<\/p>\n
This was originally published in February, 2006.<\/p>\n
One thing I learned about this interview is that creators can never take their rights for granted. You would think that after all these years with the horrible stories of Siegel and Shuster, Jack Kirby, Bill Finger and many others that publishers these days would never try to screw somebody that badly. Especially by 1989. Scott McCloud’s Creator Bill of Rights was drafted the year prior.<\/p>\n
You’d be wrong.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
You remember that movie Men in Black? The funny one with Will Smith and\u00a0Tommy Lee Jones? Did you know the movie came from a little seen black\u00a0and white comic book published in 1990? This month we interview the\u00a0artist from that comic, Sandy Carruthers. In the interview, we reveal\u00a0some shocking details about how Sandy was compensated (or how he wasn’t)\u00a0and we look at some other work of his including Captain Canuck.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0When did you break into the comics industry and what was your first work?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> 1988? 89? Around there. It was the California based\u00a0Malibu Graphics Sci-Fi wing (Eternity Comics). They published a B&W\u00a0anthology series called ‘The Shattered Earth Chronicles’. I submitted a\u00a0proposal ‘Twilights Last’, and they took it. From there, they started to\u00a0send me comicbook work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0How did you end up drawing Men in Black?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> The editor, Tom Mason, called me and asked if I could read the\u00a0script. I liked Sci-Fi and UFO stuff, so I grabbed it up. The writer\u00a0Lowell Cunningham was situated in Knoxville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0I understand you got no compensation from the movies? Was there a\u00a0contract between you and Malibu Comics?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Nope! Not a cent of the $857,000,000 profit made from it. Go\u00a0figure. I was hired with a contract that only gave me rights to my\u00a0ORIGINAL art (meaning, if they reproduce it…then they pay me)…I\u00a0wasn’t the creator, Lowell was. What did I know? They only published\u00a08000 copies fercripessake!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0How did Lowell make out on the Men in Black?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> He did very well. Lowell is a clever man….he was the creator,\u00a0after all, and established it right away. I say, good on ’em!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0On the issue of creating, how much of Men in Black was visually\u00a0established prior to your coming on? Did you have to contribute anything\u00a0visually?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> There were no visuals . . . just a script. Everything you see is\u00a0mine, mine, mine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0When you say the contract was only for the original art, did you not\u00a0get a page rate?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Malibu worked on royalties, not page rates. They paid an up front\u00a0amount ($250.00 per issue) and if the title met a certain ratio, I’d get\u00a0a percentage. MIB did okay. Again. Small publishing house. I was glad to\u00a0be printed, to be honest. Money? Fahhh!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0Was the contract the same for the 2nd mini series you and Lowell did\u00a0together?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> That was the standard Malibu contract.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0Would you contribute to a TPB reprinting your original two series?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> No.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0After going through that experience, what would you recommend young\u00a0freelancers\/creators do in a similar situation?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Evaluate the contract. Talk to a lawyer about ‘what’s in it for\u00a0you’…weigh the value of your work. Think, ‘What if…. movie,\u00a0merchandise, tv series’ and apply it to the terms. Cover your ass!\u00a0Honestly? It wasn’t a fact that I was ‘screwed over’ by Malibu. I just\u00a0didn’t think it would go as far as it did. Malibu was very good to me\u00a0during those years…live and learn, and carry on. Life is too short,\u00a0and so am I.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0I had a talk with Neal Adams last summer in which he talked about a\u00a0publisher’s moral responsibility to spread the wealth on such success,\u00a0rather than sticking to the letter of the law or contract. What is your\u00a0view on moral vs. legal responsibility?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Most large comicbook publishers work on assembly lines. They are\u00a0corporations that have one solid objective: to make money. I like the\u00a0current trend that’s happening now. Traditional Book Publishers breaking\u00a0into the Graphic Novel industry. These publishers treat their creators\u00a0with great respect.<\/p>\n Again, read the fine print. Dare to call the shots. Most comic book\u00a0creators are just so happy to be published by the ‘big two’ that they\u00a0get clouded in their judgements, business wise. The big guys know this.\u00a0Hey! It ain’t personal, it’s business! Really, creators call their own\u00a0shots. The bottom line is you can always say “no.