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In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is
self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...
or published by a corporate publisher. In some fields of publishing, such as
fiction writing Fiction writing is the composition of non-factual prose texts. Fictional writing often is produced as a story meant to entertain or convey an author's point of view. The result of this may be a short story, novel, novella, screenplay, or drama, ...
, creator ownership has historically been standard. In other fields—such as comics,
recorded music Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...
, or
motion pictures A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
—creator ownership has traditionally been uncommon, with either
work for hire A work made for hire (work for hire or WFH), in copyright law in the United States, is a work that is subject to copyright and is created by employees as part of their job or some limited types of works for which all parties agree in writing to the ...
or publisher purchase of the material being standard practice. This article traces the changing standards of the comic book industry.


History


Early twentieth century

In 1906,
Richard F. Outcault Richard Felton Outcault (; January 14, 1863 – September 25, 1928) was an American cartoonist. He was the creator of the series '' The Yellow Kid'' and ''Buster Brown'' and is considered a key pioneer of the modern comic strip. Life and career ...
took his creation ''
Buster Brown Buster Brown is a comic-strip character created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault. Adopted as the mascot of the Brown Shoe Company in 1904, Buster Brown, along with Mary Jane, and with his dog Tige, became well known to the American public in th ...
'' from the ''
New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the ''New York Herald Tribune''. Hist ...
'' to the ''
New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...
''. Outcault had not applied for a copyright to Buster Brown, but asserted a "common-law title"—what comics historian
Don Markstein Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...
asserted is one of the earliest claims to creators' rights. The court decided the ''Herald'' owned the ''Buster Brown'' name and title and the copyright on the strips it published, but the characters themselves were too intangible to qualify for copyright or trademark. This freed Outcault to continue the strip in the ''American'' as long as he did not use the ''Buster Brown'' name.


1960s

Creator-owned titles began to appear during the late-1960s
underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...
movement; these themes were exemplified in the formation of
Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and '' Rip Off Comix'', as well as many other seminal publications from ...
, the United Cartoon Workers of America (UCWA), and Cartoonists' Co-Op Press. Rip Off Press was founded in 1969 by four men—two of whom were
cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...
ists
Gilbert Shelton Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940) is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', ''Fat Freddy's Cat'', and '' Wonder W ...
and Jack Jackson—as a sort of cartoonists'
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
, an alternative publishing venue to burgeoning Bay Area publishers like the
Print Mint The Print Mint, Inc. was a major publisher and distributor of underground comix based in the San Francisco Bay Area during the genre's late 1960s-early 1970s heyday. Starting as a retailer of psychedelic posters, the Print Mint soon evolved into ...
,
Apex Novelties The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex ...
, and
Company & Sons Company & Sons was an early underground comix publisher based in San Francisco, ran by John Bagley. The company operated from 1970 to 1973, publishing a total of 15 titles, all but one of them consisting of a single issue. Company & Sons was t ...
.


