No, you're not. We have pitched Tapas on at least three separate occasions with three different takes on how to monetize the first ad box in every desktop view. The last rendition is currently undergoing review but given its last mentioned position in the priority queue, it could be weeks to months before a decision is made. The last rendition is probably the best because it allows creators to pool resources and lease out the box with their series in rotation in the ad space pro-rated by how much they contributed to the pool.
In the short term we ended up having to give our money to Amazon and Project Wonderful. TopWebComics is next once all the art requirements are done.
If an artist has spent $XX,XXX on schooling, what's $YYY or $Z,ZZZ more in investing in their own work by promoting their series? Art school is a self investment and so is marketing.
Also if Tapas starts generating more ad revenue, it means more ad revenue for the popular series. Hiveworks is charging $2 CPM. Creators here are earning around $.18 CPM. If some Tapas creators are willing to pay for ads that produce more revenue for everyone we're all for that.