Saturday, May 12, 2007

Karma really works...

OKEY GUYS THIS IS FOR YOU MY SPANIARD, AMERICAN, BRITISH, LATINOAMERICAN AND MEXICAN CREATORS AND FRIENDS WHO READ THIS BLOG OF MINE.
WELL JIMMY T ( A GREAT FRIEND AND INKER IN FACT I KNOW WE WILL WORK EVENTUALLY TOGETHER DOWN THE ROAD :)) AND CESAR FELICIANO (AN AMAZING UP-AND-COMING PENCILLER FROM BRAZIL)WHO IS AN INCREDIBLE PERSON AND I CONSIDER HIM AS MY FRIEND AND ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS, THIS REALLY PISSES ME OFF, THEY WERE SCREWED BY RICK OLNEY AND HIS COMPANY Tightlip Entertainment.
Read this post that is only posted because I had the authorization of Jimmy T to make it public well in fact They were not the only ones If you visit this link you can see all the fuss this PRICK has done, and the way He played with amazing artists and some of them my friends.Probably this won´t mean anything to this JERK but at least We can prevent more people to be abused by him or someone like him. Learn from this post.
Read and be warned!
(To keep my mental health in the correct way I won´t comment on this matter any longer, I mean I am only defending my FRIENDS so I am not even remotely interested in making this ball bigger, because this is the lesson that Rick Olney has to learn not me).The Amazing Daniel Best and many more friends of mine are spreading the word so If you can do it... please do not link me I rather hope you copy-paste and post this on your blog or your site, remember this is not about me, it is about my friends and how they got screwed by this guy.

(Written by Jimmy T and published here with his consent)
THIS is a true story not a RANT! Ignore it if you are already one that has been taken, because it is long, and has suggestions for those doing small press and indy work. especialy working for people that are publishing comics without a lot of refrences.
I figured I would post this so others won't do what I did. I was asked to ink a story over a fellow members pencils, for a book called Monster Squad, by Rick Olney of Tightlip Entertainment, out of Mowhawk, NY (off route 84).
We were told we would get paid every ten pages, plus bonuses and percentages.
We had some people on board that a lot of you know or heard of. It looked like a good thing because the penciler is a friend, so we agreed. Contracts signed, and we went to work, but that's when things got strange. Everything was delays and scripts were not finished as well as characters developed, but promises of making it up to us were made, and he supposedly was a fellow Marine, which we take seriously, Semper Fi and all that.
Anyway I noticed as we started the first three covers that he was getting promo clocks, and messages were flying about sculptures which he made photos available to us in our private forum.
Good! right, If he has the money for that stuff, we should be OK. Well now I see the fellow who made the clocks ask for a check, and Rick starts running him down on the forum. The fellow responded politely that he needed the money for the clocks at least as he had payed for them. Rick again started to verbally abuse him.
Then a creator asked about checks for work done and was promptly treated the same way. This went on for a while but he would e-mail us saying that they were being payed and to keep going and what wonderful work we did.
He then was going to pay everyone to go down to Pitsburg for the show and we would all meet. Well when show date came he denied it but told me in an e-mail he would reimburse me but not to spread it around. I declined.
By this time my penciler ( You all know him ) and I talked it over as we had 10 pages done and invoiced him. The response was that covers did not count as pages and they would be paid for at the completion of each book. I told him I don't think so, and he said just finish three more pages and I will get you a check out post haste.
Cesar( whoops! ) and I discussed it and said, well we are comitted this far lets see what happens. in the meantime the Freedom three comic was being done at the same time, and we all shared a forum together. And they were being berated everytime someone mentioned payment. Excuses flew left and right like a crack head talking to a counsler.
Rick ranted and started to sound dilusional. Still we were polite, and stayed quiet until our invoices were sent. We were told checks would be fourthcoming (that was over a year ago).
After my third invoice I recieved an E-mail from Rick stating I was talking about him in a forum, I never heard of , with some people, I never heard of, and we had a non-disclosure agreement and I was in big trouble. So I basicly told him I never signed a non disclosure agreement, just the contract, and I was coming to see him face to face in so many words, any time, any place get my dough...in fact his rant infuriated me so much I almost took the ride to take the pay out of his hide that day but one of my brothers cooled me down.
Remember by this point I looked up the link and now saw how many people this weasle had Screwed. and the list was still growing.
He then apologized and asked If we would rather do another book for him (He appeared to have the IQ of a lugnut by this point with his rambling). I declined. So here we are a year strung out and I am so pissed I want to draw and quarter this maggot (pardon me to those of sensitive tastes).
Up comes www.unscrewedcomic.com and I see he is in to artists and creators etc., for over $60,000.00 and I lost over $2,000.00 in promised payments.
And he still was having Chuck Dixon going to write for him in his e- mails to me!!!! I do not know if Chuck got payed yet but he threatens everyone with lawsuits and had some people nervous. To those nervous people I encourage you to slap a lawsuit on his fatass and I will take the ride to collect it if you like. Believe me he is a putz.
So now the present.. TA DA.. I beat him in court today and will file in New York to see if I can enforce judgement as I have been a Constable for over 30 years and can do it in my sleep. otherwise I will sell it to someone their to make his life miserable. It stopped being about the money early on and became priciple.
So Heed this warning if Rick Olney asks you to do anything for him. And if you know him and see me and him at the same show point him out so I can say Hi.