1970s

The United Cartoon Workers of America was an informal union organized in 1970Goodrick, Susan. "Introduction", ''The Apex Treasury of Underground Comics'' (Links Books/Quick Fox, 1974). by cartoonists
Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...
, Justin Green,
Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal comedy, surreal daily comic strip ''Zippy the Pinhead, Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are w ...
, Nancy Griffith,
Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines '' Arcade'' and '' R ...
,
Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the Road Vultures M ...
,
Roger Brand Roger Brand (January 5, 1943 – November 23, 1985) was an American cartoonist who created stories for both mainstream and underground comic books. His work showed a fascination with horror and eroticism, often combining the two. Biography Ear ...
, and
Michele Brand Michele Wrightson, also known as Michele Brand, was an American artist who worked in the comic book industry. The former wife of underground cartoonist Roger Brand, she started out as an underground comix cartoonist. Later, when she was married to ...
. Members of the UCWA agreed that all cartoonists would demand the same rate per page of comics, whether they were stars like Crumb or being published for the first time. They also agreed to not work for any publisher who had "cheated" other cartoonists.
Dennis Kitchen Denis Kitchen (born August 27, 1946) is an American underground cartoonist, publisher, author, agent, and the founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Early life Kitchen grew up in Wisconsin, attending William Horlick High School, Racine, ...
's
Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hard ...
formed the "Local 2 — Milwaukee" branch of the UCWA, and the UCWA brand appeared on a number of comix from that era. Cartoonists' Co-Op Press was a 1973–1974
self-publishing Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...
venture by cartoonists Griffith, Spiegelman,
Kim Deitch Kim Deitch (born May 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California)Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. Deitch bio, ''The Apex Treasuet of Underground Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1974), p. 127. is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in t ...
, Jerry Lane,
Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his '' Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the ...
,
Willy Murphy William "Willy" MurphyMurphy entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Acc ...
, and
Diane Noomin Diane Robin Noomin ( Rosenblatt, May 13, 1947 – September 1, 2022) was an American comics artist associated with the underground comics movement. She is best known for her character DiDi Glitz, who addresses transgressive social issues such as ...
. Like Rip Off Press, it was founded as an alternative to the existing underground publishers, which were perceived as not being honest with their accounting practices. The short-lived genre publisher
Atlas/Seaboard Comics Atlas/Seaboard is the term comic book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1970s line of comics published as Atlas Comics by the American company Seaboard Periodicals, to differentiate from the 1950s' Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marve ...
, which operated from 1974–1975, offered some of the highest rates in the industry, plus return of artwork to artists and author rights to original character creations. Up to the mid-1970s, most comic book publishers kept all original pages, in some cases destroying them in lieu of storing them safely. By 1974, James Warren's
Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include '' After Hours'', '' Creepy'', '' Eerie'', '' F ...
began changing the industry's
work-for-hire A work made for hire (work for hire or WFH), in copyright law in the United States, is a work that is subject to copyright and is created by employees as part of their job or some limited types of works for which all parties agree in writing to th ...
dynamic by offering higher page-rates than
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
or
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
, and allowing the artists to retain their original artwork,Cooke, Jon B
"Wrightson's Warren Days"
''Comic Book Artist'' #4 (Spring 1999).
giving creators the option to gain extra income by selling the pages to collectors. Nonetheless, Warren Publishing retained all creator's rights. As James Warren once told artist
Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...
: By 1975 or 1976, both DC and Marvel also began returning artists' original pages to them. During the 1970s, artist
Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...
was politically active in the industry, and attempted to
unionize A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
its creative community. Adams attempted to form the Comics Creators Guild, with a contentious meeting in May
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...
attended by
Cary Bates Cary Bates (born 1948) is an American comic book, animation, television and film writer. He is best known for his work on '' The Flash'', ''Superman'', '' Superboy, the Legion of Superheroes'' and '' Captain Atom''. Biography Early career Bat ...
,
Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early lif ...
,
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
,
Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
, Michael Golden, Archie Goodwin,
Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kah ...
, Bob McLeod,
Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...
,
Carl Potts Carl Potts (born November 12, 1952) is an American comics artist, writer, teacher, and editor best known for creating the series ''Alien Legion'' for the Marvel Comics imprint Epic Comics. Early life Born in Oakland, California, and raised in th ...
,
Marshall Rogers William Marshall Rogers III (January 22, 1950 – March 24, 2007),William Marshall Rogers III
,
Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...
,
Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor (Marvel Comics), Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known f ...
,
Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, a ...
,
Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ...
, and
Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's ''The New ...
. The effort failed to get off the ground. In addition, Adams, along with the Joker creator
Jerry Robinson Sherrill David Robinson (January 1, 1922 – December 7, 2011), known as Jerry Robinson, was an American comic book artist known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s. He is best known as the co-creator of Robin and th ...
, notably and vocally helped lead the lobbying efforts that resulted in Superman creators
Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, ...
and
Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 ...
receiving decades-overdue credit and some financial remuneration from Superman publisher
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
.
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
had a mixed history of responding to the issue of creator's rights. In 1978, Marvel and
Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into Fear'' #19 (cover-d ...
writer
Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include ''Man-Thing'', '' Omega the Unknown,'' '' Marvel Spotlight ...
clashed over issues of creative control, and Gerber was abruptly removed from the series. This was the first highly publicized creator's rights case in American comics, and attracted support from major industry figures. Gerber subsequently launched a lengthy legal battle for control of Howard the Duck, culminating in a 1981 lawsuit.


