Author: Martha Thomases

The Rights Stuff, by Martha Thomases

The Rights Stuff, by Martha Thomases

This has been a stimulating week for any discussion of artists’ rights in the comics field. The courts awarded a share of the Superman copyright to the heirs of Jerry Siegel, and Warren Ellis left Marvel’s Thunderbolts series, saying, “It’s as simple as this – if I don’t own it, I’m not going to spend my life on it. Joe Quesada and Dan Buckley know that, they’re fine with that, and they hire me on that understanding.”

It’s my temptation now to brag, to tell you about the time I walked around the San Diego Comic Con with Joanne Siegel, how Warren Ellis is not only someone I know, but also my Facebook friend. Then you’d envy me for my fabulous life, and my weekend would be that much better. However, that’s not really a very good premise for a column. People haven’t worked so hard, risked being blackballed by major publishers and put their careers on the line just so I can feel better about myself (although, perhaps, they should consider doing so, since it would make me very happy).

The artists and writers in the comics community face the same trials and tribulations as the creative talents in any of the popular arts in this, our American capitalist society.

The blues musicians who created the tunes still used in popular music never received the copyrights for their work. If they were lucky, the assigned those rights (in contracts they never read) to the producers of their work. In that case, they at least got paid for their recordings. More likely, a white man heard the song and sold it as his own.

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GrimJack: At the Crossroads

In today’s brand-new episode of GrimJack: The Manx Cat, by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman, Ben Marsh faces his inner demon. And his inner demon is John Gaunt.  

Will they fight?  Will they win?

Credits:John Ostrander (Writer), John Workman (Letterer), Lovern Kindzierski (Colorist), Mike Gold (Editor), Timothy Truman (Artist)

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Webbed Comics


Black Ice: In the Sky!

Black Ice: In the Sky!

In today’s brand-new episode of Black Ice, by Mike Baron and Nick Runge, Neil’s motorbike is gone, along with Prince Crom. With it, our heroes may have lost the war.

Can Neil show them how to make another bike? Does Mark Twain hold the answer?

Credits:Bob Pinaha (Letterer), Matt Webb (Colorist), Mike Baron (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Nick Runge (Artist)

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EZ Street: Running Away

EZ Street: Running Away

 

In today’s brand-new episode of EZ Street by Robert Tinnell and Mark Wheatley, Danny and Scott contnue to spin a tale of a little boy and a drunken cop.

Which is the monster?  How can they escape their destiny?  Or can they?

Credits:Mark Wheatley (Artist), Mark Wheatley (Colorist), Mark Wheatley (Letterer), Mark Wheatley (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Robert Tinnell (Writer)

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Demons of Sherwood: The Evil Read

Demons of Sherwood: The Evil Read

In today’s brand-new episode of Demons of Sherwood, by Robert Tinnell and Bo Hampton, our heroes seek refuge in a monastery where Friar Tuck keeps everyone safe.

He knows every hidey-hole and secret passage in the place, where he guards a most sacred treasure. What happens if he’s followed by someone who worships a different god?

Credits:Bo Hampton (Artist), Bo Hampton (Colorist), Bo Hampton (Letterer), Bo Hampton (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Robert Tinnell (Writer)

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It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, by Martha Thomases

It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, by Martha Thomases

My Wednesday ritual is pretty well set. I get up early enough to do a few hours of work, then go uptown to volunteer. On my way, I stop at Forbidden Planet so I can pick up the new comics. Since I live in Manhattan, I have my choice of several excellent comic shops. Forbidden Planet is near the 6 train, so that’s where I go (also, excellent service, friendly staff, and loads of prose books along with the comics). I can usually read at least one comic while I ride the train, and sometimes, another one in the playground near the hospital. After my stint is done, I ride home, do some more work, and curl up with the rest of my pile.

This week, because it’s spring at last and the sun was out, I decided to take the 6 train all the way down to Bleecker Street instead of taking the F to West Fourth, so I could do the extra walking in my own neighborhood instead of walking through the black pit of hell that is the lower level of the West Fourth Street Station. Everything is blooming early this year – magnolia trees, daffodils, forsythia, the strawberries on my terrace that reliably bear fruit on Arthur’s birthday – so there is color everywhere. Even Frosty Myers’ wall is back where it belongs, in soothing blues. I realize all this mass transit talk is boring to those of you with cars, but it’s all part of the minutiae of New York that makes this kind of urban living its own micro-organism.

Anyway …

 

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Black Ice: The Return!

Black Ice: The Return!

Black Ice, the action-adventure fantasy by Mike Baron and Nick Runge, returns today with a brand-new chapter.

Neil Kofsky drove his motorbike through an inter-dimensional portal and right onto a battleship that flies through the air.  After dueling with a Prince with an attitude, Neil finds himself (and everyone else on board) attacked by an enemy he doesn’t know and doesn’t understand.  And now ….

Credits: Bob Pinaha (Letterer), Matt Webb (Colorist), Mike Baron (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Nick Runge (Artist)

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Simone & Ajax: A Beautiful Girl, a Dinosaur, a Duck and a Pope

Simone & Ajax: A Beautiful Girl, a Dinosaur, a Duck and a Pope

In today’s brand-new full-color episode of Simone & Ajax: The Case of the Maltese Duck, by Andrew Pepoy, our heroes find themselves in la belle France, hot on the heels of the thief or thieves who stole the legendary Maltese Duck.

What tortures will they face on their quest to find it? And what’s with the crazy hats?

Credits:Andrew Pepoy (Artist), Andrew Pepoy (Letterer), Andrew Pepoy (Writer), Jason Millet (Colorist), Mike Gold (Editor-In-Chief)

More: The Adventures of Simone & Ajax: The Case of the Maltese Duck