Co-Creator Sues for Accounting of Income from <i>Walking Dead</i> Television Series

Comic book artist Tony Moore has sued Robert Kirkman, an executive producer of The Walking Dead TV series, claiming he was tricked into signing a 2005 agreement and has been denied an accounting to determine his share of the show's profits. Moore, whose full name is Michael Anthony Moore, claims in a suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in February that Kirkman and his company, Kirkman LLC, have failed to provide books and records that would clarify how much Moore should be paid under the agreement. Moore v. Kirkman, BC478780.

“He's received some checks, but that's all he gets are checks,” says Moore's attorney, Devin McRae, a partner at Los Angeles-based Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae. “He's asked for accounting statements and access to the supporting documentation that is supposed to be provided under the agreement, and he's getting stonewalled.”

Kirkman's attorney, Allen Grodsky of Grodsky & Olecki in Santa Monica, CA, says Moore's claims of misconduct are unfounded. Moore was represented by “very competent counsel” when he signed the agreement, Grodsky says. “The idea he was duped into signing this is kind of ridiculous,” Grodsky adds. “And we believe that when discovery is done on this case, and people are looking at the documents, what we're going to show is he hasn't been underpaid at all. It's possible he's been overpaid.”

The Walking Dead, which premiered on AMC in 2010, is a post-apocalyptic show about a police officer who finds survivors in a world overrun by zombies. Originally a comic book, The Walking Dead is one of five comic book series or ideas that Moore co-created with Kirkman, according to the suit. As such, the two shared copyrights in the works.

In 2005, Kirkman told Moore that there was “a large deal on the table” for a television series based on The Walking Dead, but that it would not go through unless Moore gave up his copyright interests, according to the complaint. The agreement, among other things, gave Moore 60% of the net proceeds for The Walking Dead and another comic book series, Brit, and 20% of the net proceeds from movies or television programs made from The Walking Dead and Brit. The agreement, according to the suit, entitled Moore to “a statement of costs, expenses and indebtedness paid in connection with” the comic books and the right “to inspect the books and records” of Kirkman LLC.

Kirkman and his company have failed to provide those books and records, according to the complaint. Most recently, McRae says, Moore hired an auditor and sent a demand letter in December asking for books and records, but Kirkman and his company have not responded. “There have been promises and assurances by Robert and his handlers that information as forthcoming, but to date there's been none,” McRae says. “My client came to the conclusion that the only way he'll see these records is to file suit.”

The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages plus punitive damages on claims of promissory fraud and breach of written contract, and an accounting. 

Comic book artist Tony Moore has sued Robert Kirkman, an executive producer of The Walking Dead TV series, claiming he was tricked into signing a 2005 agreement and has been denied an accounting to determine his share of the show's profits. Moore, whose full name is Michael Anthony Moore, claims in a suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in February that Kirkman and his company, Kirkman LLC, have failed to provide books and records that would clarify how much Moore should be paid under the agreement. Moore v. Kirkman, BC478780.

“He's received some checks, but that's all he gets are checks,” says Moore's attorney, Devin McRae, a partner at Los Angeles-based Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae. “He's asked for accounting statements and access to the supporting documentation that is supposed to be provided under the agreement, and he's getting stonewalled.”

Kirkman's attorney, Allen Grodsky of Grodsky & Olecki in Santa Monica, CA, says Moore's claims of misconduct are unfounded. Moore was represented by “very competent counsel” when he signed the agreement, Grodsky says. “The idea he was duped into signing this is kind of ridiculous,” Grodsky adds. “And we believe that when discovery is done on this case, and people are looking at the documents, what we're going to show is he hasn't been underpaid at all. It's possible he's been overpaid.”

The Walking Dead, which premiered on AMC in 2010, is a post-apocalyptic show about a police officer who finds survivors in a world overrun by zombies. Originally a comic book, The Walking Dead is one of five comic book series or ideas that Moore co-created with Kirkman, according to the suit. As such, the two shared copyrights in the works.

In 2005, Kirkman told Moore that there was “a large deal on the table” for a television series based on The Walking Dead, but that it would not go through unless Moore gave up his copyright interests, according to the complaint. The agreement, among other things, gave Moore 60% of the net proceeds for The Walking Dead and another comic book series, Brit, and 20% of the net proceeds from movies or television programs made from The Walking Dead and Brit. The agreement, according to the suit, entitled Moore to “a statement of costs, expenses and indebtedness paid in connection with” the comic books and the right “to inspect the books and records” of Kirkman LLC.

Kirkman and his company have failed to provide those books and records, according to the complaint. Most recently, McRae says, Moore hired an auditor and sent a demand letter in December asking for books and records, but Kirkman and his company have not responded. “There have been promises and assurances by Robert and his handlers that information as forthcoming, but to date there's been none,” McRae says. “My client came to the conclusion that the only way he'll see these records is to file suit.”

The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages plus punitive damages on claims of promissory fraud and breach of written contract, and an accounting.