DeMatteis/Ploog kämpfen um die Rechte zu ABADAZAD!

**Clint Barton** · 08.09.2004, 22:58

THE BATTLE FOR ABADAZAD: DEMATTEIS & PLOOG TRY TO GET RIGHTS BACK

In papers filed with the US Bankruptcy Court Middle District of Florida, creators J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog are requesting the Court release them from the automatic stay, or compel immediate rejection of the contracts the two signed in regards to their Code 6 fantasy series, Abadazad.

Launched in late 2004, Abadazad was one of CrossGen?s late-game success stories: a critically acclaimed, all-ages fantasy story that also served as the welcome return of Mike Ploog to monthly comics.

?It?s partly a way to pay tribute to the great children's literature that I so love...and to push off into some new creative waters. The story's been growing inside my head for a long time and I'm extremely excited - and that's an understatement - to finally see it manifest at CrossGen,? DeMatteis told Newsarama in a September, 2003 interview. ?They're a company that very much wants to reach out to a broader audience?and they're full of enthusiasm and fresh ideas. I'm delighted to be working with them.?

The story of Abadazad has a couple of familiar threads in its weave ? a hidden kingdom, a missing loved one, and of course, a plan of action that involves a rescue. It all revolves around Kate and her brother, Matt. ?Kate's brother simply vanished one day at a street fair-but she believes that Matt is dead,? DeMatteis said in 2003. ?When she finally discovers that he's alive, that he is, in actuality, a prisoner in Abadazad, a place she's always assumed was purely fictional, it's a complete shock to her. It would be like finding out that someone you love and thought was dead is in Oz, a prisoner of the Wicked Witch of the West.?

Three issues of the series were published before CrossGen?s financial difficulties forced the company to cease publishing comics. Since its last issue was released, the property is one most mentioned by readers in the hopes that it would be able to find a new home and the story continue. Apparently, DeMatteis and Ploog were among those hoping to see it pulled from CrossGen?s financial problems and taken somewhere else.

The claim by the two creators states that given that CrossGen filed for bankruptcy, it still retains the assets it held while doing business, including their portion of Abadazad. According to the original Publishing Agreement signed by DeMatteis prior to the publication of the series, Abadazad would enjoy a normal ?Code 6? relationship with CrossGen, that is, Code 6 would own 75% of the property, while DeMatteis, as the property?s creator, would own 25%. Originally, thirteen issues and two trades were to be published, with Code 6 allowed to make the decision after that to continue publishing.

According to the claim, CrossGen and its affiliates ?have materially defaulted under the Independent Contractor Agreement and the Publishing Agreement by, among other defaults:

(i) failing to pay monies due to the Movants [DeMatteis and Ploog]; (ii) failing to timely publish Abadazad; (iii) anticipatorily repudiating both agreements by stating that it had no intention of performing under the Contracts. Mr. Alessi also testified at the initial creditors meeting in this case that CrossGen had no intention of publishing volume 4 of Abadazad. Furthermore, CrossGen has no ability to perform under the Contracts as it no longer has any active operations with which to perform its duties, and does not have a printer to publish Abadazad.?

DeMatties and Ploog claim that according to the terms of the contracts and applicable law, CrossGen?s defaults give rise to various rights in favor of the creators, including the reversion to DeMatteis and Ploog of any intellectual property transferred under the contracts.

Or, in other words, since CrossGen can no longer perform their portion of the contract, it is the creators wishes that the Court immediately reject the contract, which would allow, with a few more legal steps, DeMatteis to regain ownership of the property.

As with other contracts and business relationships between CrossGen and others, a set stay was enacted with the filing of Chapter 11, which allows the debtor a certain amount of time to assume or reject the contract. DeMatteis and Ploog are asking that their contract be released from the stay so they can pursue the property as quickly as possible.

As the complaint states: ?cause exists to require the Debtor, CrossGen, immediately reject the Contracts because CrossGen has materially defaulted under the Contracts and cannot promptly cure such defaults, the value of Abadazad rapidly depreciating because the book has not been timely published, the Debtor indicated that it no longer intends to publish the book, and the marketplace is aware of these events. Indeed, not only is CrossGen not capable of curing its defaults under the Contracts, but it has expressed plainly its intention to not perform to ignore its responsibilities under the Contracts.?

The complaint concludes with DeMatteis and Ploog requesting the Court enter an order directing CrossGen to immediately assume of reject the contracts.

In response, the Court has scheduled a preliminary hearing for September 28th.

When asked about the proceedings by Newsarama, DeMatteis declined to comment.

According to current filings, DeMatteis and Ploog are the only Code 6 creators currently trying to reclaim the rights to the properties they brought to the CrossGen imprint. The other Code 6 character to leave the company, Lady Death, was sold to Brian Pulido?s Mischief Maker Media for $9,500 on July 1st, 2004.

http://newsarama.com/forums/showthre...threadid=17737