An ongoing legal issue between comic book writer Robert Kirkman and an artist over the copyright of Invincible has been settled.
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, lawyers for Kirkman and William Crabtree — a colorist who sued Kirkman two years ago — notified the court that both parties had agreed to resolve the case before it went to trial. The trial was set for February 20, 2024.
The legal issues stem from Crabtree’s claims that Kirkman lied to, and essentially tricked, him into giving away his ownership rights stake to Invincible. Crabtree claims this was done in an effort to make it easier to sell to studios.
Crabtree was a colorist for the first 50 issues of the comic series, and claims he co-created the book with Kirkman.
Crabtree alleges that Kirkman tricked him into signing away Invincible rights
A 2005 agreement between the pair noted that Kirkman was the “sole author” of Invincible, and was the “owner of all rights of every kind and nature,” simply limiting Crabtree to a “work-for-hire” role.
In November, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong narrowed the case’s charges, and ruled that Crabtree wouldn’t be able to seek a court order that proved he was the joint order or get damages for fraud, but could invalidate the 2005 agreement that he alleges he was tricked into signing.
Should Kirkman have been found guilty of breaching an oral agreement to Kirkman, he could have been held liable to pay the colorist a massive amount of revenue generated from the TV spin-offs of Invincible. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, however.
