Rob Guillory Talks About Turning Down A Marvel/DC Comics Revamp

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Rob Guillory Talks About Turning Down A Marvel/DC Comics Revamp

Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, DC Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: chew, rob guillory

Rob Guillory talks about turning down a Marvel/DC Comics revamp a fair few years ago

Rob Guillory, co-creator of Chew, Mosely and creator of Farmland, has had a few one-off gigs for Marvel on the likes of Uncanny Avengers, Thor, Secret Wars, Rocket Raccoon and the like. Even more recently Titans for DC. In recent days, there has been a bit of a kerfuffle regarding Marvel and DC Comics’ regard to their freelance comic book creators. Lots of folk had a lot to say. But Rob Guillory held his own counsel… for a couple of days before letting it all rip on Facebook.

“I’ve seen a lot of chatter online about decreasing page rates and bad contracts at Marvel and DC. Here’s the thing: Yes, their rates are not great. And yes, they do seem to be decreasing. I can confirm this from numerous creators and personal experience. And yes, the standard Big 2 contract is what I would call a Bad Deal for the average comic creator who isn’t in the rare position to negotiate for more. I hit this realization a few years back after a very nice editor from the Big 2 offered me a gig revamping one of their characters. It’s a well-known character, and frankly, I was flattered to be considered. The 9-year-old in me felt very affirmed seeing the same company logo from my childhood now on an email in my inbox offering me work. But then the 42-year-old me considered the actual terms of the deal. Which I can’t totally share BECAUSE LAWYERS.”

“The basic gist is that I’d have the task of bringing my talents to this sagging character in the hopes that I could resuscitate him and make him cool again. In exchange, I’d get a (meh) page rate and MAYBE some residuals IF it sold well. And meanwhile, the company would own my work and could make it into a billion-dollar franchise if they played their cards right. Of course, the company would have NO obligation to actually pay me anything more for the adaptation… but if I was lucky, MAYBE I’d get a Special Thanks credit at the end of the movie. LUCKY ME.”

“In the end, 42-year-old me decided it was a Bad Deal that made absolutely no sense. Especially after years of creator-owned work had taught me that the REAL money was in actually OWNING the thing I was making. So I politely passed and continued making stuff that I own and control. So yeah, I think the Big 2 Deal is a Bad Deal. Doesn’t mean that the people at these companies are bad people. It just means that I think creators give away WAAAAAY more than they get in return in these contracts. So… what can creators do about that? Easy. STOP TAKING THE DEAL. Seriously. If you really feel these deals unfairly leverage creators without MEANINGFULLY compensating them, don’t work for these companies. Go find or create a better outlet for your art. It’s that simple.”

To be fair, there are quite a few these days. a) get an agent b) go to Scholastic c) think of something kids will want to read in four years and bingo.

“}]] Rob Guillory talks about turning down a Marvel/DC Comics revamp a fair few years ago  Read More