So John Allison from Scary Go Round comics had to ditch the Conan webcomic he was doing. Yesterday he deleted everything he had done so far.
>>143328028John Allison is not someone I'd pick to draw Conan.
>>143328028What a pussy lol. A pan-Atlantic C&D would be impossible to pursue for the company as well as him being totally in the legal clear. If that was the title though he was encroaching on their trademark, not their copyright, and would just need to change the name of the project - not even the name of the character within the contents. He just clearly has no spine or heart.
>>143328028eh, give it four years and they can't do shit
Based. This is what he gets for being a f*n making f*n c*nt*nt.
>>143328028Anyone saved it?
>>143328028But we only got through the first death-trap
>>143328028That sucks. I hate it when companies go after fan projects.
>>143328088That's the way a lot of these "companies" for these old properties like Conan, Zorro, Tarzan, etc. work. Even if they don't have the rights because it's public domain, the intent is to scare people or failing that drown them in legal costs do fighting and winning isn't worth it. Would be nice if there were legal organizations that took these kinds of cases pro bono or whatever but that's not going to happen.
>>143328506This wasn’t just a fan project, no matter how he tries to say that, it if garnered some traffic he’d have collected it and sold it. The character is public domain though so I don’t see a problem with it other than encroaching on the trademark.
>>143328529A cease and desist isn’t a lawsuit. They wouldn’t have gone any further even if he persisted. They’d have to actually prove there was monetary damage done. The best lesson to learn is a C&D means absolutely nothing.
>>143328028Just wait til 2028
>>143328576That’s when the aliens make their presence known.
>>143328088>not even the name of the character within the contents. Really?
>>143328028Good! If just ANYONE can use Conan, how is Conan's creator meant to keep food on the table?
>>143329559Anon, I...
If you search the title it still shows up cached on Google images
>>143328575Isn't that how Nintendo scares people off?
>>143329559gravity
>>143329671I was able to get 33 pages from his site, the files are still accessible but not linked. I don't have an autoposter and it's too late to be post manually.start with badmachinery com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-02-19.pngthe /01/ increments once you get about halfway thru the next monthLast one I found was 04-29
>>143330160Well played.
>>143330424Damn, it may not be Peak Conan, but this DOES at least look fun. Fucking "Estate" vultures.
>>143330424>Last one I found was 04-29It keeps going; seems he uploaded all the way up to July. So parts 1 and 2 are complete, but there are only 7 pages for part 3.
this guy is actually a funny writer that I would like to get a big 2 series but editors haven’t hired him for some reason
>>143328088>He just clearly has no spine or heart.and you're a limp dick keyboard warrior. would you want to spend 4+ years of your life in court for a dumbass webcomic you probably don't even care about that much?
>>143330984he could have done what Ablaze did and just renamed it to the Cimmerian or something else like Hyperboran adventures
>>143328028>to the best of my understand Conan is public domainHe's not. Conan premiered in 1932, And even if he was the name Conan The Barbarian is a very different matter as that title goes to marvel in the 1970s. REH never actually used that title or branding. So basically Allison is a moron.
Does anyone else feel like the wider internet seems to understand what public domain means about as well as they understood what free use means? Because I swear It feels like they hear these words and suddenly think everything is up for grabs.
>>143331024>He's not. Conan premiered in 1932,Which doesn't matter because John Allison lives in the UK. The original REH Conan has been public domain in the UK (and the rest of Europe) because they go by "life of author + 70" and not the 95 year rule. Since REH died in 1936, Conan went PD in the 2000s.If Allison lived in the US then it'd be a little murkier because there's debate over whether various REH Conan stories (including the first) are public domain or not. Ablaze is able to publish the Conan stories from Europe under the name The Cimmerian for that reason. If he got a cease and desist either he fucked up and used elements that came from later stories, or this is an intimidation tactic from the rights holders.
>>143330549Yeah, this has "fill-in issue for the original 70s Marvel comic" vibes, and I'm down for that. I guess he could just wait a few years until Conan becomes public domain in the USA
>>143331042Yes, but the reverse is also truePeople suddenly assume you can't use something because of trademark. If that were true Disney should've been able to stop Blood and Honey ftom being called Winnie-the-Pooh The Conan rights holders seem to be getting aggressive about it because Titan currently has the rights (and they're located in the UK) and they won a suit against a guy in Spain who couldn't afford a lawyer
>>143329743It's a common business practice.A cease & desist is essentially challenging someone to a game of chicken.The recipient tends is scared off by the thought of a head-on collision in court.
