Playing in other people's toyboxes: At Ninth Art, Alasdair Watson wonders what appeal Marvel and DC's properties hold for comics creators:

"Beyond the financial aspect, I just don't understand what the reward is in working on SUPERMAN, or X-MEN, or any of these other properties. And it's not because I hate them (I don't), or because I think they're for kids (I do), or because I'm a snob (I may well be, but it's not really relevant). I just plain don't see the point in working creatively for someone else. I don't see the point in working creatively in a situation where the aspiration is commercial success, rather than the freedom to say what you think, (other than, I guess, the ability to have a lifestyle that allows you to set your own hours, and spend a lot of time inside your own head)."