**** SPOILER ALERT!!! ****
*** Well, MINOR spoilers... but nothing too bad, really... Mostly behind the scenes stuff.****
From the Designing the P.S.I. World (Part 1: The World) (http://xepher.net/forum/index.php?topic=854.0):
QuoteQuote from: Celtic Minstrel on March 22, 2009, 03:19:35 PM
Why don't you just make your own Reaper? I'm not sure how to deal with the appearance of Jack earlier on, but it seems to me that using a new character would be better than using someone else's character. Cameos are one thing; integrating someone else's character into your comic as a canon character is quite another, and I don't think it would be a good idea to do something like that without permission from the character's owner.
It is one of the considerations, to make my own reaper.
Like I said, I had permission to use Jack before... but I doubt I can really use Jack for the future plans I have as it kinda does detract from JACK's afterlife model too much. So devising how to explain Jack is something I have several ideas for.... and I have a new reaper design in mind. ;)
Also, as far as Anissa, I actually also had permission to use her as well ;) :P She is still supposed to come into play in PSI at some point.. but for how much, I am not certain.
Same goes for Lucy. I had permission for that. If I use her again, it will be related to the original webcomic version of her, not the new to-be-printed version. I'm sure Mat won't mind as long as I use her properly... as Lucy coming back in the future of PSI is just as determinable as Anissa is.
There have been several other cameos that lasted no more than a page or so. These characters don't really matter a whole lot... even if they break some rules... because they are cameos, they don't have to follow the rules.
Sometimes I've had "Extended Cameos" (such as Lucy), These kinda go hand-in-hand with the whole "Alternate version" thing. If some recal the graveyard, I had a couple of ghost characters from other webcomics. They were extended cameos, but really don't relate directly to their original webcomics at all. However, the reader just need to know that there are ghosts, and who specifically they are and what they do, are not that important to the PSI story.
"Extended Cameos" such as Lucy, will get a spot on the cast page, because they are somewhat imprtant or involved with the comic and/or characters... However, it may not be anything more than a simple avatar.
Then I have Crossover characters. The first was Combo, that bunny from Floppity. This was canon for both comics. Other crossovers may not be canon for them, but they were for PSI... thus these crossover characters get a spot on my cast page, with full description, as these are important characters, relative to the comic and story.
Although... simple crossovers that are very short stints (almost simple cameo-like) will probably not get cast page mentions.
Well, you can use Ardra characters in perpetuity for any and all cameos, as long as you let me know beforehand. But you probably knew that already.
It really only gets tricky if you're trying to publish a collection as a book. Then you have to go back and ask everybody for permission all over again. For comics that have disappeared, and their creators along with them, it might be difficult. Not sure if you have any like that among your cameos, but I have a few like that among my guest comics.
Quote from: ArdraCreator on March 24, 2009, 11:54:43 PM
It really only gets tricky if you're trying to publish a collection as a book. Then you have to go back and ask everybody for permission all over again. For comics that have disappeared, and their creators along with them, it might be difficult. Not sure if you have any like that among your cameos, but I have a few like that among my guest comics.
Like I said, "P.S.I.: The Webcomic" will never be printed. "P.S.I.: The Print Comic" (if it ever happens) would be a separate, similar, but different, parallel storyline.... which may actually, kinda still be cannon in some ways.... In any case, I would not be using any characters I don;t have the rights too.