1980s

In
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...
Marvel created the mature readers anthology ''
Epic Illustrated ''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional Ame ...
'', offering its writers and artists ownership rights and royalties in place of the industry-standard work for hire contracts. The success of ''Epic Illustrated'' led to the 1982 formation of the long-running imprint
Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1996. A spin-off of the publisher's ...
, which specialized in creator-owned titles. Around this same period, however, industry legend
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential c ...
, co-creator of many of Marvel's most popular characters, came into dispute with the company over the disappearance of original pages of artwork from some of his most famous and popular titles. Kirby had quit working for Marvel in 1979, angry over what he perceived as the company's mistreatment of him. Best-selling creators like
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', '' V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell ...
,
Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...
, and many other stars became vocal advocates for Kirby. Neal Adams also petitioned to have ''his'' Marvel originals returned, and the pair won their battle in 1987, when Marvel returned original artwork to him and Kirby, among others. This decision helped lead to the modern industry's standard practice of returning original artwork to the artist, who can earn additional income from art sales to collectors. Beginning in the 1980s, several new publishers and imprints went into business, offering comics writers and artists the opportunity to have their work published while retaining the copyrights to the characters and the stories. Publishers like
Pacific Comics Pacific Comics (PC) was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1981 to 1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began at a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes. Alo ...
and
Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...
were strong promoters of creator-owned superhero properties; their enticement of popular creators (such as Kirby) to their pages helped push the issue to the fore and put pressure on industry giants Marvel and DC. The alternative and independent publishers
Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was fou ...
and
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
entered the field during this period as well. Creator-owned properties allowed series to continue with multiple publishers as circumstances required; ''
Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai. It is set primarily at the beginning of the Edo period of Japanese history and features anthropomorphic animals replacing humans. The main character is a rabbit '' rōnin'', Miyamoto Usagi, whom ...
'' for instance has been published by four succeeding publishing houses. In the mid-to-late 1980s, creator ownership became a ''
cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...
'' among many comics creators, including those working in the dominant genre of superheroes. Creators' repeated clashes with
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
,
First Comics First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', '' Grimjack'', '' Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comic ...
, and other publishers led to an industry-wide debate about the issue; and in the fall of 1988, DC revised the company's work-for-hire agreements to give more power to individual creators. Writer
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', '' V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell ...
became increasingly concerned at the lack of creator's rights in British comics.Bishop, David. ''
Thrill-Power Overload ''Thrill Power Overload'', or ''TPO'' is a book about the history of the British comic '' 2000 AD'' written by David Bishop, one of its editors. History The book started life as series of articles written by David Bishop and serialised in the ...
'', p. 105-106
In 1985, he noted that he had stopped working for all British publishers except
IPC IPC may refer to: Computing * Infrastructure protection centre or information security operations center * Instructions per cycle or instructions per clock, an aspect of central-processing performance * Inter-process communication, the sharin ...
, publishers of '' 2000 AD'', "purely for the reason that IPC so far have avoided lying to me, cheating me or generally treating me like crap". He joined other creators in decrying the wholesale relinquishing of all rights, and in 1986 stopped writing for ''2000 AD'' as well. Moore's outspoken opinions and principles, particularly on the subject of creator's rights and ownership, would see him burn bridges with a number of other publishers over the course of his career.
Heidi MacDonald Heidi MacDonald (born November 15) is a writer and editor in the field of comic books based in New York City. She runs the comics industry news blog '' The Beat''. Career MacDonald is a former editor for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint and '' Di ...
's interview with Moore, 1 November 2005. Originally at
Mile High Comics Mile High Comics is an online retailer and a chain of three Colorado comic book stores founded by Chuck Rozanski in 1969 from his parents' basement in Colorado Springs, Colorado. History In 1969, when Chuck Rozanski was 13, he began working ...
/Comicon.com's ''The Beat''; accessed through th
Internet Archive
an

Accessed 26 September 2008.


Creator's Bill of Rights

In November 1988 a number of independent comic book artists and writers drafted the