What do we talk about when we talk about a Creator-owned IP?
In the U.S market, all the publishing houses but one will take a sizeable chunk of your IP’s multi-media deal. In that case, you are taking the backseat and are at the mercy of the publisher to make a move on your IP. Or sometimes they just shelve it, because they can.
Hellboy, Sin City, and Umbrella Academy.
Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Star Trek.
Lumberjanes, Power Rangers, and Adventure Time.
Red Sonja, The Shadow, and Vampirella.
Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, and Harbinger.
Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead.
Scott Pilgrim, Rick and Morty, and Invader Zim.
The only established publisher with means and outreach that is NOT interested in taking an inch of your property is the mighty Imagecomics. When you publish your work through Image, YOU maintain the rights to your characters, stories, and universes.
One last try on this topic and I will let you go.
You may say, what is wrong with the above 8 publishers to take a chunk of my dish?
The problem is that, when it comes to shopping it in Hollywood, studios do not like it when YOU are NOT the sole owner. It feels like one too many chefs in the kitchen. Every owner of the IP, in this case, all the other 8 publishers and you will be considered the producers or EPs (executive producers) of the IP. It means less dough for the studio that considers to finance it or sell it to a streaming service. Do you get the picture?
Robert Kirkman
TWD ran for 198 issues while Kirkman EPed the series on AMC.
Chuck Brown
Bitter Root ran for 30 issue and Chuck Brown and his team are set to EP their title at Legendary Pictures.
Mark Millar
Kingsman ran for 2 volumes at Imagecomics and went on to become a trilogy at Fox.
