Comic Book Creator Involved in Civil Suit with Himself

Posted: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Posted By: Keith Dallas

ComicsBulletin has learned that freelance comic book creator Keith Dallas has filed a small claims court complaint against the co-creator and copyright holder of the sci-fi comic book Omega Chase: Keith Dallas. The complaint alleges that defendant Dallas refuses to compensate plaintiff Dallas for coloring work performed for an upcoming issue of Omega Chase. When contacted by ComicsBulletin, Dallas the plaintiff elaborated, "Even though I have no experience as a colorist, I decided to color some pages. You know, I wanted to help out. Rather than reward my initiative, [Keith] Dallas has chosen to discard my work with unwarranted prejudice, and I won't take this lying down. Dallas picked a fight with the wrong guy, and you can print that."

On the left: penciled and inked page from Omega Chase #5 by Julio Molina-Muscara; On the right: the same page colored by Keith Dallas which Keith Dallas refuses to pay for.

Responding to the plaintiff's claims, Keith Dallas the defendant told this reporter, "While I appreciate Dallas' desire to contribute to Omega Chase, it takes only a cursory glance at his coloring work to realize that it's not even close to being acceptable for publication. (In fact, I would urge people to take ONLY a cursory glance or else risk permanently damaging their retinas.) The plaintiff knows we've been principally using a pair of colorists [Meha Nathan and Berny Julianto] for Omega Chase, and I'm very happy with their work. They both make [artist] Julio Molina-Muscara's art really pop off the page. Therefore, I don't see how I'm obligated to pay for coloring work that I neither asked for nor approved. I also have to question the sanity of the plaintiff, since he is I, and I am he." Dallas then looked at this reporter and asked, "Come to think of it, aren't you me too?"

Omega Chase is hosted and published by Th3rd World Studios and when informed of the civil complaint, Th3rd World co-publisher Michael DeVito said, "This is the first I've heard of it, but I would have to side with Dallas. Oh, I mean Dallas the defendant, not Dallas the plaintiff. Even if Dallas did pay for that coloring work, I would refuse to print it. Clearly, Dallas should stick to writing. It's less flawed… slightly." Looking at Dallas' coloring work, DeVito asked, "What program did he use to color this? MS Paint?" (Note: Dallas the plaintiff claims he used Windows XP Paint.) (Second Note: Windows XP Paint IS MS Paint, you dope.)

DeVito added, "The best news I have about Omega Chase is that the 4th issue--with superior, professional coloring--is at the printer, so fans can now order a hard copy of the issue (and all previous issues) directly at the Th3rd World website. We'll also soon be posting the entire 4th issue one page at a time, so those fans who have been enjoying the story as a webcomic won't miss anything."


Omega Chase #4 is on sale now directly at the Th3rd World Studios website

Fan favorite, award winning colorist Moose Baumann (Green Lantern Rebirth, IDW's Star Trek) provided his opinion of Dallas' coloring work: "I love Dallas like a distant cousin who I run into at family reunions every five years and whose name I need to be reminded of every time I see him. However, judging from his work, he's evidently color blind. If my kid brought this home from school, I wouldn't tape it to the refrigerator, much less waste printer ink on it." Baumann, by the way, will be coloring the cover to Omega Chase #5, a Charlie's Angels homage drawn by industry veteran Mark McKenna. No, seriously.


Cover to Omega Chase #5 as penciled and inked by Mark McKenna; Moose Baumann colors forthcoming

ComicsBulletin will update this story as it develops further.

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