Comic book creators have long been reported to struggle to receive royalties for media and merchandise based on characters they have created. Recently, it seemed a case of that had come up when an interview conducted by Brazilian outlet Jamesons with Sara Pichelli—co-creator of Miles Morales alongside Brian Michael Bendis—at CCXP, surfaced. The artist stated she had not received compensation for Miles's successful movie and video game ventures.
Now, however, the creator has taken to social media to clarify her comments (the original article posted on the matter has also been updated with the new information):
Per Pichelli, her conversation with Jamesons had been a "relaxed" and "ironic" one, and had not been intended to come across as her complaining or being "mad at all." The artist's full statement is as follows:
"It got to my attention a headline about me saying something about Miles' royalties that was written after an interview here at CCXP. I wanted to let go, but since many of you are writing to me, I want to make things clear. That headline is an embarrassing clickbait news. Who wrote that, twisted completely the tone of our conversation, which was relaxed and ironic, plus that was a tiny part of our conversation where I wasn't complaining or mad at all, just saying [a] few lines about the business industry.
I know royalties and copyright are [a] hot topic, but please don't use me or my work to take sides or talk sh—t. I won't let you do that. Also, when a creator [does] an interview during a show (and CCXP was insanely busy) [they're] being generous and kind, please don't ever take advantage of that to create questionable content to get more followers. Be better, do better."
The original interview with Jamesons (linked above) went as follows (translated by X's translator):
- JAMESONS: And the video games too. And about all those other products that came along with Miles, inspired by him... do you get any share of that money?
- SARA PICHELLI: If only! Don't even mention it... I would be a billionaire.
- JAMESONS: You really would be; the game sold millions.
- SARA PICHELLI: Yeah, but I don't get anything. And that's the saddest part of my life.
- JAMESONS: Man, unbelievable.
- SARA PICHELLI: I know, I can't believe it myself.
- JAMESONS: We should start an online campaign.
- SARA PICHELLI: Please, do it!
- JAMESONS: A real political campaign. Yeah, because there's so much merchandising, so much stuff.
- SARA PICHELLI: Yeah, it's insane. I know, I know.
The outlet responded to Piccheli's clarification with a statement on X. Jamesons said it was not its ntention to sensationalize its coverage, and posted a video of the interview with Pichelli—which appears to have been shared following the release of the artist's statement (translated by X's translator):
The outlet's statement partly reads:
"THE ROLE OF THE JOURNALIST
This weekend at CCXP, our dear @nogabeverso represented us in covering the event and in exclusive interviews. One of those interviews went viral yesterday across various pages and portals in Brazil and abroad. Sara Pichelli, the co-creator artist of Miles Morales, had a super laid-back chat with Gabe about topics like the creation process of Miles, the attacks the character has faced, the Romani heritage of Scarlet Witch, and her future projects at Marvel. We posted all those clips here on the profile. [...]
However, what went viral amid all this was the clip where Gabe asks Sara if she receives any compensation for having created such a popular, important character who's already been adapted into various multimillion-dollar media, like Sony's games and the Spider-Verse films. Sara's response was negative. She joked: 'If only! [...] I'd be a billionaire. [...] I get nothing. And that's the saddest part of my life.'
We published that full clip here with the title '(THE LACK OF) CREATORS' RIGHTS!,' just as we did with the other parts of the conversation. Although the topic of 'creators' rights' often stirs up a fuss on this network, we didn't expect the repercussion it had, with major outlets like [Bleeding Cool] publishing the story. We know that when an interview is transcribed, intonations and contexts can get lost. It makes sense that phrases like, 'that's the saddest part of my life' sound much more dramatic in text than they did in that moment, amid laughter. It's important to say that Jamesons, in no way, tried to distort that statement.
You won't find any post where we used that phrase out of context or outside the full interview. Our portal has two clear strands. We are a media outlet made up of professional journalists and we were at CCXP accredited as press. [...] The role of journalism isn't just about entertainment or celebrating works. It's also about asking the uncomfortable questions. It would be more comfortable to keep the conversation solely in the realm of admiration, but questioning the industry's structures, especially when they involve billion-dollar figures and creators without royalties, is our duty as press.
If the response to a legitimate question brings to light a negative or controversial reality, that's not sensationalism; it's the exposure of a fact that needs to be discussed. That's why, even though our original goal was just to report the laid-back chat with the creator, we also made a sincere appeal for artists to be recognized (and compensated) for their works. After all, billion-dollar companies profit from their labor. We stand by that opinion and that fight. Finally, we want to thank Sara again for granting the interview, which was fun and enlightening. You can check it out below, without any 'distortion.'"
Prior to Pichelli's statement, Jamesons had also posted the following message on X:
Translated by X's translator, the post reads:
"PAY THE CREATORS! Yesterday we published an excerpt from the interview with Sara Pichelli, the co-creator artist of Miles Morales, where she revealed she receives nothing for the hero's tremendous success. And we told her: it's time to turn this indignation into political campaigning, into a real online movement. Creators need fair financial recognition for their works. Hours later, the interview exploded around the world. The biggest pop culture pages worldwide echoed it. Comic book artists spoke out in support. National and international portals amplified her statement.
Millions of people were impacted, and the overwhelming majority, rightly so, got outraged. The campaign is launched. It's already working. We've spread the word. Now we have to move forward. But first, it's essential to understand: Sara is not an isolated case. She is just one more among so many exploited artists. This is not a problem restricted to Marvel. It's a structural and widespread problem. In Sara Pichelli's case, it's a problem much more with Sony, who made the Spider-Verse movie and the Miles game. But Marvel and DC have many cases of artists not compensated as they should be. Jack Kirby's family, who created the Marvel Universe as we know it alongside Stan Lee, had to fight in court to receive a multimillion-dollar compensation for his work, which only came after his death.
On the DC side, the same happened with the family of the Superman creator. And we can't forget Peter David, who left us now in 2025 after years bedridden, needing to run online fundraisers to pay medical expenses, while his stories inspired billion-dollar franchises like Hulk and Aquaman. This lays bare the situation we live in: there is no kind corporation. They are all machines that grind artists, gears of a capitalism that turns creativity into profit without fair return for those who create. That's why we need to: Value the artists.
Demand from the megacorporations. Demand justice. Marvel, DC, Sony and all the studios need to financially recognize those who gave life to the works that today generate billions. The current cycle is as follows: the artist creates in precarious freelancer conditions, receives a common payment, and years later sees their work turned into a multimillion-dollar empire, while executives get rich without a drop of sweat. Nothing, or almost nothing, a pittance, goes back to the creator artists. This is not fair."
Miles Morales' next film appearance, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is expected to swing into theaters on June 18, 2027.