Wizards Vs. Robots
It's a week with a comic in it, thus there must be a newsletter! Not the last before Xmas - how can it be when the NEW AGE OF METAMORPHO is almost upon us? It was going to be a light one, but... well, you'll see.
SO WHAT'S OUT TODAY?
Immortal Thor #18, that's what!
In which Thor and his long-lost son, Magni - together again for the first time! - take on the gang of his earliest villains calling themselves "The Gods of Asgard". This isn't going to be the last we see of them, either - or of their patron, Dario Agger, back from the dead and pretending to be his own son to further create trouble for Thor... assuming there's still a Thor around to make trouble for. There are forces to which even gods must bow, y'know. As ever, Jan Bazaldua provides all-action art and Matt Hollingsworth brings us sumptuous color.
BUT IT'S NOT ALL GOOD STUFF...
Because another thing that's out today - well, yesterday - is a consultation that UK creatives will want to be a part of. (US and other overseas folks, don't worry - but keep an eye on us, we're your canary in so many things.)
Intellectual Property Office
The UK government, be it Labour or Tory, has a habit of using consultations as a permission structure. They decide what awful thing they want to do and create a "consultation" that allows them to claim that they have a mandate to do it. In this case, the awful thing would be to alter copyright law to accomodate A.I. content scrapers, creating an "opt-out" model for their theft.
I'm putting out the newsletter before I sit down and tackle this beast - apparently it's long, boring, unpleasant and also heavily slanted towards the tech bros. Still, perhaps I'm going on hearsay - let's take a long sip of coffee and read just the first two sentences:
Two major strengths of the UK economy are its creative industries and AI sector. Both are essential to drive economic growth and deliver the government’s Plan for Change.
Jesus, where to begin? On the one hand, we have real humans who've used their hard work - their labour, it's in the name - to spark entire British Invasions across all media, all while having to navigate the ugly systems of class and capitalism that made that much harder than it needed to be. The central British value remains cruelty, after all - we musn't make it too easy to have dreams.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, we have a bunch of ethically moribund chancers profiting off theft and the burning of the Earth to spew out a flood-tide of inhuman slop. I had a whole rant here, but we've all seen the dead-eyed Santa, we've all run a Google search, we know how to spell "strawberry". Either you know the score or you're already enmeshed in the scam, as grifter or mark.
So to claim both of these things are are equally "essential" is not just a lie, but an insult. And to call both of them essential to economic growth is... well, either they're stupid or they think we are.
Never mind that you're still in thrall to the bogus idea that growth is a thing that should or even can be pursued indefinitely... one of these things directly steals from the other! Our "essential" role is to be their blood boy! And once we're drained dry and you've given all the creative jobs to the slop machine and it still can't make anything worth a damn because it never could... what happens to your economy then? Have you thought that far, Kier, or are you lost in dreams of sugarplums and magic robots and your next idea to out-Tory the Tories?
That's just the first two sentences - imagine how I'll feel when I read the rest. Plan for Change? More like plus ça change, amirite?
Anyway! After I finish doing their "consultation", I'll be writing a strongly-worded letter rejecting the entire premise of it to the direct email (copyrightconsultation@ipo.gov.uk) and probably sending another letter to my MP via https://www.writetothem.com/.
The consultation is open until February.
AND THAT'S THAT
Love and strength to all those who need it - and I'll play us out with "The Trench Coat Museum" by Yard Act.
They're just running a racket.
