This means copyright and trademark. The term fully create is open to debate. Siegel and Shuster fully created Superman in my view, regardless of how much editorial input they may have received. It was their idea.

Had they retained ownership of Superman from the start and later hired others to create stories for the character, such as DC Comics has, those other would be entitled to many rights, but ownership of Jerry and Joe's characters would not be one of them.

We agree!

For the Comic Creation Nation campaign however, the books will not be fully created by one person, they will be jointly created, and therefore 100% of all revenues will be shared equally by the writer/creator and Zeros 2 Heroes--we will hire the editor and the artists, produce the book, and publish it on our website.

Without this right, the first one is meaningless. What difference would my full ownership of Zot! make if I could be forced, at a publisher's whim, to change my characters' appearance, bring villains back from dead, to write long crossover scenes or even just to change a little piece of dialogue on page five, panel three, and in doing so undermine a message I may have been working to get across for over a hundred pages!

No change is so important that it can't be discussed, but the final say over what goes into Zot! is still in the hands of its creator and owner. Companies that take on creator-owned properties do so at a certain risk, but when a creator trades in his or her control over their creation for a twelve-issue contract and some money in the bank, they do more than just risk that their message will be distorted in the long run. They virtually guarantee it.

This one is great: it goes straight to the heart of why Zeros 2 Heroes is so unique.

Creative control of the book rests with the writer/creator. Will we try to help you make your idea better? Of course. That's why we hire experienced editors to guide our writers through the process and give them notes all along the way. The difference with the CCN campaign is that the writer is free to accept our suggestions or not, because final control rests with the writer. This level of control would be difficult for any writer to achieve, but in the experience of our Board members it is unheard of for a new writer.

And why do we vest the writer with creative control? Because our business model is different from other studios in that we are not judging the quality or accessibility of the work, our online community is. And we have made a commitment to our community to put the unfiltered work of undiscovered artists before them and let them judge which of those projects should be put into production.

This is my suggested wording change. I prefer "approval" over "full control" in this instance because it's possible for both publisher and creator to agree on such basic matters as size, shape, printing process and pagination before the project is even begun. Unlike disputes over writing and art, these are matters that can be handled at the contract stage.

If, while work is already proceeding, a creator or publisher wants to make change in format, then agreement by both sides would be necessary. In the original draft of the Bill, a thirteenth right governing advisory labels was added. I've omitted it here, as I think this heading covers it well enough.

Again, this concern plays right into our strength.

The final product for the CCN is a 22-page web comic. All decisions about how the book looks, including the size, shape, printing process, pagination, etc., are under the full control of the writer. We don't need to worry about the distinction between "approval"? and "full control"? because our writers have full control over their work. In fact, our model doesn't just give the writer full control, it mandates it.

Again, a matter for the contract stage as I see it. This was also changed from full control and reworded slightly to avoid giving the impression that we all thought we had the right to walk into our local distributor's warehouse and start telling people how to pack boxes. This, and all the twelve rights, refer primarily to the creator/publisher relationship.

All of the participants in the CCN know going in exactly what our distribution system is: online publication on the Zeros 2 Heroes website. So there's no guesswork involved in trying to figure out how your work will be distributed. I think that renders this particular concern a non-issue for Zeros 2 Heroes.

No, this doesn't mean we have the right to break contracts and walk whenever we feel like it. (At least that's not my interpretation.) This simply means that, just as comic book writers and artists have traditionally competed for assignments from comic companies, the reverse should also be true. Creators wishing to produce work for more than one company at a time must be free from coercion of any kind.

We absolutely agree with this principle, and love the idea that writers and artists doing work for other companies are part of our community. Some properties might be perfect for the CCN or other Zeros 2 Heroes initiatives, and some might not be (although we hope the latter will be few and far between!).

I don't think this one needs any explanation.

Who could possibly express, or even imply, that someone does not have the right to employ legal counsel? In fact, we suggest in our agreements that our writers and artists seek legal counsel. This is a link to our standard Acquisition/Joint Venture Agreement. We encourage you to review the document and engage legal counsel to vet it as well.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. This operates on the same principle as Number 5. I would add that such multiple submissions should be clearly labeled as such.

Completely agree.

As we said in our answer to Number 5, we believe there is tremendous value for a writer/creator to publish his or her work on Zeros 2 Heroes as part of the CCN or otherwise, but it may not be the right fit for every property.

I think this is pretty self-evident.

The CCN business deal is about as easy and clear as it gets. If the writer's pitch is chosen by the community and the book is produced, the writer/creator and Z2H become equal partners in the property. Not only is the deal clear, but it's exceedingly generous to the writer/creator. And true to the mission statement of Zeros 2 Heroes. Again, we suggest that writers/creators seek advice from knowledgeable entertainment industry professionals to confirm what a generous business deal this is.

These two articles apply to all comic writers and artists, not just creator-owners (also true of Numbers 5, 6 and 10). They aren't particularly controversial, but they are being violated - constantly.

Of course we agree. Which is why we contractually bind ourselves to a payment schedule, reporting requirements and audit rights in the Acquisition/Joint Venture Agreement referred to in Number 6.

Nowadays, this idea seems fairly tame, yet once this was the most radical, inflammatory thing an artist could possibly suggest to a publisher. It will be interesting to see how many of these other rights are taken for granted two or three decades from now, as this one has come to be.

At this point, we anticipate that all of our art will be uploaded as digital files, so return of artwork would not be an issue. If for some reason we do require an artist to submit original copies of his or her work to us, we will take all steps needed to insure its safe return.

Again, this one follows naturally from the first right. Ownership would be meaningless without this kind of control.

As we discussed in the first right, the writer has creative control over a comic book which is created and published as part of the CCN, and Z2H will retain business control over the property.

Why must Z2H retain business control? Because we have an obligation to all of our stakeholders, including the writer/creator of the project, to make the best business decisions possible with respect to the property. Our Board members have decades of experience at the highest levels of the entertainment industry, and therefore believe that we are in the best position to determine which deals should be made, and with whom.

Of course we will meaningfully consult with the creator of the property, but at the end of the day we must be in the position to pull the trigger on a deal that we believe is best for the property.

'Nuff said.

A big part of the CCN campaign is the promotion of the writers/creators and their work on the Zeros 2 Heroes website. We have always looked at this exposure as a great benefit we are providing. In our standard agreement, the writer agrees to allow themselves to be featured on the site and in any other promotional campaigns that Z2H might decide to run... and of course their work would have to be published to be considered.