>>143331180>If he got a cease and desist either he fucked up and used elements that came from later stories, or this is an intimidation tactic from the rights holders.Given the fact that he seems to think the brand is actually called Conan the Barbarian I'm willing to put this on him.
The first and second part were posted in full on his Patreon, did anyone download them?
>>143330984>court A cease and desist isn’t a lawsuit >>143328969Yes. See: captain marvel and other Conan comics
>>143330424This is dreadful.
>>143328065that's the point of indie media and do it yourself, you get to pick yourself just because you want to.
>>143330984Seethe more retard. You’re the one that deleted your own comic from the internet because you’re a spineless little faggot.
>>143330424I found all the way to 05-17.
>>143332850>>143330424>Conan for kidsNothing of value was lost
>>143333146>cartoony artwork means it's for kids
>>143332850Does Conan fugg Lottie at the end? All /co/ wants to know
>>143333213Are there tits? Is there violence?
>>143328088>>143328969it's on the title page.>>143330998Like Kronar in Dark Miasma.
>>143333265>Are there tits? Is there violence?No. Yes.
>>143333146A property can be done in anyway the author sees fir. It is up to the audience to like it or not.
>>143330424>>143332850>>143334008>that artYeah, no. You don't stick to your college slop-of-life art style when you draw something like Conan.
>>143334245>A property can be done in anyway the author sees fir.This doesn’t mean it’s automatically worth doing. And int his case it’s useless. So nothing of value was lost.
>>143334095No tits? no reason to make it.
>>143330424>>143332850This doesn't look very good. What Conan comics should I actually read?
>>143334327Ask him for a refund
>>143335326outside of the original pulp stories the Dark Horse run by Busiak is good,the current run by Titan is also fine other than that the Old Savage Sword issue are also good
>>143334008First time ever seeing this or hearing of the creator. I can confidently say that I’m genuinely happy to hear CPI did this. The world needs less faggy re-imaginings of things.
>>143328410Horrifyingly, most of it doesn't seem to be on archive.orghttps://web.archive.org/web/20240227073618/https://badmachinery.com/comic/bounteous-harvests/
>>143336740Actually I'm wrong, a lot of it is. Start here:https://web.archive.org/web/20240227073537/https://badmachinery.com/comic/conan-the-blood-egg-starts-monday/
>>143328028Why can’t he just call it Bonan
>>143335326
>>143337039This is awful. Everything I’ve seen ITT is making me appreciate this being bullied out of business lol
How do I find the page after this one?https://badmachinery.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-06-17.png
>>143328088>Wanting to risk getting sucked into some harmony gold shitNo
>>143328969For a long while DC was publishing comics called Shazam but still used the Captain Marvel nameErik Larsen was using the Golden Age Daredevil in Savage Dragon and still called him Daredevil within the comicAblaze is publishing the European Conan comics under the title The Cimmerian
>>143337508Oh so you mean exactly what anon said: >>143331891
>>143337516Yeah
>>143332850Generic crap meant to hurt the Conan brand. They were right to go after him.Create your own character and world if you have a bad idea. No need to drag another creator's work through the mud.
>>143337039and this man has won Eisner's by the way
>>143338058>meant to hurt the Conan brand.What?
>>143328575Ignoring a C&D is automatic triple damages here in the States when you loseRemember the Cybiko? The company went bankrupt when they ignored C&Ds over a patent infringement
>>143334327He finally did something stupider than his protege Jeph Jacques
>>143338279So has BendisIt's a worthless plaudit
Well I really like this comic and most John Allison comics in general.
>>143333146It can workhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT3cl4GJIDs
>>143338058>Create your own characterYour Lin Carter and Sprauge De Camp aren't you?
I’m plowing through the complete REH right now and I can’t see what a numale webcomic fag would like about it.BTW A Gent From Bear Creek is the funniest thing I’ve ever read, and the Solomon Kane story where he fights harpies is the most insane thing I’ve ever read.
>>143338839Solomon Kane rules.