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0What did you think of the two movies?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> I liked the first one…the second was redundant same-o, same-o.\u00a0Seriously, I wish the humour would’ve been in the vein of the Coen\u00a0Brothers…more dark. Alas! They went for the bucks, though! Loved the\u00a0ending, though . . . we are marbles!!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0 After the movie came out, Marvel did new Men in Black comics and there\u00a0were cartoons, toys, video games, etc.. Were you involved in any of it?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> No. God, no.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0I understand Richard Comely turned Captain Canuck into a comic strip\u00a0and you drew some of it during the 90s. Can you tell us about that?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Comely came out with Captain Canuck:Reborn during the 90’s. I\u00a0contacted him and he wanted me to draw Catman (splatter)..the series\u00a0went kaput and Richard had me illustrate the daily comic script that was\u00a0to be in the newspaper. That was hell! Dailies are no fun, folks…. way\u00a0too much deadline pressure. That really didn’t go anywhere either, but\u00a0it was fun working on the good Captain!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0Did the comic strip actually see print somewhere?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Very little. Maybe two papers picked it up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0You and Mark Shainblum are supposed to be reviving Captain Canuck.\u00a0What is the latest on that?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> We started a limited series and produced an ashcan. We even lined\u00a0up Canadiana penciller Jeff Alward to work on issue 2, but alas… the\u00a0latest on it (from my perspective, anyway) is it’s fairly dead in the\u00a0water.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0Dave Sim mentioned when he first published Cerebus, only one Canadian\u00a0store would stock it – the one he used to work at. Considering all the\u00a0starts and stops Captain Canuck has had over the years, do you think\u00a0Canadians don’t support home grown work enough or is our market just too\u00a0small?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> A little of both, really. It all depends. In this day of Global\u00a0Neighborhood, what does it matter? With Canadiana, I have readers all\u00a0over the world (even Iraq!) …what does this say? It says Canadians\u00a0have an excellent potential for export here, so…have at ‘er, I say!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0As of late you’ve been working on Canadiana, a new female patriotic\u00a0Superhero. You’ve been putting it all your webpage for free. What are\u00a0your long term plans for the character?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> She hasn’t been updated because I ‘ve been too busy. At this\u00a0point, it’s free comics for everybody! We want her to be set in peoples\u00a0minds…where she goes is anyone’s guess…possibly animated cartoons or\u00a0live action. Perhaps print. Time will tell!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0Canadiana is different in that she doesn’t have the stereotypical\u00a0Canadian personality. Why did you make her cranky?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Haha! Perhaps because she’s sick of the stereotypical Canadian\u00a0personality. We Canadians are a lot crabbier than we let on! I blame the\u00a0winters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0One of the supporting characters in Canadiana is a psychic Naomi. Are\u00a0you a believer in psychics?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Actually, I do. I think there’s enough uncanny stuff out there to\u00a0warrant a second glance. Plus it’s fun. Granted, there’s a lot of\u00a0snake-oil salesmen out there, but there’s some genuine stuff. Also, it\u00a0sparks my imagination, and that ‘s what it’s all about!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0You have another online comic called The Ronin and the Lily. I noticed\u00a0it starts off very much like Lone Wolf and Cub. Was that an influence?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Honestly? No. I wrote and drew that because I had just gone\u00a0through a nasty spell in life known to many as divorce. Here I was a\u00a0single dad with my daughter surviving. That’s really what The Ronin &\u00a0the Lily is about. This man and child wandering\/growing together. And\u00a0then, I stumbled on Lone Wolf and Cub, and exclaimed ‘d’oh!’<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie:<\/strong>\u00a0Do you have plans on continuing Ronin and the Lily?<\/p>\n Sandy Carruthers:<\/strong> Probably not. It was created for its time, for me. Though I\u00a0shouldn’t say never.<\/p>\n I’ll keep you posted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This was originally published in February, 2006. One thing I learned about this interview is that creators can never take their rights for granted. You would think that after all these years with the horrible stories of Siegel and Shuster, Jack Kirby, Bill Finger and many others that publishers these days would never try to screw somebody that badly. 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