Will E Worm
Conspiracy...
10 Major Creator Disputes Throughout Comic Book History
Legal battles are becoming nearly as commonplace in comic books as the ones between heroes and villains. There's been the ongoing legal battle between the estates of Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and Warner Bros., which earlier this month saw another major victory for DC's corporate parent.
Then there was the 10-year battle between high-profile comic book creators Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane over the ownership of several characters, which took an unexpected turn last week: News that Angela, one of the characters in dispute, would move from Image's Spawn world to the Marvel Universe, starting with June's Age of Ultron #10.
And the runaway success of The Walking Dead in TV and comic books had something of a pall cast over it last year, with the now-settled litigation between former collaborators Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore.
Of course, these are far from the only such instances in comic book history, and for those looking for a little historical background, here's a list of 10 notable creator disputes throughout the decades. Click "start here" in the upper-left corner to start the countdown. (Albert Ching contributed to an updated version of this article.)
Article
10. THE WALKING DEAD
When a comic-turned-TV show makes enough of an impact that it shatters basic cable records and puts broadcast networks on notice, you know that somebody's making money.
In the case of The Walking Dead, the question was, who?
Robert Kirkman made it pretty clear from the start of the comic that he was the "creator" of TWD (and claims he has the legal documents to prove it). But the artist on the first six issues, Tony Moore, filed suit against him last year, claiming that he's owed as much as half of the proceeds related to the comic series.
The lawsuit garnered lots of mainstream press coverage for the comic-inspired TV show, which is currently nearing the end of its third season.
The case showed that creative disputes aren't reserved for big publishers -- even creator-owned comics can fall victim. In September, Kirkman and Moore released a joint statement, declaring that they had reached "an amicable agreement in their respective lawsuits and all parties have settled the entire matter to everyone's mutual satisfaction," with no further details disclosed.
9. GHOST RIDER/ BLADE / HOWARD THE DUCK
Three of Marvel's comics-to-movies characters have been the subject of much-publicized lawsuits that made waves among the industry and fans.
Howard the Duck was a lawsuit that started in 1980, with Steve Gerber wanting creative control of the character. The agreement between Marvel and Gerber over the disagreement was not made public.
Over a decade later, when Blade was set to hit movie theaters in 1998, creator Marv Wolfman filed suit, alleging that he had not been bound by any work-for-hire contract when he created the character in 1972. Although he later lost the suit, the case showed fans that successful superhero movies do not necessarily benefit the writers and artists who created the characters.
Chatter over the issue was renewed last year, near the theatrical release of the film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. That time, writer Gary Friedrich's lawsuit over his rights to the character got a strange legal ruling attached to it. According to a final judgment in the case, the creator actually owes Marvel $17,000 because he sold Ghost Rider memorabilia at conventions.
Friedrich's lawyers are appealing the ruling, but it worried some comic creators that they can't sketch or sell merchandise featuring the characters they've created -- or a publisher may sue them.
8. VAMPIRELLA
More than one company has wanted to sink their teeth into Vampirella, and the disputes have kept lawyers busy over the years.
When the publishing company that originally owned Vampirella went bankrupt in 1983, Harris Publications acquired the company's assets, including Vampirella and other horror properties like Creepy and Eerie.
But over a decade later, in 1999, James Warren sued to get back the rights. A few legal battles later, Vampirella stayed with Harris, although Warren got Creepy and Eerie.
The lovely vamp's troubles didn't end there. At a 2007 convention, Fangoria Comics Executive Editor Scott Licina was instructed by one of the officers from the corporate parent company to announce that Fangoria had acquired Vampiella from Harris.
Unfortunately, while Fangoria was indeed trying to negotiate for the character, the deal wasn't done, and the premature announcement killed it. But Vampirella did eventually move on to its present publisher, Dynamite.
7. DC VS. BRUNS PUBLICATIONS
When DC had just started publishing Action Comics, with a new character named Superman, it didn't waste any time protecting the asset.
In 1939, DC sought an injunction to stop Bruns Publications from publishing its Wonder Man comic, drawn by the legendary Will Eisner. While Bruns and even Eisner himself claimed in court that Wonder Man was invented before Superman, DC won the case, and Wonder Man was no more.
The result of the lawsuit was important not only for its protection of DC's property, but also because it likely encouraged DC to file its later lawsuit against Fawcett (more on that later).
6. ALAN MOORE
DC Comics has published dozens of Watchmen prequel comics in the past year, but Alan Moore, the writer who came up with the original story, still claims the company "swindled" him out of the publishing rights when he signed DC's "draconian" contracts for both Watchmen and V for Vendetta.