>>143338839>the Solomon Kane story where he fights harpies is the most insane thing I’ve ever read.Wings in the Night?yeah Kane going completely insane in the later half of that story makes it kinda go off the rails
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BXd7nuJkPQ
>>143332850How'd you find that?
>>143338839People can like multiple things, go figure.
>>143340892Yikes
>>143338839>I can’t see what a numale webcomic fag would like about itNumales love Conan.
>>143341214
>>143338279Eisners have been a “head pats for the good girls and good boys” award for close to two decades.
>>143337039>>143334008>>143332850>>143330424Jesus Christ this is fucking awful. For once I’m on the side of big business, fuck this guy.
>>143341157>>143341278So you’re upset he’s not triggered by this or something?
>>143341278"Nigger" is not the best numale deterrent. Even the biggest fags will continue to read that stuff after acknowledging that it's heckin' racist.Besides, how many of those are Conan?
>>143341344Just surprised that this guy would read Howard, let alone like him
>>143341426Maybe get out more then.
>>143341409None because it wouldn’t fit the setting, but Conan has it’s share of yikesy stuff, like anti-“Shemite”ism
>>143341463God forbid someone express a mildly prejudicial opinion on 4chan
>>143336846Everyone would assume it's a porn parody and be kinda disappointed or relieved halfway through.
>>143338839>>143338983>the Solomon Kane story where he fights harpies is the most insane thing I’ve ever readIn a good or bad way?
>>143341157Don't dogs in general often hate black people?
>>143329743The difference is that Nintendo is insane enough to pursue legal action to the fullest. Remember, there's a dude who literally has to give up a 1/4 of his monthly earnings for the rest of his life to pay off Nintendo for selling hacking tools.
>>143342242Oh wow what the hell
>>143342260Look up (no fucking joke) Gary Bowser. He owes them $10 Million in damages, so they get to take that much every month.
>>143329559Hunting? From what I understand, the guy knows his way around a gun.
>>143341426He obviously doesn’t like Conan, hence making this effeminate gay ass comic
>>143342913Many a lanky-ass gayward-looking kid loved Conan. I'm sure Pendleton Ward likes Conan, but him drawing Conan in his own style would look goofy as fuck.
>>143337082>out of businessMy dude it wasn't for sale.>>143334327>Yeah, no. You don't stick to your college slop-of-life art style when you draw something like Conan.Are you implying that Conan is too weak a character to be presented in a wide variety of styles?
Wait, when did /co/ start hating or not remebering John Allison?Guy has been putting out webcomics and now actual comics for nearly 30 years?
>>143343861I think they're pattern-matching him to cartoonists who he is superficially similar to but actually very different from, not to mention more talented than.
>>143343861You need to understand that 2016 broke /co/ (and America in general, but the /co/ part is relevant here). Everything has to be put into a woke/nonwoke paradigm, and hated/loved based on which side it's on. Usually hated, because the retards that do this shit tend to hate artists/writers in general.
>>143341949It's great.
>>143343861Why do you faggots act all surprised that people don’t like webcomics creators? Or act like people must be unfamiliar with him to have always hated scary go round or giant days?>>143343995Shut up you election tourist.
>>143343995case in point: >>143344111
>>143343861It is probably just that one autistic anon that hates Public Domain and thinks companies should own everything forever.He was especially triggered after the Pooh horror movie and spamming threads. He’s a MASSIVE bootlicker.
>>143344138Samefagging is pathetic
>>143344169>if you hate this faggy looking comics you must hate the public domain Holy delusional cock sucker Batman
>>143340426>How'd you find that?I followed >>143330424 's instructions.
>>143344111>Why do you faggots act all surprised that people don’t like webcomics creators?The board used to be much more in favor of webcomics creators. Hell, we even hailed the likes of Poppy O'Possum.>Shut up you election tourist.Fellow oldfags know I'm right. /co/ was never good, but holy shit was it better than it is now.
>>143344462Bro I’ve been here for well over a decade. The /co/ is love era was shill-driven bullshit to make the place more palatable and allow for AMA type shit without everyone calling people faggots and webcomics, outside of you dweebs who always liked them, have been looked down upon outside of specific threads. Because they’re all poorly drawn, gay as fuck and poorly written. I actually don’t even disagree that the board has gone to shit but I resent faggots like you imagining disliking things is a new phenomenon.
