Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Comics, daredevil, entertainment, j spurlock, mark waid, marvel, netflix, wally wood

Some Creators Object To Being Signed Up To Wally Wood Appeal

Published Mon, 25 May 2015 13:00:23 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Yesterday, a open letter written on behalf of the estate of Wally Wood was released, calling for an acknowledgement for the contribution of Wally Wood to the Daredevil comic book, as seen in the Netflix TV show.

Updated on the original Bleeding Cool article, Tony Isabella has pointed out that his quote was taken out of context and without permission.

Tony Isabella writes to say: Let it be known that, while I meant and I mean the comments I made about Wally Wood's contribution to Daredevil, I was at no time informed that my comments would be part of a lawsuit. I don't believe I would have declined to make those comments, but I consider it a breach of common courtesy and good faith that I wasn't informed of this beforehand.

Mark Waid also voiced his objection, saying

Apparently, the estate of artist Wally Wood has issued an open letter to Marvel calling for Wood to receive screen credit for his contributions to the Daredevil mythos, in preparation for what I suspect is a lawsuit. Unfortunately, in doing so, whoever wrote the letter has stolen my endorsement rather than request it, which infuriates me.

While I do think–ethically and creatively–that Wally Wood, in all media, deserves some sort of special credit or thanks for all he did to help transform Daredevil from a potential dud into an enduring character back in the day, I do not contend he is legally entitled to such. The courts may prove me wrong. I'd love it if they did, as all creators would benefit from such a precedent, which is terrific. But I've made my position on these sorts of matters abundantly clear over the years.

So imagine my surprise when I read this sentence: "That is why Roy Thomas, Denny O'Neil and other all-time top comics industry pros are speaking out, in favor of Wood being listed at the beginning of each episode…" and then read on to find that I was one of the ones "speaking out." The letter-writer took a sentence I'd written last year about Wood (an opinion: "If it hadn't have been for Wally Wood, Daredevil would have been cancelled by issue six.") and deliberately quoted it out of context to make it sound as if I'd been asked for, and had contributed, my active support in their endeavor.

This is extremely poor form. It also makes me wonder how many of the other creators quoted as "speaking out, in favor" were similarly drafted to the cause. I wish Wood's estate the best of luck, and had whoever conscripted my service simply asked for my support, s/he may have gotten it–but after this, I am not inclined to play.

When aware of the provenance, Waid stated,

Mike, now that I know specifically who wrote the letter, I NEVER would have endorsed it. Had I been asked by someone less ethically challenged? Probably not, having thought about it. It's a uniquely sticky situation–I can't offhand think of a comparable instance in comics where someone took a property that was creatively flailing that wildly only six issues after its debut and turned it into something that enduring (only to leave himself before another six were done!). What's teeth-grating about the letter's call to action is that the writer enumerates all the things that Wood added to the strip as evidence that Wood should be credited–and yet NONE of those elements is present in the TV show, far as I remember.

J Spurlock, inheritor of the estate after Wood died, posted, saying

I wrote the item. It is for the sole purpose of educating the public to Wood's work toward insuring his hard-earned legacy. All of the quotes are accurate. The large majority were supplied by creators, specifically in support and/or commentary, regarding Wood's considerable contributions to Daredevil and/or whether or not he deserved TV/Film credit. Most have been circulating on facebook for weeks. A few are historic quotes or were originally posted publically on facebook by their author, about Wood and/or the idea that he deserved TV/Film credit on Daredevil. On July 30, 2012, as the Director of the Wood Estate, I did request permission from Mr. Waid, to quote him widely. Mark graciusly responded later that day, "Quote away." Thank you again for your support of Woody and all creator rights, Mr. Waid. What was supplied to Bleeding Cool was a story suggestion with some information on Wood's Daredevil work which we thought would be helpful to them if they chose to write a story about the 50th Anniversary of Wood's RED design or the Netflix controversy. We were surprised at the way it was presented and there was NO mention of any suit, or possible suit, in anything we said. We only supplied information on 1) Wood's tenure on Daredevil and 2) fans and creators' satetments about Wood deserving credit. We never thought Bleeding Cool would run the raw info we provided, or worse, ramp up any sensationalism in the Estate's name. Still, in proper journalistic form, we often cited sources and/or dates connected to the quotes (if no source or date is listed, it was likely emailed directly to me by the creator). That being said, looking back, the context of Mr. Waid's quote would have been more appropriate, to make a point, in the prose section — not in the list of comments specifically about the Netfix series. For that poor editing, I wholeheartedly appologize to Mr. Waid and suggest that, possibly with a 2nd read, it would be clearer that the information we actually shared is solely designed to champion Mr. Wood and to educate the public to his work. Generally, comics creators do not receive benifits, it is our position that Mr. Wood was a pioneer for creator rights and we honor him by supporting credit where credit is due. Again, Mr. Waid, your quote was only meant to honor Mr. Wood and put his work into historic context — the same reason you gave permission to use it for. Our appologies again, for mistakenly placing it in the list of quotes that were specific to the Netflix series.

Respectfully yours,
J. David Spurlock
Director, The Wallace Wood Estate

I'd like to clarify that what was sent to Bleeding Cool was an press release entitled "Hit Marvel-Netflix Daredevil Series Spawns Controversy". I refute that anything was sensationalised further. I believe I reflected the tone and the content of the letter appropriately.

Any yes, all those quotes, alongside the claim "That is why Roy Thomas, Denny O'Neil and other all-time top comics industry pros are speaking out, in favor of Wood being listed at the beginning of each episode with Stan Lee and Bill Everett (not at the end for individual episode contributions)" does lead the reader to believe a greater claim that can be substantiated.

As Waid seemed to attest to, there has been some controversy regarding Spurlock and Wood.

After his death, Wood's publishing interests were left to his friend John H Robinson who then assigned all those interests to Wallace Wood Properties LLC, adminstered by Spurlock, Wood left a will leaving his money to Tatjana, but his possessions—including artwork and publishing interests—to his friend John H. Robinson. In 2012 Robinson assigned all his interest in Wood's estate to Wallace Wood Properties, LLC, a company run by by Spurlock, who has published a number of Wood-related volumes. And who sued the ex-wife of Wood, Tatjana Wood, for original artwork sent by Marvel to her.

But where some creators have been put out that their quoted have been used out of context and supporting something they didn't sign up to, others look like they'd be happy to take their place.