Comics UK

For a few weeks now the Daily Mirror has been using Lichtenstein type images on its problem page but today I noticed the Daily Mail had followed suit. See for yourself:

The Mail copying another paper's ideas? Heaven forfend. As a Guardian reader I'm used to every other paper copying ideas from my own (wallcharts, a tabloid pullout section, Notes & Queries, 1000 Films You Must See pullouts, etc etc).

I've always had more a bone to pick with Roy Lichtenstein who copied pictures out of comics without any attribution then ended up getting paid 10,000 times more than the original artist got for it. Has anyone ever sued him for intellectual copyright?

For the record I have a BA in Fine Art and I work as a comic artist. Imagine my pain.

Don't recall anyone suing him but I did see a fascinating article once that showed his four most famous 'paintings' and the comic book originals he copied. I'm sure one was Wally Wood and another Joe Kubert. Pity he didn't nick off Neal Adams, then he'd have known all about it. Lichenstein is neither art, pastiche nor social commentary, it's plagiarism, intellectual property theft, banditry.

Of course I'm bound to reply that his work is art, and to a lesser extent social commentary. And I'm torn on the intellectual property front because I'm the first to scream that my freedom of expression is being impugned if someone tries to stop me quoting, referencing or even re-using something (my YouTube videos are half full of songs that I've changed the lyrics to, which are a copright no-go area that I must learn to stop doing).

I also exhibited and sold a series of canvasses with blown up bits of comic panels, mostly by Kirby. Mine weren't even repainted they were just blown up really big. It's only because they didn't sell for big money or become famous or popular that it'd never become an issue. I argue that my reworking of the source material creates a new artwork, but I also see the argument that the copyright owner of the source material must have rights too.

That said, I blew up Jack Kirby Marvel images, the rights to which were stolen from him by Marvel as soon as he'd drawn them, so who's the villain there?

Seems that Roy Lichtenstein actually met up with some cartoonists from the National Cartoonist’s Society in 1964 and no lynching took place. In fact they all thought he was a nice guy!

Nice little comic strip from Mort Walker remembering the event...

http://superitch.com/?p=36

kevf wrote: That said, I blew up Jack Kirby Marvel images, the rights to which were stolen from him by Marvel as soon as he'd drawn them, so who's the villain there?

In what way were they stolen? Kirby had been working in the business for over 20 years by the time he drew those comics you took the images from. Surely he was aware that the company owned the rights?

Lew

Comics and rights, the story goes on and on doesn't it? Just last week I sold a strip to Toxic featuring my own character. Then their contract comes back claiming that, if I sign it, they'll own intellectual property rights. In my character who I've already self published and intend to publish again? In exchange for a one off appearance in Toxic?

Show me another industry where they automatically think they'll own every part of your creation and owe you nothing ever again, just for printing it once. Do you think that was JK Rowling's arrangement with her publisher? Did the newspaper that serialised Bridget Jones Diary automatically assumed they owned the film rights?

While Jack Kirby, Siegel & Shuster et al were creating a world of characters as "work for hire", just for the better negotiators to step in and secure the millions those characters turned out to be worth, their contemporaries having their work serialised in real magazines had a far better arrangement.

So what I'm saying is, it's hard to be good, nice guys finish last, every mickle maks an muckle and... I guess I have no idea what I'm saying.

This site compares a number of Lichtenstein's works with the original comic book panels they were based on:
http://davidbarsalou.homestead.com/LICH ... OJECT.html

It's fascinating how he manages to leach all of the originality out of artwork by the likes of Joe Kubert, Russ Heath, Jerry Grandenetti, Ross Andru, Jack Abel, Mike Sekowsky, etc. It's not Lichtenstein himself I object to though but all the cultured 'aesthetes' who chose to see his work as an accurate representation of the comic strip medium.

- Phil R.

I've been to the Roy.Lich exhibition in London a while back...I did like them...I liked the dots being shown and stripes...very graphic..also impressive in large!!
Though looking at the original...they were better a lot of the time..the women had more heart and better drawn..
Maybe Roy showed how good comic art is to a wider audience..

He was better doing adverts on food products..like his beans tins..

Your not mistaking him for Andy Warhol are you Peter? he did the soup tins.

You right about him showing comics to a wider audience, lets not forget that the 'pop' in 'pop art' stands for 'popular' as in popular culture, history lesson over what did you all learn? Nothing? thought so. ha ha

Pop culture did a load for the cause were all here for!

Andy W. your right..I knew I'd got it wrong..maybe I was thinking of Full 'o' Beans..
pop art of the 60's and 70's is fun...
Todays celebrated modern art is lot more gloomy..grim..sick..shocking (though not so much these days...we have got used to it:( )




http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/
modern art.......

Roy Wilson we need you today for some happy art..

They all sort of blend in dont they! Bloomin pop artists!

Yeah its a shame what art is like today, its almost as if its got nothing to say either that or it cannot be arsed thinking of something to say! But arts a matter of opinion so im sure people would object to that ha ha

Looking at that comparison website I never realised he did so many of those paintings. As someone who spent his youth copying panels from comics I reckon it was money for old rope! He reminds me of Michael Jackson - come up with one tune and then rehash it thirty times while laughing all the way to the bank (await protestations from Wacko fans). I remember looking at a Charlton War comic from the 60s and thinking I had stumbled across a panel that Roy had used, it was the two jet fighters. That said it more than likely came from Enemy Ace. If any comic artist lent himself to Roy's style it was probably Peter Morrisey (PAM) his panels seemed to be stand alone pieces of art and I loved copying them.

BTW I'm pleased my post has started a bit of a debate, most of my recent subjects have elicited zero response (apart from sound of crickets) and I was getting despondent.

Insecure Steve.