An interesting Op-Ed piece about how Marvel and DC have mistreated two writers that really helped make them the companies they are.

This type of thing is common. It is hard for a company to not go evil.

No.. they aren't evil.. they are companies. They exist to exist and to CONTINUE to exist. I just love (sarcasm) hearing the tired old story about Superman. Those guys were work for hire. They signed away the rights. Virtually EVERYONE did at that time. Hundreds if not THOUSANDS of character were created at that time but are all but lost today. Superman just got lucky. And don't parade the Kirby story again. Returned art? No one got their art. most of it was just dumped! There are creators out there today who grew up in New York and have great stories about DC and Marvel dumpster diving for tossed out art work..... have those guys returned that work to it's original artists?

And please.. let's stop using Alan Moore as a poster boy of atrocities. He's an ass. He based the Watchmen characters on older characters he wasn't allowed to screw with (Owlman is really Blue Beetle and Rorschach is The Question). He signed the contract that said he could get the Watchmen characters when it went out of print. And as a result, we have a constant flow of one of the BEST stories out there!

When you make a deal with a company, it is in THEIR best interest to have the deal skewed toward them. It is in YOUR best interest to have the deal skewed toward yourself. If you don't like the deal, WALK AWAY.

And now to the Avengers. I'm quite sure that the owner of a car gets to say MY CAR... and not NISSAN'S Car. The owner get's to do what he wants. Oh and by the way... if you have a specific contract in effect, in cannot be superseded by a forced signature on a paycheck. Try to do it! Next time you buy something, put a small contract on the back of the check that says you get a years worth of free product upon endorsing the check. Seriously.

Just one more quick thing... Ever heard of the Ultraverse? It was created by Malibu Comics in the 90's. The contracts were structured so that creators got mandatory percentile ownership. If their creation hit big and became a movie franchise, the creator would be compensated. They have been called PERFECT contracts for comic creators. The only problem is that Malibu fell the comic glut bust in the 90's. Marvel bought them and honored the contracts... until they became simply too difficult to administer. And have you heard of them since?

If a creator has the creative genius and business savvy to drive his or her creation from inception to modern media dominance, them more power to them. But that is HIGHLY unlikely. Lot's of other people... less creative but usually with more money or contacts... play a significant part.. and those people are often wrapped up in something called CORPORATIONS.

Oy.. too far afield.. jumping off soap box and curling up with a good book... Frank Herbert's Destination Void... damn good read....