Creator's Rights Article by aviewaskewed, 12:28 AM 22nd Nov Disclaimer: The following column is entirely the opinions of the author (even at that we aren‘t sure), any similarity to the opinions of any other staff or affiliate of theendlesscrew.com is entirely coincidental and unintentional. Unless specifically noted otherwise, all creator comments have been gleaned from other sources and no creators have actually endorsed any aspect of this column. A sad, strange week it has been. Hopefully we can get back to something like normal this week. Eddie Guerrero passed away last Sunday. Wrestling and comics have always had a lot in common, one of the saddest things they have in common, is that it seems those at the top, have a horrible record of taking care of the people who’s efforts allow them to have a business. Some of the people responsible for the greatest achievements in comics, like Superman, everything with Batman that wasn’t Batman himself, and others, were totally and utterly ripped off by the publishers who bought, or commissioned such works. Granted, you can say it was a different time, the system was different, and in some cases, very true, but many of these people did not die or get out of the industry until after it had become successful based off of the work they created. Let me tell you a couple of famous stories you’ve probably all heard before that will illustrate my point. These are the stories of, firstly, the two men who created Superman, and then I went to talk about the writer of Batman, the first one, a man that many of you have probably never heard of, and what a crime that is. These men though didn’t just stop at one character, oh no, they created quite a few that are still in print for DC today, and these three were royally messed over by a publisher doing it because they could, because nobody challenged it. It was “the way it is” the bottom line, over the human being. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had an idea. Well, actually, they had an idea, then that idea failed, and they went to Plan B. The two men, had come up with an idea for a character, whom they dubbed “Superman” a bald headed villain with mental powers. This initial idea failed, and they came up with the Superman we know of today (no doubt drawing on their own experiences of being Jewish, and I can’t quite recall if they were immigrants, or the sons of immigrants, to develop much of his origins). They shopped the idea around, and found an interested party in National/DC Comics (the company which would later become DC, simply dropping the “National” part from they’re name), they sold the character to them, transferred the copyright, and became the writer and artist respectively. Now, today, it’s very easy to say “why would you transfer the ownership of your work over to somebody else, where they nuts?” no, they were just looking for a job, and at that time, that’s what you did if you wanted work. The publisher wanted to own the creation because, obviously, they were making an investment in putting the property out there, the risk was on them, not you. So they wanted to control that investment, and reap the benefits of it if it hit. NOBODY could have foreseen how big Superman would hit, the super hero was unknown at that point, Siegel and Shuster had drawn on classic mythological archetypes and abilities, to create something totally new in the bounds of fictional story telling. Not to mention, they were looking for work, they needed the work, needed the money, and this was giving it to them. Not to mention, selling this very successful property to National (and let’s be very clear, Superman has always been a successful property), gave them opportunities to work at National on other projects, Siegel created the original Spectre, Schuster…well, I’m not currently aware of other things he worked on at DC, and creator credits at that point are sketchy. An issue that will play into our next story, and later on in my general point here. Siegel and Shuster were never credited as Superman’s creators, they hadn’t gotten that put in the deal, and at the time? Just wasn’t a big issue, they didn’t think the audience would care, and in those cases where an artist or writer DID have their name listed, they usually worked under a pseudonym so they wouldn’t be black balled from more legitimate writing gigs. It wasn’t like it is now, where people WANT their names credited, and the law makes it unthinkable that you could get away with even a single instance of printing somebody’s work without their name on it. In the 70’s, as the Superman movie came out, the pair sued DC for what they felt their share of the profits were from a creation they had made independently, and DC had made no attempt to try and compensate them for, past the initial fees involved. They won the case, which helped set up a pension plan which is still in place for their survivors to this day. It’s sad that DC had to be quilted into taking care of two men who created their business as it stands now. Superman was a big hit, National wanted another. It was a year later, 1939, they approached a young artist named Bob Kahn (who went by the pen name of Kane, and later I believe had it officially changed to Kane). Kane came back with a character he dubbed Batman, who he would recount in an interview years later, was an idealized version of himself, or at least, Bruce Wayne was. Rich, handsome, successful, Kane admits that his goal with Batman was to create a strip that would do well, something where he could eventually retire from drawing it, and turn it over to ghost artists. Which probably explains why Kane got a better deal then many of the creators before or after him. Kane’s eye was never towards the art, or towards a temporary gig, he saw dollar signs, and a potential franchise (who could blame him? That’s the mandate National handed him, to build a franchise). Kane did Batman as work for hire, DC owns the Bat lock, stock, and barrel, but Kane did a good deal when he agreed to create the character, getting his name affixed as Batman’s creator on any and all works Batman appears in, forever. Kane however, was only an artist, he