>>143344066Neat, it sounds right up my alley. Thank you.
>>143344515>Bro I’ve been here for well over a decadeSo a newfag.
>>143331024>And even if he was the name Conan The Barbarian is a very different matter as that title goes to marvel in the 1970s.It predates the Marvel title. "Conan the Barbarian" was used as the title of a 50s book collecting some of REH's stories:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian_(1955_collection)That said I think it should still be copyrighted unless somehow someone screwed up and didn't renew it. I don't know if there's another thing that used the name "Conan the Barbarian" that predates this though
>>143343861i just never bothered to read web comics so i just don't know who he is i thought it was anon-de-plume in a reference to the James alison REH stories
>>143345197>i just never bothered to read web comicsThat's like a third of our content in the board.
>>143345523no it isn't, most threads for the past couple of years are about Cartoons exclusively and those people refuse to read comics of any kind webcomic content is at most 5% maybe 10% of the board at any given time
>>143337437Anon from >>143330424 here, I wrote a script to show any image in folders /01 thru /08/ with filenames from 02-19 thru 12-31. I couldn't find anything after 06-17, I think that's the last one available. So, 55 images total.
>>143334008>reasonable looking Conan palling around with with the stereotypical wallpaper webcomic interpretations of Fantasy charactersKinda weird, ngl. Too bad about what happened to the author, but I wouldn't read this.
>>143344515>Because they’re all poorly drawn, gay as fuck and poorly written.I find this funny, because this is my main gripe with 99% of professionally published American comics, and capes in particular. So I guess you're a Eurocomics reader? Not like we have many threads about those.
>>143345523>That's like a third of our content in the board.The fuck it is. Most of time it's an avalanche of cartoon fags making constant shit threads and decent amount of comic fags bitching about comics.
>>143343861I love webcomics, but you have to understand there have always been shitloads of them. The last time when there were webcomics that you could assume everyone who has into webcomics read was... what? The heyday of Penny Arcade? Maybe XKCD for a few years before part of the audience grew out of their adolescent smug science phase? I heard about Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery from the usual sources, but here's a very simple fact about me: I hate "slice of life" garbage. Can't deal with it. So I never read them, and I don't know the creator's name.And what was it with that time where people would give their webcomics a random name that had nothing to do with the subject matter?
>>143337082That's unfair. John Allison draws surreal suburban rom-coms. He'd be the first to tell you that he's no expert in Fantasy Pulp Adventure and he openly billed his Conan story just as a change of pace for a lark.
>>143346281>I love webcomics, but you have to understand there have always been shitloads of them.Are there any more, though? Most of the college art kids doing their webcomics as a side project in their free time have aged out. Currently-updated webcomics are a fraction of what they were during the golden age in the 2000s.
>>143346389It's not like I'm keeping a tally or anything. Things changed, of course. The barrier for entry was raised as more artists flooded into the hobby, and the artists there were already there (but were shit) got better. So it's relatively rare to see the old flavor of webcomic where a 16 year old with an anime obsession and the holy conviction his/her edgy musings were the mark of greatness picked up a stylus and just went to town. But it's not like webcomics are dying or anything. I regularly stumble upon active webcomics that have been going for years, and yet I never heard of them before. And that's without getting into Webtoons, obviously. Turns out there was a massive market for shitty romance. But the sort of comic I want to read on Webtoons is few and far between.
>>143346281>but here's a very simple fact about me: I hate "slice of life" garbage.Another fact about you: you're very incurious and lazy and clearly don't bother to look past your first impressions. Allison has been tending to his own little garden for decades but I wouldn't call his stories slice-of-life. Before this Conan tale, his project for the last couple of years was Steeple, about a priest fighting off witches, sea monsters, off-brand Transformers and his lodger's problematic advances in a West Country village.
>>143346470Curious tactic, trying to convince me to read his shit by insulting me. But you'll note I mentioned his most well known webcomics, the ones I actually know about through people talking about them. Both are very firmly slice of life. Can I just like what I like? Because everything I've seen thus far still looks like the sort of twee nonsense I'm just not into. Literally all I'm saying is that there is no such thing as a universal like for any one artist or comic. Why do you have a problem with that?
>>143346281I've stopped caring about webcomics since 8bit theater started, perfected and killed off the sprite comic period.
>>143346228This.
>>143330760he didn't finish uploading part 2 on the site, it was only released in full on his Patreon, which isn't fully archived on Kemono to my knowledge.
I wanna move overseas and spend the rest of my life making knock-off toys of popular IPs just to spite the general idea of IPs.I am jealous of the guys who already make a living doing this.
>>143346354John stop this third person shit. It’s not just your art style that makes your Conan sickening. It’s the designs, both character and costume wise, themselves and the horrid writing. The art style is a terrible fit obviously but that doesn’t excuse the awful costuming. >>143345046You’re thinking of trademark. If the collected stories are all public domain they’re all public domain. Trademark is what he’s really up against. But this is one of the rare times, just like I wished happened with that killer Winnie the Pooh, in which I’m all in favor of the creator being slapped down. Normally I’m all for PD, they need to lessen the time period things are held on to frankly, but I hate shit like this intentionally made to subvert the original.
>>143346470This also looks like dogshit.>problematicJust say >I’m a massive faggot And move on
>>143346281I wouldn't really describe any of his comics outside of Giant Days and Bobbins as slice of life
It's funny to me how offended /co/nan fans get over things, yet there's never any sustained Conan threads here.
>>143348448Seethe more John.
>>143348448some anon storytimed a lot of Conan last year which stayed up for decent amount of time so it's not like REH doesn't have fans on the board
>>143343995>2016Newfag detected. This shit started to be a problem in 2014.
>>143346041ty
>>143328575>They wouldn’t have gone any further even if he persisted.You've clearly never heard of Zorro Productions, Inc. who file lawsuits against anyone that uses the character even if they're only using material that's explicitly in the public domain. They've gone after Sony, people making musicals and even an Italian comedian who simply dressed up as Zorro and they'll fight these legal battles for years.
>>143348448>offendedI understand that this is your sort's permanent state of being, but saying something looks like shit isn't the same thing as being offended by its existence. It just means you think something looks like shit.>yet there's never any sustained Conan threads hereYou are aware that Conan is first and foremost a body of literary work, right? Of all people familiar with Conan, it's most likely that the largest part of them know him through the Arnie movies, the second largest part through the stories themselves, and only then we get into people for whom he's primarily a comic character. And I'd wager there are vast rifts between all of these groups. In short, it's likely that a lot of people who think this doesn't do justice to Conan don't read other Conan comics, either. And that's fine, because Conan is not a comics character, so they don't need to in order to form a well motivated opinion.
>>143343861/co/ is full of zoomies who were literal children during Scary Go Round's time.
>>143343861the day of the webcomic is long dead and his last print comic didn't exactly set the world on fire
Allison created my large wife so he's alright by me no matter what he doesBlood Egg was fun
>>143349988This looks really gay.
>>143350075>tfw no large Australian redhead to call you a spunk
>>143349988>>143350463Geez, that guy hit the jackpot.
>>143351037truly
>>143328575>A cease and desist isn’t a lawsuit. They wouldn’t have gone any further even if he persisted.No, they DID persist with someone else who ignored the C&D. There was a case about half a decade ago where CPI sued a guy from Spain who was doing Conan miniatures to sell. He sort of ignored the C&D and changed the names and then that was when CPI filed the lawsuit They won mainly because the guy either couldn't go to New York or couldn't afford a lawyer to defend him on his behalf in New York, and prior to the lawsuit had been promoting his miniatures with Conan stuff that was still copyrighted (ie Frazetta Conan images). Hell, even one of his miniatures was going to be the Frazetta Conan pose John Allison is in a better position on account his Conan webcomic is free. Having looked through his comic it may be that the issue is using the Conan name in the title and that his Conan looks too close to the copyrighted one. Wiki says the following:>Conan has "sullen", "smoldering", and "volcanic" blue eyes with a black "square-cut mane". Howard once describes him as having a hairy chest and, while comic book interpretations often portray Conan as wearing a loincloth or other minimalist clothing to give him a more barbaric image, Howard describes the character as wearing whatever garb is typical for the kingdom and culture in which Conan finds himself.This might be why in most of the Cimmerian comics that reprint the Euro Conan tales, Conan is usually wearing pants rather than a loincloth. Honestly, Allison should just try to negotiate it, he's not making money from that webcomic other than advertising, is he?
