D.J. Coffman, a Platinum cartoonist, saw Steve Bennett's comments about Platinum's compensation methods for creators (see 'Confessions of a Comic Book Guy--The Price We'll Pay For Online Comics') and takes issue:

I'd like to take small issue with something Mr. Bennett wrote in his recent column.

'But at least one of the reasons why it might be so inexpensive is that Platinum isn't paying its creators upfront (the lower price tag a reflection of the fact the publisher isn't trying to recoup either an artist's or writer's page rate or an advance).  In a previous column I took Platinum to task for doing this very thing, but upon reflection it occurs to me that my thinking was stuck back in print mode.  Platinum's 'new model' isn't all that new; it's the model we've had for Webcomics for years.'

I'm currently working with Platinum and being paid an industry standard page rate for the books, AND I'm being compensated for my work on the Webcomic that ties into my Hero By Night book.

Platinum is really making some bold moves in these regards, and in fact has been working on a ways to allow the amateur creators on their Drunk Duck network to actually make money with their Webcomics through different media channels.