The writer's disdain for DC's treatment of his characters has been the focus of heated debates between comic book fans for years. But it reached a fever pitch when the Before Watchmen series of prequels was announced last year.
Moore told the New York Times that the prequel is "completely shameless." But unlike most of the disputes in this list, Moore's goal is not the riches behind the rights, but instead the integrity of his creation.
"I don't want money," Moore said of the Watchmen prequel. "What I want is for this not to happen."
The altruistic approach isn't surprising, considering his role in the dispute about...
5. MARVELMAN / ANGELA / SPAWN
Marvelman may have been created way back in 1954, but it's still confusing just who owns the rights to the character. Portions of the rights have been owned, at one time or another, by Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Todd McFarlane and -- oddly enough -- the guy who actually created Marvelman, Mick Anglo.
Eventually, Marvel purchased rights from Anglo for his percentage of the character (with a high-profile announcement back in 2009), and some Marvelman stories have been reprinted.
But for years, the rest have been tied up in disputes with Todd McFarlane, who was also being sued by Gaiman over rights to various Spawn characters -- specifically Angela, Cogliostro and Medieval Spawn, who all debuted in the Gaiman-written Spawn #9 back in 1993.
According to Gaiman, he'd reached a verbal agreement with McFarlane over shared ownership. The legal dispute, which began in 2002, was just settled last year, and now the character of Angela -- and Gaiman with her -- is coming to the Marvel Universe, with a first stop in June's Age of Ultron #10.
4. STAN LEE VS. MARVEL
In 2002, Stan Lee filed a $10 million lawsuit alleging that Marvel Comics was cheating him out of millions of dollars in movie profits for the characters he created.
The dispute specifically stemmed from the huge success of Spider-Man, the film that broke box office records but didn't make Lee a dime. And because Lee knew there were upcoming film versions of other characters he'd created, including the X-Men, the Hulk and Daredevil, he asked for millions in compensation.
In 2005, Marvel announced it had settled all outstanding litigation with Lee, although the terms were not disclosed. In 2009, shareholders in Stan Lee Media Inc. filed suit, claiming Lee had promised them a share in profits from the characters he created. That lawsuit was dismissed by the court.
Stan Lee Media, Inc., now no longer affiliated with Lee himself, is now attempting to win billions of dollars in damages from Marvel parent company Disney. Lee was recently reported to be deposed in the case.
3. FAWCETT COMICS VS. NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS
This much publicized lawsuit was the first time comic fans saw Superman battle Captain Marvel, only it wasn't on the pages.
The question was whether Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family were being published in violation of DC's Superman copyright.
At first, DC lost the battle in 1950. But an appeal went the other way. Eventually, Fawcett had to stop publishing comics starring Captain Marvel and paid a settlement of $400,000 to DC. Although DC later acquired the Fawcett characters, the lawsuit resulted in the once hugely popular character being absent from comics for decades -- a circumstance that still haunts his popularity today, although DC's latest attempt at reviving him has been playing out in the pages of the current Justice League series.
2. JACK KIRBY VS. MARVEL
The family of Jack Kirby, the man behind Thor, X-Men and other lucrative Marvel characters, has been trying to claim copyrights on his creations in a lawsuit that has some fans threatening boycott.
Kirby's estate is trying to terminate copyright grants of more than 45 characters that the legendary artist created, and that Marvel constantly utilizes in comics and films. Marvel claims the characters were created as "work for hire" and therefore are owned by Marvel.
In July 2011, the court sided with Marvel. An appeal has been filed, but there hasn't been much news involving this case in the last couple of years.
1. SIEGEL/SHUSTER VS. DC
In 1948, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster started litigation against DC over the copyright to their creations, Superman and Superboy. While DC won the case for Superman, they lost the one for Superboy, and eventually they settled with the two creators.
In 1970, the initial copyright period expired, and they all returned to court, but DC won that time. But in 1976, Congress passed the 1976 Copyright Act that allowed creators to take back certain copyrighted works, which opened the door for more disagreements over the characters.
At one point a few years ago, DC even avoided using the name "Superboy" in its comics because of the pending litigation.
There have been a slew of legal maneuvers since, and DC even filed suit against the lawyer representing the Siegel and Shuster families, making the case one of the longest running and arguably the ugliest creative disputes in comic book history.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Warner Bros. favor against Siegel's heirs this past January, and a U.S. District judge sided against Shuter's family last year. The case persists, though earlier this month a U.S. District judge upheld the January ruling.
