This has become quite a meme to the comics world, so who am I not to propagate it further.

Awhile back a man named Rick Olney, started the hopes of a Comic Company called TightLip Entertainment, not a half bad looking website. But he maked a mistake like many of us have and forgot to pay his bill. Unfortunately that bill was to some high profile creators, namely Gail Simone and Chuck Dixon, and they’ve both been known to not back down from a fight. So they took the issue to Rich Johnston’s “Lying in the Gutters” Column, where Rich has become sort of an advocate for unpaid creators, running numerous stories of who owes whom. Then more voices came out saying that Rick also owed them money. All, the while Rick cried out that they are violating their NDAs and now he will seek legal ramifications against them.

Eventually it all amounted to One Hell of an Interesting Thread, that is, as of this post, at 263 pages, and seems to add another page as soon as you can finish one. Apparently somewhere along the way (I’ve only read the first few and then the latter 100 pages) Rick Olney decided to break down, making himself a true comic book villain, going so far as making cracks about Gail Simone’s weight, implying that Mark Waid is gay, and randomly insulting others, because of what others have said about him. Later, even some of the people that Rick was calling friends early in the thread turned on him, revealing his NDA, and overall, throwing him to the wolves. Then Mark Waid stepped up in Grand Fashion vowing to pay out of his own pocket for any creator who wanted to pursue legal action against Rick, but couldn’t fit the bill himself, and apparently has already cut a few checks.

Meanwhile Rick Olney refuses to say the name of his lawyer, no one that has actually been paid by Rick will step forward (if they actually exist) and Rick says he will not pay until his lawyer gives him the go ahead, although the issue of breaking the NDA would have no reflection on whether or not any of the creators are compensated.

It’s really amazing. First I recommend reading Ronee Bourgeois’ Open Letter to Rick. Then If you have free time, I recommend you watch the meltdown in action especially look for the posts by Rick “orcafresh” Olney himself. Here’s hoping that all of this can be resolved in a way that is beneficial to all parties involved. And if Rick Olney invites you to do work for him, Get the money up front, from various reports, he is paying advances just not monies for services rendered.
Maybe he and Micah Wright can start a foundation for those Ostracized from comics.