Patman

http://www.steveniles.com/gary.html

Lots of vitriol towards Marvel and the Mouse from Facebookers after news that Marvel/Disney counter-sued Gary Friedrich and won a judgment of $17,000 against Friedrich for damages from sales of unauthorized Ghost Rider-related goods at conventions and online.

kodave

I'm not going to say Marvel (and DC) have a history of treating creators/writers/artists fairly (see: most recently, ANY thread relating to Before Watchmen discussing Moore's history with DC), but he kind of had this coming by suing and provoking Marvel then getting nailed by the counter claim. And from what I understand, there is dispute between him and like two other guys on who the true creator of Ghost Rider was, but its not like that's ever been settled in a court of law and likely won't ever be, since Marvel owns the character outright like they do with everything made under work for hire.

And while the $17,000 sounds rough, its not like Marvel has already collected on it or tried to. He obviously doesn't have $17,000 and was broke before he thought it'd be wise to chance this all with a lawsuit regarding movie profits. Could Marvel try to say, put a lien on his home or garnish his wages if he were to find a job? Yeah. Will they? Who knows, but I'd hope not. That's the thing about the American legal system. You can get a judgment for a billion dollars against Joe Schmoe but you could never see a penny of it and that's that.

And from what the court documents imply (I haven't actually seen Marvel's counter claim, just the stipulated judgment), what he did went beyond what other creators were doing. And while it seems like Marvel could try to go after other creators in the future for "convention sketches" or "commissions" I can't imagine they're going to try and bite the hands currently doing work for them or people that did work for them unless they try to sue Marvel, especially when probably every one of their current artists are making a buck at conventions for sketches and whatnot and even selling the original page sketches/layouts. I think Gary just provoked Marvel and they just Superboy punched him back, or whatever the saying is.

So my point in this is, I recognize the big two have treated creators/writers/artists poorly under work for hire, but there are/were many broke "old-timers." I personally don't see why Gary is any more deserving of donations than say the The Hero Initiative or even the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, just because he decided to face Goliath without much of a leg to stand on.

If people feel differently and want to give to Gary, great. But that's just my two cents on the matter.

JasonF

From a legal point of view, I have very little sympathy for Friedrich. I think he knew what he was getting into, I think he overstates his role in creating Ghost Rider, and I think he knowingly crossed a line when he sold Ghost Rider merch.

All of that said, on a human level, he's a talented creator whose work has brought me enjoyment over the years, and if he needs financial help, I hope he gets it.

Patman

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/02/...artists-alley/

Groucho

I paid money to see that movie. In a theater. If anything, he should be paying me.

ultimaton

It's a little more nuanced than that, but Rich decided to go for the overly sensationalist headline over accuracy (shocker).

Friedrich was selling prints of old Ghost Rider covers without Marvel or the Mike Ploog's permission. So a bit different than getting a Ghost Rider head sketch from someone or even buying a print of an original drawing of the character.

JasonF

Rich is being silly here. Fried rich was going way beyond selling sketches in artists alley -- he was, in effect, mass-producing and selling Ghost Rider merchandise. And even then, they didn't go after him until he went after them.

Patman

http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/02/10...n-site-set-up/