Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man | Tagged: miles morales, sara pichelli
Saddest Part Of Sara Pichelli's Life, Not Being Paid For Miles Morales
The saddest part of Sara Pichelli's life is not getting paid by Marvel for the use of her co-creation, Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Article Summary
- Sara Pichelli, co-creator of Miles Morales, receives no royalties from Marvel for her character's success.
- Despite millions in sales from Miles Morales games and merchandise, Pichelli gets no financial share.
- Comic book creators often miss out on profits while publishers claim ownership of their creations.
- Miles Morales is seen as a Spider-Man derivative, so creators benefit less from favorable royalty deals.
CCXP (originally called Comic Con Experience) is a multi-genre entertainment and comic convention that has been held in various locations, including Brazil, Germany, and Mexico, and this weekend was in São Paulo. And it was where Gabe do Gabeverso interviewed Miles Morales co-creator Sara Pichelli for the Brazilian website Jamesons. And included an excerpt in which they talked to Pichelli about what royalties, if any, she gets for the use of the character as he appears in more and more media. Here's an excerpt translated into English.

Jamesons: And the video games too. And about all those other products that came along with Miles, inspired by him… do you get any share of that money?
Sara Pichelli: If only! Don't even mention it… I would be a billionaire.
Jamesons: You really would be; the game sold millions.
Sara Pichelli: Yeah, but I don't get anything. And that's the saddest part of my life.
Jamesons: Man, unbelievable.
Sara Pichelli: I know, I can't believe it myself. Jamesons: We should start an online campaign.
Sara Pichelli: Please, do it!
Jamesons: A real political campaign. Yeah, because there's so much merchandising, so much stuff.
Sara Pichelli: Yeah, it's insane. I know, I know.
It's one of the oldest stories in the comic book industry. Comic book creators make a thing for a publisher, it is owned by the publisher, they make the millions or billions, the creators get a $5000 cheque when the movie comes out, and are not invited to the afterparty. Some who signed an agreement in the early nineties receive a better creator deal, but only if the character was considered "non-derivative" of another character, such as Cable and Deadpool (Deathstroke doesn't count); however, this does not apply to Miles Morales, who is considered a derivative of Spider-Man. Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli are re-teaming for something new at Marvel Comics. But odds are the deals won't be any better. Here's the original excerpt:
Jamesons: E os jogos de videogame também. E sobre todos esses outros produtos que vieram junto, sobre o Miles, inspirados nele… você recebe alguma parte dessa grana?
Sara Pichelli: Quem dera! Nem fala… Eu estaria bilionária.
Jamesons: Estaria mesmo, o jogo vendeu milhões.
Sara Pichelli: Pois é, mas não ganho nada. E essa é a parte mais triste da minha vida.
Jamesons: Cara, inacreditável.
Sara Pichelli: Eu sei, nem eu acredito.
Jamesons: A gente devia começar uma campanha online.
Sara Pichelli: Por favor, façam isso!
Jamesons: Uma campanha política mesmo. É, porque é muito merchandising, muita coisa.
Sara Pichelli: É, é insano. Eu sei, eu sei.















