. There was a reason that MY book was the only book that had real authentic “buzz” from comic fans, even though people were still weary of Platinum as the publisher. I was scared shitless by the opportunity, and then pretty frustrated that only weeks after that offer, the ship was surely sinking and the checks stopped and the communication was cut off.

So you’re wrong, Scott Kurtz. There were many battles fought in private that you’ll never hear about. My only mistake was believing in them so much. As I’ve stated here before in many blogs, I learned a lesson. It’s embarrasing, no doubt. Do you think I like to eat crow so much about how this deal ended? Do you think I like having “know it alls” like you strolling in, waving your big cock around and pretty much saying “we told you so!” — It’s not fun. And I deserve it, and I can take it.

But it’s a whole other thing all together to keep spreading LIES and insinuations around about my situation, my contracts. For one, with the facts in hand, you look like a total douchebag for doing this. A major asshole with nothing better to do with his time. And that’s because that is the truth. You do enjoy being a douchebag and blabbering a lot about things. Sure, deep down you want to help creators, yadda-yadda-yackity, you wrote a book and SOLD it, while I for years gave information away for free on a blog I even helped you once with your Google Adsense and ad placements? Remember that? Someone in the comments yesterday mentioned how in my one recent blog post about how easy hosting a webcomic is, was worth more than your entire book on the subject. I don’t know if that’s true, I reckon that it is not, I haven’t seen the book but i have pushed many creators towards it and I welcome it’s existance. The point is, you’re not doing yourself or your products any good with the way you behave online. I have told you the facts that you will probably still ignore and say I was doing something diabolical with an evil corporation.

You find me ONE creator that you think was “coaxed” by me who regrets it, and I’ll deeply apologize to them, instantly. But you sir, while so far greatly successful with your own webcomic and business, are not any kind of man that should be looked up to by that fact alone. While you search and think about your future (as you’ve mentioned on your twitter and site), maybe you should think about biting your tongue a little more and not holding as many grudges as you do. Learn to take criticism better, I’ve heard that you cannot.

And my business advice to you as someone who has been drawing sequential art and comics professionally for years longer than you have been while you were still at a day job would be to tell you to not think so narrow minded about a subject. Things aren’t just black and white. People can change their minds. Kinda like how you mocked the crap out CTRL-ALT-DEL’s animation and told people it was friggin terrible, and less than a year later, you were signed up with the same company’s animation you criticized?

You have professional friends who I’m sure agree with you about the things you’re saying, and i have professional friends who think you’re just an asshat running on at the mouth even though they enjoy your comic. So, I don’t think these kind of “opinions” you are so “sure” of and “well informed” of serve you well. Especially when you are not really that informed on them. But now you are.

You should probably listen to the SMART friends you surround yourself with and focus on your own work and future. The friends who would look at you and shake their heads and go “Scott! Why’d you go and light that fire!?” — and don’t reply. Don’t rebut. Don’t post passive aggressive bullshit to keep the grudge embers going. Just drop it! You’ve just read through 3000+ words and wasted how much time when you could have been doing something constructive???

If all else fails, you should probably see a shrink or something before you hit that “mid life” crisis age. The only true “pit of snakes” is in your own brain crawling around, or in your stomach. You’ll need to let that venom go sooner or later or you’ll drop dead at a very young age. Do it while you’re still young.

And if THAT fails, if for some reason you can’t afford a shrink in the future, there is always the immortal old school words of Ice Cube available on the ol’ youtubes:

“It’s like a jungle sometimes…”