Action and adventure
Action and adventure |
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Page 38 of 42  Vampirella American comics may have found their feet again in the 1960s, but the conditions of employment for those within the industry hardly improved at all. The adventure genre had always been notorious for poor pay and working conditions (a legacy of the pulp industry), and the fact that work was on a freelance 'for hire' basis, and divided between writers, artists, pencillers and inkers, militated against any kind of effective unionisation. It also meant that most comics were anonymous. True, some publishers were better than others. As we've seen, the staff at EC were relatively well treated, and allowed to sign their work; the same was true of Charles Biro at Lev Gleason. Similarly, some creators made substantial profits from their work: Will Eisner owned everything he did, and reaped the rewards. But the more common story is one of exploitation and disillusion: Siegel and Shuster were financially milked by DC Comics for their work on Superman, while Jack Kirby was similarly treated at Marvel and had to fight a lengthy battle with the company for the return of his artwork. This is the sordid side to the industry that one rarely sees in the history books, yet it must be taken into account when any other, aesthetic, consideration is attempted.  Vampirella |