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COMICS: Robert Kirkman And Tony Moore Settle Their THE WALKING DEAD Lawsuit

After a fairly unpleasant disagreement between Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore kicked off earlier this year in regards to the latter not receiving what he claimed were his rightful royalty payments for his role in the creation of The Walking Dead, the two have now settled the matter.

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By Josh Wilding - 9/24/2012

In February, Tony Moore filed a lawsuit against Robert Kirkman alleging that he initially signed a deal with Kirkman which entitled him to 60% of "Comic Publishing Net Proceeds" and 20 percent of "motion picture net proceeds" for The Walking Dead. Sounds reasonable enough, right? Well, Moore went on to claim that when a television deal was on the cards back in 2005, Kirkman told him that he, "would not be able to complete the deal unless [Moore] assigned all of his interest in the Walking Dead and other works to Kirkman." The writer responded with a statement calling this "ridiculous" and stated that his longtime collaborator and childhood friend receives proper royalty payments for both the television series and the comic book series on which it's based. Moore, who pencilled the first six issues of The Walking Dead, later filed another claim in federal court requesting that he be named co-author of that series and several other comic book properties.

Well, it now appears as if the duo have resolved their issues, but we won't be getting any details as to what exactly that has involved! Unfortunately, it also doesn't sound as if we should expect to see them collaborating again in future. The following statement was sent out to several sites. Robert Kirkman currently writes both The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics on a monthly basis, while Tony Moore recently signed up to pencil the new Deadpool series (after relaunching Venom alongside Rick Remender) as a part of this November's Marvel NOW! relaunch.

"Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore are pleased to jointly announce that they have reached an amicable agreement in their respective lawsuits and all parties have settled the entire matter to everyone's mutual satisfaction. Neither side will be discussing any details but will instead happily and productively spend their time focused on their own work and move on in their lives."
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12 Comments
DioFoRio - 9/24/2012, 4:38 PM
hell yeah. Love Tony Moore
BAIKINMAN - 9/24/2012, 8:21 PM
"TONY MOORE, Best damn artist around".
EarOne - 9/24/2012, 8:45 PM
he did the first 6 issues only..?? and that entitles him 60% on the comics and 20% on the motion pics...wow!! that was really generous. i mean, unless, moore actually created some characters and the look designs of em and even some plot lines..i just don't see him entitled to didley squat.
ABLEE337 - 9/24/2012, 9:02 PM
Tony Moore was the reason I picked up The Walking Dead in the first place. Didn't really like the artwork after he left.
sameoldthing - 9/24/2012, 9:14 PM
A deal is a deal..don't get greedy because the property hits big.
Creators should have the honor & stones to give equal credit when they split the chores.
Scuzz - 9/24/2012, 11:05 PM
Why does he deserve 60%? he only lasted 6 issues.

it always bugs me when artists claim joint creation. You were told what to draw and you drew it, you didn't "create" shit.

if someone else comes up with the premise, all characters, all dialogue, setting, plot, tone and I'm pretty sure an idea of what the characters should look like then gives you a script, it takes some balls to then claim that you are a co-creator.
CorndogBurglar - 9/25/2012, 3:11 AM
Guus, Tony Moore wasnt JUST the artist for 6 issues. It clearly says that he co-created the series. Thats also why he wanted to be named co-author. Because he obviously had something to do with the creation of the whole series. He wasnt just drawing pretty pictures for 6 issues.

Like Earz said, none of you know how big a role he played. Did he create certain characters? Did he come up with plot details? Who knows, but it must have been important things for him to go after his childhood friend legally...
CorndogBurglar - 9/25/2012, 3:20 AM
@ scuzz

Come on dude, thats a little ridiculous. These guys are friends outside of this project. How can you sit there and act like you know that Moore didnt give Kirkman any ideas on anything? Yes he's an artist, but that doesnt mean he didnt collaborate with Kirkman on certain ideas.

Also, a lot of the time, artists arent just told what to draw. A lot of the time they have an overall idea of the character and they create the entire look.

Give artista some credit. They do a lot more than what you obviously think. Even in ongoing series. In general, a writer will give the artist an outline of the story, but its up to the artist to visualize it and put it down on paper. If you think writers detail every punch and kick, every angle, and every little drop of blood, then you are sorely mistaken...
CaptShipwreck - 9/25/2012, 3:59 AM
Great now let's see Bill Finger's estate finally get credit for creating BatMan along with Bob Kane
Scuzz - 9/25/2012, 7:56 AM
I'm not saying it is the case all of the time but i think most of the time it is. I don't know for sure how much Moore contributed but i doubt it was a lot, otherwise he would be a writer.

have you ever read a comic script? the writer details everything out page by page. the only thing the artist really decides on is the panel layout.
CorndogBurglar - 9/25/2012, 8:53 AM
Scuzz

Yes I have read comic scripts, many times, which is why i say artists have a lot more to do than just draw what they are told, and that is just in normal ongoing comics.

When two people are creating a brand new character or series, a lot of time, the writer will come up with ideas and allow the artist to come up with the actual character designs.

But again, every situation is different. These guys were childhood friends. It really isn't that much of a stretch to think that they were both putting their heads together to come up with something.

Again, it really all depends on how much input the writer allows the artist to have. And again, being that these guys were friends, its not that hard to believe that they were working together and sharing ideas.
IncredibleKulk - 9/27/2012, 1:57 PM
Charlie Adlard.. Nuff said

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