Comic Books are an amazing medium.
They have such versatility and subtlety when done right. The creators (writers,
artists, inkers, etc.) have a virtually unlimited pallet with which to mold and
shape their story. Comparisons between movies and comic are made all the time
due to the nature of visual storytelling. Hell storyboards are essentially long
form comics where all the panels are the same shape and size. However, comics are
not movies. Even though a great number of films are based off of comics. I hear
you saying ‘It can’t be that many.’ Listen really hard and you’ll hear me
laughing manically. There are more than you think and some you would never
suspect. But that is a topic for another day.
In the
movie biz it is common of for somebody to have a great idea and start to work
with others to bring said idea to fruition. That’s how it works in comics as
well. Wondering where I’m going with this? Good. Stick around and you’ll
understand. In the movie biz it is likewise not unheard of for someone to completely
screw another involved party (like a co-creator) out of a decent (or any) share
of the profits when it comes time to strike deals with studios. This is where
comics are drastically different. As an industry comic creators are a pretty
tight group. They look out for one another and communicate with one another
unlike any other community of creative individuals in the world. Like I said
drastically different from Hollywood....until now.
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| The only Walking Dead trade worth reading #PayTonyMoore |
I’m sure
that you’ve all heard of ‘The Walking Dead’, but if you’ve been living in a
cave in the bottom of Mariana Trench allow me to elucidate. The Walking Dead
started life as a black and white comic book written by Robert Kirkman, with
artwork by Tony Moore. It was FANTASTIC… for 6 issues. Then Moore left the book
and a new artist was brought in. I don’t know why Moore left the book, and I
also don’t understand why Kirkman brought in an artist with such a drastically
different style to replace Moore, but that’s what happened. I also can’t speak
to bait and switch tactics on Kirkman’s part or if he just wanted to have the
issues cranked out as fast as possible; don’t know, and honestly don’t care. No
offense to Charlie Adlard but my eyes would SCREAM in agony every time I looked
at the book from issue 7 on. Now the book is nearing issue 100 and is also a
major TV show on AMC garnering much praise and making money hand over fist.
I hear you
saying ‘Yay, a comic book becomes an awesome TV that people love and the
creators are being well paid for their creation. What’s the problem?’ Well
firstly Robert Kirkman is being well paid for his and Tony Moore’s creation.
Moore however is getting completely shafted when it comes to a share of the
profits from the TV show. Kirkman apparently refuses to give Moore his due as
far as a share of the profits. So Moore has now taken the only recourse he has
and filed suit against Kirman to get the money that he is rightfully owed. Also
Kirkman’s lawyers are apparently going to go after Moore for $17k for court
costs. You can do an Internet search to find out the particulars of the case;
meanwhile I have more pressing concerns. #PayTonyMoore
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| Marvel Spotlight #5 #GaryGhostRider |
This whole
Kirkman vs. Moore thing is part a disturbing trend I have noticed in the comics
industry lately; creators getting screwed out of their creations. Another example
of this is Gary Friedrich vs. Marvel. This whole situation breaks my heart
(YES, I actually do have a heart!). Gary created Ghost Rider way back in 1968
in the pages of Marvel Spotlight #5. Gary went on to write and draw many
stories with his character for Marvel. Gary is now in his 60’s. He is trying to
make ends meet by selling his own artwork of Ghost Rider at conventions and
online. In 2007 Gary filed suit against Marvel, Columbia Pictures, Hasbro and
other companies claiming that the rights to the character had reverted back to
him in 2001 due to Marvel not registering the first appearance in Spotlight #5
with the Copyright office. Marvel counter sued in 2010 and on Feb 6th
of this year the court found in favor of Marvel and enforced Marvel’s demand for
Friedrich to pay $17,000 in damages (this is what they claim he has made from
the sale of his unauthorized merch). Also Friedrich cannot call himself Ghost
Rider’s creator for monetary gain, nor can he sell ANYTHING with GR’s image on
it (doesn’t matter if it’s a piece of original artwork or not), and can only
sell autographs on officially Marvel licensed GR merchandise. I order to help
Gary in this difficult time Steve Niles has started a donation drive. Please
check out the page (http://www.steveniles.com/gary.html),
spread the word and donate if you can. #GaryGhostRider
Now I can
understand that Marvel wants to protect it’s IP (Intellectual Property; for
those wondering) but for fuck sake Marvel, $17,000 from a guy that is barely
making ends meet as it is? ‘Cause you know, you don’t have a new Ghost Rider
movie coming out THIS FUCKING WEEKEND that is sure to make more than $17K on
it’s opening night alone! I suppose that this is what is to be expected now
that HIMLER mouse has control. But the sale of original artwork at conventions
and online is what makes me worried. A huge part of conventions is artist alley
where you can get an original sketch (made just for you) by a talented artist
of any character you’d like. Not only do you go home with a piece of artwork
that NOBODY else has, but you’re also helping to supplement the income of said
artist.
However if
this new decree by Marvel takes precedent then that wonderful part of EVERY
convention goes they way of the dodo. This makes me doubly sad because I am and
have always been a Marvel Zombie. But now that Disney owns Marvel, I’m torn
straight down the middle. I want to continue to enjoy my books and the
characters within, but I don’t want to support a company has no sense of honor
and decency. I don’t want to see the comics industry become soulless and empty.
As fans we need to speak out against garbage like this and let companies know
that we will not allow them to ruin the sense of community that this industry
was built upon.
Here are some links to check out that pertain to the topics
I discussed in this post:
