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The Creator's Bill of Rights (officially, A Bill of Rights for Comics Creators) is a document drafted in November 1988 by a number of independent
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
artists, writers, and publishers, designed to protect their rights as creators and publishers and oppose exploitation by corporate
work for hire In copyright law, a work made for hire (work for hire or WFH) is a work whose copyright is initially owned by an entity other than the actual creator as a result of an employment relationship or, in some cases, a commission. It is an exception to t ...
practices and the power of distributors to dictate the means of distribution. Issues covered by the Bill included giving creators proper credit for their characters and stories, profit-sharing, distribution, fair contracts, licensing, and return of original artwork. The signing of the Bill spurred '' Cerebus'' creator and self-publisher
Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic book ''Cerebus the Aardvark, Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political an ...
and ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' creators/self-publishers
Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...
and Peter Laird to sell or continue selling collected volumes of their comics directly to readers via their periodic issues, rather than through direct market distributors selling the collections at comic book specialty shops. Comic book professionals that have commented on the Bill conclude that it had little or no impact on the comic book industry.


History


Antecedents

Creator's rights has long been a source of conflict in the American comics industry, going back to the medium's late 1930s origins. Creator-owned titles began to appear during the late-1960s
underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...
movement, including the publishing collective Cartoonists Co-Op Press, and the Robert Crumb-led United Cartoon Workers of America. Similar movements began in the
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
genre with the mid-1970s creation of the short-lived company
Atlas/Seaboard Comics Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company Seaboard Periodicals in the 1970s. Though the line was published under the brand Atlas Comics, comic book historians and collectors refer to it as Atlas/Seaboard Com ...
. During the 1970s, superstar artist
Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...
was politically active in the industry, and attempted to
unionize Unionization is the creation and growth of modern trade unions. Trade unions were often seen as a left-wing, socialist concept, whose popularity has increased during the 19th century when a rise in industrial capitalism saw a decrease in motives ...
its creative community. In
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
, Adams helped form the Comics Creators Guild, which over three dozen comic-book writers and artists joined, including
Cary Bates Cary Bates (born 1948) is an American comic book, animation, television and film writer. He is best known for his work on ''The Flash'', ''Superman'', ''Superboy, the Legion of Superheroes'' and '' Captain Atom''. Bates is the longest-serving S ...
,
Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an Americans, American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett an ...
,
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...
,
Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular ac ...
, Michael Golden, Archie Goodwin,
Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002 to 2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...
, Bob McLeod, Frank Miller, Carl Potts, Marshall Rogers,
Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor, and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comic ...
,
Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...
, Jim Starlin,
Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...
, and
Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...
. Around this same period, industry legend
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
, co-creator of many of
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
' most popular characters, came into dispute with the company over the disappearance of original pages of artwork from some of his most famous and popular titles. Kirby had quit working for Marvel in 1979, angry over what he perceived as the company's mistreatment of him. Best-selling creators like
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...
, Frank Miller, and many other stars became vocal advocates for Kirby. Neal Adams also petitioned to have ''his'' Marvel originals returned, and the pair won their battle in 1987, when Marvel returned original artwork to him and Kirby, among others. This decision helped lead to the modern industry's standard practice of returning original artwork to the artist, who can earn additional income from art sales to collectors. Alan Moore himself became increasingly concerned at the lack of creator's rights in British comics.Bishop, David. '' Thrill-Power Overload'', p. 105-106 In 1985, he noted that he had stopped working for all British publishers except IPC, publishers of '' 2000 AD'', "purely for the reason that IPC so far have avoided lying to me, cheating me or generally treating me like crap". He joined other British creators in decrying the wholesale relinquishing of all rights, and in 1986 stopped writing for ''2000 AD'' as well. Moore's outspoken opinions and principles, particularly on the subject of creator's rights and ownership, would see him burn bridges with a number of other publishers over the course of his career. Heidi MacDonald's interview with Moore, 1 November 2005. Originally at
Mile High Comics Mile High Comics is an online retailer and comic book store founded by Chuck Rozanski. History Origins Rozanski started Mile High Comics in 1969, when he was 13 years old, selling back issues of comic books out of his parents' Colorado Springs ...
/Comicon.com's ''The Beat''; accessed through the ww.archive.org Internet Archivebr>Part 1
an

Accessed 26 September 2008.


Rise of the independents

Other creators' similar and repeated clashes with
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
, First Comics, and other publishers led to an industry-wide debate about the issue. On the other side, independent publishers of the early 1980s like
Pacific Comics Pacific Comics was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from 1971 to 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill Schanes, Bill and Steve Schan ...
and
Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...
were strong promoters of creator-owned properties; their enticement of popular creators (such as Kirby) to their pages helped push the issue to the fore and put pressure on industry giants Marvel and DC. In fact, in the fall of 1988, shortly before the signing of the Creator's Bill of Rights, DC revised the company's work-for-hire agreements to give more power to individual creators.


Dave Sim vs Diamond Distributors

The impetus for the creation of the Bill was a dispute between publisher
Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic book ''Cerebus the Aardvark, Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political an ...
and Diamond Comics Distribution. Sim was motivated to bring together the eventual signatories to the Bill by a 1987 incident surrounding ''
The Puma Blues ''The Puma Blues'' is a comic book written by Stephen Murphy (comics), Stephen Murphy and drawn by Michael Zulli. It ran from June 1986 in comics, 1986 to early 1989 in comics, 1989, stretching over 23 regular issues and a single "half-issue" minic ...
'', a comic book published through his company Aardvark One International. Sim had fallen into dispute with Diamond Comics Distribution over Sim's decision to sell directly to his readership instead of using Diamond to distribute the Cerebus
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
''
High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...
''. By selling directly to readers and bypassing Diamond and other distributors, Sim made a profit of $100,000. In response, Diamond National Account Representative Bill Schanes informed Sim: "If it is your intention to pick and choose which products you want distributors to carry, it should be our privilege to choose what we wish to distribute. Therefore, it is our feeling we should no longer carry and promote ''Puma Blues''". Letters pages, ''The Puma Blues'' #15 (February 1988). At that time, Diamond distributed an estimated 33% of the series' print run. Ironically, Schanes had formerly been publisher of
Pacific Comics Pacific Comics was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from 1971 to 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill Schanes, Bill and Steve Schan ...
, itself an extremely creator-friendly publisher. Sim soon enlisted the support of self-publishers,
Mirage Studios Mirage Studios was an American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in Dover, New Hampshire. The company was best known for the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') comic book series and the subsequent fra ...
founders, and ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' creators
Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...
and Peter Laird, both of whom also used Diamond as a distributor. Not including Eastman and Laird, ten of the eventual signatories to the Bill worked for Mirage, including
Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (; born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground comics, underground, and alternative comics. Biography Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One ...
and
Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...
. Signatories Gerhard and
Michael Zulli Michael Zulli (December 20, 1952 – July 8, 2024) was an American artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator. Best known for his work on the Sandman. Career Michael Zulli's career in the c ...
worked for Sim. Signatories Richard Pini and Larry Marder were self-publishers. Sim hosted a creators' summit in the spring of 1988 where he spoke out about the issue of publishing and creator's rights. Sim believed that if a consensus could be reached among creators at the summit, he could ethically justify bypassing Diamond and selling directly to readers of ''Cerebus''.


The Northampton Summit

Through a series of meetings, in November 1988 a document was finalized at the "Northampton Summit" held in
Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...
, and signed by all in attendance.
Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic ...
was the principal author of the Bill; other artists and writers participating in the Bill's creation included Sim, Steve Bissette, Larry Marder,
Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (; born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground comics, underground, and alternative comics. Biography Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One ...
, Peter Laird, and
Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...
. An early draft of the Bill was published in the July 1989 issue of ''
The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...
'', which had covered the issue thoroughly in its pages over the years. The Bill's final draft was published in the September 1990 issue of ''The Comics Journal''. According to Sim, the provision of the Bill that affirmed the creator's right to choose the means of distributing his or her work "was the answer that I had been looking for when the process got started. I had the right to choose to sell the High Society trade paperback direct to my own readers. Kevin and Peter promptly published a hardcover of the complete Turtles and sold it direct to their readers, helping to reinforce the point—we have the right to do this". In the aftermath of the Summit, Diamond relented and continued to carry ''The Puma Blues''. In the ensuing years, Sim continued to sell trade paperback collections of ''Cerebus'', of which ''
High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...
'' was one of 16 eventual volumes, directly to readers via ads in '' Cerebus'', ''Following Cerebus'', and the trade paperback collections, until sometime during the publication of ''Following Cerebus'' prior to August 2005. Sim has now switched entirely to distribution of the trade paperbacks through the traditional retailers.


Legacy

Many prominent comic book professionals, including some involved in its drafting, hold that the Creator's Bill of Rights had little or no impact on the industry. In 2005, Dave Sim wrote that "clearly no one is saluting the Bill of Rights as it stands nor do I really expect them to". He added: "It seems obvious to me that Steve Bissette and I are the only two of the original participants who are interested in discussing it so I assume everyone else has decided that it was worthless and something to be ashamed of. I'm enough of an egoist that that pushes me in completely the other direction and I suspect the same is true of Steve". Sim wrote that in retrospect he should have been more patient with the retailers and allowed them to distribute ''
High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...
'', rather than opt for a massive infusion of cash. Steve Bissette reflected in 2005 that "the Creator Bill of Rights is still as valid and relevant as ever", but lamented that it had received a "paucity of attention or discussion since" its debut.
Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic ...
, who authored the preliminary draft of the Bill, wrote that " e Bill never generated much noise in the industry and I wouldn't want to exaggerate its influence, but it provides an interesting snapshot of our attitudes at the time, and of the climate that was fueling self-publishers, progressive business people, and artists trying to reinvent the comics industry". McCloud also said that "the Bill got very little play in the comics press...I don’t think that many mainstream publishers gave the Bill much thought at all". McCloud did not believe that the Bill influenced the creation of
Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...
.
Erik Larsen Erik J. Larsen (born December 8, 1962) is an American comic book artist, writer, and publisher. He currently acts as the chief financial officer of Image Comics. He gained attention in the early 1990s with his art on Spider-Man series for Marvel ...
, an artist, publisher and cofounder of Image Comics, denied that it had any impact on Image Comics or the industry in general, stating that " e Creators’ Bill of Rights was always a puzzle to me… Those who drafted and signed it, talk about the Creators’ Bill of Rights as though it’s a document of some historic import, I'll grant you, but outside of those who signed it—I've never had it brought up or even mentioned in passing to me by anybody in the industry". Larsen argued that the signatories did not speak for the wider industry and had no authority to do so. Larsen added: "I think its impact in the industry is, frankly, minimal at best. Heck, I've never read the darned thing". According to
Denis Kitchen Denis Kitchen (born August 27, 1946) is an American underground cartoonist, publisher, author, agent, and the founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Early life Kitchen grew up in Wisconsin, attending William Horlick High School, Raci ...
, a cartoonist, publisher, author and agent, and the founder of
Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...
and the
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is an American non-profit organization formed in 1986 to protect the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal ...
, he and
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...
, creator of the Spirit and also a publisher, did not take the Creator’s Bill of Rights very seriously. Kitchen and Eisner viewed the Bill as "sincere" and "idealistic", but "at the end of the day… pie-in-the-sky".
Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (; born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground comics, underground, and alternative comics. Biography Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One ...
, an artist and signatory to the Bill, said that he was "not sure what direct effect the Bill had on the industry. Things were already changing at the big publishers… Maybe the most direct effect was the formation of Tundra by Kevin Eastman. Tundra was originally set up along the Bill's guidelines and wasn't able to make it work". In 1990, signatory Eastman founded the creator-friendly
Tundra Publishing Tundra Publishing was a Northampton, Massachusetts-based comic book publisher founded by Kevin Eastman in 1990. The company was founded to provide a venue for adventurous, creator-owned work by talented cartoonists and illustrators. Its publica ...
to embody the ideals of the Bill from a publishers' standpoint. As part of the initial group who "got together to form the" Bill, Eastman felt obligated to expand it beyond theory and into practice, providing a creator-friendly forum for comics creators to work for a publisher while maintaining ownership of their work.Wiater, Stanley & Bissette, Stephen R. (ed.s) ''Comic Book Rebels: Conversations with the Creators of the New Comics'' (Donald I. Fine, Inc. 1993) . Tundra folded in 1993 after losing $14 million.


Text

For the survival and health of comics, we recognize that no single system of commerce and no single type of agreement between creator and publisher can or should be instituted. However, the rights and dignity of creators everywhere are equally vital. Our rights, as we perceive them to be and intend to preserve them, are: #The right to full ownership of what we fully create. #The right to full control over the creative execution of that which we fully own. #The right of approval over the reproduction and format of our creative property. #The right of approval over the methods by which our creative property is distributed. #The right to free movement of ourselves and our creative property to and from publishers. #The right to employ legal counsel in any and all business transactions. #The right to offer a proposal to more than one publisher at a time. #The right to prompt payment of a fair and equitable share of profits derived from all of our creative work. #The right to full and accurate accounting of any and all income and disbursements relative to our work. #The right to prompt and complete return of our artwork in its original condition. #The right to full control over the licensing of our creative property. #The right to promote and the right of approval over any and all promotion of ourselves and our creative property.


Signatories

* Steve Bissette * Gerhard * Larry Marder *
Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...
*
Mirage Studios Mirage Studios was an American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in Dover, New Hampshire. The company was best known for the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') comic book series and the subsequent fra ...
** Ryan Brown **
Michael Dooney Michael Dooney is an American comic book writer and artist and toy designer best known for his works on the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book ...
**
Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...
** Craig Farley ** Peter Laird ** Steve Lavigne ** Jim Lawson ** Ken Mitchroney ** Stephen Murphy ** Eric Talbot *
Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic ...
* Richard Pini *
Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic book ''Cerebus the Aardvark, Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political an ...
*
Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (; born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground comics, underground, and alternative comics. Biography Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One ...
*
Michael Zulli Michael Zulli (December 20, 1952 – July 8, 2024) was an American artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator. Best known for his work on the Sandman. Career Michael Zulli's career in the c ...


See also

*
Creator ownership in comics In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-published or published by a corporate publisher. In some fields of ...


Notes


Further reading


Interview with Steve Bissette
about the Creator's Bill of Rights * ''The Comics Journal'' #137 (Sept. 1990) — special coverage of the Creator's Bill of Rights, including the full text of the Bill: ** "Creator's Rights", pp. 65–71. ** "What Are Creators' Rights?", pp. 66–71. ** Groth, Gary. "Steven Bissette and Scott McCloud", pp. 72–92. ** Groth, Gary. "Creator vs. Corporate Ownership", pp. 101–106: on "creators' rights", Mark Askwith, Steve Bissette, Steve Saffel, and
Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''The New Mutants (comic book), The New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and ''Elektra: Assassi ...
. * Berntsen, Christian and Relkin, Richard. "Cultural Corner", ''Comic Culture'' vol. 1, # 3 (Jan./Feb. 1993), pp. 16–17: on creators' rights; includes text (draft) of "A Bill of Rights for Comic Creators".


External links


Creator's Bill of Rights at ScottMcCloud.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creators Bill of Rights 1988 in comics Cartoonists Comics industry Intellectual property activism 1988 documents