The Oxford English Dictionary defines creator as “the divine agent which creates all things from nothing,” or the significantly less exalted “person who or thing which creates or brings something into existence.” In the history of comics creation, however, far from receiving divine recognition for their handiworks, creators have, unfortunately, struggled for the rights to their own creations. Thus the term creator holds particular resonance within the history of comics, as creators have long fought to be acknowledged for their work producing comics and still endeavor to receive appropriate monetary and intellectual recognition. Early innovators such as William Hogarth, Rudolph Töpffer, and Lynd Ward created highly influential works and did so as individuals, as did Richard Outcault. R. C. Harvey argues that “Outcault was probably the first to run up the flag for creator’s rights” when he attempted to copyright his character the Yellow Kid in 1896, although Brian Walker suggests that “records at the Library of Congress indicate that his request was never officially granted due to an irregularity in the application process” (2004, 14). Outcault also engaged in one of the first legal controversies over creator rights when he sued the New York Herald over the rights to...