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There are worse organizing principles in life than to never sign a work-for-hire contract, in effect deciding to never provide creative work for concepts that you do not own. I'm not religious about it, though, and there are any number of rich, rewarding and satisfying creative lives that can be led signing nothing but.

However, while we're in an era where I think someone could do some work for a company and sign contracts that re-affirm their non-ownership of such franchises via ink on paper without being looked upon as a moral midget, I think we're past the moment in comics' history where signing over ownership rights for a chance to be published or for some cash is going to be a good idea for most folks. There are too many other opportunities, too many alternatives, and the overwhelming historical evidence suggests that a good idea kept and nurtured by its creator is going to do better for that creator than a good idea kenneled with someone else's corporation.

The best that you can say for the latter is that some folks have overtly sold ideas to make some extra cash, that they were well-compensated in doing so, and that the quality of the ideas sold seems to suggest more something the creators dug out of a ring notebook at the bottom of the closet, not their likely life's work. Although as Dave Sim once said of Steve Gerber, sometimes you don't know what you've got until after it's published.

In the end, ceding ownership to something you create is just that, no matter how many friendly phone calls or gut feelings or friendly intimations you may have, and it's hard to figure out dismay and shock over the fact that someone might choose to enforce their half of the deal. Especially if it's a crappy one.
 
posted 3:06 am PST | Permalink
 

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