needed someone to write the stories for his new creation, he turned to his friend Bill Finger. Never heard of Finger? Not surprising, but very sad. Kane created Batman, but Finger reportedly created everything else. All his gadgets, the Batcave, Robin, most of the rogues, all Finger. Yet he got no credit for it, and is largely unremembered. Again, it was at a time when credits were not as important, and reportedly, Finger just loved to work, loved the medium, and would have done it practically for pennies. He also co-created the original Green Lantern Alan Scott. Finger died in the 70’s basically flat broke, unable to get any work at the end of his life due to his reputation for lateness. There is a silver lining to this though, as fans and publications covering the medium in the last few decades have been working pretty diligently to get Finger’s name out there in connection with the work he did to help put Batman on the map, even Kane began later in his life acknowledging the contributions of Finger (whether that was altruistic or not depends on who you talk to about this particular issue). What’s the point of these two oft told stories? They illustrate the heartlessness this business has often shown to it’s founding fathers. If you weren’t smart enough to get a good contract, you get screwed, that’s true even now, though not as bad. Marvel used to stick a sneaky clause into the backs of checks in the 70’s where you weren’t just getting your money, you were also signing away rights to any character you created, or control over your work. Now I believe they’re more upfront about the fact that if you’re working for them (ditto DC) you are doing a work for hire, and you are not in control of how they use the work in the future. Some guys are fine with that, which while it’s nice that they’re happy to get paid, and get their name in the book and all…it’s not helping the next guy out. Image has sprung up as an alternative, but they really can only point to a handful of books as true successes, and even those successes still have books coming out in the mainstream from time to time, so the Image deals may not be making some of them as much money as one would hope. Creator’s rights is often bandied about, and truly, progress is being made, but not enough for most people, and certainly not when you look at dollars and cents. DC and Marvel are making millions off their character library, they exploit these characters in every way imaginable, and are making millions and millions back from them. Most of the original creators are not seeing a dime of that money, some of that though is their own fault since a lot of times when people sue, they’re simply looking to get media attention, and a fast payday out of the company before they settle the claim, sign the rights over, and walk off on their merry way (Joe Simon and Captain America immediately springs to mind). This is once again, damaging to the cause, as the older creators from when the laws were not as formalized, are the one’s that can really set the standards for how business gets done NOW, but it seems many of them are not interested in anything beyond a quick monetary gain, and care to give nothing back to the industry (and on some level I guess I can’t blame them, they already put a lot in, and didn’t get much back, and court battles are expensive). But it’s sad because it’s going to keep giving the companies what they want: An undefined window of what “work for hire” really means to the comics industry. Not to mention it lets them keep getting characters for page rate from creators, that they then turn around and double, or triple, what the paid for it initially, in a few years. I’m not saying Marvel and DC need to completely change their business model or anything, it’s true that many of these characters were done as works for hire, and creators knew the risk, not to mention, if Marvel and DC are paying exorbitant amounts to creators for the rights, they’ll never profit that way, and while the business isn’t broke, it’s still recovering from nearly being crippled in the 90’s. No, what I am suggesting is a kind of “royalty” system, like exists in television and other forms of publishing. Paying creators a certain percentage from money taken in off their works, and/or characters throughout their lives, every time they are reproduced and used (the amount to depend upon how the character is used seems most fair to me). Also, I think it would be good if creators who have made a significant contribution to the company (like a Stan Lee, or a Len Wein who created Wolverine) were given some sort of a stipend when they are done with their careers, or perhaps to be given a “first in line” sort of program for staff jobs in editorial, or some other department when they’re writing or drawing careers end. I know this is probably a pipe dream, after all, as long as creators for the most part have a fan boy attitude towards their work. Or the attitude of “do whatever, as long as the check clears” then nothing will change. Publishers will simply continue to do business the way they do as long as they can get away with it. I’m a believer in creator’s rights, I hope there does come a day when we see real change. Eddie Guerrero’s death has motivated World Wrestling Entertainment to put in a new mandatory drug testing policy. Something I never thought possible. So maybe it’s not too late for comics, maybe with the movies, and the money coming in, we will see the right people in power who will make more and more changes for the betterment of the creators, and the staff. Notes: Waving the news section this week, as the column is very late, I will say I’m happy Harvey Pekar is doing more work with DC, if you haven’t already, go try his new autobiographical work The Quitter from Vertigo. Thanksgiving is Thursday and I would like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your loyal patronage of this site, it is a pleasure bringing you the news, and this humble column each and every week. The Endless Crew has been a wonderful part of my life, I hope it’s been the same for you. Take care of yourselves, and have a wonderful holiday. Back to Rants