MORAL: If you work for an independent or small press make sure to Include in all agreements or contracts at least a variation of ;
1 - If payment is not made within the specified agreement period, then all agreements and contractual obligations with *company et all* are hereby null an void. Further the publisher will be liable for agreed upon percentages of projected sales, bonuses and interest in any litigation that may result from such non-payment.
2 - Original artwork will be returned to Inker (unless the artist makes a deal for less pay, and it is agreed upon that they split). (this is because some inkers depend on the revenues of inked page sales to make up for the small pay they get).
3 - an advance of one page is made as security and payment should be made upon completion of each page thereafter. ( this could be two pages to ten pages depending on what the publisher can aford for his project ). If the publisher cannot pay you, why is he producing a comic?
4 - If the publisher feels you are not right after the first few pages he can cancel you with an agreed upon dismissal fee (you may have given up another book for him). (This only if he or she puts a dismissal clause that you are not up to snuff, otherwise, disregard).

If a publisher does not like this, then don't do it. your going to get peanuts from most indy's and small press anyway so why chase for it. There are some that do pay decent. I want to qualify that, so I don't get e-mails.
GL rebirth payed $450.00 per page to pencil ( I don't think he would mind me telling, He deserved it, he is a really good drawer ;-D ).
Some small press are giving guys that have decent talent, $10.00 to 100.00 per page. with print runs of 50 to 2000 copies they are not going to make any money percentage wise. So with so little money at stake for talent to try to break in, I think it is digusting that these predators screw them like that.
I am payed well for what I do so I don't need inking for a living. I do this for the love of the craft. I do not seek a job with anyone, unless Archie asked me because Bob Smith is cool and I want to be like him:-D. (I ELIMINATED A PRIVATE JOKE SORRY HERE)

Anyway you get the picture. So People Like Cesar who deserves a break with a major company, does not get screwed like that wasting over a year, that could have been better served by penciling for cool inkers like you guys..and young ladies ( yeah I see some of your cool inks too).
sorry if this was long but I had to reafirm this.
OK back to the boards, and I won't ever bore you with this again. I just thought it was worth mentioning.
And a tip of the hat to Tony Isabella for his help as well.

Thanks,
Jimmy T

4 comments:

Woodgate Farmer said...
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Anonymous said...
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antonio said...

Rick...thank you!

JESUS ANTONIO

Rafael Nieto said...

terrible... parece ser que esta situación transgrede lugares y personas, dos o tres personas (moneros tambien) cercanas a mi la padecieron y yo casi (sera hace como 10 años) veo que nada a cambiado y aún falta mucho para recibir (al menos) el respeto que nuestros talentos demandan.