Comments on: Michael Jackson dies…and Bluewater is there

by: acne.care.jenny

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:34:13 +0000

michael jackson is a very very talented person to the point that he rose as a pop icon. he would live forever in our history books and memories…

by: THE BEAT » Blog Archive » Michael Jackson dies…and Bluewater is there | MICHAEL JACKSON CD

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:02:02 +0000

[…] Original post: THE BEAT » Blog Archive » Michael Jackson dies…and Bluewater is there […]

by: michael

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:24:21 +0000

I celebrate the diversity in my comics. (whether it’s a quality item is another matter) but…

Go Bluewater!

by: Oz Carver

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:57:39 +0000

zonefish — From the post to which you were replying: “trust me when I say that I view any company/person/etc. who profits off someone else’s death as scum.”

So, yes. Don’t know how I can make that any clearer.

by: Torsten Adair

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:01:15 +0000

Well, if it’s an unauthorized biography, the MJJ estate can’t really do too much about it (except perhaps sue for libel and possible trademark infringements if logos are used). If the work is properly researched and documented (and Bluewater bios seem to be quickly researched and written from other sources), then Bluewater and everyone else is safe. If they want to sell the cover as a poster, yes, they’ll have to pay a license fee.

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Comics
for more information.

by: Quick Links « Suicide Train

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:50:20 +0000

[…] Bluewater doesn’t forgive and is going to release a tribute comic for Michael Jackson […]

by: zonefish

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:55:39 +0000

Oz,
Do you feel the same way about Time Warner? Apparently People Magazine is dedicating a whole issue of their magazine to Jackson. Is that profiteering? Or is it only profiteering if you are a small business?

by: Idiots

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:10:41 +0000

Don’t they realize they have to have permission to use his likeness on merchandise? I highly doubt anyone from the MJ camp signed off on this, and I hope they put the clamp down on this sort of thing. Bluewater is a friggin JOKE.

by: Oz Carver

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:54:52 +0000

re: Above comments about the myriad non-comic book profiteering projects that weren’t brought up in an article on a comic book blog, well… that right there is the answer, isn’t it? I can’t speak for everyone else who thinks this is a low move on Bluewater’s part, but trust me when I say that I view any company/person/etc. who profits off someone else’s death as scum.

If there are similar comic book projects that weren’t mentioned in the article or following comments, please let me know so I can heap scorn upon them, too.

by: pulphope

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:42:05 +0000

Even in death he remains and entrepreneurial force and is still keeping other people employed.

by: Deanne

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:34:04 +0000

Aw, shut up, Amanda Palmer!!

by: MJ FAN

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:00:08 +0000

I am happy that Bluewater is doing this. I am a fan of Michael Jackson and he was a huge comic book collector. So i am sure he would be happy about this.

As for people making money off his death, why not mention these that were posted on Publishers Weekly:

Random House’s Vintage/Anchor Books is reprinting and, per a rep at the house “re-promoting,” Margo Jefferson’s 2007 paperback original, On Michael Jackson. Macmillan UK has ordered a major reprint on one if its backlist Jackson bios and a Montreal publisher is rushing its Jackson book. Two books by Jackson, his 1988 autobiography Moonwalk and a 1992 poetry collection called Dancing the Dream (both published by Doubleday).

They do biography comics, Why not MJ.

by: FG

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:38:27 +0000

Guh. I too doubt the claims of dozens of calls — unless they all came from family. As for emails — the regularity with which BW claims to “lose” emails makes me assume that their spam filters are so intense that nothing is able to blast through them.

While I get a certain amount of joy out of seeing the depths that BW will sink to make a buck, it does turn my stomach a bit. BW has a bad rep for not paying creators. I’ve been screwed by them and am not close to being alone in the “Screwed by BW” camp. Some are more vocal about it than others.

My question would be this: if BW is in fact making money off of these, are they finally paying creators?

by: Dry Well

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:04:59 +0000

There’s tons of people jumping on the profit train to capitalize from Jackson’s death.
Seeing this sort of bottom feeding from Bluewater comes as no surprise.

But “dozens of emails and phone calls?” Did David make them all himself? I wouldn’t be surprised, given this guy’s shady history.

I wonder if there’s a bunker somewhere that guys like Davis, Olney, Alessi and Pulido get together to weave schemes.

by: zonefish

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:01:48 +0000

Shock and surpirse, Heidi has something nasty to say about Bluewater.
Maybe the headline should be, Bluewater announces something and Heidi gets to grind her axe again.

But more important is the issue of whether Bluewater should produce something. I think it is perfectly reasonable especially if there is an audience to buy it. The second question is should they make a profit? Whether or not Bluewater chooses to donate anything to charity is between Bluewater and its corporate conscience.
Did BET or its advertisers donate money to charity from last night’s tribute event? Did the BIO channel or MTV donate a cent for immediately running everything they had in the vault?

Would we feel the same way if the pages of the proposed comic calls for readers to donate to a charity?

Now if this book turns out to be tripe; poorly written or crassly drawn or simply sensationalizes the freak show element of Jackson’s life, then fine, let the ammo fly. But until then I say let the market decide whether it is a proper way “to show respect.”

by: D.J. Coffman

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:47:18 +0000

Wow. Way to be a bunch of whores Bluewater!

by: Joshua

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:35:08 +0000

Amanda Palmer is actually singing Billie Jean and not Beat it.

by: Steven R. Stahl

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:36:46 +0000

Well, instant books have been around for decades. Bluewater’s approach is different, in that the company produces comic book versions of instant books. There will be lots of people trying to profit from Jackson’s death, whether they produce T-shirts, commemorative plates, commemorative coins, or other products bearing his likeness. At least the comic books might have some interesting information in them. It would be good, I’d think, for Bluewater to donate part of the proceeds to a foundation or charity. SRS

by: Matthew Craig

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:04:22 +0000

When did he find time to SIGN it?

//\Oo/\\

by: Oz Carver

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:41:52 +0000

Is Bluewater donating all proceeds from the Jackson comic to a suitable charity? If not, is attempting to make money off of someone’s death *ever* a proper way to show respect?

Joe Jackson seems to think so, based on a recent CNN interview, but at least he’s related to the dead man in question…

by: Paul O'Brien

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:34:33 +0000

“Davis noted that he initially waffled at producing a tribute comic, but after receiving dozens of emails and phone calls he knew it was the proper way to show respect and give fans a lasting remembrance.”

Do you think if we all ask nicely they’ll produce BLUEWATER TEAM-UP #1 starring Michael Jackson’s ghost and Barack Obama’s dog?