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Larry Hama Doesn't Get Royalty Payments On His G.I. Joe Reprints

Larry Hama doesn't get Royalty Payments on his G.I. Joe Reprints, but will on Mounties Vs Werewolves

Published Sun, 18 Aug 2024 10:57:08 -0500

Larry Hama posted to Facebook, "I don't get a cent from the vast majority of GI Joe reprints, nor do I get anything from all the Wolverine material that is reprinted in 17 countries outside the USA."

It's true, And that included the recent GI Joe Compendium that Skybound put on Kickstarter, reprinting Larry Hama's eighties Marvel Comics work creating the franchise, and raising $3.8 million dollars in the process. As part of the license with Hasbro, neither paid Larry Hama for the reprints of his work, which are owned by Hasbro. This is why Skybound hired Larry Hama to sign limited edition bookplates as part of the Kickstarter higher donor pledges so that Larry Hama would at least get a share of that money. It is also why Skybound has hired Larry Hama to continue the GI Joe: A Real Action Hero series, continuing the Marvel/IDW line and continuity, which Larry gets work-for-hire payments.

But it's still not great for Larry Hama, who, along with other Marvel creators, only gets "incentive payments" on reprints of work published in the USA. Licensing those rights to other countries does nothing for the original creators, something brought to light a few years ago when Bryan Hitch was declining to sign the Hachette hardcover UK reprints of Ultimates and the like.

So what is Larry Hama to do? Sell more sketches? He posted to social media, "I have macular degeneration. I will probably be incapable of drawing within the next few years. So, if you want a sketch, better act soon. Although my arthritis may make everything moot before then. I have no ligaments left in my basal thumb joints; it's just bone scraping against bone there—Drawing is actually quite painful. But not as painful as signing my signature." Though he also added "I am getting bombarded with commission requests. I don't do commissions through the mail. I do pencil sketches, but only at cons. There are many comic shops these days that have "facilitators" who take customers' comics to cons to have them signed and or graded. If you can't get to a con, ask your local shop if they provide that service."

Well, he is now Kickstarting something that is actually his, rather than someone else's. "I've created a new series with Guy Dorian Sr., called MOUNTIES vs WEREWOLVES.

"In 1922, David Lawrence, a veteran of the Great War in France, and a Deputy Inspector in the RCMP is assigned to a remote outpost in Northern Alberta. The quiet posting he had been expecting turns out to be anything but. The small rag-tag unit he commands is actually a top-secret sub-agency whose mission is to kill werewolves, and prevent them from spreading south to prey on larger settlements and population centers."

"This project is one of the few projects that I actually own a piece of. I've been kicking this idea around, developing it, and adding to it for over ten years. I would greatly appreciate getting as many shares of this online as possible. Thank you, it would mean a lot to me." Mounties Vs Werewolves currently has $13,425 of pledges against a goal of $35,000 from 229 backers with 27 days to go.

He also talked about when he used to sketch at comic conventions for free, and why that changed. "These were all $20 con sketches. I used to do them for free, but then I was at a con in Canada, and all the artists ganged up on me, and said I was making them look bad. When they were free, I would often find them in the trash. Folks who had no idea what GI Joe was asked for sketches because they were free, but then got tired of carrying them around. If something is free, it has no value."

It then changed even more. "A few years back, I was charging $20 for pencil sketches. I was at a con, and I was getting no takers, so I went out to lunch. While I was out, Neal Adams walked by my table and was incensed at my sketch price. He went out to Kinkos, had a new sign printed up raising my price to $100, and replaced my old sign. When I came back from lunch, I had a line. When I asked Neal about it, he said "If you don't charge enough, people think it's valueless." Lesson learned. The sketch of Duke was a no-show. The guy who requested it never showed up. I don't take money up front, so it still belonged to me, so I put it up on eBay, it went into a bidding war and at the end fetched $1400. I miss Uncle Neal so bad."

Larry Hama also continues to write GI Joe: A Real American Hero from Image Comics/Skybound with Chris Mooneyham returning in November with #311.

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #311
ON SALE NOVEMBER 20
SERIES ARTIST CHRIS MOONEYHAM RETURNS!
Cobra Commander's trap in Springfield has been unleashed.
32 PAGES FULL COLOR $3.99 US T TEEN (AGES 12+)
STORY LARRY HAMA
ART CHRIS MOONEYHAM, FRANCESCO SEGALA
COVER A ANDY KUBERT, TAMRA BONVILLAIN
COVER B ANDY KUBERT
COVER C | 1:10 CAMOUFLAGE INCENTIVE FRANCIS PORTELA

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