Comics212.net
Worth Noting: I stand behind the creators of these works 100%, thinking that the contracts are lousy doesn't mean I hate manga/OEL manga/Tokyopop/Baby Jesus.
Chris, posting that comment did not make the baby jesus stop crying.
I know.
I imagine it'll only make things worse, but there you go.
Hurting Comics, Chris. Hurting Comics.
There was another clause in there, I just remembered I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere. I believe they put a maximum value on any monetary compensation you could recieve from derrivative works, like movies or anime books of your series not done by you or toys or whatever. I seem to remember it being $10,000. So your movie gets optioned for $45,000, and despite your "40% ownership", your cut maxes out at $10,000. Can anyone tell me if this is still the case? Feel free to post anonymously if you don't want TP to sue you or anything.
I would love to see the exact legal language on any of these clauses you're talking about. Also, dates on those contracts.
My impression of this discussion is that TP is just following in the American tradition of comics publishing, albeit a better deal than the Kirby's and Ditko's got back in the day. Comics publishers can take advantage of creators more easily than other publishers because there is a tradition there.
I hate the idea that a publisher thinks they are doing their creators a favour by giving them an in. As an author you'd have to be pretty desperate to be published to willing be taken advantage of. However, book contracts are very difficult things to navigate if you don't speak lawyer. I know very few authors who can correctly read a book contract.
I also think it's sad that some creators just don't have a sense of self-worth. They are ALWAYS worth more than the book contract suggests. The book publishing industry has it's sticky contracts too, but most book publishers at least acknowledge that the creator is the sole copyright owner and that the publisher is buying certain rights pertaining to their work. It's up to the creator then to make sure they don't give up too many of the subsidiary rights.
Besides, I firmly believe that good work will always find it's place. And if your OEL Manga is really good (and if you are being made an offer then TP obviously sees some merit in it) then of course you have room to negotiate fair and equitable terms. Get a lawyer and pay them to negotiate on your behalf as soon as you get your initial offer.
More authors need to start treating their passion for comics as a business. It's NOT all about seeing your work in print. It's about seeing your work in print AND getting compensated for it. It's only fair. They are a big corporation. You're making them bigger and richer. It's only right that they pay for your services. They can afford it.
Where on *earth* are you getting that contract info from? It's certainly news to Editorial that we can sue our creators if their books don't sell (because all these people have so much money to start with, right? Hah.). We *do* have recourse if the creators flake out and don't deliver, but that's a wholly different game than what you're implying.
Lillian- From creator contracts, and I should stipulate none of this info came from Canadian creators.
Wow. I must admit, I defended TP's terms as still being a fairly decent trade-off for new creators. But now, the ability to sue creators *in conjunction* with first right of option/refusal on all future ideas, makes TP's contract rather devious. Used together, TP can effectively bind an artist to them forever by forcing him/her to keep working on new projects until it meets their level of satisfaction. Trying to wiggle out of the contract by producing sub-par work, as Rob V suggested on the Engine, isn't going to work. These two items effectively extend the reach of the contract such that it is no longer a simple covenant on a single piece of work, but rather the vassalage of an individual.
Anyone considering working for TP must negotiate these two items out of the contract.
Commenting by HaloScan
