When it comes to comic books if you own your property that's really important. Your comic might not be that popular, but you still own it. It could become a huge hit that gets adapted into a movie or game, and you own that and get money for it. If you work for Marvel or DC you get the thrill of writing well-known properties, but the pay will suck and if something you created is used for an epic storyline, the best you can hope for is a small check (maybe) and a little, "Thank you," spot in the credits of the multimillion/billion dollar film from the big conglomerate that otherwise could give a damn you contributed the key foundation to that flick. Creators normally are hesitant to outright bash Marvel or DC, but more are coming forward realizing they can burn that bridge if they have zero intent to ever use it again.
Marvel is especially getting slammed lately, although DC is still catching some smoke, so to speak. Multiple creators have talked about the crappy pay, questionable business practices, or simply pointed out they don't see the point in putting in a bunch of work to have little to show for it (Rob Guillory revealed what he legally could about the chance to revamp a character for little in the way of money/thanks and how he passed). You might not get rich working with an independent publisher who lets you keep the rights to everything you do (like Image). That said, if whatever you make takes off you won't still be broke as you would with Marvel or DC. Creator rights in comics is always been a topic that comes up, and gets addressed a little, but then a lot of problematic stuff stays the same. It is a damn shame because anyone who created characters or stories that are making tons upon tons of money shouldn't be struggling to pay medical bills. This reminds me, please contribute to the GoFundMe for Peter David if you can. The man has written some amazing stuff and he is currently in crisis.
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