- New episodes of "THE WALKING DEAD" on AMC debuted yesterday (Sunday) after a mid-season break, and the ratings of over 8 million viewers broke AMC's last ratings record on October 2011 (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=36973). As the success of this TV adaptation of an iconic creator owned series published by Image Comics continues, it is perhaps timely in our modern society that this success should be mired by a lawsuit over the split of creator royalties. Series co-creator Robert Kirkman is being sued by childhood friend and former regular artist (and co-creator) of WALKING DEAD, Tony Moore, over the proceeds to the franchise from the TV show as well as reprints of material he drew (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/walking-dead-war-creator-robert-288671). Moore claims that in 2005, Kirkman "swindled" him into signing over his half of royalties from the property in order to get the TV series on AMC rolling; Kirkman has since become very wealthy from the success of the TV show, while Moore (who left THE WALKING DEAD after six issues and is currently drawing VENOM for Marvel Comics) has gotten virtually nothing. Kirkman and Moore were childhood friends and they both created THE WALKING DEAD as well as BRIT and BATTLE POPE, the comics which helped Kirkman break into comics in general. The suit itself mentions "promissory fraud, breach of written contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing". According to Moore, he should have received 60% of proceeds of printed comic proceeds (such as the first trade paperback volume of WALKING DEAD and reprints of it in hardcovers) and 20% of the proceeds from "motion picture net proceeds". Not only has the TV show been a commercial success for AMC (a third season has been approved), it has caused sales for the comic book and paperback reprints of it to skyrocket. Since being "swindled" in 2005 (five years before the TV show would debut), Moore has claimed to have not even received a statement of proceeds from WALKING DEAD. If Moore can prove that Kirkman did not require the loss of Moore's rights to get a TV show rolling, then his case of fraud has legs; if not, the lawsuit gets trickier. Kirkman's attorney not only responded with the obligatory statement that the suit is "totally frivolous", but an intention to counter-sue Moore for legal fees. A day later, Kirkman released a statement through his attorney further calling the suit "ridiculous" and claims that Moore is violating the contract he signed in 2005 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/walking-dead-creator-robert-kirkman-289308). Kirkman also released the credits to the first editions of WALKING DEAD in which Kirkman is credited as the sole creator and Moore with pencils, inks, and gray tones. However this suit shakes out remains to be seen; morally, the idea of one "friend" seeking to lesson royalties of a shared work to another is dubious. It could be interesting to see if any such contracts exist between other collaborations Kirkman has had at Image, such as with Cory Walker on INVINCIBLE, or Jason Howard on ASTONISHING WOLF-MAN and especially SUPER-DINOSAUR (which has "bait for a kid's cartoon network" all over it). Cory Walker, in fairness, is often credited as "co-creator" of INVINCIBLE, and has drawn more issues of that than Moore did of WALKING DEAD.
- ComiXology continues to expand as it has two positions to fill - Senior Mobile Developer and Guided View Editor (http://www.comixology.com/careers/). The second position is an entry level position.
- Jim Hanley's Universe, a major retail chain with locations in Manhattan (beside the Empire State Building) and Staten Island, is also seeking to hire additional part time staffers for their shops (http://jhuniverse.blogspot.com/2012/02/now-hiring-at-jim-hanleys-universe.html).
Last Week's Indie Comics News - http://www.examiner.com/comic-books-in-new-york/indie-comics-news-2-6-12-image-comics-turns-20-waid-ends-irredeemable-more
Last Week's DC Comics News - http://www.examiner.com/comic-books-in-new-york/dc-comics-news-2-6-12-before-watchmen-sequels-announced-dc-jumps-the-shark
Last Week's Marvel Comics News - http://www.examiner.com/comic-books-in-new-york/marvel-comics-news-2-7-12-spider-men-the-avengers-sb-ad-change-org-more
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