News and notes

SLMI’s argument is interesting because as readers of this site may know, these suits are all about contracts and copyrights. SLMI claims that Lee created characters such as Spiderman outside of his scope of employment with Marvel (i.e., not as a work for hire). It is claimed that Lee had an interest as co-creator in these comic book characters at the time of contract formation with SLME, which was subsequently transferred to SLMI. Certainly, if Lee retained an interest in the Marvel comic book characters as claimed (plaintiffs have to prove it), the assignment clause in the employment agreement cited in their complaint could be interpreted as giving them some rights in those characters (plaintiffs have to prove it).

It is also interesting to note that in the related California case of QED LLC v. Nesfield, et. al, which involves a similar fight over SLMI assets, plaintiffs made no claims to Marvel assets. They only claimed an interest in materials explicitly outlined in their asset purchase agreement with Stan Lee; no claim was made to right obtained via the employment agreement.

In this series of columns, I hope to educate some readers about the behind-the-scenes aspects of the comics industry. I’d like this to be an informative and educational resource for anybody aspiring to work in comics. Even if you don’t have any desire to work in comics, I would hope what I intend to write will give you an added sense of appreciation for the books you read and all the hard work that goes into nurturing a project from a simple idea all the way to a physical copy of a book you can hold in your hands.

I’m frankly amazed with what Tatsumi can do with eight illustrated pages — how much he can communicate about character and circumstance, how much weight he can give to a slice of life. The subjects of his stories are generally the people who do dirty but necessary jobs, if they work at all. They’re the kind of people who are generally ignored or marginalized, though they have their ambitions and desires like everyone else. Well, maybe — hopefully — not exactly like everyone else, as Tatsumi declines to indulge in romanticizing deprivation or drudgery. He’s not writing about the Joads.