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Added by G-Man on Nov. 24, 2009
It's always a sticky situation when creators come up with a new character for a major publisher. It's pretty much known going in that any new characters will immediately belong to the publisher. Creators could save their creations for their own personal projects but then they won't be able to interact with a huge established universe. Having your creation go on to become popular could be enough of a reward but let's be honest. If you created a hero that ends up being so popular they start appearing on cartoons or movies, you'd want a little more than just that warm feeling inside.
Bleeding Cool mentioned that Marvel has contacted "almost all their comic book creators over the last decade or so" to inform them about a new "Special Character Policy." Apparently in the e-mail that went out, the policy states "for certain uses of a character, provides some additional compensation, above and beyond what you've already received." The creator simply has to tell Marvel what character they created and their first appearance along with anyone else that worked on creating the character and a Special Character Committee will determine if the creator is eligible. If the character appears in a movie, game, etc, the creator could get some extra money.
The creator will then have to sign another Special Character Agreement contract. The details of this are not clear and it might give full ownership to Marvel. Now that Marvel is owned by Disney, it seems they want to make sure they avoid any lawsuits in the future. DC has been dealing with paying creators for some of the recent Batman movies.
This almost seems like a no-brainer. I would be curious to see what specifically the "new" policy requires them to do or relinquish. I'm also wondering what would happen if a creator doesn't agree to these terms. Would that circumstance have to go to the courts? How much ownership should a creator have? Should they give up some rights just to have their creations part of an established universe?
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Marvel Publishing
21 Comments
This could be good for them. They could be getting something they were not getting anything before, because it's still sub-contracted.
Okay, maybe I'm just seeing things, but does anyone else thing that it looks like Man-Thing has.... hair?
...And I don't mean on his head.
@xerox-kitty said:
Exactly.
"This sounds simplistic to the point of ridiculousness. I can just see comic writers googling & searching CV for the first appearances of their characters in order to claim royalties ;) Still, I genuinely am glad that Marvel are going to show recognition to their creators. "
Exactly.
I think it's a good idea to have an updated policy. I'm sure that when these creators first introduced their characters, they didn't consider digital comics, movies, dvds, etc. The music industry has been updating their contracts over the last decade to include royalties on digital downloads, it just makes sense to the comic industry to finally update their contracts.
Also, don't forget about the Hero Initiative. This charity also helps those creators with medical bills and such. (bronze member here).
I'm thinking that this is a good idea for Marvel since the Disney buy-out is in progress. This will help them get their legal affairs in order prior to the buy-out.
Also, don't forget about the Hero Initiative. This charity also helps those creators with medical bills and such. (bronze member here).
I'm thinking that this is a good idea for Marvel since the Disney buy-out is in progress. This will help them get their legal affairs in order prior to the buy-out.
What is going to happen to all the new characters. Franken Castle, Red she-hulk, Red hulk, The Dark Avengers and everyone else?
I though all this was a given when it came to creators....
Well they're covering their bases....
@SUPER-MAN 23 said:
"What is going to happen to all the new characters. Franken Castle, Red she-hulk, Red hulk, The Dark Avengers and everyone else? "
I guess Disney owns them.
@SUPER-MAN 23 said:
As for any new characters that are created after the Disney buyout is completed...? My best guess is that they'll keep a record of those new characters and keep track of their appearances for royalties, etc.
" What is going to happen to all the new characters. Franken Castle, Red she-hulk, Red hulk, The Dark Avengers and everyone else? "Comics aren't an instant production. They're solicited 3 months in advance, so they must be prepared even more months in advance of that. So any new characters introduced now (i.e. Red She-Hulk) aren't actually 'new', but have been thought about for the best part of a year. That means that they are still part of this new policy.
As for any new characters that are created after the Disney buyout is completed...? My best guess is that they'll keep a record of those new characters and keep track of their appearances for royalties, etc.
@sora_thekey: Unless, I'm mistaken the buy-out hasn't completely went through yet. It normally takes a while. It took almost a year from when it was announced for my publicly traded company to finish being bought out by another publicly traded company. I'm assuming that the newer characters are already under an updated policy.