>>143351217he's got his Patreon
>>143351217Frazetta Conan isn’t at all the same. Those imaged are firmly copyrighted. And I’d have to see the details, I would assume - again - the contention was actually trademark not copyright.
>>143349988>>143350463>>143351090I genuinely think the art could be good if he didn’t intentionally make everyone so fucking faggy.
>>143347874Then you're not actually for PD. Be honest with yourself and stop pretending
>>143351307what does that even mean
>>143331024None of the original Howard stories as published in Weird Tales were ever renewed. So they are PD in the US, Shut the fuck up and quit speaking up on a subject you clearly don't know anything about
>>143351393Soft and frail looking with no edges.
>>143351393Women are all ugly which I’m sure John would claim is realistic despite his art not being realistic at all. The white dude is effeminate and weak.
>>143351584Allison did not draw Giant Days but the women can be pretty nice when they're not making cartoonishly exaggerated expressions
>>143351619That dress is, indeed, doing fine.
>/co/ hates John Allison nowThis place is dead.
>>143351619Every single one of them on that page is hideous though. >>143352726You already did this here: >>143343861
>>143352726It's really more just an old gen x fucker obsessed with perceived masculinity in comics lol.
>>143352837/co/ has some faggy taste sometimes. This guy's shit and Octopus Pie or whatever it's called are comics for women.
>>143352726this simply ain't a place for comics anymore.too many tourists and culture war spergs.
>>143351289You mean for the lawsuit over the miniatures?https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Conan-figurine-pic-1.pdfThis was the evidence used in the caseUnlike the miniatures guy's Conan infringement, John Allison's Conan definitely doesn't look like Frazetta's version, but it might have some elements similar to other copyrighted Conan which might've gotten it on CPI's radar. Or it could just be because of the title.Hey that reminds me, didn't Chuck Dixon put out two Conan novels last year, that made pretty clear it was the public domain version?
>>143352837Esther is a qt and her shoulder devil gives me an erection
>>143352908Octopus Pie ended 8 years dude. How is that still in your frame of reference for things?Be honest, how old are you?
>>143353002NTA, but it's in the same time frame as this guy's shit.
>>143353002There's a guy or girl that shills it constantly to this day.
>>143352934>>143352726Why do you keep samefagging? You’ve done it at least 4 or 5 times ITT
>>143353517don't be so pissy cuz you don't know anything about comics except your mcu shitflings turista.
>>1433496042012 is when things started their slide to shit, imo.
I did enjoy his batman comic, which is funny that he got away with a batman comic but not a conan one.
>>143353925he did a Wolverine/Kitty Pryde comic where they save Bruce Springsteen from Lady Deathstrike recently too, but it looks like this incident scared him into taking that down as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he's taken down the Batman comic too.
>>143353925the Conan estate is known for being overly Latigis at times
>>143353983Howard died with no heirs, there is no "estate." Some private company owns the trademark and is extremely aggressive about trying to fleece small-timers who use Conan, and larger publishers and producers who don't want to get into a legal fight over it.
>>143354096Conan estate, not Howard estate.
>>143354686right, there is no such thing
>>143355165It's a placeholder.
>>143355937a placeholder for what? There is no "Conan estate," a private company bought the Conan trademark and uses it to make money
>>143355952That's it.
>>143352726It's been dead, boyo.
>>143341426He is cute and I want to have sex with his butt. I want him to keep the glasses on.
>>143332850Lmao poor Glorm.
>>143358797Yglyn's a stout lad, he'll be fine
>>143358821He has the physicality of a reed and exists in a perpetual state of being bullied by the two smallest women in the Tackleverse.>GIWTWM
>>143341426>Just surprised this geek would want to read something extremely geekyFrank Frazetta was an extreme outlier.
>>143358923>>GIWTWMno, it's Gurm
Boo hoo.
>>143330923He has done a couple of things for marvel here and there, and Giant Days and steeple were published by Dark Horse>>143328529A company whose only reason for existing is to squat on a particular IP is of course going to defend it reflexively, it's literally their only move
>>143358933did Frazetta even bother to read the contents of the stories that he was writing the covers for?
