The Seven Seas Do-Over

This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on Nov. 22, 2005 Sign up now!

By Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 11/22/2005

The message boards were buzzing last week after Seven Seas Entertainment decided to restructure the contracts offered to two popular webcomics that the U.S. manga publisher plans to release as graphic novels in 2006. Jason DeAngelis, president of Seven Seas, decided to rip up his initial contracts—which offered joint copyright ownership—and offer the two creators new contracts giving them 100% ownership.

DeAngelis plans to publish three popular webcomics (including another that he did not offer a joint-ownership deal) as full-color graphic novels in 2006. Two of the books, Inverloch and Earthsong, will have a slightly larger than normal trim size, 6"x 9."

Launched in 2004, Seven Seas Entertainment has specialized in producing original English-language manga. But in the wake of the debate over the fairness of joint-ownership contracts being offered by Tokyopop to the artists in its OEL manga publishing program, DeAngelis's actions seem almost philanthropic.

The webcomics DeAngelis plans to publish are Crystal Yate's Earthsong (Earthsongsaga.com) and Inverloch by Sarah Ellerton (seraph-inn.com), two fantasy adventures, in addition to Chugworth Academy (chugworth.com), a very funny prep school parody by Dave Cheung.

Only Yates and Ellerton were offered the joint ownership deals, and both said they were happy with DeAngelis's initial terms. In fact, they had signed the contracts and returned them to the publisher. All DeAngelis had to do was countersign the contracts, and the deals were set.

But DeAngelis says he changed his mind because of both the debate over joint-ownership contracts and, unlike other works published by Seven Seas, because the webcomics were finished works. "Going forward," says DeAngelis, " projects like Chugworth Academy, Earthsong and Inverloch that are essentially finished will be fully creator-owned." For other projects, says DeAngelis, "it will be on a case-by-case basis. It will depend how the project is developed." And, he says, "In any case, the message is that we're flexible and creator-friendly, and want to work with a wide variety of talent.

DeAngelis also says that while he has given up joint ownership, he has retained the right to represent the webcomics for licensing to film and TV. Seven Seas is represented by Circle of Confusion, a management and production agency based in New York and L.A. "They're enthusiastic about us and they're aggressively trying to license our books," he says.

Nevertheless, re-doing a contract that's already been accepted and signed is extremely rare in the world of publishing. The creators all verified DeAngelis's account.

"Yes, this is quite true," says Ellerton, who is quick to note that she was "perfectly happy" with the original joint-copyright contract. "I had already accepted that to have the privilege of having my work published, I would need to relinquish some of the copyright," says Ellerton. Then, she says, "Jason informed me that since his company had no input in the creation of my comic, that he felt it was not right to claim 50% copyright."

Yates says she was "definitely surprised" by DeAngelis's offer to re-do her contract, and emphasizes that she was "certainly" happy with the original offer. Then DeAngelis called to change his offer. Yates also notes that she has been in contact with DeAngelis for some time. "I know that I can completely trust him. To Jason, this was a moral issue, not a business decision."

Although Seven Seas announced the acquisition of all three webcomics at the same time, Chugworth creator David Cheung is quick to point out that he was never offered a joint-ownership contract. "Due to Chugworth's established and quite substantial readership, I'd never accept any compromises on ownership," says Cheung. "It was full ownership or nothing right from the start. I'm a dick like that," says Cheung, sounding a lot like a character from the comic.

All three comics have established substantial online audiences, but the creators all cited the importance of having their work available in the book market. "It's a dream come true," says Yates, "the opportunity to get Earthsong into print and to reach yet another potential fan base is incredible." Ellerton says she expects that having the webcomic in print "will certainly help increase readership."

And they all agree that despite its short life, Seven Seas has developed a good reputation for working with creators. Besides, says Cheung, "Jason is a tiny man, and I'm pretty sure I could kick his ass should problems arise."