It seems the spirit of vengeance was not with Ghost Rider creator Gary Friedrich. Not only did he not win his suit against Marvel for co-creator rights to the character, it seems that he now has to pay Marvel Entertainment seventeen thousand dollars.
Friedrich (68), who is struggling financially and in poor health, was slapped with the $17k countersuit for selling unlicensed merchandise of their property at various comic book conventions by Marvel and order by a judge to pay. The problem is the penalty will bankrupt the aging comic book writer.
In response to the writer's plight many comic book industry professionals and fans have set up a fund to help the ailing Friedrich and are urging fans to help out by donating the price of a movie ticket to the upcoming Ghost Rider movie to the Friedrich fund instead of forking it over to the box office.
Friedrich is of course not the only comic book creator who feels that they were— well let's say not treated fairly. Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Segal & Shuster, Steve Ditko, Steve Gerber and other have either filed suit against the comic book companies they worked for or have made it known that they feel that they were cheated out of millions for helping to create some of the industry's most iconic and enduring characters. Unfortunately they were hired by the companies as employees or freelancers and signed contracts that stated that anything they create is owned by the company.
However, isn't it logical and fair to at least pay these creators to be ambassadors for the companies they worked for, instead of throwing them to the curb after they have become too old to continue to work.
It's clear that Marvel and their parent company, Disney are slapping down Friedrich in order to make an example of him. However Marvel CCO Joe Quesada says that that's not the case, giving this explaination of event to CBR:
"First and foremost, Marvel has not settled with Gary...By agreeing on a number for the profits Gary made from selling unlicensed Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider merchandise after the court has decided that Marvel is the owner of that copyright, it allows Gary's attorneys to file his appeal now rather than have Gary litigate further. It is in now way a fine or punishment."
To be fair Quesada says that he checked with Hero Initiative, a non-profit that raises money to help comic creators in need to see if they have reached out to Gary— they have.
Marvel also put out a statement to put former comic book writers and artists at ease, making it clear that they can indeed keep doing what they're doing at conventions and through their websites, stating:
"We in no way want to interfere with creators at conventions who are providing a positive Marvel experience for our fans. We want fans to speak and interact with the creators who wrote, penciled, inked, lettered, colored or edited their favorite stories. Part of that positive interaction is that a fan can walk away with a signed memento or personalized sketch from an artist."
In other words, that chump change is all fine and dandy—As long as you don't sue us for any of the billions you helped us earn. If you do, we're going to sue you for copyright infringement!
If you'd like to help Gary and make a donation just click on the Paypal link below. He also has a Facebook page with contact info.
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