8 Times Marvel And DC Screwed Over Comic Book Creators

Time to feel guilty about consuming all that Watchmen content...

Batman Reading Watchmen
DC Comics

The comics industry is meant to be a place where dreams come true, and if you only spent your time reading the comics you love that would probably be the case. Sadly, the reality is that the industry is a precarious place fraught with all sorts of danger, the biggest of course being that Marvel and DC could screw a creator royally at a moment's notice.

The Big Two's long documented mistreatment of comics creators is - as you may suspect - nothing new. The creators of the very first American superhero, Superman, were left high and dry by their publisher, while even the King of Comics himself, Jack Kirby, found himself in constant conflict with the two biggest comics publishers.

It's a sad story, and it's also one that tragically repeats itself in pretty much every age in some form or another.

Whether it's writers and artists being poorly compensated, creators being forced to abandon specific plot lines due to bizarre editorial policy or even the misattribution of credit, the comics industry boasts an appallingly long history of creator mistreatment - one that looks set to persist into the next decade...

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Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.