creators assemble!

Michael Netzer

In our fast paced world of informational and visual communications wonders, it's not by chance that so many of the creations brought into the world through the comic book industry are now coming to the forefront of defining the new mythology for the 21st century - and doing so at an ever increasing pace.

The root force which has birthed the comic book creations, since the inception of the industry, can be traced back to the dawn of human history when the first intelligent people began exploring raw visual communications techniques by etching the simplest shapes into the dust of the earth with branch sticks and bush twigs, long before the adoption of the rock as a tool which the stone-age dwellers used to carve out their stories on the walls of their caves. It was this instinct, to communicate and tell stories visually, which began defining the structural alphabets pertaining to the many and diverse languages which grace our civilization. It was also this same instinct which led our cultural evolution as a species, from the literary and artistic works of ages past, all they way to the television and film industries which are pioneering the new technological frontiers of the visual communications and storytelling expanse opening itself to us today.

Along side the vision which the comic book publishers have forged for the growth of the industry, it's clear to all who have touched this medium that the comic book creators remain the primordial driving force shaping this populist cultural mythology and providing the fodder for the commercial success of the comic book properties in our time. While the publishers contend with the exploitation and marketing ends of the creations, it's the creators who've put their ingenuity and creative spirit to the test by their conjuring of the icons and tales which have captured the imagination of the modern world. The creators have done all this, often at great personal expense and in pursuit of the sheer integrity and cultrual significance of the work they produce.

Yet, ironic as it seems - and as their creations continue to rise and are increasingly embraced by the pop culture - the comic book creators remain, for the most part, unable to see any significant reward for their work as they look from the sidelines at how the publishers and other entertainment mediums are flourishing through the exploitation of their creations. The history of the comic book industry and the economic conditions which have prevailed since its inception are well known to the creators, yet they continue to give their all, under extremely difficult conditions, for the benefit of this industry. Most comic book creators still work today as free-lancers, with no employment stability, no retirement or medical benefits, no legal support with which to defend their intellectual property rights and no institutionalized or organized means of taking care of their own, should any of them fall into difficult times.

Throughout the last several decades, a notable relief to this situation has come from one the industry's more prominent creators and ambassador of goodwill to the comics community, Neal Adams. It was Neal Adams who raised a voice of objection to the destruction of original artwork by the publishers in the latter end of the 1960's, which resulted in the institution of a policy of the return of the original art to the creators. This policy has since become a welcomed source of supplemented income to artists, inkers, writers and letterers alike and has contributed to elevating the stature of comic book art to a viable and acclaimed art form.

When, in 1975, the creators of Superman distributed a letter of grievance to the comic book community, Neal Adams rose to the aid of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster by waging a public awareness campaign as to their situation, which brought about an equitable intermediary settlement and helped them rise from the destitute conditions which overcame them at the time. As recently as in early 2003, when the creator of several prominent X-Men characters fell into a difficult health and financial crisis, Neal Adams again rose to the occasion and joined Clifford Meth to help Dave Cockrum procure a small reward for his creations and overcome the difficult misfortune which had befallen him.

At a recent Big Apple Comic Book Convention in New York, the benevolent creator again called for comic book community to begin organizing in order to found The Comic Book Creators' Guild, in the hopes of establishing a formal organization which could address the needs of the comic book creators in the future.

Now, as we begin to assemble into this union, another one of our colleagues has fallen into difficult and pressing circumstance - and again, Neal Adams and Aardwolf Publishing have risen to extend a helping hand and some measure of comfort to Bill Messner-Loebs in his difficult hour. The need for the formation of The Comic Book Creator's Guild has become of the utmost and dire urgency for the comic book community.

We believe that through this union, we will contribute to a stronger, healthier and more prosperous comic book industry which will stand up to the challenges it faces today. We believe that this effort is imperative under the prevailing conditions that our community endures and that through it, all facets of the comic book industry will prosper and flourish.

- Michael Netzer has drawn comic books since the mid 1970's for DC, Marvel and independent comics publishers, including work on characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, The Legion of Superheroes, Green Arrow and Black Canary...and many more.