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I'll be there, I can't wait!

Woohoo!

Got a copy of this yesterday... The 2000 AD article is interesting, but the rest of the magazine will likely remain unread. It's not aimed at people like me, so I'm not surprised about that.

Still, nice to see a photo of my Termight Replicas Dredd badge on the contents page! Fame at last!

-- Mike

Thanks, Prof! That does explain why so many people are down on Marvel because of this... But I'm not sure my opinions have been swayed just yet. Claiming copyright ownership of the character because Marvel neglected to "top-up" their own copyright claim doesn't sit well with me. It smacks of Friedrich thinking, "Hey, look, they screwed up! I reckon I can make money from this!"

As a creator, my gut reaction is to side with Friedrich (the "David versus Goliath" syndrome: we all want the little guy to win), but my brain was telling me that he was in the wrong. I still don't get why anyone expected Marvel to behave any other way. If you create a character for someone else, it's their character. If you later try to bring a lawsuit against them, they're naturally going to fight it.

If they were in the right, they should have proved it in court.  They didn't.

That Marvel didn't win their counter-suit doesn't mean they weren't right. If the legal battle hadn't been terminated prematurely (by mutual agreement, for whatever reason), Friedrich would probably have lost a hell of a lot more than $17,000 (the figure that it is estimated he earned from unauthorised sales of Marvel-related merchandise).

-- Mike

I don't get this at all.

Gary Friedrich worked for Marvel on a work-for-hire basis, fully aware that he would have no rights to anything he created for them. He created Ghost Rider as part of this contract. In 1978 he even signed an agreement with Marvel that he had no rights to the character.

Then a few years ago he brings a lawsuit against Marvel claiming that he is owed money for Marvel's continued use of the character (a character that both parties have agreed is fully owned by Marvel).

So what are Marvel supposed to do in a case like this? They can't not fight the lawsuit he's brought against them. And in cases like this, it's pretty much standard policy to issue a counter-suit: if they don't do that, they're keeping the door open for everyone else who's ever created anything for Marvel to also sue them.

While the money awarded to Marvel ($17,000) is a significant sum to a one guy and clearly only a drop in the ocean for a company the size of Marvel, why should they have to pay their own legal bills when the plaintiff lost the case? He's lucky it's only $17,000 - I think it's a safe bet that Marvel paid a lot more than that to their lawyers to fight the case.

It seems to me that the commentators on the web are treating Marvel as the bullies simply because they're the wealthier part of the equation. Just because Mr. Friedrich is an impoverished writer doesn't automatically make him the victim.

Seriously, I don't get why Marvel are the bad guys here! What exactly have they done wrong? Have I missed some big, important chunk of the story?

-- Mike

Excellent! A well-deserved honour!

Wish I could have been there - it sounds like a great gig. Still, there's also the 35th Anniversary event at the Cardiff Comic Expo and I expect that the good folks at Hi-Ex will do something similar!

- Mike

Two more from the
same site:

Och, they didn't wheel that old crank out again?  He's the comics equivalent of the naked rambler guy...

Hey, that's not fair! Rich is my friend and I will not have anything bad said about him unless I'm the one saying it!

-- Mike

Can a Mod change the name of this thread,  please?

To something like "Glasgow Meet Up 4th February (Selma Hayek probably in attendance)".

Ach! Didn't work - it seems I can only change the title for individual posts, not the whole topic!
-- Mike

Yes! Got it now! Is this what you wanted? (Apart from the Selma Hayek mention, of course!).

I hadn't realised you were a fellow Harrison fan. I lost a load of my Harrison books during a move back from overseas years ago and have slowly been rebuilding the collection. Picked this up from a market stall a couple of years back.

Kerrin, that's one of the more rare paperback edition of The Stainless Steel Rat - hold onto it! (If I were you I'd keep it sealed in a sandwich bag or something, just in case it still has bookworms that might infect your other books!)

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Harry's work. I've been running his website for the past twelve years (though it's sorely in need of a revamp), and I'm lucky enough to count Harry as a friend.

Speed merged with Tiger by the way. Although it should be noted that the combination of these two particular nouns just wasn't as exciting ferocious as one would have expected.

A-ha! That rings a bell! I'm pretty sure I bought most issues of Speed when they came out, but my copies disappeared somewhere along the way. I can remember almost nothing about the strips. It's sad to think that there's hundreds of comics like that which might never be seen again.

Good interview .....still love the mock up of Judge Dredd no.1 , if only it were true ...

I just saw that and wondered where'd that had come from  What's the story on that?

Hi Oshii,

The cover was created as a spoof for an article in Judge Dredd Megazine a few years back... More info on my website here.

I just went to Mike's website to see if he has software to do my name in 2000AD font... Nope

Bat King: If you mean the original logo, then, no, there's no software for that. I've created a few variations, but they're all done by hand. However, if you really, really want one with your name, get in touch and I'll try to find the time (no promises, though: it takes ages to do!).

-- Mike

... kills him off.

Where does it say he's dead?

-- Mike

The first part of James Bacon's rather lengthy interview with me about 2000 AD is now up on
ComicBuzz!

-- Mike

[Fixed that link for you!]

2D Northern Ireland Comics Festival
Derry, Northern Ireland
31st May - 2nd June 2012
http://www.2dfestival.com/

-- Mike

I wholeheartedly endorse Dave's endorsement of Psych - it really is absolutely top-drawer stuff. One of those rare shows that you can watch over and over and still find something new. It's packed with daft jokes, thoroughly endearing characters and some of the best dialogue every written...

Shawn: Gus, note to self. Remember 1600 Joshua Lane.

Gus: You can't give me your note to self. It's a note to yourself.

Shawn: Fair enough. At that moment Shawn found himself alone, unable to face the journey ahead.

Gus: You can't do your own omniscient narration either.

Shawn: Let's see what's at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

Gus: That's the Munsters' house. It was 1600 Joshua Lane.

Shawn: Thanks, note to self.

It's just a shame that it seems to have been almost completely ignored on this side of the Atlantic, to the point where, when you try and tell people about it, they go, "Oh, so it's like The Mentalist." Luckily, the writers of Psych have an answer for that, too:

Shawn: You've seen "The Mentalist", right?

Cop: Yes!

Shawn: It's like that.

Gus: Except that guy's a fake.

Shawn: Right. If I was a fake psychic, it would be eerily similar.

Gus: Exactly the same.

Shawn: A virtual carbon copy.

-- Mike

Right... Flights and hotel booked for Hi-Ex 2012! Yay! Only about twelve weeks to go!

-- Mike