The Walking Dead may have made AMC, Image Comics, and series creator Robert Kirkman very wealthy ever since the property became a hit TV show in 2010, but the co-creator/artist of the series, Tony Moore, is claiming that he hasn't seen his share of the profits. Now, Moore is suing Kirkman, his former childhood friend, for what he feels is his rightful share of the property's proceeds, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Moore is claiming that Kirkman and his agents had "duped" him into signing over his interest in The Walking Dead back in 2005, and that he has seen "very little compensation" since then. According to Moore' court documents, he is supposed to receive 60 percent of The Walking Dead's "comic publishing net proceeds" and 20 percent of the "motion picture net proceeds". He is claiming that none of this profit sharing has taken place.
However, Kirkman's attorney, Allen Grodzky, is calling the suit "totally frivolous," and that Moore is "owed no money at all."
Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore created The Walking Dead together in 2003 over at Image Comics. Moore was the series' regular artist for the first six issues, and continued to provide the covers through issue #24. On the other hand, Kirkman has written all 93 issues of the comic so far, and he continues to work on the television show as well.
The ownership of comic book properties are often times very complicated and contentious issues, and it looks like this lawsuit has the potential to get much uglier before it gets settled.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]
Robert Kirkman Being Sued By Artist Tony Moore Over "Walking Dead" Profits
By Jason Serafino | Feb 10, 2012 | 1:28 pm | Permalink
J February 10th, 2012 at 03:31 PM
"[Moore] and Kirkman were thus joint authors and co-owners of the copyrights in these works." If Moore can provide this document in court and it turns out to be legit. This will make Kirkman's overall character look bad. Also if Moore's documentation pans out about him owning 60% of the comic proceeds. When Moore signed onto Kirkman's company, giving Kirkman more control over the source material. In return Kirkman should of treated his (friend) Moore fairly when the checks came in from the networks and comic book publishers. I can already take a good guess on why Moore signed over his percentages to Kirkman in the first place. No comic book publisher or network will purchase any material unless it is funlly housed under a company or LLC (Not split). Kirkman told his childhood friend (Moore) to sign his half over to his company in return that he will be re-compensated the exact amount that his old contract stated. This is where the fraud part comes in. Kirkman lied and literally took back the 60% his friend currently owned. If when these documents pan out and are proven legit, you have to ask yourselves this - Who actually wrote TWD; 60% Moore and 40% Kirkman is pretty atrocious and telling. It's clear that Kirkman was smart when it came to the dark-side of the business that of his colleague/friend. Kirkman took TWD and ran with it throwing his friend under the bus for fame and fortune. At the end of the day in court - Are the contracts and paperwork that Moore is saying exist, actually exist.
ohmygodjohntravolta February 12th, 2012 at 05:40 AM
Episode 8: "Nebraska" The episode starts at the exact same spot the previous one left off. One of the walkers who got shot (the stepmom) tries to grab Beth (Hershel's youngest daughter), but is killed by Andrea with a swift hoe through the head. Shane shouts some more and Hershel tells the group to "LEAVE MY FARM!" for the umpteenth time. Maggie finally slaps Shane right in the face and things cool down somewhat. Sophia is buried along with Hershel's dead family members from the barn. T-Dog, Andrea, and Shane pile the other corpses on a truck, drive to a nearby field and burn the bodies in a pyre. Hershel has something of a mental breakdown as he slips out of the farm and goes to a bar in the town to get shitfaced. Beth goes into catatonic shock from the ordeal at the barn, so Rick and Glenn head to town in order to bring Hershel back. Meanwhile, Dale tells a skeptical Lori about his suspicions that Shane killed Otis and his belief that Shane will sooner or later kill someone else. Daryl snaps and shouts at Lori when asked to bring Rick and Hershel home quicker, stating he's "done looking for people". Lori heads out by herself, hits a random walker on the way and flips the car into a ditch. It's not shown what happened to her. That's the second (and the last) actual walker we see in the episode. Glenn and Rick find Hershel in the bar. After a five-minute rant by a drunk Hershel, two dudes (Tony and Dave) enter the bar. They are bad guys. They inform Glenn, Rick, and Hershel that Fort Benning is overrun and they're heading for Nebraska, which is supposedly safe. "Low population, lots of guns," as they put it. The two quickly deduce that Rick and company must have a farm nearby and want to go there because "they've got people to look out for". "That's not gonna happen," says Rick. There's a tense situation, since both guys are armed and threaten to take the farm by force. This culminates with a Clint Eastwood-style gun draw and Rick shoots both guys dead. The scene then cuts to bodies of walkers burning in the pyre. End episode. Episode 9: "Triggerfinger" The episode begins with Shane asking Daryl if Rick and Glenn are back. Daryl tells him "NO" and also tells him that Lori asked him to go look for them, but he ain't doin that no more. Shane lets him have it for sending Carl and Lori out to look for Rick, and Daryl tells him "Not to talk to him about getting his hands dirty." Then we go back to the bar, where Rick tells Glenn he needs to "shoot the bad guys in the head", so he can go back and talk to Hershel. Glenn says, "but they are already dead, and we need to save our ammo" and Rick says, "Glenn, just do it." Rick and Hershell go for a talk. At the farm, Daryl goes to see Carol, who is still in a catatonic state. He suggests that she go to Sophia's grave and make her peace. She says nothing. He helps her up and walks with her. When they get there, Carol finally speaks to the grave and Daryl cries. Carol sees a Cherokee Rose on the grave, and she cries. Shane finds Lori on the side of the road. He kills the zombie trying to get in the car. Lori is okay but shaken. She doesn't know where Carl is. He tells her to drive back to camp, tell Daryl what happened and the both of you, come back for me. Shane goes in woods to look for Carl. Carl is getting ready to shoot a zombie, Shane shoots it for him. Make that the sixth time Shane has saved their lives. Still in the bar patiently waiting for Rick's arrival, Glenn doesn't get why Rick wants him to shoot the bad guys in the head. Rick and Hershel return in a panic as the rest of the dead guys' gang chases them in. Rick starts shooting at them when out of nowhere, the two dead guys become the undead. Glenn freaks and gets triggerfinger, and kills them dead. After the gun fight, Glenn is a mess and wants answers. Rick tells him Jenner's secret: everyone is already carrying the zombie virus, and will come back as a zombie no matter how they die. End of episode.