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]