@SUPER-MAN 23: Also, I think FrankenCastle would still count as Frank Castle and the variant Hulks would be more of a derivative work than something original, so there might be sub-clauses for that. The Dark Avengers would be counted individually by the original characters and probably not as a team.
@SUPER-MAN 23: Also, I think FrankenCastle would still count as Frank Castle and the variant Hulks would be more of a derivative work than something original, so there might be sub-clauses for that. The Dark Avengers would be counted individually by the original characters and probably not as a team.
@xerox-kitty said:
Not really ridiculous but they want to make sure everyone is getting their share becaue what would happen if for instance Bendis got credit for Spiderman instead of Stan Lee or Yost for Kitty Pryde instead of Claremont? They just want the creators to get paid for their creations & make sure they get a good cut of their money & not just the company come & vaccuum it all up
"This sounds simplistic to the point of ridiculousness. I can just see comic writers googling & searching CV for the first appearances of their characters in order to claim royalties ;) Still, I genuinely am glad that Marvel are going to show recognition to their creators. "
Not really ridiculous but they want to make sure everyone is getting their share becaue what would happen if for instance Bendis got credit for Spiderman instead of Stan Lee or Yost for Kitty Pryde instead of Claremont? They just want the creators to get paid for their creations & make sure they get a good cut of their money & not just the company come & vaccuum it all up
I always thought that there was an understanding that if you did create a character, Marvel would automatically own them. Something the creators knew going in. I could be wrong.
@Suigetsu: Yes. Campbell did that awesome image.
@Suigetsu: Yes. Campbell did that awesome image.
@SUPER-MAN 23 said:
They fill out the paperwork or documentation neccessary saying that they created them & 1st appearance lol
"What is going to happen to all the new characters. Franken Castle, Red she-hulk, Red hulk, The Dark Avengers and everyone else? "
They fill out the paperwork or documentation neccessary saying that they created them & 1st appearance lol
@xerox-kitty said:
Exactly & well put but do you think Marvel & Disney could spawn their own MDU (Marvel-Disney) with character that are kinda like a combination of both but really their own publishing company like MAX or AMALGAM & are separate so the "new" characters could have a place to go?
" @SUPER-MAN 23 said:
" What is going to happen to all the new characters. Franken Castle, Red she-hulk, Red hulk, The Dark Avengers and everyone else? "Comics aren't an instant production. They're solicited 3 months in advance, so they must be prepared even more months in advance of that. So any new characters introduced now (i.e. Red She-Hulk) aren't actually 'new', but have been thought about for the best part of a year. That means that they are still part of this new policy. As for any new characters that are created after the Disney buyout is completed...? My best guess is that they'll keep a record of those new characters and keep track of their appearances for royalties, etc. "
Exactly & well put but do you think Marvel & Disney could spawn their own MDU (Marvel-Disney) with character that are kinda like a combination of both but really their own publishing company like MAX or AMALGAM & are separate so the "new" characters could have a place to go?
@RavagingHamster said:
That's what I thought!
"youd think they would have been doing that from the beginning o.O "
That's what I thought!
This could be good for them. They could be getting something they were not getting anything before, because it's still sub-contracted.
Okay, maybe I'm just seeing things, but does anyone else thing that it looks like Man-Thing has.... hair?
...And I don't mean on his head.
@Anderson: Agent of SMITH said:
" Okay, maybe I'm just seeing things, but does anyone else thing that it looks like Man-Thing has.... hair? ...And I don't mean on his head. "LMFAO
It seems to me they're just covering themselves in situations of other media. Marvel owns the characters but if someone creates a character that is a hit and gets their own cartoon or video game the creator gets a bit of a bonus. Sounds fair. DC's had problems with Superman recently right so sounds like Marvel is trying to nip this in the bud.
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Comic Vine is Whiskey Powered with Django
on Nov. 24, 2009
Still, I genuinely am glad that Marvel are going to show recognition to their creators.